Page 32 of The Rebound
Breathe, Saint. Do not think about her naked.
“Well, then we know whatnotto do.” My voice is filled with humor, and Kinley surprises me by grinning.
“I’ve never been friends—just friends—with a guy before. What would we even do?”
“Well, you’d respond to my texts, for starters.” I elbow her in the arm gently, and she chuckles.
“Okay, I can do that. But no more suggestive emojis. And you’d have to stop doing that looky-loo thing with your eyes when you look at me.”
“What eye thing?” I do the eye thing. It’s an elevator eyes slash eyebrow-waggle combo that somehow always gets me laid at the club.
She elbows me back,hard.
Grinning, I lift my palms in the air. “Fine, fine. No looky-loo thing.”
Her mouth lifts in a satisfied smile. “And no more late-night hangouts either,” she says, glancing at my lips, and when I wet them with my tongue, she blinks and looks away.
“No late nights. Got it. Now that we’ve got some ground rules, whatwouldyou like to do together?”
She thinks for a minute, tapping her index finger to her chin. “We could ... go to the farmers’ market again, I guess.”
I consider this, but it honestly feels underwhelming. “The farmers’ market isn’t until Saturday. Come on, let’s christen our friendship by doing somethingtoday. Anything in the world you want to do, I’m game.”
I know I’m being pushy as hell, but I can’t help myself. I’m desperate to hang out with her. I’ve also been bored as fuck, trying to live on the straight and narrow path Coach has laid out for me. Sure, I could call up my boys and hit up a few clubs, but where would that get me?
“Anything?” She chews on her lip, staring far off across the street as she thinks. “Well, I’ve been dying to get a pedicure, but I don’t really want to go all by myself. And since I haven’t made any girlfriends here yet, you could go with me.”
She meets my eyes, serving me a challenge like she’s testing my commitment to the new parameters of our friendship.
I did say anything in the world, didn’t I? This isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I’m nothing if not a man who delivers on his promises.
“Pedicures sound perfect.”
Kinley blinks, clearly surprised. “Really?”
She’s obviously underestimated me. I rarely say no to new things. Bungee jumping? Sure. Threesome with the couple I just met? Why not. Try the kangaroo tartare at a fancy steakhouse? You only live once.
“Yeah, really.”
“Do you want to go now?” The excitement mounting in her voice is downright adorable.
“I’d better shower first. I don’t want my smelly gym shoe feet to assault the nice, uh ...”
“Nail technician.”
“Right. Nail technician. Want to meet up in like thirty?”
Kinley nods, and her mouth lifts into a smile that I feel all the way inside my chest.
Maybe dialing back our physical relationship and keeping things platonic won’t be so bad after all. Especially if that smile is still a part of it.
• • •
“This is heaven.”
“Right?” Kinley presses her temple against the headrest so she can look at me, both of us blissed the fuck out. “This is my favorite part.”
Our feet are submerged in large glass bowls filled with some steaming herbal mixture. It’s doing wonders on the callouses on the back of my heels. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I’ve never done this before. I mean, I take care of myself, but my version of self-care usually involves fewer essential oils and more shots of tequila.
