by Shona Husk
‘Worried about your court case?’ Indigo gave his butt a pinch.
There had been so many mixed signals over the last month he got a hard-on just looking at her, but he was still trying to keep things even and not rush her.
‘Only every other minute.’ He knew what the result would be but he couldn’t help but worry about it. When he got back from Broome he had to front up and plead guilty. ‘At least I won’t miss my licence much.’ He wouldn’t be around to drive.
He crushed the lemonade can and tossed it in the box being used for empties. It wasn’t the court case he was worrying about right now. It was leaving Indigo and whether or not there would be something to come back to. He wanted what they were doing made official so there could be no misunderstandings.
‘You got a moment?’ He knew she did. The sausages weren’t done yet and she wasn’t going to take off when dinner hadn’t been served. There was actually salad and dessert too, courtesy of Ava and Olivia.
Her smile fell away.
Ed shot him a glance but kept rolling the sausages around like he cared that they got burned evenly all over. Sometimes Dan was sure Ed was watching and waiting for him to screw up. But nothing had been said. Gemma often asked how he was going though, and they were sliding back to the easy friendship that they’d had. Mike was smiling a bit more. He also had whole conversations with Ava that involved more words than Dan had ever heard him say. She was good for him.
Dan and Indigo walked away from the heat and the other people. He shivered.
‘It’s starting to get cold,’ Indigo said as she rubbed her arms. ‘I left my jacket in the car.’
‘I’ll get you one of mine.’ He had been planning on staying outside, going in looked far too obvious. While they all assumed he and Indigo were dating, they also knew it was bumpy.
He took her hand and they went in. She hadn’t been into his room here. It had taken him a week to tell her he was living here. His life had fallen apart so badly that he was living on a friend’s charity.
The bed wasn’t really made, but the rest of the room was tidy, if a little cluttered.
‘Settled in?’
He shot her a look over his shoulder as he pulled out a fleece jacket for her to wear. ‘It’s okay.’
‘Thanks.’ She slipped into his jacket and pulled her hair free. The red curls tumbled around her shoulders. Then she patted the bed next to her.
Dan didn’t move. He wanted to—he wanted to be pinning her to the bed and removing items of clothing one by one. ‘I need to know where we stand, Indy. I’m heading off. We either make this official or call it a failed experiment.’
He didn’t want to be jerked around again. And he didn’t want to fuck up again. If it was nailed down and he knew where he stood, it would be fine.
‘I’ve been thinking about it too.’ She frowned and folded her hands in her lap. It was clear she still didn’t trust him. He couldn’t make her trust him. He tried hard not to let the hurt show.
Dan’s face hardened but he said nothing. The last four weeks had been different to anything she’d ever done. They had carefully danced around each other, seeing each other at every opportunity while trying to avoid drawing too close and getting burned. There had been moments when all she’d wanted to do was rip his clothes off.
‘I’ve never done this. Been friends with a guy. Just done stuff.’
‘But we aren’t just friends. I feel a pull. I want to touch you and I have to fight so damn hard not to because I don’t know where the lines are.’ He forced out a breath. ‘I want you. I want to date you. I don’t know if I can keep being friends when you hold my hand, or we kiss and forget to breathe.’
‘I know.’ She tucked her hair behind her ears. ‘But I can’t imagine not having you in my life now.’
‘As your boyfriend? Are you actually asking?’
He drew in a breath and held her gaze. Then he nodded. ‘Yes.’ He dropped to his knees in front of her. Her heart stopped as he lifted her hands. ‘Will you please go out with me?’
She tried to ignore the heat creeping up her cheeks. No one asked outside of high school. He was on his knees as though it was a marriage proposal. All she had to do was say yes. It wasn’t a big step to take. The last four weeks had revealed a lot about who he really was, the way he was with his friends and their girlfriends. No one thought he was an idiot and no one had tried to scare her away. They all wanted him to be happy and had said what a good thing she was.
None of them knew the reason behind her hesitation.
He had spent the last month getting himself together. She could see that now. Looking back, she could see the way he’d been falling apart. The way she’d been on edge, never trusting. Never letting anyone in out of fear.
She bit the inside of her lip and stared at him. He was what she wanted. They would make it work. ‘Yes.’
He grinned and kissed her. They fell back on the bed, their legs tangling.
‘Your friends will be waiting.’ His hands were under her top and sliding over her belly.
‘Our friends won’t care.’ His hand slid lower.
She’d missed the way he touched her. But she was aching for all the wrong reasons.
She put her hands on his chest and pushed. ‘It’s not going to happen tonight.’
He closed his eyes. ‘You still think about it.’
She did, but that wasn’t the reason this time. ‘I have my period, so you’ll have to wait until you get back.’
He rolled off her. ‘Damn.’
‘Plus I am not hiding in here while they are all out there imagining what we’re up to.’ It wasn’t good manners to sneak off during a barbeque for a quickie. She propped herself up and looked at him.
‘They are already thinking the worst.’ He reached for her hand and smiled. ‘We might as well let them think we’re taking our time and doing it right.’ He tugged her closer and she curled up against him.
He kissed her forehead. She tilted her face so she could taste his lips.
If their friends were already thinking they were up to no good, then there was no point in rushing back out. Her lips curved. They didn’t have to rush at all. This wasn’t for just one night.
Thanks for reading Out of Chances. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage www.shonahusk.com, join my newsletter http://mad.ly/signups/119074/join, follow me on twitter @ShonaHusk, or like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/shonahusk.
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You’ve just read a book in my Face the Music series. The other books in this series are Out of Rhythm, Out of Place and Out of Time.
If you liked this book, here are my other books Secret Confessions—Sydney Housewives: Meagan and Secret Confessions—Back Stage: Kelly.
This book was published by Escape Publishing. If you’d like to sample some more great books from my fellow Escape Artists, please turn the page.
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ISBN: 9780857992796
Title: Out Of Chances
Copyright © 2015 by Shona Husk
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