Page 28 of Fall Twice

She follows me. “Totally okay. Plus, we still have that bottle of wine in the fridge.”

I set the dishes in the sink to wash later, and when I turn around, I see Lena is closing the fridge door with the bottle of white in hand. She studies it. “Olive Owl. Isn’t that the place you mentioned?”

“It is.” I grab two fresh glasses from the cupboard.

I take the bottle from her to open. The sound of the cork popping is somehow louder than normal, quite possibly because we are alone and something is stirring between us. There’s a mix of honesty and tension that keeps the air warm.

Lena leans against the counter as she watches me pour our wine. She tilts her head in different angles, and I realize she is studying the front of the fridge. “It’s your cancer-free anniversary?”

I look at what she’s studying and hand her a glass, and I see a card from Prudence. “It was the other week.”

She looks at me with slight amazement. “It’s a big deal. I didn’t even text you or bake you something. We should toast to this occasion.”

“I don’t make a big deal about it. But if we need something to toast about then what the hell.” I hold my glass up.

She smiles slyly, as she is amused that I’m so casual about it. “To Reid and his balls.” She freezes when she realizes what just slipped off her tongue.

Ah, she’s playful.

My grin grows. “That is something to celebrate.”

Our glasses clink and then we both drink with our eyes locked.

“I’m sure your package works just as spectacularly as before.” Her tongue darts to the corner of her mouth before taking another sip, albeit almost nervously.

I set my glass down. “As much as I love this ego boost, I want to know if you remember what it was like between us.” I step closer to her, and I feel a heaviness in the air.

She scoffs at my thought, looks into her glass, then takes another decent sip of wine, but more to occupy herself to avoid the fact that the space is closing in around us. I notice her breath pick up, and my mind is screaming to respect our friendship route.

Alas, I’m cutting myself loose, with every intention to pursue her at this very moment. Everything inside me craves her, and I don’t think it will go away.

Lena doesn’t move as I step closer and closer. I take the glass from her hands to set it to the side. “Tell me to walk out of this kitchen,” I request with an edge in my tone.

“It’s your home,” she challenges.

“And you’re in my kitchen,” I counter.

“You really think that I would forget?” she says simply in a quiet tone.

I grab her wrists by encircling my fingers around her. “We’ve had a lot of life and years since then.”

She stares at my hands on her. “You have no idea what problem you created in my life.”

“Want to talk about it?”

She gently shakes her head. “Everything inside me is warning me, but my curiosity is too strong.”

“I sound like trouble then, because I’m curious too.”

An easy smile forms on the corner of her mouth as I close our space, causing her to back against the counter, stuck between me and nowhere to go.

Letting her wrists go, I sweep my hands up to cradle her head, pulling her mouth to me. I lean down to land my lips on hers and slowly and firmly kiss her. It’s the kind of kiss that makes me question my intentions because I can’t deny my attraction to her, but something else floats inside of me that is undefinable.

But at this moment, all logic leaves me, because I want to consume her and have her writhing under me.

I pull back gently to brush my lips along hers, and I feel her quiver. I look deep into her eyes for a sign to stop, but I only see fuel to continue. I cover her mouth with mine, our tongues dance, and her murmur gets lost in our kiss.

It’s the signal for me to continue our evening.

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