Always With You - A Best Friends To Lovers Novel

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

River

Darryl was onto us. He knew there was something happening between Bowie and me, and her straddling me before her parents arrived was a whole new situation for us. While eating dinner, I mostly listened to Marilyn talk about her work. She owned an animal shelter, which I always imagined Bowie to work at once she grew up, but she had other plans. She did love animals, but she preferred the ones in the water than on land.

Bowie was quiet most of the time, lost in her thoughts again. When Marilyn asked her a question and she didn't reply, I reached for her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze to get her attention.

She turned to look at me, and I nodded toward her mom. "I asked if you'd like some dessert," she repeated, but Bowie shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm full," she answered, and locked her fingers with mine.

We weren't on the right path. We had the talk already about staying friends and not crossing the line, but she was making it very hard on me. I brushed my thumb over hers, leaning back and looking at Darryl. "I kept her up last night. We dance 'til late," I explained with a smile, and Darryl nodded.

"I see. She's sleeping with her eyes open right now. Better to get her home, hm?" he suggested, and I agreed with a nod.

Darryl paid for dinner, and we stepped back outside to get to the car. "Where is your hotel?" I asked.

"Just a few blocks away. But we'll drive you back to your place," Marilyn said. I couldn't turn her down, and I was certain that Bowie wouldn't make it home walking.

Only five minutes later, I helped Bowie out of her parents' car and said goodnight to them before heading up the stairs to my apartment. I unlocked the door and let her in first, then followed her and turned on the light.

"Go ahead and get ready for bed. I'll get you a glass of water and text Aiden to check on Whitley." Bowie nodded, heading straight to my bedroom.

I went to the kitchen and filled a glass with ice-cold water, then pulled out my phone and texted Aiden.

River: How's Whitley? Did she eat?

It was almost eleven, and Whitley must've gotten up sometime in the evening to eat something.

Aiden: She's much better. I ordered some food and now we're watching a movie on her laptop. How was dinner with the in-laws?

I rolled my eyes, knowing he was teasing me.

River: See you tomorrow.

I didn't feel like diving deeper into that topic with him, but what I did want to do was get in bed with Bowie all cuddled up to my body.

As I got to the bedroom, she had already brushed her teeth and was just pulling my shirt over her head. I got a glimpse of her naked back and wished I had seen more than that.

"Thank you," Bowie said, taking the water from my hand with a smile and taking a sip while walking around the bed to the side she had slept on yesterday. I smiled back, heading to the bathroom, and getting ready for bed myself.

As I stepped back into the bedroom, Bowie was sitting the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. "How awkward was that dinner, huh?" she laughed softly, and I puckered my lips not to grin like an idiot.

"It was amusing," I pointed out. I turned off the lights, then walked over to the other side of the bed and getting in beside her. I could still see her with the moonlight shining through the window, but her face was turned away from me, so I didn't get a good look at her expression.

"Do you think we're making a mistake?" she asked, and I turned to my side to keep my eyes on her. She slowly moved down, laying on her side and facing me.

"We're not doing anything right now, Bowie. I gotta admit...the first time I saw you again sparked something in me, and I wish I'd know what. And then, at the party last night, I felt so fucking guilty for making you feel unwanted because of Loren. But trust me, Bow...You're not the only one trying to figure out what this is turning into."

She kept my eyes on mine for a while without saying a word, then finally, she spoke. "I think it's the hormones," she whispered, and I couldn't hold back a laugh. We were way passed our puberty, but then...Bowie had always been a little bit of a late bloomer.

She furrowed her brows, looking down at my naked chest. "I watched a porno four nights before coming here. I think that was the first time I really started to appreciate men and their...muscles and...all that."

I smirked, unable to hold it back. "Bowie watched porn. Hell, never thought I'd see that day."

She scrunched up her nose, and I knew her cheeks were bright red, possibly matching her hair. "It was weird. And the woman was making those incredibly annoying voices and acting crazy. Not sure how much the guy enjoyed it."

I reached out to cup her cheek, brushing back her hair. "It was probably just bad acting," I explained, knowing that most of those videos were created to show people what it could be like, and not how it always is in real life.

"I wish Dad hadn't said anything," she whispered.

"Why's that?" I asked, pushing myself up on my elbow to look down on her, caressing her cheek with my thumb.

"Because I think he's right. I'm scared we'll cross the line...and then we ruin everything we have."

I thought about her words for a while, then smiled. "Maybe it's time for us to cross it. See where it takes us. What we have is so much different than anyone else. We should've known this was inevitable."

"We can't," she interrupted me, and I frowned. "I can't lose you. You're right. What we have is special, and I don't wanna give it up. I need to get myself under control. I love being close to you. I love it when you hold my hand, and when you run your fingers through my hair. I don't wanna lose you just because we tried to be more than friends."

I felt the same, and whatever she wanted us to do, I would accept it. It would get hard for us, but as long as she wasn't ready to take the next step with me, I wouldn't push her to.

"Okay," I said, bending down to kiss her forehead. "Nothing changed," I assured her, then laid back and let her cuddle up to my side. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight.

"I love you, Riv," she whispered.

"I love you, Bow," I replied, kissing her head. "Sleep tight," I added, and after a kiss to my jaw, she quickly fell asleep, safely tugged in my arms.

***

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