Page 36 of Take My Hand

Icheck the security feed for the camera over my front door for the third time, and disappointingly, still find it empty.

She’s late.

Only fifteen minutes, but still. I woke up this morning with a racing heart and it took me a bit to figure out if it was going to be one of those bad days or if I was just excited to have Carter come over.

It was the latter.

I wanted to kiss her so fucking bad yesterday when I dropped her off. The moment was there. The way she leaned in, eyeing my mouth like she was wondering what it would feel like against her own.

But I pulled back.

She’s still only months out of her last relationship, give her some space. Be her friend. Don’t make a move on her.

But fuck, it was just so tempting.

I pace around my living room, moving various little trinkets around before setting them back in their original spot. Never before have I bothered to try to rearrange any decor on the floating shelves that line one of the walls, but I can’t sit still.

I shouldn’t be nervous, but I am. She’s never been in my space before and after seeing how quickly she was making her apartment feel like a home, mine feels lackluster in comparison. And I’m worried she’ll judge me for it, as irrational as the thought is.

A loud chiming cuts through the music softly floating through my house from the built-in speaker system, and I bolt over to the front door.

My face falls as I take in the blond standing on my porch. “What are you doing here?”

“I was on my way to a boxing session with my trainer when he called and said he needed to push it back an hour, so I thought I’d stop by.” Nikolai doesn’t wait for an invitation, instead just shouldering past me and dropping his keys on the table. I shut the door, not wanting to let the heat in.

“You literally live less than a mile away,” I tell him. “You could’ve just turned around.”

“What? I can’t pay my best friend a visit on a random Tuesday afternoon?” he asks innocently.

“How did you know I’d even be home?”

He stares at me as if the answer is obvious. “Uh, you’re always home?”

Fair point.

“You can hang out here but—” A knock sounds and we turn our attention to the door.

“Are you expecting someone?” Nikolai pries, skepticism clear in his tone.

I shoo him to the side and open the door once again, only to see the blonde that I was hoping to see standing there. An oversized graphic tee hangs on her shoulders, tucked into the front of cutoff denim shorts, showcasing her tanned legs. Black sunglasses sit on her nose, which she quickly slides to the top of her head as she greets me.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. I’ve never really been over this way before and I got turned around a bit. Or maybe more like distracted looking at all these places but anyways.” She waves a hand in front of her and cuts herself off.

“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her, stepping to the side. “Come on in.”

She smiles as she steps through the doorway, only then taking notice of our company. “Hey, Nikolai. How’s it going?”

He shoots her a full smile, one that I’ve seen many women melt under, but she seems unaffected. Something in my chest flares at that. “It’s better now that I have your beautiful face to look at and not just this dude.” He reaches out and pats my cheek like I’m a small child, and I push him away.

“Nikolai was just stopping by,” I tell her and then direct the next part to him. “Carter is going to give me advice on some house projects I want to do. Her dad works in construction and she has quite the array of knowledge so I was going to pick her brain.”

Nikolai scans Carter up and down, obviously impressed. “That’s badass. You do a lot of home renovations?”

Carter shakes her head. “Nothing really ever on my own. I grew up on job sites so I have enough general knowledge, but Hayden’s definitely hyping me up more than I deserve. I’m just here to help where I can and keep your friend from trying to sand down any metal objects.” She shoots me a wink and it goes straight to my groin.

Nikolai gives me a concerning look. “You were going to sand a metal object? Even I know that’s not a fucking thing.”

I hold my hands up in defense. “I didn’t say I'm an expert, okay? That’s why I’m bringing in a more informed opinion.”

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