When we step into the suite, Forest asks, “Can we shower before we talk?”
“Yeah.” We go to our separate rooms, and I rush through my evening routine. When I’m dressed in a comfy pair of shorts and a t-shirt, I go knock on Forest’s door. My stomach is tight with nerves, but I need to talk to Forest about my feelings.
“Come in,” he calls out.
I push the door open and step inside before shutting it behind me. My anxiety grows as my eyes settle on Forest, where he’s switching off the bathroom light.
When he meets my gaze, I gesture to the bed and go to sit on the mattress. I cross my legs in front of me and take a deep breath.
Forest sits down on the side of the bed, and tilting his head, he murmurs, “Talk to me.”
“Promise you won’t take this the wrong way,” I say as I scoot a little closer to him.
A worried look tightens his features. “I promise.”
“So… uhm…” I tuck a couple of strands behind my ear. “I’m…” I take a deep breath.
This is hard. How do I tell my best friend he’s making me feel things? Emotions I never thought I’d get to experience.
Forest reaches for me, and placing his hand over mine, he gives it a squeeze. “Hey, it’s okay. You can tell me anything.”
God, what if I open a can of worms?
My eyes drift over his face. This is Forest. My best friend.
Gathering my strength, I admit, “When you kissed me,” I swallow hard, “it made me feel things.”
Forest’s fingers tighten around mine.
I let out a burst of nervous laughter. “Either you’re just that good at kissing, or the guys I’ve dated can’t kiss to save their lives.” A shaky smile tugs at my lips. “Or…”
I don’t know what I expected. Maybe for Forest to call off the fake relationship? But instead, he gives me a reassuring smile and says, “Or maybe it feels good being kissed the way you deserve to be kissed?”
I let out a grateful chuckle. “Yeah, that too.”
Forest drops his gaze to our hands. “What do you want to do?”
“If we stop with the act, we’ll look like two idiots to the entire campus,” I mutter. “But I’m scared if we continue, it will start affecting our friendship.” Forest lifts his eyes back to mine. When he doesn’t say anything, I continue, “You’re the most important person in my life. I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t,” he states with so much certainty it makes me feel a little better. “Let’s look at the worst that can happen.”
“Okay,” I breathe.
He hesitates for a moment, then asks, “We love each other, right?”
There’s a spike of anxiety right through my heart. “Yeah.”
Forest takes a deep breath. “And there’s chemistry between us?”
I hesitate, but then push through and admit, “Yes.”
“Would it be such a bad thing if this fake relationship became real?”
God.
I’ve never had a relationship last longer than two weeks. Forest… he’s my life. I’d die if we dated, only for it to end in fourteen days.
Emotion pushes up my throat. “I won’t risk losing you.”
Forest must see the fear on my face because he pulls me to him. His arms wrap around me, and he holds me tightly while murmuring, “You won’t lose me. We can remain best friends, or we can try the real thing and see where it leads. No pressure either way.”
I pull a little back and staring into his gray eyes, I whisper, “I suck at relationships. You know my longest one lasted thirteen days.”
I sit down on my knees and dropping a hand to Forest’s thigh, I begin to fidget with the fabric of his sweatpants.
“Okay,” Forest says, and bringing a hand to my chin, he nudges my face back up so I’ll look at him. “How about we continue with the fake relationship. Use it as a trial period to see if we can last longer than two weeks. If we make it, we can reevaluate whether we want to make it real. If things start to unravel, we stop and go back to being best friends.”
“As long as we don’t end up fighting and ruining things between us,” I say.
“At the first sign of a fight, we instantly stop the relationship,” Forest states.
“So… how will this work?” I swallow hard. “Do we stick to what we already agreed to?”
Forest’s eyes burn on mine, and after a moment, he says, “Let things take their natural course. If the relationship progresses between us and we’re both okay with it, I don’t see why we should put rules in place.”
Needing to be on the same page as Forest, I ask, “So, we kiss whenever we want to, not just for pretend to fool the campus?”
“If you’re okay with it, yeah.”
Because of my past relationships, especially after dating Eli, I’m scared to open up to another person intimately. I let out a shaky breath, and my hands begin to tremble. My breathing speeds up as I admit, “I’m scared.”
Forest moves his hand to my cheek, and his touch is electric and gentle at the same time. He leans into me, and our eyes lock. “It’s always been you and me. Nothing will ever change that. Okay?”
I nod, and my tongue darts out to wet my lips.
Forest’s gaze drops to my mouth, and then he closes the distance between us.
This time there’s nothing fake about the kiss, and I’m highly aware that Forest’s mouth is on mine because it’s what he wants.
It’s what I want.
Right?
When his tongue brushes along my bottom lip, my doubts begin to fade. I let him in, and our tongues instantly get lost in hard strokes.
My hands find Forest’s hair, and I tilt my head, my breath and mouth warring with his for control.
Forest wraps his arm around my waist, and he lifts me before I’m laid back on the bed. His body covers mine, and it sets me alight with anticipation, desire, and a storm of tingles brewing in my abdomen.
Chapter 6
FOREST
This night has taken one hell of an unexpected turn. I’m just fucking relieved Aria’s willing to try for more. I know all about her rocky dating history, having been the one to comfort her after every breakup.
But now I have a chance to show her what a healthy relationship is like. I have a chance to make her mine.
Moving her onto her back, I lower my body to hers. The kiss is filled with an intensity the others didn’t have. Maybe it’s because I’m allowed to express how I really feel?
Every brush of our tongues sends a current rushing through me.
I’ve known Aria my whole life. We’ve shared every fear, every secret, every dream with each other. There is not a single day in our past where we didn’t talk to each other.
I have always loved her as a best friend, but this new feeling, the consuming need to kiss her, to touch her, to be inside her – it’s overwhelming as fuck.
Now I also understand why it annoyed the hell out of me whenever Aria was dating some fuckface who didn’t deserve her. It’s because she was mine. She’s always been mine.
The realization makes me devour her mouth. I nip and massage her lips with a frenzied passion. My left hand moves to her side and feeling the feminine curve of her body, my palm itches to explore more of her.
My touch grows firmer as I brush my hand up to her ribs. I stop under the swell of her breast and breaking the kiss, I breathlessly ask, “Can I touch you?”
When she nods, my thumb brushes over the curve of her breast. I watch as her pupils dilate, and her breath rushes over her lips.
It fucking drives me wild.
I claim her mouth and covering her breast, I soak in the feel of how perfectly she fits in my palm. Aria moans, and she arches her back, pressing her breast harder into my hand. My fingers find her nipple, and I coax it into a hard bud.
Her hands move down my back, and I feel her nails through the fabric of my shirt.
Christ, I want to rip off our clothes and bury myself deep i
nside her.
Instead of the thought making me lose control, it clears my head. I don’t want to push her too far tonight. She needs to get used to the idea of us being a couple.
Pulling back, I gasp for air, and I move my hand back down to her hip. When I manage to catch my breath, I bring my eyes to hers and say, “There’s definitely attraction.”
She lets out a silent burst of laughter. “That’s for sure.”
I move my body off of hers and lie down beside her. Propping my head on my hand, I ask, “Are you really okay with this?”
“After that kiss,” a smile begins to tug at her lips as she nods, “yeah.” She turns onto her side, so she’s facing me. “Are you okay with it?”
I nod, then ask, “It doesn’t feel awkward at all?”
Aria shakes her head. “Everything but awkward.”
“Everything?” I ask, a playful tone to my voice.
She waves a hand in the air, and her gaze drops to my neck. “The toe-curling, the sparks, the butterflies.”
Bringing my hand to her chin, I nudge her face back up while grinning like a proud idiot. “Yeah?”
Aria smiles shyly, which is a rare sight. “Yeah.” Then worry creeps into her eyes. “Let’s not tell our friends and families, okay? If it doesn’t work out between us, then at least they won’t know.”
Knowing it’s her biggest fear that something will go wrong, I relent, “Okay.” I shift myself up on the bed and pull Aria closer until her head rests on my shoulder. “We’re going to be fine. We know everything about each other, so nothing can go wrong,” I try to reassure her.
She lets out a burst of laughter. “God, I didn’t even think about that.” Her laughter grows. “We’ve farted in front of each other.”
My chest begins to shake under her. “That’s where your mind went?”
Her smiling face tips up to me. “Usually, the honeymoon phase is over the instant there’s farting involved.”
I brush her dark brown hair away from her face and murmur, “Which means we got the worst out of the way, and we can focus on enjoying the good.”
When she relaxes against me, I wrap my arm around her and give her a tight squeeze.
Positive that a relationship between us can work, I’m filled with excitement.
ARIA
Lying in Forest’s arms shouldn’t feel different because we’ve done this many times before. Every time he had to comfort me after a breakup.
But it feels new. It fills me with anticipation, which is something I haven’t felt before. Sure I’ve been attracted to some of the guys I’ve dated, and others I gave a chance because they were nice. But I never felt consumed by them. I never wanted to kiss them so badly it was all I could think about. I never felt good about myself when I was with them.
Lifting my head, I push myself up until I’m staring down at Forest. I place my hand against his jaw and feeling the day-old scruff, sends an electric current shooting through my fingers and up my arm.
I was starting to think all the things I wanted to feel when kissing a guy were only a stupid fantasy, and they didn’t really exist.
But they do.
Lowering my head, I press a soft kiss to Forest’s full lips.
He lifts a hand to my face, and brushes my hair back, then asks, “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
I rest my cheek against his shoulder and admit, “I started to think I was asking for too much. You know… wanting to feel butterflies.”
“And now?”
I glance up at him. “Now that I know it’s real, I’m kinda sad I wasted all that time on my previous relationships.”
“Don’t think of it as a waste of time, but that you got to figure out what you really want,” Forest murmurs while dropping his hand to his chest.
Has Forest been what I wanted all along?
I think back to my disastrous relationships and begin to frown when I realize I did compare every guy to Forest. It always annoyed me that I could never be myself with them. I was always too scared I’d do something wrong and had to pretend to be the perfect girlfriend. It was so damn exhausting.
“What if it turns out you’ve been the one all along?” I ask.
“Then I’d say we’re lucky. Not many people get to fall in love with their best friends.”
Fall in love. Is that what’s happening?
I glance up at Forest. “We already love each other. As friends, but how will we know if we’re… you know…” I take a deep breath, then say, “falling in love?”
A grin spreads over Forest’s face. “The day we rip each other’s clothes off, I think it’s safe to say we’re in love.”
“Oh… Yeah.”
Forest has only slept with one girl. Kennedy Quinn. She was his first everything. Honestly, they would probably still be together if she hadn’t moved away.
If we ever get to the point of having sex, I know it will mean Forest is serious. It’s not something he takes lightly.
God, if we even make it to that stage of the relationship.
I’ve only made it that far with Eli, and that turned out to be… I pull a disgruntled face at the memories I’d rather forget.
My thoughts return to Forest and how it felt when he touched me. I don’t think I would’ve stopped him if he had tried to go all the way.
The revelation brings my racing mind to a screeching halt.
Does that mean I’m already in love with Forest?
I reach for his hand and brush my fingers over his skin. Instantly I feel an invisible pull between us. Forest weaves his fingers with mine.
“Look at me,” he murmurs.
My eyes snap to his.
“Stop overthinking everything and enjoy what’s happening between us.” He leans into me and presses a kiss to my mouth. “I’ve never let you down, and I never will.”
“Okay,” I whisper, still feeling apprehensive.
“You trust me, right?” Forest asks.
“Irrevocably,” I breathe.
“Then trust me with your heart as well, Aria.” His eyes look like stormy clouds as he promises, “I won’t break it.”
Emotion makes my eyes tear up, and closing the distance between us, I kiss Forest. It’s not a peck. It’s not soft but filled with all my fears and hopes.
Eli hurt me in the worst way, and I never told Forest about it. Hearing those words from Forest, I wonder if he knows something.
God, I hope not. I won’t be able to live with the shame.
If the worst happens and Forest breaks my heart, I know I won’t recover. I’ll probably swear off men for good because if it can’t work out with Forest, who’s the best person I know, then what chance does anyone else stand.
Chapter 7
FOREST
It’s not the first time I’ve woken with Aria snuggled against my chest, but this morning, everything is different.
I’m hard, and it’s not just morning wood. It’s her scent, the sound of her breathing, her hand splayed open over my abs. Mostly, it’s because her leg is thrown over mine, and her thigh is nudging against my cock.
My gaze drifts over her smooth skin, her lips, her button nose. A smile spreads over my face when the realization hits that we’re actually doing this. We’re dating.
Aria stirs, and then she stretches out, the length of her body rubbing against mine, and it makes my cock strain against my sweatpants. I turn onto my side, facing her so I can hide my hard-on.
“Morning,” she mumbles sleepily.
I press a kiss to her forehead and pulling back so I can get up, I say, “Morning. Time to get up, or we’ll be late for our first day.”
Aria shoots up, a smile spreading over her face. “It’s our first day!”
I let out a chuckle and walk to the bathroom. I relieve myself and brush my teeth before I go back into the room. Aria’s left, probably to get dressed. Heading to my walk-in closet, my eyes scan over the clothes. I grab tan cargo pants and a charcoal button-up shirt.
After showering, I slip on the clothes, and I’m busy combing my fingers through my hair when there’s a knock at my door.
“Come in.”
The door opens, and Noah steps inside with two coffees. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah.” When he hands me a cup, I say, “Thanks.”
“Listen,” he lets out a deep breath. “I want to apologize for last night. Carla has a way of getting under my skin.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me.” I place my hand on his shoulder. “I just didn’t want the two of you getting into a fight in front of the other students.”
Noah shakes his head. “It’s like she has a direct link to my last nerve.”
I let out a chuckle. “It’s her specialty. If she knows something bothers you, she zeroes in on it like a heat-seeking missile.” Seeing the worry on Noah’s face, I ask, “Do you want me to talk to her?”
“Nah, it’s nothing I can’t handle. I just wanted to make sure everything's cool between us.”
“Of course.”
I take a sip of my coffee before I walk out with Noah. Aria’s bedroom door is open, and I find her in the kitchen, busy preparing coffee. She glances up, and when she sees the cup in my hand, she says, “Shoot, I was just making you coffee.”
“I’ll have it,” Carla says as she comes up behind me. “Hey, cuz,” she grins at me and blatantly ignores Noah.
Hana, Mila, and Jade join us in the kitchen, and when everyone’s ready, we all file out of the suite. Walking out of the building, I instantly notice how Noah, Mila, and Jade hang back.
Aria slips her hand into mine, and I link my fingers with hers. When we near the lecture halls, I glance at Carla, “I’ll catch up with you. I’m walking Aria to class.”
“Okay.” Carla waves at us before catching up to the rest of the group.
I turn my attention to Aria and ask, “Are you excited?”
“For?” she hesitates but then asks, “Us dating?”
I let out a chuckle. “I was actually referring to your art classes, but now I want to hear your answer about us dating.”
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