Page 82 of I Can't Help It

The workout shorts she’s wearing are almost as bad as those pajama shorts she wore the other night…

I make sure that we’re next to each other as we climb the stairs, so there isn’t a chance of me checking her out from behind. Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries. That’s what we need right now. At least until I talk to Wyatt.

Which, by the way, I’m absolutely dreading. How the heck do you tell your best friend that you want to be with his ex? Especially when you’ve already made out with her more than once?

I think I’m getting a headache.

We stop outside of my room, since it’s before her room, and Ava looks at me expectantly. “Well…”

Right.

After that incident where I was wrongly accused of trying to eat Ava, I’m pretty sure we’ve been kissing every time one of us has to leave the other at their door. Nothing too heated (so we won’t get judged by random kids again) but definitely something.

The odds of us being on the same floor as Wyatt are slim, but I glance around anyway.

Once I verify that there isn’t anyone else in this hallway, I kiss Ava.

It’s quick. It’s good. But dang, it’s nowhere close to being enough.

She starts coaxing my mouth open with her hungry lips, silently urging me to give in, and I almost do. It would be so easy to give in.

Even though I shouldn’t.

Even though I can’t.

“Ava,” I murmur, taking a step back, “I’ll see you in a little bit…okay?”

Disappointment flashes in those green eyes I love so much, and then it’s gone just as fast.

“Yeah.” The weak smile on her face makes me feel like an insensitive jerk. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

I try to think of something else to say, but she’s already walking toward her room.

Great job, Luke.

I curse under my breath as I fumble to unlock my door.

It’s not like I want to keep things low-key between us, but this whole situation is way too messy right now. She has to understand that.

Once I get the door open, I burst into my room as if being in here will solve all my problems. Except, every area has already been invaded by Ava. I can’t even escape when I take my shower. I just keep thinking about the second time we kissed…

When I said that I didn’t want her to back off. When we agreed (again) to be “just coworkers who decided to become something more because they’re really into each other.”

My phone buzzes as I finish getting dressed, and I snatch that sucker up with the desperate expectation that Ava might be texting me.

It’s not.

Mom sent another meme to our family group chat. I’ve seen the meme before (several times, actually) but I go ahead and send a couple of laughing emojis as a response.

Should I text Ava first? And let her know that I’m almost ready? Are we meeting downstairs? Is she coming to my room? Am I going to hers?

What if Wyatt sees us? What if Wyatt sees us? What if Wyatt sees us?

I open our text thread before contemplating several different message options before settling on one.

Me: Hey, did you want to meet downstairs? Or…?

There. I’ll let her decide.

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