The Bookworm's Guide to Dating

by Hart, Emma

  He broke it off and buried his face in my hair as I pressed my forehead against his solid chest. He smelled like coffee and lavender again, and it was the weirdest thing to think, but I realized it was lavender because that was what his detergent smelled like.

  I had no idea why my brain thought now was the appropriate time for that realization, but here we were.

  “Why?” he grunted into my hair. “Why do you need a say?”

  “Because it’s a stupid freakin’ pact.”

  “Kinsley.”

  “Because if I don’t have one, I’m afraid I’ll never get to feel like this again,” I whispered truthfully into his t-shirt. “And it’s not just because you’re wearing gray sweatpants and I’ve been a little turned on ever since you opened the door.”

  He stilled, then laughed. The vibrations from his traveled through his whole body and, by extension, mine. Before I could stop it, I was laughing right along with him.

  “What do we do now?” I asked after a few minutes of us laughing together.

  He reached up and pushed my hair away, smoothing it around my neck so one side was exposed to him. His nose tickled along my skin, and his hot breath danced over the sensitive area, making my heart pound inside my chest.

  “I think,” he murmured, ghosting his lips over my neck. “We’ve come this far now, so we might as well stop talking and think about it all later.”

  I drew in a deep breath and let my eyes flutter shut as he kissed my pulse point. I knew that was, technically, the wrong answer, but every single part of my body was screaming at me to listen to him.

  We’d already crossed enough lines.

  One more really, really wasn’t going to matter at this point.

  Not now we’d both admitted to there being something between us.

  “Are you sure?” I whispered.

  “I’m sure I’ll hate myself if I let you walk out of my door right now.”

  Then he kissed me. Deeply and hungrily, and his fingertips dug into my skin where he held me against him.

  This was a terrible idea, and I knew it, but I still couldn’t stop myself.

  I fell into his kiss, completely losing myself in him for the longest moment. It didn’t last long before he released me, only to grab my hand and pull me after him. Josh dragged me up the stairs to his bedroom and tugged me inside, kissing me again.

  We stumbled together across the room. His bed came too soon, and I fell back before he did.

  Using his hands to stop his fall, he covered my body with his and once again took my mouth under his control. He was already between my legs, and as I wrapped them around his waist, my dress rode up to my hips.

  Josh sat up and pulled his t-shirt over his head, revealing his lightly tanned body and the muscles that made up his stomach.

  God. Gray sweatpants and abs.

  Romance novels were definitely fiction, but that combination was definitely not.

  He smirked for all of a second as he watched my eyes dart over his body, but he kissed me again, and all I could focus on was the softness of his skin beneath my fingertips.

  My body reacted enthusiastically; my heart hammered against my chest and my skin puckered in thousands of goosebumps that covered every inch of me. Heat flooded through me and pooled between my legs, making my hips buck up toward him as I silently begged for this to move on.

  I wanted this.

  I wanted Josh.

  I was lost to the moment as he moved to remove my dress. He pulled me to sitting and tugged it up my body and over my head, revealing my mismatched off-white bra and blue panties.

  All right, the bra was gray.

  It was supposed to be white, but we all had that bra.

  If he noticed, he didn’t say a thing. Instead, he slid down my body and pulled off my boots, then came back. My bra was unclipped in a flash, and my head had hit the soft blankets before I could register the fact he had his tongue circling my nipple.

  Desire burst through me, and I moaned. Josh worked my body like a magician, moving from my breasts to my mouth and down my neck, back to my mouth again to kiss me like he needed me.

  Every single second was gloriously wonderful, and when he moved lower, peppering kisses across my tensed stomach down to the band of my underwear, I drew in a deep breath.

  He dropped kisses on the inside of my thigh, edging closer and closer to my pussy where I was wet and aching. He dragged it out, annoyingly so, palming my thighs with his fingertips and kissing my skin.

  Then he finally moved, pulling my panties down. He dragged them down my legs and let them drop to the floor, then moved back up and parted my thighs.

  I gasped as his tongue made contact with my clit. He worked his tongue against me, exploring me, teasing me, offering me nothing but pure pleasure.

  I fisted the blankets at my sides, and my back arched as Josh closed his mouth around my clit and sucked.

  Pleasure bolted through me, not quite an orgasm but not quite not, and I cried out. Josh released me and covered my body once again, slipping himself fully between my legs. His fingers slid between mine as he kissed me, making me taste myself on his tongue.

  “I know you didn’t come,” he murmured against my lips, once again moving his mouth to kiss my neck. “But I’m greedy and want that all for me.”

  My breaths were all heavy and needy, and I gladly took the next kiss he offered me.

  “Condom,” he whispered.

  I inhaled deeply through my nose. “I’m fine if you are.”

  Groaning, he kissed me again, moving one hand down my body and gripping my thigh. The deepness of his kiss enthralled me, and I moved with him as if I was made to.

  In reality, it was messy and hungry, nothing remotely romantic about the way we both fought to be closer to one another. It was pure passion and desire, and when Josh finally pushed inside me, I cried out desperately, a cry he swallowed with his kiss.

  It was so good.

  We moved together, him thrusting deep inside me and me responding to it all. We were almost completely in sync. My fingers dug into his shoulders, and I was sure my nails were leaving marks in his skin where I grabbed him so enthusiastically.

  He pounded into me, every single thrust pushing me closer to the edge. Every single thing about this was almost carnal, and I was loving it all.

  My orgasm hit so ferociously I could barely breathe through it. All my muscles clenched, and I cried out loudly as it rippled through me. The pleasure built again before I could stop it, and another rush of euphoria spread through me. Josh’s groan only just broke through the pounding in my ears, and the only clue I had to the fact he’d also come was the fact he was buried deep inside me and had his face pressed into my neck.

  I was covered in sweat and barely able to breathe. He was heavy and muscular, and I slowly released my vice grip on his shoulders so he could move.

  He rolled over, pulling out of me, but didn’t let me go.

  Happily, I snuggled against his naked body to feel the heat from him. The heat we’d made together, the heat that meant we’d really done this.

  The heat that said there was no going back from this.

  This line could never be uncrossed.

  But here, in his arms, I felt completely safe and wanted and content.

  I never wanted to leave them.

  “Jesus Christ,” he whispered against the top of my head.

  I moved one knee between his thighs and paused as my foot scraped his. “Josh?”

  “Mhmm?” he responded sleepily.

  I was glad he was sleepy—I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to move past this moment.

  “You left my socks on.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN – JOSH

  rule sixteen: it’s never, ever like it is in the books.

  I was going to Hell.

  There was no doubt about it. I’d booked a one-way ticket to whatever level of Hell Dante decreed you should go to after you’d had sex with your best friend’s sister.

&n
bsp; Clearly I’d been thinking way too hard with my dick.

  That was all I could think of as I washed off in the shower, leaving Kinsley lying in my bed and getting my pillow soaking wet. She’d already showered, but since I didn’t own a hairdryer because I had no use for one, my pillow was now acting as if it were one.

  It was a good thing I had extra pillows.

  On one hand, this was all a good thing. Kinsley finally knew how I felt about her, and she clearly had feelings for me she was trying to work through. It was everything I’d wanted for a long time, and maybe that was why I felt so fucking shit.

  There was no going back from all of this. I’d broken my promise to my best friend, and I wasn’t sure he’d give a damn how I felt about her if and when he found this all out.

  The only good thing I could think of right now was that we’d both agreed to ignore it until tomorrow and for now, we’d just pretend we weren’t the eye of an impending storm.

  There was nothing like a little post-sex avoidance to solidify a relationship.

  I rinsed the soap from my body and shut off the water. I wished I could shut off my brain as easily as I could the shower. All it was doing was sending stupid little ideas to my emotions that instead of feeling happiness and satiation, all I was allowed to feel was guilt.

  Soul-deep, never-ending motherfucking guilt.

  This situation was so fucked up.

  I’d finally done what would make me happy, and all I could feel was that damn guilt.

  And I was already over it. Unfortunately, I didn’t think it was going to go away anytime soon.

  I wrapped a towel around my waist and went back to my bedroom. Kinsley was leaning against the headboard with both pillows propped up behind her, her phone plugged into my charge cable, and a pizza box on her lap.

  She didn’t even glance up when I came in.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Reading,” she replied, her eyes never leaving her phone screen.

  “On your phone?”

  “I don’t have a book or a Kindle here and I was bored.” She took a bite of pizza.

  “You look comfortable.”

  This time, she did look at me, a big grin spreading across her face. “I am. Thanks.”

  “And now both my pillows are wet.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, shoot.”

  “It’s fine.” I smirked. “It’s just pillows. I have more in the cupboard.”

  “Oh, good.” She nestled back down and pressed the back of her head against the one I was pretty sure was mine. “Are you sure you don’t have a hairdryer here?”

  I stared at her for a moment before I ran one hand through my hair, making sure to do it slowly to emphasize the shortness. “No, you’re right. It’s in the bathroom. I regularly dry it over the sink.”

  “There’s no need to be snarky.”

  “You’d know. You’re Queen Snarky.”

  She poked her tongue out at me. “I’m trying to read, you know.”

  “How can you read on your phone? Isn’t the screen too small?”

  “It’s a screen. There are words. It’s not terribly hard to understand how it works, Joshua.”

  “Now who’s being snarky?”

  Her eyes flitted from side to side as she read. “You can’t call someone Queen Snarky and expect them not to snark.”

  “You know, for someone who just had two orgasms, you should not have this much attitude.”

  She tapped the side of the screen with her thumb and reached for another slice of the now-cold pizza. “Josh, I’m lying in your bed stark naked, reading, and eating pizza.”

  “I had noticed.”

  “Then why do you have so much attitude?”

  “Touché,” I muttered, adjusting the towel at my waist. “So you wouldn’t be bothered if I get into bed and put the TV on?”

  “It’s your TV,” Kinsley said absently.

  “And watch sports?”

  “Again, it’s your TV.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “And you don’t care?”

  “If you don’t stop talking to me while I’m trying to read, I’m going to shove the TV so far up your ass your sports will play directly into your brain.” She glared at me just to prove her point.

  Well, I wasn’t going to argue it any further.

  I shrugged and headed out of the room. I’d barely made it to the top of the stairs when I heard Kinsley call my name and I turned around with a, “Yeah?”

  “Are you going to the basement?”

  “I am.”

  “Do you have wine?”

  “I thought you didn’t want any alcohol.”

  “I didn’t want any alcohol so I didn’t make a stupid decision,” she called. “But I already did that, so…”

  I laughed and took to the stairs. I wasn’t going to argue with her there. We had made a stupid decision, but I’d rather it be a stupid decision than a stupid mistake.

  Although the latter was still up for discussion in time.

  I made my way into the basement and grabbed wine, glasses, and my pizza. I lost my towel halfway up the stairs into the hallway, meaning I was butt naked, right as car lights shone in my hallway windows.

  I froze. They were right outside my house, and I knew those lights.

  Shit.

  It was Colton.

  I darted into the kitchen, dumped the pizza, wine, and glasses, and ducked into the laundry room. I grabbed some clean boxers from the drying rack and some black sweats from the floor that I didn’t have a chance to sniff test, so it was anyone’s guess if they were clean or not.

  I paused in the kitchen to shove one glass of wine in a random cabinet in case he came in here and froze.

  Shit.

  Colton.

  My best friend was here.

  And his little sister’s car was on my driveway.

  And she was upstairs.

  Naked.

  In my bed.

  We were so fucked.

  And not in the way we’d been less than an hour ago.

  I hoped like hell she’d heard the car pull up or seen the lights, but it wasn’t guaranteed since my bedroom overlooked my backyard, and I didn’t have time to yell up at her.

  Three knocks sounded at my door followed by the ding of my bell.

  God, I hated that bell.

  I reached up to touch my hair. It was now dry, thank God, and I walked to the door and opened it.

  Colton stared at me. “Why is my sister’s car in your driveway?”

  “Hello to you, too,” I said dryly.

  “Hey,” he said. “Why is Kinsley’s car in your driveway?”

  “Because she’s here, obviously.” Way to go, Josh. That’s not suspicious at all.

  “But why is she here? It’s like nine p.m.” He frowned.

  “Because, brother dearest,” Kinsley said from somewhere behind me. “Josh owed me.”

  I had absolutely no fucking idea where this was going.

  “Owed you?” He peered around me at her. “Why the fuck are you wearing one of his shirts?”

  “He owed me,” she repeated. “Now are you going to shut up and let me talk, or gawk at me like I’m a zoo exhibit?”

  Colton opened his mouth before he shut it again.

  Thank fuck for that. I wanted her to talk, too.

  And when had she gotten dressed so quickly? And why was she wearing one of my old Montana Bears baseball t-shirts?

  Not that it didn’t look good.

  It did. Too good.

  Fuck.

  “He set me up with some jerk in Creek Hill. I went on a date with him at the diner halfway between here and there.”

  Genius. I was close to the edge of town and only ten minutes away from that diner.

  “The guy got stupid drunk and accidentally spilled half his beer on my shirt.” The lies rolled off her tongue easily as she towel-dried her still-wet hair over her right shoulder. “I called Josh from the car but he didn’t answer, so I showed
up here to yell at him since I was passing anyway.”

  “That was fun,” I drawled.

  “You deserved it.” She shot me a dark look before turning her attention back to Colton. “I was wet, smelled like beer, and my shirt was ruined. He told me to take a shower and gave me this shirt so I didn’t have to drive the rest of the way home smelling like a brewery.”

  “Oh,” Colton said after a moment. “Makes sense. Are you sure he should be setting you up anymore? I thought you liked Elliott?”

  “We went on one date, Colt. I’m free to see whoever I like.” She finished drying her hair—something she could have done half an hour ago, but what did I know?—and folded the towel in two. “What are you doing here?”

  He faltered for a moment, as if he’d expected the question to come from me and not her. “I left Amber’s and thought I’d drive by the house down the street. I’m going to call the realtor tomorrow.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “You’re actually doing it?”

  Colton nodded. “She’s not going to change her mind, but neither am I, so I’m just doing it. I only stopped because I saw your car, Kins.”

  “Oh.” She folded the towel over her arm. “Well, sorry to disappoint you with a boring story.”

  Colton grunted and turned around. “Gotta get a better matchmaker, sis.”

  “Totally agree!” she called after him as he headed for his car.

  “Aren’t you leaving?”

  “Yeah, I’m just waiting for my phone to charge. And he has pizza.” She shrugged. “I didn’t get to eat thanks to drunk smurf at the diner, and you’re not letting me eat either, so bye.” She swung the door shut as soon as she was done talking.

  I stared at her. “What are you doing?” I hissed.

  “Getting rid of him,” she whispered back, clutching the towel to her chest. “I almost shit my pants when I saw his car out there!”

  “You weren’t wearing any pants.”

  “Exactly!” She clapped her hand over her mouth as a car door opened. When it closed, she dropped it. “Now aren’t you glad I didn’t?”

  I did my best to glare at her, but it wasn’t possible. I rubbed my hand down my face and turned away as I choked back a laugh.

  “That was so fucking close,” I muttered after a moment.