12 Days of Forever(12)

I have a feeling that keeping my distance is going to be an issue though. Yvie is going to be at every party and every function I attend in the next few days. I could just stay home. Avoidance has worked in the past. Except, I won’t have a valid excuse when the guys, or even wives, come calling to ask why I’m not there. I’ve been invited, I’ve RSVP’d and it’s not like I have all these offers from people asking me to share the holidays with them.

Staying out of Katelyn’s kitchen is a must though. Memories from last night are very present and each time I start to think about Yvie, I can see her caged against the counter with soap suds on her nose, her chest rising and falling with every breath she takes as her eyes pierce into mine, her pink tongue wetting her lips in anticipation. All I had to do was let my head fall and she would’ve caught me. I could be sitting here blissed out from kissing her. Instead, I’m in the gym sporting a freaking semi and there isn’t jack shit I can do it about it because as far as I’m concerned Yvie James is off limits.

I busy myself behind the computer instead of mingling with the patrons. The counter provides for great coverage of my issue but does nothing to keep my mind from wandering back to last night. I should’ve told Quinn “no thanks” when he invited me in, and I should’ve left as soon as they went to bed. Oh, and the massage definitely shouldn’t have happened, but I couldn’t resist the pull to touch her. I had to curb my appetite from earlier. Watching her work on her glutes, a section of her body that doesn’t need work, drove me nuts, and I had no reason to touch her.

Last night she gave me every reason in the world, and I started to take advantage. I didn’t want to stop, but it wasn’t the time or the place to explore my ballerina… my what? She can’t be my anything.

“What’s up, mate? You look bloody knackered. Did your willy keep you busy last night?” I look up to find JD resting on the counter with a shit-eating grin on his face. Being friends with JD means you can’t take him seriously. At least not all the time because he likes to joke. And by joke, I mean make crude comments at the most inopportune time. That’s what makes him unique.

“Morning, JD,” I say, without acknowledging the rest of his statement.

“A mate who avoids another mate’s question is a surefire way of telling said mate that he got a little last night.”

“He better not have, unless it was after he left my house.” As soon as Harrison finishes that sentence, I look away as my body temperature changes. I hate that I blush like a little boy. My mom assured me I’d outgrow it, but it’s gotten worse. It’s a sign of embarrassment and the last thing I need is for Harrison to catch on that I want to see his sister naked. Not even see her naked, but touch her while she’s naked. I’m all sorts of messed up right now.

“Oh, bloody hell, you stuck your willy in Yvie?”

With the addition of Liam, six eyes now glare at me. If blushing wasn’t telling them something, the fact that I’m tongue-tied is. I clear my throat and stand, thinking about old ladies in granny panties batting their eyes at me without their dentures in, anything to get the semi to go away. Today, gym shorts are not my friend.

“Do you guys want to work out or stand around gossiping like girls?” I ask, as I walk past them.

“I’m more interested in finding out what went on with you and my sister last night. When we came home, she went straight to bed, but failed to explain why there were soap suds in the sink and random soap stains on the countertop and floor.”

“I want to know what he’s doing with Yvie to begin with,” Liam adds in a brotherly I’m-going-to-kick-your-ass-for-looking-at-my-sister tone.

My problem is, if I look at them, they’ll see through me. Avoiding eye contact is what I need to do. “I left when she started doing the dishes,” I say, as I pick up the weight and slide it onto the dumbbell for Liam. Of all the guys, he’s the most serious about weight training. It’s something he kept up from his football days. He’s probably the buffest lead singer out there, and he drives the women crazy when he flexes. I know this because Josie likes to gossip about her husband.

“Did the dishes get done, Harrison?”

I look at the three of them behind me. Harrison shrugs but smiles. JD is grinning from ear to ear, and Liam looks pissed. Always the leader of the gang, Liam is. I shake my head, hoping to convey that nothing happened and nothing will.

“Liam, you’re up.” He takes the bench and lies under the bar. I assist him, lifting the bar and watching as he moves the dumbbell up and down with ease. Harrison is just a few steps away using the hand weights, and JD is on the treadmill. JD isn’t keen on lifting weights; he doesn’t want to ruin his figure he says. Harrison does mostly arms, and he and I run at night. Liam is my main focus.