The Hookup Handbook(21)
Almost? Who am I kidding? I’m so goddamned attracted to her, eating dinner and trying not to come on to her too strong. This feels exactly like a date to me.
With enough wine left in the bottle for one more glass each after dinner, we settle in on the couch, the storm still raging outside. The rain hasn’t stopped since the moment she decided to stay, and the tornado watch is now set to be in effect until morning.
“I can’t believe this storm. It’s absolutely nuts,” she says, crossing one leg over the other and staring out the window.
“When I was little, my mom used to sing this song to help me sleep through thunderstorms. If they were really bad, she’d even build a little fort for me in my room.”
“I think it’s sweet how close you are with your mom.”
“Can’t help it,” I say with a shrug, then take a sip of my wine. “She’s all I had growing up. It’s always been just the two of us. Sure, we fought every once in a while, but never over anything serious. We couldn’t. It just wasn’t an option.”
Sienna nods, swirling the liquid in her glass and looking thoughtful. “I bet being an only child made it harder. Although, siblings aren’t easy either. Ryder and I hated each other growing up. It wasn’t until after his first year of college that we started to come around to each other.”
“I didn’t know you and Ryder fought.”
“Oh yeah. Like, knock-down, drag-out status. We bickered a lot as kids, but high school was when it really got ugly.”
“What happened?”
“Well, it’s complicated, but this one time one of his buddies kissed me at a party when I was a freshman and they were seniors. Ryder wasn’t just upset—he was pissed. At me for being stupid enough to fall for a senior’s tricks, and at his buddy for preying on his little sister. We were screaming at each other at the party, and then we stopped talking to each other for a few weeks. That was probably the worst fight we ever had.”
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
Stunned, I stare at her while panic washes over me. Ryder would flip if he knew the thoughts I was having about Sienna.
Sienna looks over at me and cocks her head to the side. “What? Is it really that shocking that an older guy would be into me?”
I laugh and shake my head, doing my best to seem casual and upbeat. But underneath? I’m freaking out. Because my brain and my dick have never been this at odds before. Not once.
“No, not at all. I think an older guy makes perfect sense for you, actually.” Blood thuds in my ears.
“You think so? I don’t know. I have a hard time seeing myself with anyone, really.”
“Oh, come on. I don’t believe that for a second.”
“No, really, I do. I’ve always been so focused on dancing and school, I just never stopped to think about what I want in a partner.”
Well, I’m sure I can think of a few suggestions.
“When the right person comes along, I think you’ll know, whether you’re looking for him or not. Or her. Hell, I don’t know what you’re into.”
“Oh, shut up,” she says, swatting my shoulder and rolling her eyes.
We’ve both finished our wine now, and a comfortable silence falls between us, broken only by the sound of rain splattering against the roof and the occasional crack of thunder. It’s not late, but I don’t want her to feel pressured to hang out with me, so I stand and take our glasses to the sink.
“Let me show you to the guest room. It has its own bathroom and TV, so you can shower and watch a movie or something before bed.”
Sienna nods, then follows me down the hallway to the guest room. Luckily, I always have a fresh set of sheets and towels on hand in case a guy comes home a little too tipsy to drive, so everything is ready for her to stay here.
“Damn, this is nicer than a hotel room,” she says, running her fingers along the plush gray comforter and admiring the artwork I selected for the walls.
“When you don’t have money, you have a lot of time to think about what you’ll do once you do have it.”
As I show her how the shower works and explain the remote control, she nods silently along with all my instructions. I do my best to avoid her large blue eyes when I realize she doesn’t have pajamas, and turn to face the empty dresser.
“I can bring you a T-shirt or a button-down to sleep in, if you’d like.”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
I return from my bedroom with a sleep shirt, doing my best not to imagine what she’ll look like in it. As I hand it to her, our fingers brush, sending an electric current buzzing up my arm. It’s almost like she felt it too, pulling her hand back quickly and looking up at me with those wide blue eyes.
I don’t know if it’s the wine, the storm, or just plain old sexual chemistry, but in that moment, everything else fades away until she’s all that I’m aware of. Our eyes lock, a long, loud rumble of thunder shaking the windowpanes, and Sienna takes a step toward me, her full pink lips parted ever so slightly.
I close the distance between us, placing my hands on her shoulders while my heart beats erratically. “You okay?”
She wets her lower lip and steps closer until her chest is brushing mine. She doesn’t answer, but her body is sending all kinds of signals, and I do the only thing I can think of to ease this tension between us. The one thing I’ve wanted to do since she spouted off with her smart mouth at me the very first day we met.