Page 30 of Heartbreaker
“Yeah.” I push a hand through my hair before lifting my arms skyward into a much-needed stretch. “Just thinking.”
Brooks shifts his weight, shoving his hands into the crooks of his elbows against the warmth of his crewneck sweater. His gaze travels back toward the guest house, and I can see the wheels turning, wondering if he should stay or go.
“Do you want to join me?” I ask.
“Is that a good idea?”
Probably not, but he’s already here. I shift to make room for him on the couch, lifting the blanket to offer him the space beside me. “We’re just two people thinking, right?”
Brooks hesitates for a moment longer before he gives in, falling into the spot on my left. As I cover his legs with the blanket, the warmth of his body calls to my bare feet, and I bury them beneath his leg.
“Holy shit!” His body jolts against the newfound coolness, absorbing his body heat. “Your feet are like blocks of ice.”
I cover my mouth, trying to contain my laughter, and hope that no one inside heard. Papá is a light sleeper, and he won’t be happy if he gets woken up, especially considering the time. He’ll be up in a few hours to start work, and he treasures every moment of sleep he gets.
“And you’re like an oven,” I say.
Brooks chuckles and covers my ankles with his hands, instantly warming the skin.
“Fuck,” the word comes out somewhere between a hum and a moan. “That feels good.”
His grip tightens around my joint, and even in the shadows, I see the flash of something familiar cross his features. Brooks rolls his lips between his teeth, looking away from me as his hold loosens. He moves his arm to rest along the back of the couch, keeping a space between his fingertips and my shoulder, but I feel him there regardless. A current fills the space between us, trying to draw us closer.
Silence envelops us for a few heartbeats, and despite his distance, I settle further into the newfound warmth. And this time, when I take a deep breath, my eyes flutter closed. I could fall asleep right here.
“What’s got you up this late?” Brooks asks, waking me from the small trance.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I say, eyes still closed. He doesn’t answer, and it tells me that I already know the answer, or maybe I don’t. Maybe the thoughts consuming him aren’t the same as mine. Maybe he has other shit going on, and I’m just being self-centered, thinking it has to do with me. “I just have some stuff on my mind…and Jaxon texted me.”
Why did I just tell him that? Brooks doesn’t care that my ex-boyfriend texted me.
“Coffee shop guy?”
Or maybe he does.
“He wants to have coffee,” I say, picking a loose string on the blanket.
“So, a date.”
“Not a date,” I say a little too quickly. “It’s not. We’re just two high school acquaintances catching up.”
Brooks hums in response, a slight scoff.
“What?”
“That guy isn’t looking to just ‘catch up’ with you, Sweetheart.” He’s not wrong, but the way he says it—like I don’t know what Jaxon really wants—pisses me off.
“Is that a bad thing?” I challenge, and Brooks meets my stare for the first time since that familiar look crossed his eyes. This time, though, his gaze narrows and his jaw clenches for a completely different reason. Is he jealous? “What’s it to you,Brooks?”
I swear there’s a small flinch when I say his name before he takes a deep breath and says, “I’m just looking out for a friend.”
“Is that what we are—friends?”
“We can be whatever you want us to be, Savannah.” There’s weight to his words, implying so much between the lines. I feel a heaviness settle in my throat, blocking whatever response I had ready to shoot back. That is not what I expected him to say. “Look, you said earlier you think we should keep our distance, and if that’s really what you want, I can go right now. But…” He seems to grasp for the words, trying to find the right way to say what’s on his mind.
But what? I know what I want, but I know I can’t have it. Not right now. Not yet.
“But I don’t want that, Savannah. I want to be…friends.”
