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Riley sank back in her chair. She’d been staying in her sister’s condo for months, but it still didn’t feel like home. It didn’t help that most of the furniture was Kenzie’s, and a lot of it was more for show than comfort. She squirmed on the wooden seat. Maybe it was time to get some better cushions for the Ethan Allen dining set.
She was trying to get some sketching done. It usually helped her relax, but now she couldn’t focus. Every few seconds, she glanced at her phone. Zane had texted her a few times since their awkward reunion two nights ago. Generic how are you, and job interview, wish me luck stuff. Her replies were just as terse and empty. She wasn’t sure what to say.
He’d only been back a few days, and they’d destroyed a lifetime of friendship. Or he was right about her being melodramatic.
She took a deep breath, to steady her shaking hand.
What do we need to do to move past the other night?
She set the phone back on the table and stared at it, willing it to give her good news. Still, she was startled when it vibrated against the polished oak a few seconds later, sending a loud hum through the condo.
I was a jackass. Give me another chance?
A whisper of relief trickled through her. Always :-)
I’m coming over.
She grinned. She wasn’t sure how these few words felt more meaningful than every other note they’d passed in the last few days, but she wouldn’t argue. She’d tease him a little, though. She replied, You’re assuming a lot.
Yup. Give me fifteen minutes.
Already feeling infinitely better, she turned her attention back to her sketching. With the looming cloud of frustration gone, she sank into the lines and figures as they met and blended and became recognizable shapes.
When a knock rattled through the apartment, she jumped. She laughed at the empty room and pushed her sketchbook aside. She was on her feet in an instant to yank open the front door.
Zane stood on the other side, raking his fingers over his short black hair. He gave her a hopeful smile. “So I can bask in your presence again?”
Once upon a time, Zane’s combination of self-effacing jokes and pretending to put her on a pedestal made her uneasy. She learned it was just words, though. His way of keeping things light.
“I suppose.” She intertwined her fingers with his and tugged him toward the kitchen table. A warm tingle spread through her at the contact, and she let the touch linger longer than needed.
He dropped her hand the moment she loosened her grip. She bit back a frown. He’d never been as physical as her, but he’d also never pulled away from her before.
No big deal. They needed to find their comfort zone again. “Are you free for a few hours? You can stay and help me plot and just hang out.”
“Sounds fantastic.”
“Good, you can cheer me up.” She flopped into her chair, relieved when he took the seat next to her instead of across the table. She winked.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
Apparently, she needed to tease harder. True, a random person would stare at her blankly for most of her incomplete comments. Things were different with Zane. Or at least, before he left, he would have gotten her. “I'm not seeing eye to eye with my best friend.”
“We’ll get there.” A faint hesitation cut through his words.
Instead of overanalyzing the situation, she pushed her sketchpad toward him. “What do you think?”
He turned the pages. “I’d forgotten how amazing you are at this. I mean, I’ve always known you were good, but your talent still floors me.”
“It’s only a rough outline.” Heat flooded her cheeks, and she ducked her head, even though he wasn’t watching her.
“That makes it more amazing. Is this... This isn’t me, is it?”
She followed his finger. “Technically, yes. I’m using photos of you to create him.”
“You’re sure?”
Had she done something wrong? Had the compliments been lip-service? “Why?”
“He’s blond.”
She rolled her eyes and tugged the sketchbook away. “It’s not supposed to literally be you. You’re just a point of reference.” She liked to keep fantasy Zane all for herself. The one on the page had to be different.
He tilted his head, still studying the image, though it wasn’t in front of him anymore. “You made him all wiry. Like skinny but muscular. How is that even possible?”
It was an exaggeration, based on the art style, but the form was one thing she knew she had right. She watched Zane, not successfully hiding her amusement.
He finally met her gaze. He finally looked up. “What?”
She made a show of raking her gaze over his defined chest and sturdy arms. His martial-arts training kept him in shape before he left, but his time in the Air Force had honed his form more. Too bad asking for nude shots—strictly for reference purposes, of course—wouldn’t be appropriate. “You tell me. How do you pull it off?”
“Is this the one you’re going to sell? Or is this for your portfolio, to get that teaching job? Both?”
Her amusement wavered, uncertainty sinking back in. Times like this she wished she’d never mentioned she wanted to do something professional with her art. It was a nice fantasy, but he’d grabbed the idea and clung to it, reminding her whenever he could that she needed to do it. It was the big reason he’d agreed to model for her. She suspected his reminders would become more frequent now he was back.
“I still have so much research to do.”
He stared back, skepticism painting his expression. “Have you started?”
“I’ve poked around a little. I have a list of names to look into.” She didn’t want to have this conversation. It seemed like there were a lot of those between them now.
“We should go out.” His too-cheerful announcement came from nowhere.
It was a great idea. So why was she hesitating to agree? “So we can stumble on more awkward topics we need to avoid?”
“So we can get past them.”
She couldn’t expect everything to be the same. They needed to adjust to who they’d become.
“All right.” She pushed back from the table. “Give me ten minutes to wash this charcoal off and change into something less graphite covered.”
“I’ll be here.”
Disappointment trickled through her, and she squashed it. Hoping he’d offer to help was the last thing she needed to do. Still, she couldn’t shake the memory of his hand resting at the small of her back. The hammer of his heart against her palm. Maybe...
No. Bad. She wasn’t going to consider what might have happened if he kissed her. If they’d stumbled back to his truck together. If he’d lifted her onto the tailgate and pushed between her legs. Or rather, she wouldn’t consider it too much.
She tried to be quick about getting ready, hating to make anyone wait. Once the pencil residue was gone, she grabbed a fitted long-sleeved tee from her closet. She was pulling on her jeans when her cell phone rang in the other room. “Will you get that?” she called through the closed door.
“Yup.”
She finished dressing, ran a brush through her hair, and yanked open her bedroom door. She came up short, breath caught in her throat when she almost ran into Zane.
He was less than six inches away. She needed to put some distance between them, but she couldn’t get her feet to move.
He was close enough she felt his heat and smelled the crisp musk she always associated with him. She couldn’t pull her gaze from his. What had they been doing before? She reached out and ran her fingers over the short black hair on top of his head. “I miss this being long.”
He leaned into the touch, resting his hand on her hip. “It’ll grow back.”
“Hello?” A digitally muffled voice cut between them.
He held up her phone. “It’s Kenzie.”
Right. Reality. She took the phone from him, and put enough space between them to clear her thoughts. Sort of. “Thanks,” she said again. “Hey, Sis.”
Zane leaned against the far wall in the hallway, something unreadable in his gaze. Heat spread through her at his attention.
“Am I interrupting?” Kenzie’s question was lighthearted.
Riley couldn’t help but wish they’d been doing something to interrupt. “I just got out of the shower.” She winced when she realized how that sounded. “Alone.”
Zane’s mouth twitched with the threat of smile. She spun away to hide that the single gesture had eased her sour expression.
“As long as he hasn’t moved in.”
Riley sighed, making sure it was loud enough to echo through the receiver, but she didn’t mind the teasing. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to mention she’d given Zane a spare key. “You’re not as funny as you think you are. What’s up?”
“Grump. Have dinner with us next weekend. Both of you.”
Riley wanted to keep up her stern demeanor, but she liked spending time with Kenzie and Scott. “All right. I’ll be there, and I’ll ask him.”
“Fantastic. I’ll let you two get back to whatever, and I’ll e-mail you details.”
They exchanged goodbyes, and Riley tucked the phone into her jeans’ pocket. “Where to?” she asked Zane.
“Duh? That is, if it’s still there.”
She grinned. There was one place they always went. It was half-bar, half-arcade, and one of their favorite spots in the valley. “It definitely is.”
“Epic.” He didn’t pull away when she intertwined her fingers with his and tugged him outside and toward the parking lot.
“I’m glad you knew what I was talking about. I had this flash of panic thinking everything I knew had changed, and the entire world had flipped upside-down.” His tone was playful as he gestured wildly.
“Say I was a pod person. Would you really miss much about me?”
Only after they were both inside the truck—which smelled of coffee and Zane—did he say, “I’m not answering that.”
“You brought it up.”
He navigated traffic smoothly. “I know. I shouldn’t have. Whenever I say stuff like that, it gets me in trouble. No one actually wants to know what you think of them, unless it’s really good. They only think they do.”
That made it sound like his opinion of her wasn’t good. Now she had to know. Maybe he wasn’t teasing after all? “I’m not them. If you don’t tell me, I’ll... um...” She’d what?
He glanced at her, one eyebrow raised, and then turned his attention back to the road. “Yes?”
Crap. She had no idea how to threaten him and still keep it light-hearted. “I’ll pout?”
The truck stopped for a red light, and he shifted in his seat. He traced a finger over her protruding lower lip. “I don’t know if that’s a threat or a promise.”
The contact sent a pleasant chill through her, and she parted her lips with a tiny gasp.
His gaze lingered on her face before he looked away. “That look though—that’s worth spilling a lot of secrets for.”
Geez. What would it take for him to do that again? Traces of his touch lingered, and his husky comment danced in her skull. Taunting her. Fire raced through her cheeks, and she pressed her forehead against the cool glass. The heat from the vents rushed over her skin. How big a deal would it be if she asked him to pull over and run that finger, or all of them, over more of her?
“I would miss everything about you.” His soft comment startled her. “The way you reserve yourself and your judgment until you get to know someone. But you give everyone that chance. That not a lot of people know the real you and that you like to have a lot of fun.”
His compliments didn’t help redirect her thoughts. Instead, they enhanced the desire tingling on her lips. She turned back to him, studying his clenched jaw. The words rolled through her head, simple but surprisingly observant. “Not everyone thinks those are quality traits.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “Not everyone’s opinion is worth listening to. Besides, since I’m one of the few you let in, I’m biased.”
Giddiness rippled through her. She knew better than to fall hard and fast, and if she made that mistake with Zane, she’d lose one of the two most important people in her life. Only Kenzie mattered to her as much as he did.
This wasn’t falling. She wasn’t stupid. This was the same playfulness they’d always had. But she had a grander appreciation for it now.
This was friendship, nothing more. Even if her skin and her heart whimpered at the denial.