Page 82 of Beneath the Blindfold

She was a brunette again, like how I remembered her. Her maple-colored hair draped over the airline pillow, and since she was turned inward, the view of her peaceful, sleeping face was only for me.

Anna had been pretty in high school, but now? Fuck me, the girl was gorgeous. Her pale blue eyes were my favorite. I’d watched her, rather than my laptop screen, while we were finishing the final episode, and the way the range of emotions played through her eyes was fascinating. How they’d sparkle when she found something funny, or when they widened with surprise.

Or how the blue of her eyes deepened during a sex scene.

I was going to have to convince her to FaceTime me during the next show we decided to binge-watch. Now that I’d seen her reactions, I wasn’t going to miss them again.

Her pink lips parted as she sighed in her sleep, and I had to rip my gaze away. I needed to stop thinking about how those lips would taste, or how she’d felt in my arms when we’d hugged earlier. It’d been hours ago, but my body didn’t get the message. I was still buzzing like I did in the aftermath of a crash I was lucky enough to walk away from. Adrenaline coursed through me, amplifying everything.

I’d been existing in that heightened state since touching her. The longing I had—my desire—was it ever going to fade?

I finished the glass of water on my tray table and tried to figure out when and how to make my move. Was she interested in more? I needed to find out—but do it in a way that wouldn’t make her uncomfortable or screw with our friendship.

“Jamie. Can I ask you something?”

I turned in surprise. Anna was awake? You’d never know she’d been asleep thirty seconds ago. She sat upright in her seat, the blanket pooled around her waist, and peered up at me with hesitant eyes. Her voice had been soft, barely loud enough to hear over the engines.

“Go for it,” I said.

“Did you see my movie?”

Sure, I only saw it five times.

And the number would have been higher if there had been more theaters within reasonable driving distance. Showing up to see the movie alone was weird enough, I wasn’t going to do it multiple times at the same location.

I dry-swallowed and wished I hadn’t finished my water. “Yeah.” I tried to look chill. “Didn’t I tell you already?”

“No, I don’t think so.” She made a face as if she wasn’t sure what to say next. “So... what did you think?”

Which time did she want me to answer for? Because the first time, I didn’t pay attention to a damn thing other than her. I’d had to go back and watch it the second time to follow the story. The third time? That had been for me.

I couldn’t get her out of my head, but maybe my feelings were misplaced. Perhaps I was seeing her as the character she played, and my attraction was to that—not the real Anna.

Except when the show was over, I knew what I felt had nothing to do with the blonde escort from Chicago she played on-screen, and everything to do with the brunette actress from Kentucky.

The fourth and fifth time I’d gone because she was busy with her European tour and I was straight-up missing her. We didn’t get much time to talk, thanks to her schedule and the time difference, so seeing her on the big screen was a consolation.

My long pause put fear in her eyes. “Oh, shit. You didn’t like it.”

No, I’d loved it. I’d seen her movie so many times... hell, I could probably quote the dialogue to her. But I wasn’t about to. The last thing I wanted was to be weird and make her nervous. I had to play it safe.

“No, I did,” I choked out. “It was good.”

If I said anything more, I might start gushing like a fanboy.

Anna stared at me in disbelief, and why shouldn’t she? My statement had been anything but convincing. I frowned at myself.Try again, idiot.

“It was really good,” I continued. I leaned in, so she’d know I was serious. “You were incredible in it.”

She blinked rapidly, and her eyes darted away, running from her blush. My compliment had surprised her? I wasn’t the only one who’d said this; she’d gotten great reviews. But maybe the praise meant more coming from me? I liked that idea a whole lot.

“Thank you,” she uttered. Slowly, her gaze drifted back, and her expression was warm. “How come you didn’t tell me you saw it?”

I put a hand on the back of my neck and massaged the tension there. “I didn’t know if it’d make you uncomfortable.”

She flashed a small, knowing smile. “Because now you’ve seen me naked?”

Jesus, I had. Five viewings—and it’d nearly killed me each time. I cast my hand out as I shrugged. “We’re friends. I didn’t want to make things weird.”

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