Page 223 of Rock Me All Night
"You want me to drop the towel so you can get a good look?"
More than anything.
I clear my throat. "Excuse me."
My face and chest flush. It's not every day I get to see Drew like this. My body wants his. It's not like I control how the damn thing reacts to him. It's not like I want to be tied up in knots every second I'm home.
It's not like I want this kind of tension building between my legs, begging me to ignore my better senses completely, begging me to throw myself on his bed.
He's staring at me like he's daring me to say something.
I force myself to look him in the eyes, but that's worse. He has that same hurt, confused expression.
"I should read," I say.
"You should get a better line."
The crick in my neck spreads all the way to the back of my skull. Tension headache, here I come.
I press my eyes closed to will it away. I can't keep doing this. I miss Drew. I miss his laugh, his music, his arms around me.
"How about we pretend it never happened so things go back to normal?" I offer.
He stares through me. "No."
"Please." I play with the waistband of my jeans. "If we forget about the kiss."
His eyes narrow. "I'm never going to forget about that kiss."
I hold his gaze.
"I'm still going out of my head over the taste of your lips and the feeling of your groans in my mouth. I'm still going out of my head dreaming of running my tongue up your thigh and licking you until you come. I can't concentrate for shit. Anytime my hands aren't on my guitar, I'm dreaming about getting them on you."
My eyes go wide. I can barely breathe. I can barely think. I open my mouth to reply, but I can't form a single word.
He takes a step toward his room, his eyes still on mine. "So, no, Kara, I can't forget kissing you. Not ever."
Want spreads to my thighs, stomach, chest. It works its way down my limbs until every inch of me is buzzing. My lips part. My fingertips press together. I will an explanation to form in my mouth. Anything to keep Drew here, to explain this to him. "I had a reason."
He pulls open his bedroom door. "And maybe, one day, you'll trust me enough to explain it."
He steps into his room and slams the door shut.
* * *
Two a.m. passesand my book is still unread. My body is still heavy. My breath is still strained.
About time I give up on finishing this tonight. I turn off my music, change into my pajamas, and brush my teeth.
Yellow streams through my bedroom door. Hallway light must be on. I go to turn it off.
There's Drew's door, across the hallway, utterly closed to me. There's familiar music in his room. A guitar. It's so soft I can barely hear it, but I recognize it immediately.
It's the song he was playing at practice before everyone showed up. The one that threatened to tear my heart into a million little pieces.
Heaviness builds in my chest. I need to hear that song, to be near him, even if we're not going to talk.
Even if he hates me.
