Page 7 of Wet Paint

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” she whispered, her voice soft and sweet.

I smiled at her words and rubbed the small of her back with one hand. “You know we shouldn’t be doing this though, right?” I asked, my voice just as quiet.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Neither of us let go, and we kept standing there, arm in arm, with the sun slowly coming up behind us.Fuck…how was I supposed to move on after this?

“Don’t be sorry,” I told her, moving my hands to her hips to gently move her away from me. Our eyes met, and I studied hers for a while.

God, she’s beautiful.

“Just know that we can’t do that in public.”Or ever. “People will start to talk, and we don’t want to get in trouble.”

“No, we don’t,” she agreed, her smile telling me just how truthful she was. Still, there was a glimpse of mischief flashing through her eyes. “I should go upstairs.”

“Yeah, you should,” I encouraged her. “I’ll see you tonight.”

She furrowed her brows for a split second, then she remembered that she invited me to join her team at trivia night. “Right! Oh, it will be fun! See you tonight.”

I chuckled and gave her a nod. Before she went inside though, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. It was in that moment that I wanted to grab her and push her against the wall. To kiss her hard and show her just how much I wanted her too.

But I stayed composed, my jaw clenched to not cuss in front of her.

She gave me another knowing smile before disappearing, and I urged myself to walk away before I ran after her like a mad man.

Chapter 4

IVY

He stayed on my mind all day, and he even appeared in my dream.

I knew I might’ve crossed a line by hugging and kissing him, but I couldn’t help it. I had been wanting to do it for a while now, and earlier this morning, it felt like the right moment. He hadn’t pushed me away. Hadn’t told me not to get too close.

No, he enjoyed it. He did give me a small warning, but it wasn’t one he took too seriously himself.

After sleeping for a few hours in the morning, and then getting some chores done in the afternoon, I finally got ready for trivia night at Barkley’s. Ruby was in her room, and since we always did our makeup in front of her large mirror, I headed over to her bedroom with my makeup bag.

“Hi,” I said as I stepped into her room.

“Hey. You totally missed out last night,” she said with a smirk. “We kept getting drinks from those guys, and Carly had the funny idea of sending them a round of shots. But instead of Vodka, we made the bartender put in water. They drank it, and didn’t even realize it was just water. They were so wasted.” She laughed at her story.

I chuckled and sat down on the floor next to her in front of the mirror. “Guys are so weird. What else did I miss out on?”

We both started to do our makeup while Ruby told me everything that happened while I was hanging out with Will in the studio. As fun as she made it all sound, I was glad I left once I’d had enough. That night in the studio with Will had felt incredible, and I wanted to do it all over again.

“I still can’t believe you dipped out early,” Ruby said, applying mascara. “I miss when we used to be the last ones standing.”

I only ever stayed because of her. To make sure nothing would happen to her. Last night, though, I knew she’d get home safe with Lenny and Carly around.

“I just wasn’t feeling it. Needed a rest.”

She gave me a look in the mirror, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. But then she nodded and moved to the next subject.

We finished our makeup, and when we were finally satisfied with our faces, we bundled up and headed out into the cool night air toward Barkley’s.

The bar was already buzzing when we got there. Groups huddled over trivia sheets, and the unmistakable scent of old wood and fried food was in the air. We spotted Lenny near the back, holding a half-finished beer and waving us down with the other.

“Look who finally showed up,” she grinned as we approached. “I’ve been here alone, fending off creeps and holding this table like it’s a sacred altar.”

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