Page 8 of Accidentally Falling for Her
“Nah, you have great boobs. I’m lucky enough to have seen them, obviously I’m going to think about them.”
“You guys should totally kiss again,” Arthur says over our laughter. I raise my eyebrow at Aspen in question, and she looks surprised but gives me a small nod, so I go for it. Sliding my fingers into her hair, I bring my mouth to hers, not bothering to be gentle this time. Kissing Aspen is just as thrilling as I remembered, and I take my time to really enjoy the feel of her soft lips moving with my own, the way our tongues tangle and tease each other.
I’m disappointed when she pulls away far sooner than I would have. I can’t help the smile that takes over my face, though. “You’re so good at kissing,” I tell her. I can’t remember if I said that last time, but I make sure Arthur can hear since he seems just as focused on us as he was then.He should seriously ask her out already.
“You too.” She laughs. The rest of the night is pretty uneventful, but we have a great time being social and enjoying the atmosphere of so many people having fun.
At the next party, one of Arthur’s friends doesn’t believe we’ve kissed, so we show him. Then at the next, during a game of truth or dare, another of his friends mentions our previous kiss and it happens again. Each kiss lasts a little longer as we grow more and more comfortable with the act, until making out with Aspen at parties feels like a given, something we always do.
I love that we’re so close. Kissing my best friend is so much better than worrying about the hookup scene that most of our friends fall into. We have all the fun without any of that drama.
7
ASPEN
SEPTEMBER
Sophomore Year
“It’s for the best,” I comment as I try not to glare at Ryan, Sage’s new boyfriend.
“Yeah, you look so happy for her,” Arthur sarcastically replies. “She keeps asking me when I’m going to ask you out,” he adds, giving me a pointed look. “She’s even suggested double dates now. When are you going to tell her?”
“When the time is right.”
“And it wasn’t right all summer when she was living with your family in Georgia?”
“No! She had that fancy internship at the lab in Atlanta.”
“What about all the best friend cuddle time that she was always going on about?” he pushes. “How many times did you pretend to complain that Sage kept you up late into thenight talking about your dreams and planning out your futures?”
“She insisted that she couldn’t sleep as well alone in her room after sharing one for so long,” I remind him. “Cuddling in bed was definitely not the time to bring it up. Plus I didn’t want to distract her with something that doesn’t even matter,” I insist.
“I’m sure it would matter to Sage that her best friend, her roommate, the one she spent most of last year kissing at parties, is actually not attracted to men like she assumed and would very much rather be dating her,” he counters.
“Shut up,” I hiss, thankful that this party is loud and Sage is standing far enough away to not overhear us. “You know the kissing wasn’t a big deal to her. I don’t need her worrying that I was using her or that she led me on or something. We didn’t kiss all summer,” I point out.Even if there was a lot of casual “best friend cuddling” that she initiated.“Now she has Ryan, so there’s no need to cause drama.”
“I was with you all summer and at those parties. She might think your friendship is normal best friend behavior, but I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Hell, I’ve seen the way she kisses Ryan, and it isn’t nearly as passionate as it was with you,” he says, rather unhelpfully. He knows as well as I do that Sage doesn’t see me as anything other than her best friend.
“Sage is straight,” I remind him, rolling my eyes at whatever hope he seems to have that there could be more between us. “She’s been obsessed with Ryan since she methim at that rush party. Look at them, they’re practically holding court over there.” We both glance back over to where Sage and Ryan are surrounded by a crowd, all enamored by whatever story Ryan is animatedly telling. He’s the life of the party, bubbly, full of energy, and constantly making people laugh. “They’re perfect for each other.”
Arthur lets out a big sigh. “I really thought she liked you, that’s why I kept suggesting the kissing. I thought she wanted the encouragement. I’m sorry if I made it worse.”
I shrug. “It’s fine. I definitely wasn’t complaining.”
“Do you want to go on a fake double date with me so we can judge their relationship the whole time?” he offers.
I laugh at the suggestion, looking back at the happy couple and meet Sage’s gaze. She waves us over, so we make our way through the crowd as I answer. “Nah, I’m not that desperate.”
Ryan is in a different frat than Arthur’s usual group, but Sage invited them all tonight. Arthur’s roommate, Dustin, is talking to Ryan when we approach.
“Man, I can’t believe you took Sage off the market. I’m going to miss watching her and Aspen make out at parties,” he jokes.Oh my God, why can’t people move on tonight?
“I had no idea they used to do that.” Ryan laughs, his huge smile still in place. “But hey, I’m not stopping Sage from kissing anyone,” he adds, holding his hands up like he wants to prove his innocence.
“It wouldn’t bother you if I kissed someone else?” Sage clarifies, sounding genuinely curious. I try to tamp down thelittle ember of hope that flares to life in my gut.I shouldn’t want to kiss her again.
“Not if it was Aspen; she’s your best friend. I wouldn't want you to go around kissing other guys, but girls don’t count as cheating.”Do people forget that bisexuality exists? How does that not count?“It actually sounds really hot, babe. I’m bummed I didn’t get to see it.” Ryan pouts.
