17. Sarah

17

SARAH

I couldn't be sure what Bri did to make me sleep well past sunrise, but by the time my eyes peeled open the next morning, it was well past nine. The birds chirped outside, and the weekend lawnmowers were already chugging along.

I sighed as I turned over, expecting to find Bri next to me. But she wasn't.

My forehead wrinkled as I peeked over the edge of the bed, expecting to find a pile of her clothes. But they were gone.

I rolled back to my side of the bed, where my phone sat on the nightstand. It had gotten plugged in at some point in the night. But there was no text from Bri waiting on my lockscreen.

Shit. I scared her off. I rubbed my face, trying to wake up.

I stumbled out of bed and threw on an oversized t-shirt that lay rumpled at the foot of the bed. When I threw it over my head and onto my body, a waft of Bri's scent swallowed me. It was sweaty, earthy, and it made my center throb.

An excited smile took over my face. She couldn't have left without her shirt.

I grabbed a pair of simple cotton underwear from the drawer and made a note to buy myself something sexier soon.

As I quickly made the bed, flashes of the night before came back to me. Bri's hands on my body, her lips on mine, her moans of pleasure. I really hope this wasn't a mistake. I pulled the duvet over the top of the mattress.

Shaking my head, I tried to get the thought out of my mind. I hadn't planned to cross our friendship line quite like that. But I couldn't help but think about Jason's advice: sometimes, you just have to rip the bandaid off.

I made my way downstairs, knowing that Bri was somewhere in my house. As I sauntered through the long hallway, my brow furrowed. It looked less cluttered than I remembered last night.

Maybe I had done a better job preparing for my guest than I remembered. Trying not to think about it too hard, I kept moving. As soon as I hit the landing at the top of the stairs, I could hear a sizzling pan and some soft music.

A smile crept onto my cheeks as I descended the staircase. It took everything in me to keep from running into the kitchen to see what Bri was up to. Instead, I took a deep breath and slowly strolled toward the kitchen.

Play it cool, Sarah, I reminded myself, fixing my face as I turned the corner. But met by Bri's beaming smile and the smell of frying bacon, the small smile I had suppressed came back in full force.

Bri looked up from the dishes she was setting on the drying rack and grinned at me. "Hi, darlin'." Her slight country twang came out stronger than usual.

"Hi." I scanned the house, looking toward the living room where a folded blanket draped over the back of the couch and the kids' toys were neatly put away into the coordinated buckets. "Did you do all of that?"

Nodding, Bri set her final clean dish on the rack and shut off the water. "I did." She grabbed a hand towel from the stove and dried her hands, the straining veins drawing my eyes to her strong, calloused fingers.

"You didn't need to do that." I shook my head at her, warmth growing on my cheeks.

Looking me up and down, Bri turned to face the stove and shrugged. "You deserved it."

As the shock of her cleaning half my house set in, my eyes were drawn to her muscular back, which strained against the white tank top she wore. She didn't bother putting a bra underneath, letting the deep pink skin of her nipples shade the white fabric.

The thought alone sent a jolt of excitement through my tired body.

Bri turned off the stove, plating the bacon strips she had fried up. "I hope you don't mind about the cleaning. I don't want to be invasive, but it just seemed like a lot to keep track of."

Taking a seat on a stool, I laughed. "Of course I don't mind. I just feel bad."

Smirking, Bri set down the plate and came around the island and looked down at me. She put her body between my legs, making the tired muscles move for her. Bringing her fingers to my chin, she directed my eyes to hers. "I don't want you to ever feel bad around me. You're juggling a lot, and you deserve some relief."

I sighed. A part of me knew she was right, that I needed to let someone help. But I had just reconnected with Bri, and I still wasn't sure what the night before meant for us going forward.

Instead of getting into all of that, I looked into her green eyes and settled on: "Thank you."

Bri nodded and finished setting up her spread. A plate of delicately cut and arranged fruit was laid out next to fresh eggs, bacon, and some pastries.

"Where did the pastries come from?" I gawked.

A mischievous smile took over Bri's face. "I just drove to Dee's and grabbed some. You'd been sleeping for a bit, and it rounds out a brunch."

I peeked up at the clock over the stove: it was nearing 10:30. In a couple hours, I'd have to go pick up the kids from Jason's house and start another week.

But for now, it was just me and Bri in my freshly cleaned house.

She passed me a dish and gestured for me to build a plate for myself. So I stood from my stool and started dishing. It was hard not to take all of it.

As I walked down the line of food, I could feel the fabric of Bri's flannel grazing my ass. When I peeked over my shoulder, Bri's eyes were glued to the spot where my cheeks poked out from underneath her shirt. She licked her lips, somehow still not satiated.

"Do you like it?" I teased, knowing full-well what the answer was.

Bri shrugged. "My high school crush in my shirt with her ass hanging out… yeah, I'd say I like it." With a flat palm, she gave my cheeks a light slap. Luckily, I managed to hold back the light whimper that rose to my lips.

By the time I passed through the entire spread, my plate was overflowing.

Just as I was starting to feel self-conscious about how much I took, Bri pressed her hand against my back. The firm pressure immediately sent a wave of relief through my body.

She lowered her voice to a sultry whisper. "I'll cook you more if you're still hungry."

It shouldn't have been as hot as it was. But I could feel my center pulse with anticipation.

Taking her hand from my back, she walked over to the dining room table and set her own plate down. "I see you found my shirt."

"I thought it was mine." I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

Bri looked up at me. "It can be."

Shaking my head, I looked at my plate of food and started in on the fresh fruit. It was cold, fresh from the fridge. Everything Bri was doing felt just right. I wasn't sure what I had done to deserve so much attention, but I wasn't about to turn it down.

After a few bites, Bri set her fork down and smiled at me. "So, I just wanted to say, I don't want you to feel any sort of pressure from me to like… date. I obviously would like to keep seeing you. But I know you've not really been able to date around, well, ever. I just don't want you to feel pressured if this was just for fun, or if it wasn't just fun but you still want to explore."

I couldn't stop myself from smiling at her. "Are you sure? Because I don't want to string you along."

Bri reached out her hand and grabbed mine, lightly rubbing her thumb against the back of it. "Sarah, I've watched you put everyone else's needs before yours since we were kids. I'll be here for you as long as you'll have me."

"It's weird, isn't it?" I put more pastry in my mouth.

"What?" Bri smiled.

Shrugging, I looked around. "That you've been there for all of it, and now here you are: sitting in my house, making me breakfast after spending the night in my bed."

A part of me couldn't believe it, but I also felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Bri chuckled. "It is. But, Sarah, I've been waiting for this since the day I first laid eyes on you."

Meeting her gaze, I knew she was right. And deep down, I knew I had been waiting for her too, even if I hadn't known it yet. I still wasn't sure what it all meant but sitting here with her felt more right than I could explain.

We kept eating, chatting between bites. Somehow after all these years, I'd forgotten just how funny Bri was and how easy it was for her to make me cackle. It wasn't a sexy laugh but it was a real one.

After a while Bri stood up and cleaned up the last few dishes from brunch. I insisted that she didn't need to, but she replied, "I'm not going to cook you breakfast and then leave a mess for you to handle."

And that was the end of my argument.

After she had cleaned up, Bri grabbed her things and headed for the door. I followed behind, waiting to lock up behind her. But before she left, Bri stood on the threshold, resting her arm against the frame over my head. She leaned closer to me. "When can I see you again?"

I swallowed hard, trying not to invite her back upstairs right that second. "Can I check my calendar and get back to you?"

"Of course you can, darlin'." Bri smiled down at me. Our eyes locked for a moment before I brought my hand to her neck and pulled her in for another kiss.

Teasing each other with our tongues, I felt my body begging for her to come back inside. But instead, I pulled away and squeezed her hand. "I'll see you soon."

She nodded and kissed my cheek. "Yes, you will."

I watched her walk to her truck, still in her jeans and a wife pleaser. My mind swam as she waved at me.

What have I gotten myself into?