He blew out a breath and got up, pacing the room in front of me. “Look. I’m a selfish bastard. I knew going in to the whole deal that one day it was going to end up like this. I already knew that I would have to walk away…but I did it anyway, I got involved regardless, knowing how it was going to turn out. Hell, I’ve not had the greatest track record when it comes to relationships and women, but I see what Luke has with Emma and I want that! You know?”
I opened my mouth to interject, closing it without saying anything when he continued.
“Anyway, I think I would have ended up resenting the closeness that Allie and Jackson have. And I shouldn’t have to resent anything, especially if we are all three supposed to be making it work. I would have hated myself if I had stayed and things went south…and then I’d have nothing, not even their friendship.”
He looked over at me. “Does that make sense, or am I just a complete and total asshole?”
I shook my head. “No, I think you did what was best for you.”
We stared at each other for a minute before he blew out a breath and said, “You know, I take back my thanks, by the way. Nosy little witch…”
I gasped in exaggerated affront and reached up to smack him playfully. He dodged my limp-wristed smack, jumping off the bed and laughing when my momentum toppled me over on the mattress.
With a groan, I pushed myself up and glared at Brandon, who was still standing about four feet away, chuckling softly. I couldn’t hold my glare and ended up smiling at him until he came and sat beside me again.
“So you ready to talk about your deal, yet?” he asked me quietly.
I shook my head quickly. No one really knew the whole story except Jackson, and he really didn’t even know the whole thing. I’d left out some choice details that I wasn’t even ready to discuss with myself, let alone anyone else.
Brandon inclined his head and said, “Okay…that’s fine. But you know you can talk to me, right?”
I nodded.
He patted me on the shoulder and stood, stretching his arms over his head. “Get some sleep, Chloe. And take some Tylenol before you do so you won’t have such a nasty hangover in the morning.”
I stood and nodded again, yawning and then grinning up at Brandon when he laughed at me. I swatted at him and, unsteady as I was, I lost my balance and fell into him with a muffled ‘oompf’ when my nose connected with the hardness of his chest.
I felt the vibration of his laughter against my face and pushed back to look up at him. As soon as I did, our eyes locked and my breath caught, a strange headiness taking over my senses, awareness prickling over every inch of my body. In slow motion, almost like I was watching myself outside my body, I reached up and caught the back of Brandon’s neck, pulling his head down and crushing my lips to his.
I felt him hesitate and, not sure just what the hell I was doing, I sucked his bottom lip between my lips, nibbling at it before sweeping my tongue along the seam, moaning when he instinctively opened, letting me inside.
I kissed him like I was starving, a small cry wrenching from my throat when his hands came up and framed my face, and then I was lost as he took control of the kiss, drowning me in ecstasy. Lost in the moment, I moved my hands down his sides and fumbled with his shirt, pulling it up and sliding my hands along the hot, taut flesh of his stomach. His hands left my face and grasped my hips, pulling me flush against his body, the hardness of his length prodding the softness of my belly.
That’s when I froze, when reality came crashing into me with the force of a runaway train. I tore my mouth from his and pushed away from him with a whimper.