Page 30 of Honey Pot

But that was selfish, too.

“Just one kiss,” I whispered, my breath hot on her lips. “Be mine again, Clementine.”

Even though I could feel her want, her need, she pulled away from me as I brought us together for the first time in seven years. Hurt danced across her soft brown eyes.

“Was I really that horrible?” I asked, folding my hands into my lap to keep from pulling her back to me. It was clearly not what she wanted or needed.

“You were never horrible, Cael. That’s the problem.”

“So what is the problem? You’re here, I’m here.” My hands flexed at my sides in a pathetic attempt to avoid brushing her hair behind her ear.

The sunset glazed her cheeks in warm pink tones and highlighted all the soft, freckled patterns that ran across the bridge of her nose. She looked like an angel.

“Our problem has never been us being together, Cael. It’s the ‘apart’that destroyed us.”

My brows kissed at her words. She was so sure of everything she said.

“That wasn’t our fault!” I pinned my shoulders back, feeling cornered. The hair on my arms rose, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“But everything else was.”

MATTHEWS

“Ifeel like I’m listening to a phone sex line,” Bobbi laughed in my ear. “That’s the hottest shit I’ve ever heard.Just one kiss?” She mocked, in a voice that made her sound ridiculous.

“It was nearly impossible to say no.” I brushed out my hair with my free hand and made sure my makeup looked good. I had two interviews today before I could explore the campus more, but all I wanted to do was run into Cael.

I had barely slept after our talk. My mind had spun itself in circles before I closed my eyes, and my alarm had gone off an hour later. The Nest was nice enough, with high ceilings, dark wood trim, and carpeted runners on all the hardwood floors. I had been in a lot of frat houses during my two years at Texas University, but none had ever given old-money architecture quite like Dansby House.

“I don’t understand why you did. I was watching playback clips,” Bobbi sighed dramatically. “That boy is a tree. A tall, muscular, blond, should-be-in-a-boyband, tree. I’ll climb him for you if you’re scared. I’ll take one for the team.”

Bobbi moaned loudly in my ear.

And then the faint humming of Backstreet Boys trackEverybodyfloated through the receiver.“Am I sexual…”

Even thinking about his hands on me had heat crawling through my body and I turned the faucet to cold and ran a hand under it as she talked.

“Aren’t you in the office?” I asked, laughing wildly at her nonsense. God, I missed her.

“Yeah, but moaning pop songs in my cubicle is a constitutional right,” she laughed, and I could hear someone giving her grief in the background. “Shut up, Peter,” she barked from the other end. “Are you okay though? I know this is hard.”

“I’m fine,” I said, drowning the bracelet around my wrist under the stream of water. Lately, it felt like it was burning my skin.

“That wassoconvincing, Mar,” she scoffed through the receiver. “Take two, and this time don’t lie to your best friend.”

“I’m horny,” I admit, “and I’m heartbroken,” I sigh.

“I think that’s a Shakespeare play,” she joked.

“Ha, ha.” I shook my head and wandered out of the bathroom into the quiet hallway. I was still trying to find my way around the Nest. At times it felt like I was getting more lost the harder I tried.

I turned to the stairs and cautiously wandered up to the second floor to admire the stained-glass window at the end of the hallway. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen and must have cost a fortune, with all its tiny floral details and glass hornets.

“So what now?” Bobbi asked me.

“More interviews. I can’t tell if I want to ignore his existence or fuck him in the closet,” I mumbled as I turned back to the stairs. I only stopped when I noticed one of the doors was open a crack, and I knew instantly it was his room.

“Do I get a vote?” Bobbi said.

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