“Shall we head back? The birds are letting us down today,” I say.
“Yes, and we can go over all the ways you can be flirtatious without crossing the line. It’s time for the Win Your Girl Bootcamp. You in?”
“Teach me all the things, wise one.”
Breaker: Stopped by Masala Palace and grabbed some chicken tikka, reshmi kabab, paneer korma, and garlic naan. You in?
Lia: Are you kidding me? I think I just drooled reading that text message. I’m home, want me to prepare the gameboard and table?
Breaker: Obviously.
Lia: On it. Please choose your Plunder ship color.
Breaker: Why are you asking? You know I’m always green.
Lia: You’ve lost the last three times, so I didn’t know if you wanted to change it up. Maybe switch your luck.
Breaker: Green for life.
Lia: Okay, prepare to be annihilated. Also, I have a surprise to show you when you get here.
Breaker: Yeah, does this surprise happen to be one of the things you’re checking off your list?
Lia: Yes.
Breaker: Well, I can’t wait. See you soon.
Food in hand, I step off the elevator of our apartment building and head right to my front door. After Birdy and I made it down the hill, I gave her a hug goodbye and then traveled back up the hill myself, this time thinking about everything. Letting my mind wander, my mind process, ruminating on my true thoughts and feelings.
First and foremost, I love her. I let that sink in. I let myself sit in my feelings and understand them. Lia is the most precious person in my life. She’s my ride or die. She means everything to me.
She’s my girl.
After I let myself accept that, I went on to accept that everyone is right. I need to tell her about my feelings, but I need to ease her into it. It might scare her if I jump out at her with these feelings.
Also, I need to give her time to check her goals off her list. I don’t want to get in the way of that. I want her at her best when I approach her with my feelings, which will give her time to adjust to the new way I’ll approach our friendship.
After some time up on the hill and just living in the moment, I made my way back down again and ordered food, knowing Lia wouldn’t be able to say no to Indian food. It’s one of her absolute favorites.
With excitement in my chest, I reach my door, turn the knob, and enter, half expecting Lia to be standing there, waiting for me. When she’s not, I call out, “Hey, I’m here.”
“In the bedroom,” she says. “Come here.”
Confused but also excited, I drop the food off at the table and make my way to my bedroom, where the door is cracked open. Whatever she wants to show me, she sure is making a big deal about it—which I love.
I push the door open and glance in. That’s where I find Lia standing in the middle of the bedroom, her hands clasped together in front of her. She’s wearing a pair of leggings and a crop top—not her normal type of shirt since it shows off a touch of her stomach, but it looks great on her. Really good on her, but that’s not what’s gathering my attention. Nope. It’s that her long red hair has been cut and dyed. Thin blonde streaks are woven through her hair that now sits just above her shoulders, with long flowy bangs and messy curls that fit her personality so well.
“Holy . . . shit.”
She is wearing a large smile as she says, “Do you like it?”
“Ophelia,” I whisper while I take a step forward. “Jesus Christ, you look hot.”
Her smile glows even brighter. “Really?”
I close the space between us and reach out to touch her short locks. “Yeah,” I say breathlessly.
“It’s a little spunky, but I feel like a new woman with all that hair lifted off me, and I thought the highlights would be fun, but I kept them minimal because I still like my red hair.”
I take her all in as my heart beats wildly in my chest. Jesus fuck, she was gorgeous before, but now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself.
And before I can stop myself, I tell her exactly what’s on my mind.
“You look fucking sexy. Not that you didn’t before, but Jesus fuck, Lia. You look so fucking incredible. I love it.”
“Thank you,” she says, a light blush staining her cheeks. “I sent a picture to Brian, still waiting to hear back from him. I hope he likes it as much as you do.” I bet the fuck he does. But I don’t fucking care.
“He will,” I say, still touching her hair as this wave of lust pours through me.
I want to sift my hand through her hair. I want to pull her close. I want to slip my hand under her crop top. I want to show her just how much this transformation turns me on. And it’s not just how she looks. It’s her confidence, her smile, and how proud she is of herself. I want to pin her to my bed and run my mouth up and down her neck.
“And the outfit, it’s not too much, is it? I thought I’d try something new.”
I look down at her crop top and the hint of her lace bra strap lining her shoulder as I shake my head. “No, not at all. You look really fucking amazing, Ophelia.”
“Ooo, two Ophelias. You must really approve.”
I swallow as I squeak out, “Yeah, I do.”
I approve so much that I’m struggling to remind myself that she’s engaged, and that I need to take this slow. That I can’t touch her the way I want to.
Pulling it slightly together, I ask, “But more importantly, how do you feel?”
“Well, after your reaction, I feel really sexy.”
“You should.”
“I’m just excited to see what Brian has to say.” Ah, yes, we’re all waiting on bated breath for Brian’s reaction. Did you hear the sarcasm in that? From the kitchen, her phone rings, and she glances up at me. “Speak of the devil. I bet that’s him. I’ll answer, and you can divvy out the food. Don’t hoard the garlic naan.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I say as she moves past me, and my eyes follow, falling straight to her rear end.
Fuck, would you look at that?
Bubbly, pert, all shown off in her skintight pants.
I swear the universe is testing me and will decide my fate on how I can control myself in this situation. My best friend, who I’ve always thought was incredible, turned into a smokeshow in a few short hours.
I reluctantly remove my eyes from her ass and fall in step behind her. While she reaches for her phone, I open up the bag of Indian food while my eyes casually drift in her direction, taking another opportunity to check her out.
Even her tits look incredible in that shirt.
Yup, the universe is testing me for sure.
“Hey, Brian,” she says cheerfully. “How are you?”
I try to block out her conversation because I don’t want to hear him tell her how much he loves her new hair, so I focus on dividing up our food.
That’s until I hear her say, “What? You don’t like it?”
That snaps me to attention. I forget all about the food and focus on her instead.
The confidence—which was propping her chest out only a few moments earlier—vanishes.
Her beautiful smile that had stretched from ear to ear falters.