Life Rewired (Aspen Friends, Book 3) (10 page)

“Whatever you say.” After all I’d walked away from sex tonight, too, and I wasn’t bothered by it.

She watched me unlock her door and step back. “Did you lose your key fob?”

“Bought it used and the guy didn’t have them.” Six years used with high mileage, one set of keys, and a suspect smell in the backseat. It took two upholstery shampoos before I could bear to take a drive. All of that helped make it affordable for my limited after prison resources.

“Sucks. Then again you’ll never lock your keys in your car.”

I slid into my seat and looked over at her. “You like the bright side, don’t you?”

“What’s not to like?” She smiled, and I wondered why I’d ever thought her face looked angry when I first met her. Even when she was angry, she masked it pretty well. That smile, though, was pure allure, and I was lucky enough to see it often.

“Buckle up.”

“Boss me around,” she muttered with a huge smile and reached back for her seatbelt as I pulled out of our parking space. “Want to keep the theme going tonight? Watch a little Rockies for some inspiration?”

“Sure.” I didn’t feel like going home. A few more hours with my friend would be a great way to spend the evening.

It didn’t seem to take as long to get home as it had to get to the field. Not having a ton of anxiety probably helped that perception, but in almost no time, we were stepping out of the car at Molly’s condo complex.

“Do you need a shower as much as I do?” Molly read my mind as she let us into her place.

“Could I?”

“Be my guest. I’ll order pizza and get the game on.”

“You can do half veggie this time,” I suggested. Everyone had a favorite pizza, and I was betting that Molly’s wasn’t vegetarian. “What do you like?”

“For pizza? Almost anything. The veggie tasted good last time. Never thought artichoke hearts would taste good on a pizza or at all for that matter.”

I reached out and squeezed her shoulder. She was kind enough to embrace my chosen eating habits consciously and without complaint. The boys ate veggie when I made dinner, but they often lamented the loss of whatever meat was missing.

She went to retrieve a fresh towel out of the hall closet for me. I grabbed clean sweats from my duffle and took the towel. Contentment filled me with how easy I was here in her home.

“Pizza should be here in twenty minutes,” Molly said when I surfaced from her bathroom, feeling fresh and relaxed. “The game’s already on. I’ll be ten minutes.” She headed to the bathroom for her shower.

“Take your time.” I sank down onto her couch and fought the urge to fall asleep all cozy and warm.

The knock on the door woke me up. Molly grinned down at me as she rounded the sofa to answer the door. She shook her head and droplets of water from her wet hair helped wake me from the snooze I’d taken.

“Hey,” I protested, wiping the drops from my face and sitting up so I didn’t immediately succumb to the comfort of her couch again.

“Pizza’s here.” She grabbed money from the counter and passed it off to the pizza guy when she opened the door. Seconds later, she was back sitting beside me. “Hungry or just sleepy?”

“Didn’t mean to fall asleep, but damn your couch is comfy.” My hand rubbed the back cushion, the motion lulling me into a daze.

“I know. I crash out here almost as much as I sleep in the bed.” She handed me a slice and gestured toward a beer she’d placed on the coffee table for me. She brought another slice up to her mouth and took a bite.

My slice was gone in six bites. I didn’t realize how hungry or tired I was. I’d spent the day installing reclaimed wood floors in the upstairs of Vivian’s house. Natalie let me leave an hour early to get to my first game. I didn’t think I was taking advantage because she let Tyler leave an hour early every other day to coach his son’s soccer team, and the Sweeneys took a day off last week to meet with their ski team sponsor. The workday and expended energy worrying about playing softball for the first time in years had worn me down. I’d be lucky to finish another slice and drive home without falling asleep again.

“Stay here tonight. You’re dead on your feet, lady.” Molly’s hand patted my thigh. “I had the day off. You were tired before we even started the game.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all.” She turned back to the screen and made a gesture at the TV when the Giants first baseman looped a line drive into center, scoring the go ahead run.

I watched her annoyance with amusement. She didn’t feel the need to fill the silence between us with useless chatter. After being forced to listen to cellmates yammer on to abate their boredom, it was nice to find a friend that cherished the quiet when merited.

An inning later, it was clear the Rockies were going to lose unless they had unprecedented scoring in the ninth. Molly clicked off the television and shook her head in disgust.

“At least we won,” I reminded her of our softball victory. “It’s a good team you’ve got.”

“Been playing with them a few years. The guys aren’t arrogant pricks, and they can play. The women are fun. Not as good as my Sunday squad, but now that you’re around we might win a few more.”

“Thanks.” I wished I could be as free with compliments as Molly was. She had a way of making all her friends feel better with a simple positive observation. It was a skill I now coveted.

She glanced at me. “You’re bushed. Get some sleep.”

I would have protested if she weren’t right. I watched her get up and go over to the closet for extra sheets. We worked together to get a makeshift bed ready. I tucked in the bottom sheet as Molly ran back to her bedroom and grabbed a pillow.

“Thanks, Mol.” I took the offered pillow, sitting back down. “I think I would have fallen asleep on the way home.”

“You’re always welcome to crash.” She speared me with an intense stare to make sure I understood how genuine she was with her invitation. “Sleep well.”

She leaned down for a hug. I was still getting used to the physical contact, having been so cautious over the past seven years. It felt good to drop the fear, and I looked forward to the hello and goodbye hugs from Molly.

Pulling back, she said, “Goodnight, Falyn.”

“’Night, Molly.”

She swooped in for a peck. I expected to feel a flicker of softness, a hint of moistness, a fleeting pull of suction. That’s what hello and goodbye kisses were. That’s what kisses from friends felt like. That’s what a quick peck on the lips was supposed to be.

What I got instead was a thunderbolt that went from my lips to my chest to my stomach to other points south. Holy smokes. That did not just happen.

I was taking stock of my elevated pulse and audible breaths as I glanced up at Molly. Her dark brown eyes glittered, but I couldn’t tell if it was shock or alarm. It definitely wasn’t indifference.

Before I could chalk up my reaction as something unexpected, Molly knelt onto the couch next to me. My heart rate kicked up as she reached forward and slid a hand along my jaw.

Her lips parted, eyes searching mine. She cupped my face with her other hand. “Jesus, Falyn.”

I barely registered her anguished tone before she listed toward me, bringing her mouth to mine again.

An entire lightning storm touched off inside me at the second press of her lips to mine. They glided across mine in slow motion, pulling here, pressing there. I grasped the back of her neck and tilted my head, wanting to wring every single sensation out of this.

Her mouth coaxed mine open. My stomach took a plunge with the surge of her tongue inside. Mine was there to meet hers, teasing and taunting her need to lead. My smile was immediately swallowed by her roaming mouth and an unexpected moan. She stiffened at the sound, clearly shocked that she’d made it. I took advantage of her surprise and pushed against her, making her drop to her rump on the cushions.

“What are we…?” She didn’t finish her thought before her hands were grabbing my face and bringing it to her mouth again.

I couldn’t have answered the question had she finished it. She was my friend whom I’d never had one sexual thought about. She might as well have been a man for all the sexual interest I’d shown in her. But dammit she could kiss, and dammit again, my body didn’t seem to care that she wasn’t my type.

She pulled me against her, wrapping her arms around me as her mouth made love to mine better than any full-on sex I’d had. My breasts molded to hers, thighs now interlocked. If my head was going to stop this, it had to act now. But my mouth and hands weren’t listening.

I pushed again. She resisted my getting her horizontal. In the next second, she was pushing against me. I would have smiled if her tongue hadn’t just started this twirling thing with mine. It was distracting enough that she accomplished her goal of pushing me back. Her body leaned over mine. Her face pulled up and flashed a triumphant grin.

I see how she thinks this will go. “Not so fast, hot stuff.”

“What?” She swooped in for another kiss.

“I know what you’re trying to do.”

“Me?” she mumbled, dragging her mouth down the column of my throat.

I arched up, all thought leaving me. What was I protesting? Oh yeah, she was trying to top me. Well, actions speak louder than words. I levered my hips and swung her up and over onto her back.

She barked out a surprised laugh. “What are you trying?”

“Same thing you were.” I leaned down and nipped her lower lip. “Looks like we’re going to be taking turns.”

Her hands slid up and grasped my breasts. Her eyes twinkled as she squeezed. “Is that so?”

My eyes slammed shut as her fingers flicked my nipples through my shirt. “Hmm?”

“We could just do this my way.” Her fingers went to my waist and ducked under my shirt, drifting up until they crested over my breasts. She let out another moan that drowned out my hiss of pleasure.

“Hmm?” I repeated, not sure what we’d been talking about. Something important enough for me to attempt a discussion when her hands and mouth had the potential to give me an orgasm without going anywhere near my pants.

“Yeah, let’s just do this my way.”

Oh, yes, her topping me. Nope, not going to happen. At least not all the time. “Turns, Molly. If we’re doing this, we’re taking turns.”

She leaned back to look at me. Light glinted off her deep brown eyes. “Twist my arm.”

I slid my hands under her shirt and up to take her nipples between my fingers. Her face tilted up, jaw clenching. I twisted the hard buds through her bra, laughing at the much louder moan I got from her this time. “Twisted enough?”

She grinned again. “Twisted just enough.”

I went to pull her shirt off. She perched on one arm and helped me get it over her head. Chiseled shoulders and arms blended into a contoured chest and countable abs. Her breasts were small and tucked into a sports bra that did nothing to deflate my excitement. I never thought I’d undress a woman who wore sports bras.

She pulled at my shirt, and I sat up to help her. Her eyes roamed over my torso, hands skating everywhere her eyes went. She managed to release my bra with only two fingers, showing just how much game she had.

“Falyn,” she whispered, her eyes taking in my stiff nipples.

I leaned over and kissed her again. My hands stroked down her back, biting into the flesh. She pulled at her bra, taking it over her head, messing up her hair. I ran my fingers through the thick strands as my eyes zeroed in on her breasts. Small, firm, perfectly shaped with dark red nipples. My mouth started salivating with the single purpose of wanting those nipples. While she was still sitting up, I took advantage and locked my mouth around one of the luscious pebbles.