Page 27 of Returning Your Love
“Don’t worry about it,” I muttered, unable to bury the discomfort from my voice.
His shoulders slumped, and there was no way in hell I would leave him to clean up alone while obvious depression hung over his head like a rain cloud.
We worked together in silence, him washing and me drying, our shoulders and hands occasionally brushing against each other’s, which eventually returned a sense of calm over the kitchen. Also got my dick a little too interested, but I didn’t let my mind wander over fantasies I didn’t dare hope would come true.
Once we finished, loud snores echoed throughout the downstairs.
“Damn.” I chuckled, hanging up the towel I’d used to dry on the oven’s handle. “I don’t remember her snoring like that when we’d gone camping.”
“It’s new. All the hard shit she’s been drinking.” Chaz grasped the edge of the sink and dropped his head, heaving a huge exhale.
I stepped in close, needing to comfort him in some way. Probably not the smartest choice, but fuck it. Chaz’s suffering hurt like fuck. “Come here.”
He turned and stepped fully into my arms, burying his face in my neck, hands clinging to the back of my shirt like I was the only lifeline he had to keep his head above water.
Warmth settled low in my groin where he pressed tight against me, but I ignored the arousal swimming through my blood from the heat of his hard body against mine. I closed my eyes and held him close, giving what I could while selfishly soaking in the little bit of him I was allowed to have as his friend.
“Sorry you had to see and hear that shit,” he whispered another apology, his breath hot on my skin.
I shivered, goose bumps rising along my arms, my dick thickening. “Don’t worry about it. Every couple fights.”
“Not my parents,” he muttered.
Because his mother was a subservient, timid woman.
“You should have heard my dad and Darla go at it before she left.”
“That’s all we seem to do anymore.”
Being the asshole I was, my mind once more went straight to the thought that Shelly ought to take off just like my mom did. Leave Chaz behind, brokenhearted so I could be the one to hold his hand and make him happy again. Especially now that I knew he wanted me.
The idea of that future sent blood to my groin. There was no hiding from Chaz what hugging him did to me, and I refused to be sorry for desiring him.
Chaz was the one to pull away but only enough to meet my gaze. Our lower halves still pressed together, and fuck me straight to hell, pain wasn’t the only thing I clearly read in his eyes.
I swallowed, refusing to move even as his dick swelled against mine.
His gaze flitted down to my lips, and time slid to a stop. We hovered between fantasy and reality. Right, as I would see it, and wrong, as he definitely would after we crossed that line.
“Still want to kiss me?” he whispered.
“What about Shelly?” I hated having to remind him of the possible fallout when he already had enough shit on his plate, but honesty was what a good friend should go with.
He exhaled loudly, lips pressed tight as he studied my face.
I tried not to hold my breath in anticipation, hoping he would make the move so I wouldn’t have to be doubly burdened by guilt over starting what we both clearly yearned for.
“It’s not fair to her,” he repeated what he’d said when we’d been camping. “But I can’t help this desire inside me. I’m so fucking lonely. Need this. Need you.”
I ignored the sawing of logs from his wife and focused on the length of him that felt as desperate as mine. “Same. Always have and always will.”
He sucked in his lower lip, nibbling, so I cradled his face in my hands and tugged the flesh free from his teeth with my thumb. His panted breaths warmed my mouth as he stared into my eyes.
“Jamie…”
“Yeah, Chaz. Whatever the fuck you want—it’s yours. If having one taste of you makes me a bad man, then I’ll gladly burn in hell.”
He moved to close the distance between us, and I met him there with hungry yet gentle swipes of my lips. Fireworks exploded in my head like they’d never done before, even those few times I’d asked Zack for kisses. My pulse raced and skin came alive, every cell inside my body vibrating with need to love on my best friend. Erase all of his problems even if for a shortwhile. Euphoric and on the verge of combustion, I ate at his mouth, desperate to dive deeper and somehow steal a part of his soul I could keep with me forever.
