Chapter Twenty
“Getting engaged,” Mom guessed, and Julie did a lip-purse-head-tilt combo to relay her dismay over it.
“It’s Christmas-themed, Peggy,” Gavin said, and Darlene immediately blurted out, “A Christmas wedding!”
Gavin looked at Julie and they shared an Are they for real expression.
Christmas Charades had been announced as tonight’s game, and Julie took control of the situation by announcing she and Gavin would be on a team together before their parents informed them that they would be. It was supposed to stifle the not-so-subtle hints from their mothers, but naturally they found a way around it.
“He is down on one knee,” Rashad pointed out.
Julie glanced from Rashad to Gavin, who was, in fact, on one knee. But he was also miming patting snow. “It’s Frosty the Snowman, and he’s building the bottom part.”
“Well then why are you swooning with your arms wrapped around yourself like that?” Granny Frost asked. “And then you took the ring from him.”
“I was shivering, and then he was passing me a metaphorical carrot.” Julie repeated the motion, as if that would clear things up.
“Frosty the Snowman,” Niki shouted, and then she popped to her feet. “Our team wins, so it’s our turn to go.” She grabbed a folded slip of paper from the candy dish and gestured for Grams to join her. As the two of them moved to stand at the front of the room, where Julie and Gavin were, Niki whispered, “You’re welcome.”
Julie gave her a quick hug. “Have I mentioned I adore you?”
“Yeah, yeah. Figured it was my turn to take the heat off you two. Little tip for you and Gavin: partway through, act like you’re going to the kitchen for food, and then you can escape upstairs. I’ll make sure no one comes searching for a while.”
Julie narrowed her eyes. “Now I’m not sure if you’re saving us or jumping on the matchmaking bandwagon.”
“Does it matter?”
“Fair point,” Gavin said, wrapping one of his large hands around her bare shoulder. At the surge of heat over his deep voice, Julie decided he was right.
Instead of taking their previous spots on the loveseat, they stood behind it, palms gripping the backrest. As if guessing clues required their full facilities.
A minute later, Niki ticked off the words involved on her fingers and signaled the thing she and Grams were about to act out would be four words. Then Niki got down on all fours, and Grams set up behind her and flung down her arm.
“Ooh, doggy style,” Mom proudly shouted, coming off her seat.
“Mom,” Julie said, repressing a shudder.
“What? You claim to be good at biology and anatomy, so don’t act like you don’t understand how you were conceived.”
Heat flared through Julie’s face and she glanced at Gavin, who at least patted her hand and gave her an understanding look. It wasn’t the first time they’d learned more about their parents than they wanted to during a game of charades, and likely, it wouldn’t be the last.
As the guesses continued to fly, Gavin nudged Julie’s arm and canted his head in the direction of the kitchen.
“I’m so hungry,” Julie said, nice and loud. “I think I’m going to sit out this round and go grab more food.”
On cue, Gavin cleared his throat. “Now that you mention it, I could use more to eat as well. We’re gonna sit out the next few rounds, but you all go ahead.”
Luckily, everyone was engrossed in Niki’s and Grams’s…burlesque act? Rashad made a guess involving a whip—and received an affirmative response—so that seemed like as good a time to leave as any.
As they rounded the kitchen counter, Julie slowed her steps and eyed the holiday spread that’d been picked over. “Wait, I’m legit hungry again.”
“Already?” Gavin said in an incredulous tone, and she grabbed a plate and bumped it into his elbow.
“Okay, so I might need help on the dating awkwardness front, but you could use some advice yourself. As in: Never point out how much a lady eats. She’s probably still gonna eat it, but now she’ll feel all self-conscious about it.”
“I’ll have you know I would never say that to a lady I was on a date with—I’m not a kid on my first date.”
She snagged a roll and bounced it in one hand, as if she were a pitcher at the mound. “Really? Because I’m about to toss this at your head for saying it to me.”
He placed his hand on her waist. “That’d be a better threat if I wasn’t aware of your horrible aim.”
“Maybe from afar.” She cocked her arm, planning on showing him that at close range, the odds of landing a hit were much better.
Instead of words, he counteracted by hooking his hand on her hip, towing her closer, and angling his head.
Gavin opened his mouth wide—um, did he mean to kiss her or devour her? More, did she truly care?
His mouth neared her neck, and her throat worked extra hard at swallowing. The fluttering of her eyelids caused flashes of light and dark, light and dark, and then he sank his teeth into…her roll.
An automatic squeal came out. Too late, she clamped her lips. Neither one of them so much as breathed as they waited to see if she’d been loud enough to draw attention.
Judging from the rambunctious guesses being flung right and left, everyone else was too wrapped up in the game. Gavin reached around her and piled more rolls on her plate, along with a handful of cubed cheeses and an assortment of deli meats.
“Open up,” he said and, since she’d completely lost her mind over the man in front of her, she did.
“Please accept my offering of this pepper jack that’s as spicy as you are.”
The instant the bold flavor hit her tongue, she moaned.
Gavin’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his transfixed, dilating pupils awakening another side of her. One that’d been hungry and craving this brand of passion for a long, long time. His fingers drifted down her arm, spreading the ravenous sensation further.
Their hands locked together as if they’d been made to do so, regardless of the vast difference in sizes. Then, gripping their plate of food tighter, she let herself be swept along as they charged up to the second floor.
And when Gavin veered right, toward his bedroom, she didn’t question it.
Perhaps she’d been better than she’d thought this year, because it looked like her wildest fantasies involving her best friend were about to come true.
…
There was a reason roller coaster rides lasted only a couple of minutes. The human mind was a fan of expectations and predictable endings—in real life scenarios anyway. One hundred seconds of thrill could be enjoyed and easily survived in that controlled environment.
All day Gavin had been a spectator in the ups and downs, dips and turns, and abrupt changes in direction. Instead of continuing to grip hold of the safety bar and hope for the best, he longed to steer himself away from the track someone else had designed and forge his own path.
He relieved Julie of the heaping plate of food and set it on his desk. At her whimper, he handed her a roll off the top of the stack. “There. Happy?”
She sat on the foot of his bed and munched, placated. “Very.”
Gavin loosened his tie and slipped the strip of fabric from beneath his collar. He tossed it aside and undid the top couple of buttons on his shirt, which was easier than fastening, fortunately. Then he sat to Julie’s right. Since his shoulder was feeling much better, he’d abandoned the sling and considered doing the same to the brace, but he didn’t want to push it and undo the healing progress he’d made.
He wrapped his left arm around Julie’s shoulders and fell backward, taking her with him as he toppled onto the soft mattress. “Finally. I was starting to worry I’d never have you to myself again.”
Julie rested her head on his shoulder and said, “I’ll alwayth make thime for you” through an enormous chunk of roll. Somehow it amplified her adorable factor, even as breadcrumbs hit his neck.
It’s official. I’m a goner for my best friend.
Of all the times it could’ve happened, why did it have to be now, when everything else in his life was up in the air? He had too many balls to catch and not enough time to get to them all, and today he’d gotten a reminder of how inadequately he could balance it all.
Light thunks sounded as Julie kicked off one shoe and then the other. She placed her hand on his abdomen and cuddled closer, and he inhaled her vanilla perfume. A bad idea, but it was too late to do anything about the shock of awareness anyway. She draped one of her legs over both of his, and his throat went dry.
As if it couldn’t help itself, his hand settled a few inches above her knee, and he sighed at the feel of her silky soft skin beneath his fingertips.
“Do you need me to give you a shoulder massage?” she asked.
“Maybe in a minute. Right now, I’m enjoying being here, alone, just like this.” He drifted his palm a few inches higher, and the tulle of her skirt tickled the top of his hand. Every cell in his body pulsed with the desire to slip beneath the layers of fabric and feel his way to the juncture between her thighs, but that’d only invite more trouble.
The kind of trouble that exponentially increased by the second, and why did that make it that much more tempting?
“How long do you think we have before someone comes looking?” Julie asked, the rasp of her voice in his ear ratcheting up his already racing pulse.
“Not long enough for everything I want to do to you, that’s for sure.”
Her eyes met his, and the organ hammering away in his chest unraveled. The tip of her pink tongue wet her lips, and he was pretty sure this was the way he was going to die. Doing his damnedest to avoid fucking his best friend while his libido raged at her nearness.
A groan slipped out as Julie coasted her foot over the top of his shin. His slacks barely acted as a barrier, the thin fabric and all the inches of bare skin Julie’s dress put on display a potent combination.
“Sorry,” she said, tucking her foot between his knees. “My foot’s getting cold.”
“Better use me to warm it up, then,” he said, as opposed to telling her to get a blanket like he should. Since he was already descending a steep, slippery slope, he might as well quicken his steps, the same way he would if he were running downhill. He toyed with her fingers, laced his through hers, and then secured their entwined hands directly over his palpitating heart.
Did she feel what she was doing to him? If she lifted her knee another inch, it’d graze the hardening flesh beneath his zipper. His emotions held a tug of war, one team urging her to do it and the other heaving with all its might to avoid being dragged across that line.
Not that he’d require much dragging. At this point, he wished his strength of will was shittier. It was what’d driven him to practice and train and do whatever it took to attain his goals.
As he considered what he might agree to give up just to be with Julie the way he wanted, a ribbon of fear wound around his lungs and gave a sharp yank.
He sat up, removing himself from what was quickly becoming an emergency situation. “I know it’s a few hours early, but I was hoping to give you your present now.”
Julie pushed herself up to her elbows, hair slightly mussed, and he curled his fingers into a fist to avoid giving in to temptation and raking a hand through the soft strands.
Her legs went to swinging, so he diverted his gaze upward. Where it snagged on her red lips. Without permission, his mind conjured a dirty image reel, complete with scenes of kissing that sinful mouth. Of red lipstick tracks leading down his torso.
Ringing around his—
Gavin shot to his feet, so fast the room spun for a second. “So, your gift… It’s not anything huge, and maybe it’s no good. I just saw it and thought of you, and I’d say you could totally take it back, but it’s personalized, so…”
Julie blinked at him. “Whoa. I think that’s the most words you’ve ever spoken, especially that quickly and all slurred together.” She stood and, without her heels, she was her extra-short self again. From this vantage point, he could also see down the front of her dress, and that settled it—Jules was definitely trying to kill him. “Are you okay? Did you get into the holiday punch?”
He wished. That’d mean this frenetic energy coursing through him would eventually fade and he’d return to himself. After spending the last six days with Julie, he was starting to wonder if that was even possible. “I think it’s just hitting me that I have to leave tomorrow afternoon, and…” The right words wouldn’t come, so he simply exhaled.
Julie fiddled with the layers of her skirt, fluffing them only to smooth them into place. “I’m doing my best not to think about that.” Was it his imagination or did her voice crack on the end?
So he wouldn’t lose the rest of his sanity analyzing all that, he knelt in front of his suitcase, unzipped it, and searched the messy contents. An elf, he was not, and the wonky wrap job proved as much.
“Should I run to my room and get your present?”
“No, that’s okay. I just wanted to give this to you away from everyone else, so I actually have the chance to explain the meaning.” His nerves stretched too tight, one tiny string at a time coming apart as he straightened and extended the package her way.
An excited gleam flickered within her endlessly blue eyes, and he certainly hoped she wasn’t about to be disappointed. It was one thing to experience all these overwhelming emotions for her, but did they have to tinge every single thing they did together?
Julie slid her finger between the folds of paper, tugged the tape, and then ripped the rest of the festive wrapping off the tiny box. Her eyes flicked to him before returning to the box, as if she didn’t know how lids worked.
After seconds or possibly an eternity, she popped off the top and reached inside. Her jaw dropped, and if that was fake enthusiasm, she was a damn good actress. “A serotonin molecule?”
He pointed at the design at the top, a square with Se in the center, so that it looked like one of the elements in the periodic table. “It’s the happy hormone, and I thought it fit because you’re like ten shots of happiness.” The last sentence he’d planned to say snagged on the roof of his mouth, but he forced it out anyway. “And because you make me happy.”
She pressed her lips together and batted her eyelashes faster and faster. When she lifted her face to his, her eyes were shiny. “Thank you. I love it.”
“Admittedly, I went back and forth a long time on whether to make the gemstone charm your birthstone or your favorite color.”
“And you chose red. My favorite, and also the color of most organs, FYI.”
“I didn’t so much choose it because of that,” he said.
Her forehead crinkled, and he held his breath. Maybe he’d read her wrong. “Okay, so silly question. Do you think the person who sells these knows that Se is actually the symbol for selenium?”
A laugh slipped out. Here he was sharing a piece of his soul, and her mind was struggling to process the liberties the crafter had made with the periodic table. “I’d guess they’re aware. They probably didn’t realize they’d have to impress a scientific genius.”
That dimple popped in her cheek. “I know you’re just buttering me up, but I don’t even care.” She carefully removed the thin silver chain and studied the dangling molecule. “In case I haven’t made it clear, you make me happy, too. Honestly, this trip is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“Same here,” he said, the words gruff. The privacy suggestion had been more about worrying he’d picked out a bad gift, but with both of their emotions cranked to high, he was glad they didn’t have an audience.
“Can you put it on for me?” She handed the necklace to him without waiting for the answer, and there was something comforting about that, too. She swept her hair off the nape of her neck, and he focused on working the preposterously small clasp. “Did you know that ninety percent of the body’s serotonin is located in the enterochromaffin cells in the GI tract. You’d think it’d be your brain, but if you ask me, it just proves that true happiness lies in eating yummy foods.”
“I did not know that, but that makes sense. Food and Julie. The best sources of happiness out there.”
A lock of her hair brushed his forearm as she shot a smile over her shoulder, and finally he managed to secure the tiny pin thingy. She slowly pivoted to face him, the glimmering charm still pinched between her fingertips. “Seriously, I love it so much. Thank you, Gavin. From the very bottom of my full, full heart.”
Afraid to step forward or backward, he remained in this limbo where he fought against his urge to kiss her, but not hard enough to shut down the idea entirely.
Then his phone vibrated in his pocket. Reluctantly, he lifted it to check the text.
For a second, he wondered why his sister was giving him such a detailed rundown, but then her follow-up text popped onscreen.
Gavin extended the phone toward Julie, and her lips moved as she read over the message. “Can you find out which clue she and my grams acted out? Curiosity is getting the best of me.”
He did as requested, and a moment later, his little sister’s response filled the screen.
He relayed the answer, and Julie’s mouth formed a perfect circle. “Oh, that makes sense. Much more sense than your mom ignoring etiquette and coming up with clues that belong in a Rihanna music video.”
Gavin chuckled, his palm muffling the sound of another incoming text.
Before Jules could see that one, he set his phone to silent and jammed it in his pocket. If only he could erase the words from his own memory, he’d consider their evasion tactics a great success.
But no surprise, trying not to think about sex only ensured it remained at the forefront of his mind.
…
The longer Julie stood there, the weight of the necklace pressing against her sternum, the heavier every moment seemed. As much as she wanted to close the distance, fling her arms around Gavin, and kiss him, they’d drawn lines.
Lines that’d become fuzzy, but the last thing she wanted to do was to throw herself at him and deal with the fallout of him explaining—again—that it was too risky.
She scratched at the suddenly itchy spot on the side of her head. “Well, I guess I should turn in for the night.”
Tell me not to go. Say you want me as badly as I want you.
Gaze glued to the floor, Gavin rubbed his neck and nodded. “Probably a good idea. It’s been a long day.”
Hard not to translate that to being dismissed, but Julie reminded herself she was an adult woman who could freely speak her mind. Then she turned and headed for the door, because she was also a chicken who was too scared to ruin her closest friendship, regardless of how horny she was.
And yeah, it was becoming an issue. The aching spot between her thighs protested every step away from Gavin. Her muscles seized as she wrapped her hand around the doorknob.
No words came from behind her; no plea to stay the night.
The door was too heavy, not budging even as she pushed with all her might, and why was it making this even harder?
“Jules,” Gavin said, and she turned around.
“You need to pull instead of push—looked like you were having some trouble.”
“Oh. Right.” No wonder he didn’t want to fling her on the bed and have his wicked way with her. She couldn’t even open doors.
She charged into the hallway before she lost her nerve—or was it because she’d already lost it? Either way, she’d committed to leaving, so leave she did.
As soon as the door snicked closed behind her, she leaned against the wood and pressed her hand to the aching spot in the center of her chest. While she’d done her best to hide the truth from even herself, that vital organ battering against the confines of her rib cage didn’t comply.
In theory, the Great Fling Experiment involved upping her sex game and nothing more. But walking away from Gavin felt like losing a lot more than passionate intercourse.
If she didn’t know better, she’d worry she’d left behind a literal piece of her heart.
You’ve got a choice to make. Either stride across the hall to mope or take control.
Julie spun and gripped the door handle. Then she rested her forehead against the wood, summoning up every ounce of courage she—
The door fell away, and she stumbled into a hard body that gave her a myriad of squishy feelings.
“I was just coming to get you,” Gavin said as he steadied her. “What are you doing?”
“Seizing the fucking moment,” she said, and then she cupped the back of his neck and tugged his face to hers for a searing kiss.