Page 22 of Tipping the Scales

My eyes drift closed, trying to tune out the tingles on my skin from when he touched me. Or the fire lighting up my body when our lips touched. Why did he have to meet Carina? I love my friend but I am struggling to keep myself from complicating what is going on with her and Colton.

In a perfect world, he would have stumbled into my flower shop to get something for his mom. We would catch up on what our lives have been like since high school. The memories and reminiscing remind us how good things were back then and send us down a spiral of what ifs. And that's where my dream picks up. With a single Colton, a blooming flower shop business, and my accidental nakedness resulting in us tangled like ivy and vines between the sheets all night.

I am dead to the freaking world this morning. I crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow, my mind drifting to how things could have been if I had tried to find him instead of letting things fester and grow mold under the surface. I am running on three hours of sleep and my mind keeps going back to my dream from last night as I watch the second handof the floral clock at the shop tick at a snail's pace. It's my business, I could close early. But I hate the idea of doing that and missing out on a customer who depends on me. I have made it through worse things than being tired.

Colton's sweatshirt is folded neatly on my desk out back. I didn't text him and part of me is hoping that he forgets I have it. Either because I don't want to have to see him again after my naked show, or because I want to sleep wrapped up in his hoodie again tonight. I will let you decide.

"Who is your favorite tea fairy?" Bryn's voice echoes across the vacant shop. Just when I was about to fall asleep standing up. Thank goodness for her. "Oh my, this is worse than I thought. You look like you didn't get any sleep at all, girl. Something keep you up? Or someone perhaps?"

I love her but sometimes I want to throw her through a wall. And right now, my patience is paper thin and she is skating on it. "Nothing kept me up - stop it. I am running on minimal sleep and negative caffeine levels so I suggest you hand that over and back away slowly."

She obliges, placing the steaming tea on the table in front of me and pretending to sneak backwards like a SWAT agent that isn't sure if they disarmed the bomb correctly. I don't even care when the tip of my tongue is scorched by the hot liquid, welcoming the warmth draining into my body and sparking the part of me that was still dormant and asleep.

"Now that you are caffeinated, spill the other tea. What the fuck happened with Colton?"

"I would hardly call myself caffeinated, it hasn't even made it to my stomach yet." She throws me the 'I'm not buying that act' look and I know I can't trick her into dropping the subject. I am in a tough spot between herand Carina, Carina and Colton ... the whole thing is becoming a tangled mess worse than the ivy climbing up the brick outside.

"There's nothing going on. We are trying to navigate being around each other without having to ever actually talk about the shit we went through together. I am failing miserably. And he is seeing Carina but also telling me that things aren't serious with her. I mean, last night was only their second date, but what kind of friend would I be if I broke them up because I couldn't get my head out of my ass?"

My word vomit comes out worse than Carina's did last night and Bryn stands by waiting for a break in my constant stream of sentences. She is one of those friends who will listen to all your shit and then give it to you straight what you're doing wrong. I honor her opinion and know first hand that she will tell me if I am crossing the line with Colton. Not that I need her to tell me that, because I already know that I did.

I crossed the line when I replied to his text.

I crossed the line when I leaned my ass into him while he held me close.

I crossed the line when I let my lips brush against his.

And I accidentally crossed the line by showing him everything I was keeping under my dress.

"First thing's first, you need to come clean to Carina about who Colton is to you. She has no clue that we all knew each other before and seriously thinks you and Colton are bonding. That she is the thread that connects you two."

"I can't tell her, Bryn. She will think that I kept it from her because I still have feelings for him. Let's just let them run their course. If they are intoeach other, the fact that I dated him when we were teenagers won't matter. I don't want to complicate shit."

"So whatever happened last night won't complicate shit?"

I let out an audible groan as I bury my head into my hands. Why did I have to hint that something happened when I texted her last night? I could have just taken this secret to the grave.

"It's nothing. I just might have accidentally flashed him all of the goods and then died a little inside. But it's fine, everything's fine. Nothing he hadn't seen before and I'm sure he has forgotten all about it."

With all the courage I can muster, I raise my eyes from the table and meet Bryn's gaze. Her jaw is practically on the floor and I am not ready for this.

"YOU DID WHAT!"

"It was an accident I swear! My stupid dress got stuck to his hoodie and I didn't realize and well ... "

I have been sitting in my SUV, parked on Delaney's street for too long. The image of her standing there, completely bare in front of me, plays on a loop in my head. Fuck, I shouldn't have left. I should have seen where things could go if we forgot about who we were to each other before and thought about who we could be to each other now.

Because even after the heartbreak she put me through when we were seventeen, I want her in my life. Not as a friend, but as more. Delaney Thorne stole my heart when we were teenagers and she never gave it back. It's always been hers, and even if she tried to return it, I'm not sure I would have been able to put it back in my chest undamaged. It will always have scars from her.

The angel and devil on my shoulders can't decide if I should drive away or get back in there and take the one thing I haven't been able to give anyone else. My dick strains against my fly, imagining her warm body around mine, her labored breaths as I explore the perfect tits she grew in our time apart. Clearly, the devil is winning.

But what if she is still broken from everything that happened with her mom? Maybe the reason we aren't together right now is because she isn't ready to open herself to anyone. I have to believe that knowing I am here - that I want her - will bring her back to me.

I pop my car into gear, pulling away from the curb and putting distance between myself and delectable Delaney. The angel on my shoulder says I need to give her more time, and end things with Carina before someone else gets hurt.

Waking up with a boner isn't anything new for a twenty-something guy like me. I mean hell, I have been waking up with wood since before I knew what it meant. And after having at least 3,652 hard-ons, this one is the worst. Ironically, it feels worse than being kicked in the nuts, which I have also experienced more than I care to admit.

My hand wraps around the steel shaft tenting my boxers and I'm surprised it hasn't drilled a hole through the blanket. But I'm not the one it wants. Images of Delaney keep flashing in front of my eyes and there's no way I will be able to relieve this ache without her.

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