I sighed, putting my hand to Garrett’s elbow and steering him farther into the house. “Mom, Dad, you remember my neighbor, Garrett.”
His jaw tensed, a muscle popping, but he quickly plastered a smile to his face and stepped forward to offer his hand. “It’s nice to see you again. Your grandson talks about you often.”
That’s all it took for my mother to melt. “Really? That makes me so happy.”
My father took his proffered hand, giving it a solid shake before lowering himself back to the couch. “So, Garrett, you’re in this same duplex, correct?”
“Yes, sir. In Madison terminology, we’re wall neighbors.”
My father chuckled, “Madison terminology. I like that.”
Garrett turned away so only I could see his face and winked at me before striding off. I was still staring after him, blinking like an idiot, when my mother stepped next to me.
Together, we watched Jamie skip over to the kitchen to talk Garrett’s head off while he started grabbing dishes from the cabinets to set the table.
“Wow.”
“Yep,” I agreed.
“You know, one might think he’s been over for dinner a few times with how well he knows his way around your kitchen.”
I flushed crimson. “The duplex is symmetrical. His kitchen is exactly the same, Mom.”
“You know that from experience, do you?”
I twisted around, my mouth dropping open, but she’d already sauntered off, dragging my dad off the couch to head to the kitchen and help.
Lunch wasn’t anything fancy, just simple sliders with salad, but as long as Garrett didn’t go all caveman on it, there’d be plenty. I was a chair short, so Jamie and I shared one, each balancing on an edge as our elbows sparred for space.
“I talked to Brenden this morning. He called while we were at the fundraiser.”
“Oh?” I asked, talking around a mouthful of lettuce. My brother wasn’t a fan of talking on the phone, so I knew my mother had a point she was working up to.
She took another bite of her slider before she answered, putting her fingers to her mouth and giving me the universal sign for chef’s kiss.
“He’s going to visit for Christmas.”
My fork froze halfway to my mouth, “Really? How’d you convince him to do that?” My brother didn’t avoid us or anything, but his schedule was fluid and usually increased around the holidays, so he rarely made it.
She waved her hand. “He had some project get canceled so he decided it was a sign for him to finally make a trip out here.”
I turned to Garrett, who was shoveling food in his mouth, listening intently. “Brenden is my older brother. He works in the film industry, so his schedule changes month to month. Makes it hard to plan trips.”
My mother cringed. “Speaking of schedule changes, honey, do you think Layla could hang out with Jamie tomorrow? We’ll still have him over tonight, of course, but we got asked at the fundraiser to attend another event tomorrow, and it’d be hard to take him with us.”
My stomach dropped. “She can’t, she’s performing at the farmer’s market again.” Shit. I couldn’t take the day off, there was literally no one to cover for me for that shift, and it was payroll. It couldn’t not be done.
“I’m sorry,” she said at whatever expression was on my face before looking over to my dad, “Maybe we can—”
“I got him.”
I turned to the man beside me, my mouth parted. “What?” I asked, even though he’d spoken clearly, and I’d felt every letter of the sentence echo inside my ribcage.
“I got him.”
I shook my head, resting a hand on the muscles of his bicep and feeling the way they tensed underneath my fingers. “No, it’s okay. I’ll figure it out.”
“I’m sure you could, just like you always do, but I want to. He and I can chill and battle it out on some games until Layla gets home.”
“Oh my gosh, can I, Mom? Please?” Jamie begged, hopping up and down in his seat.
“You don’t need to do that, Garrett,” I said, unsure how to process his open willingness to help. He didn’t even care that my parents were here and listening with rapt attention and bated breath to see if I’d relent.
“I want to, Maddie. Jamie’s the coolest person I know, we’ll have a great time.”
I looked from his calm face to Jamie’s puppy dog eyes and broke. Rubbing a hand down my face, I muttered, “I’m sure I’ll regret this.”
Garrett leaned over, patting me on the knee. “Only in the best way.”
“All right, bud, you heard Grandma, take a quick shower and pack a bag. I’ll drop you off on my way to work.”
He groaned, falling backward onto the couch. “I don’t get why I couldn’t just leave with them now.”
“Two reasons. One, because you need to shower your soccer filth off, and two, so you could hang out with me longer. It used to be you wanted to hang out with me.”
He scrunched his nose like he found the idea utterly repulsive. “I think I’d rather take the shower.”
I threw a pillow at his face, causing him to giggle and leap up, running for the bathroom.
“I’ll get you back later, you little twerp.”
Turning, my eyes met Garrett’s. He was leaning against the bar, watching me with a loaded look on his face. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what it meant, but something about it had me swallowing, an equal mix of nerves and warmth building in my chest.
We stood there, staring at each other from across the room, the silence broken only by the sound of the shower clicking on and Rugsy re-adjusting the blanket she was curled under.
We hadn’t been alone since the night we’d kissed, and if the look on his face was any indicator, he was thinking about it too.
I exhaled sharply, biting the inside of my cheek and pivoting away from him toward the living room. It wasn’t messy since we’d stayed at the table the entire time, but I still walked around, fluffing pillows and organizing the shoes by the door. I didn’t know what to say or how to feel about the tension in the air, the innate urge to grab him by his ears and eat his face.
Noticing I hadn’t locked the door after my parents left, I walked over and twisted the deadbolt, telling myself to say something—anything—to break the heavy silence.
Feeling pressure on my neck, I whipped around, barely suppressing a curse. Garrett stood less than a foot away, looking down at me with that same heated gaze. Any words I might have said got stuck in my throat when he rested his hands against the door on either side of my head.
“I feel like we need to clear up a few things so we’re on the same page.”
I was effectively caged in on all sides, the chill of the door clashing with the warmth of his body. I struggled to find oxygen, convinced it’d all left the room. Dropping his head near the crook of my neck, he blew air along my skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake.
“So, I’m not supposed to fuck you with my eyes.”
I shook my head, my cheek bumping into the side of his, while certain neglected parts of my body sparked to life with flying banners and fucking blow horns. With him this close to me, his scent filling my nose, I couldn’t remember why I’d ever said that. He could eye-fuck me until I was a mess on the floor for all I cared.
“But you want me around?”
My head bobbed in answer. I wanted him around every damn day.
“Use your words, Maddie.”
“Yes,” I croaked, “I want you around.”
“Why?”
“You’re my friend.”
“Friends.” He hummed low in his throat. “And as friends, am I allowed to touch you?” His arms slid down the door, inching closer and closer to my body. I nodded again, my eyelids fluttering closed.
“How about kiss you?” All it would take was the slightest movement and our lips would touch. I could feel his breath mixing with my own, and it was intoxicating.
I pulled my lip into my mouth, biting down. There was a reason for no kissing, no touching. But fuck me, I couldn’t remember what it was.
“Words, Maddie.”