Page 49 of Holiday Friend Zones
“Only a little?”
Kyra laughs, my insides lighting up like the Christmas lights downtown at the musical sound.One that I can’t wait to hear for the rest of my life.
Holding up my drink, I turn serious for a second.“I’d like to propose a toast.”
“To?”
“Us.To twenty-five years of incredible friendship, and a lifetime more of happiness.One last night of freedom, and thousands more of an epic adventure.”
Kyra’s eyes soften, strands of gold and green dancing through the wetness forming in them.The genuine, loving smile she gives me makes my already misbehaving dick start to twitch and damn it…if she isn’t the most stunning creature to have ever crossed my path.
“To us.”
Raising her glass, she clinks it to mine, taking an equally big sip.Brave girl.
“Shall we head to the General Post?”I ask, still ready to keep our original plan.“I know I dragged you out here since I was finishing up work, but we can still go out.”
Trouble, Tennessee isn’t big by any means.And most of the establishments in town are geared toward those who are visiting the distillery or staying at the local resort to go hiking or fishing.Except the General Post.
Hidden down a back alley, the entrance is hard to find unless you know where it is on the backside of the old General Store and Post Office.The front of the building now serves as a gift shop, while the back is the speakeasy the locals frequent.Same as it was during Prohibition.
“Or, we could stay in, curl up on the couch, and make a dent in this bottle while judging the contestants onThe Great British Bakeofflike we wouldn’t have burned the whole damn tent down on our first try.”
“That’s how you want to spend our last night of freedom?”I give her my best squinty side-eye, wondering what she really has up her sleeve.
Kyra nods.“Would you rather I say that we need to find some strippers or dance naked down High Street?”
Nope, I would not prefer either of those things.
“Sold!One night in just us it is!”
I grab the bottle with one hand, take her hand in my other, and drag her toward the couch.Kyra’s giggle rings out again, and my cock jumps, making me question if I made the right choice or not.
No, I did.Time with her is never the wrong choice.
Three hours later—and more than half the bottle gone—I’m still certain that sticking with Kyra’s idea was the right one.This has been way more fun than going to the Post would have been.
“No, no!”Kyra shouts at the TV, lunging forward.“You cannot ice that Genoise sponge while it is still hot!You will fuck it up beyond repair and you do not have enough time!”
I choke on my drink, trying not to spit it out from laughing at her overreaction.She’s not wrong.This guy is about to completely ruin his cake and end any chance he has of winning, but something about how she thinks they are going to hear her through the TV and change their actions is too cute for words.
“Do we need a cake for tomorrow?”I ask, the idea suddenly occurring to me.“We didn’t talk about that.”
“We haven’t talked about a lot of things.”
“Like?”
Hitting pause on the remote, I shift on the couch, reaching for her.Maybe the moonshine has gone to my head, but she seems to melt into me easier than normal as she snuggles against me.It’s not abnormal for us to sit close together, or even with my arm around her, but tonight, as she rests her head against my chest, it feels different.
Feels good.Feels right.
“Like where we’re gonna live?”
Kyra’s finger traces along my thigh in a random pattern of loops and swirls, the touch light enough that I barely feel it through my jeans.Still, it’s enough to make my skin heat up.
“I figured we’d flip a coin.”I swallow hard, trying to keep my wits about me.Something that is much harder with all this ’shine flowing through me.“Heads my place, tails yours, and whichever one it lands on, that’s where we live.The other we turn into a rental.”
“I like that idea.”
