Текст книги "Off Base"

Автор книги: Tessa Bailey

Соавторы: Sophie Jordan
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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

Chapter Four

Usually women didn’t dive into bathrooms after making out with him. Not that Cullen usually made out with women. He wasn’t seventeen. When he was with a woman, the outcome was sex. Pure and simple. They were both in it for the same thing, and that expectation was clear on both sides going in.

Tonight though, with Huntley, had been something else. Something organic. Something wild and unprecedented for him.

And they hadn’t even had sex. A fact that both tormented and relieved him. On one hand he wanted her so badly his teeth ached. On the other hand, there was still time to salvage their friendship.

Huntley had been in the bathroom for ten minutes before she emerged. She paused when she saw him sitting on the couch. He’d thrown on a T-shirt and jeans. Partly to make her feel more comfortable, but mostly in case his dick decided to misbehave again and rise to full-mast.

To say he was sexually frustrated would be an understatement. Seeing her again only drove home how much he wanted her. She looked well-pleasured. Her face flushed and her eyes shining.

“Hey,” she murmured, flags of color staining her cheeks. “I called a cab.”

Those words doused him in cold. “What did you do that for?”

“I don’t think I should stay the rest of the night, do you?”

“I can sleep on the couch.”

She shifted on her bare feet, looking uncomfortable. “I want to go home.”

“So I’ll take you home. I’m sober enough now.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“A sober Cullen never would have—”

He laughed roughly. “Oh, you’re going to blame what happened on the alcohol?” He snorted, draping his wrists over his knees. “That’s original, Huntley. The beer lowered my inhibitions? Really? I wouldn’t have touched you otherwise?” He rubbed at his lips, tasting her there. “You go ahead and tell yourself that if it makes you feel better.”

Her chest lifted on a sharp inhale, her full breasts pressing against the cotton of her blouse, and he suddenly regretted that he had not gotten her naked while he had the chance. He could have satisfied his curiosity after all these years.

It had always been there, buried beneath the surface. Sure, he treated her like she was one of the guys. Just another pal. It was the only way a friendship between them could work. But tonight he had crossed the line. It wasn’t irreparable, however. They hadn’t fucked. Not even when she had quivered under him in surrender, her tight heat milking his fingers, her soft little sounds driving him wild and inviting him to take her.

He had stopped even though it killed him. Even though he had wanted to drive deep inside her until he couldn’t remember his own name. Until he forgot the guilt eating at him.

This was salvageable. He could forget what they had done, the way she felt. The way she tasted … like honey and butter on his tongue.

“What am I supposed to think, Cullen?” she demanded. “This was a difficult night for you. I was a welcome distraction. And combined with alcohol …” She shook her head, her mane of dark blonde hair tossing around her shoulders. “It explains a lot about what happened between us.”

He resisted insisting what happened between them had been coming from day one. Ever since Beck demanded he come and meet his sister and help her move in. He was screwed the minute she stepped outside her house. Dressed in blue jeans and a Georgia State University sweatshirt, she was your squeaky-clean girl next door. Her long blonde ponytail bounced as she jogged down the steps to greet them. He had hesitated behind Beck, taking in her makeup-free face.

When she turned those blue eyes on him he felt like someone punched him in the gut. She was sweet and innocent. A regular Girl Scout and yet all he could think about was getting her on all fours and taking her hard and fast and dirty. He was one sick bastard. His first glance at his friend’s sister and he wanted to ruin her, and tonight he had finally come close to doing that.

It dawned on him that she was giving him a way out. An excuse to pardon tonight’s actions. They could get beyond the fact that he had felt her up like she was some girl in the backseat of his high school Bronco and pretend this never happened.

A horn honked outside.

She bolted for the door. “I’ll see you at the ceremony tomorrow.”

He lunged after her, stalling her at the door with a hand on her arm. “I’ll walk you out.”

She opened her mouth like she wanted to protest, but he didn’t stick around to hear it. He opened the door and strode outside, heedless that he was barefoot. He released a sigh of relief at the sight of the driver. A harried-looking woman, not a day younger than sixty, sat behind the wheel. She jerked her chin at him in greeting.

He opened the door for Huntley, feeling safer knowing she was in the cab with the older female rather than some strange man.

She paused before ducking in. “See you tomorrow?”

He nodded. “Sure. Tomorrow. Thanks for babysitting me.”

She averted her gaze, nodding. “No problem. That’s what I’m here for.”

That’s what I’m here for. To babysit him? He swallowed a growl. She probably wasn’t talking about letting him feel her up.

His gaze crawled over her face and hot color suffused her cheeks. He knew she was remembering it all in that moment. His mouth on her, his fingers. His dick stirred. Hell. How were things ever supposed to go back to normal between them now when all he wanted to do was follow through on where his mouth and fingers had been?

Because there was no other choice. They were friends and he needed to make sure they stayed that way.

“See you tomorrow.” He nodded.

She slammed the door shut behind her and the car pulled away from the curb. He watched the taillights fade down the street and turn the corner.

He stared, peering unseeingly into the night for several moments before returning inside to his empty house. Empty bed.

Pulling the sheets up to his waist, he closed his eyes and tried to pretend like he couldn’t still smell her all around him. When he took himself in hand and started stroking, he told himself it was a simple release he was after and it had nothing to do with her specifically. He clung to that lie until the moment he climaxed and it was only her face in his mind.

Chapter Five

Huntley picked up Beck and took him to an early dinner. It was good to have a little time alone together. Even if it was hard to meet his gaze after last night, knowing what she had done with his best friend, knowing what she had allowed his best friend to do to her. Allowed? Hell, she had reveled in it.

“Mom wants you to come home,” he announced over his burger. “And everyone else does too.”

She nodded, finishing her juice in a long sip. “I know.”

And by everyone he meant everyone. They had aunts, uncles and cousins by the truckloads. Everyone also meant Jackson. Her ex kept up with her online and via text. He liked to call her between his breakups and remind her that once upon a time they had planned to spend their futures together and that even though he dumped her she was still in the running for his future wife. His coaxing voice had the opposite effect on her, however. A future with him meant she had to fit into his idea of what she should be. Jackson loved her as long as she placed him at the center of the universe. He never wanted her to work. He expected her to put him before everything and everyone.

“I know.”

“So why don’t you then?”

“I like my job.” That was one reason.

“And that’s enough to stay here? Even if our entire family is halfway across the country? Are you dating anyone? Last time we talked—”

“No. I’m not seeing anyone.” An image of Cullen’s face hovering above her in the near dark of his room flashed through her mind and sent a warm blast of heat through her.

“Then think about it, Huntley. You shouldn’t be here all alone without any family around you.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him that she had Cullen. She wasn’t alone. Beck himself had appointed him as her watchdog, after all, but then she stopped herself. She didn’t have Cullen. No one had Cullen. And after last night, he’d probably treat her with the cool distance he treated every one-night stand. He’d be Sullen Cullen, even to her.

“Hey, you okay, Hunt?”

She forced a bright smile. “Sure. Now, let’s go get you that medal.” She reached across the table and dusted a speck of lint off his dress uniform shoulder. “I’m proud of you, you know.”

He grinned. “And I’m proud of you, little sister.

She rolled her eyes. “Seventeen minutes.”

“I’m still older.”

“Keep lording that over me.” Smiling, she looked out the diner window. “This place feels like home now.”

She didn’t want to go back just to get sucked into that world again. She liked what she had here. She winced, realizing a lot of her life here was wrapped up in Cullen, and if she wanted things to return to normal, she needed to clear the air between them and put last night behind them for good.

“I’ll try to explain it to the family,” Beck said as he tossed down money on the table and slid out from the booth. “But I can’t promise they’re not going to continue to nag you about it.”

Nodding, she led the way to where she parked her car. “You sure you want to go back? Even with Mary there?”

He nodded. “I’m not scared of facing her. I’ve moved on.” Beck sounded truly unaffected. He really wasn’t broken up over Mary cheating on him and dumping him. He settled into the passenger seat and stared ahead out the window, tapping his thigh with an almost anxious energy.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Fine. Why?”

Huntley shook her head. “You just seem different.”

He smiled slightly and rubbed at his chin. There was something elusive in the curve of his mouth. There was a time in her life when she could practically read his thoughts—and he hers. Right now she couldn’t get a read on him. He was keeping something from her.

Suddenly the thought of what she was keeping from him hit her full force and she was grateful they couldn’t read each other quite as well as they used to. Heat flamed her face as the memory of Cullen’s fingers touching her, filling her, swept over her. Fast on the heels of that memory followed longing for something longer and harder of his to fill her.

Her fingers clenched tighter around the steering wheel. She stared straight ahead, inhaling and fighting back the fire in her face as she pulled into the parking lot and found a spot. Turning off the engine, they both stepped out in the afternoon and started walking toward the building.

“Oh, hey, there’s Cullen.”

There were several other soldiers attired in dress uniform throughout the parking lot, but she identified Cullen instantly. Her gaze zoomed in on him as though he were a homing device.

Her pulse jack-knifed against her throat as her brother shouted out for his friend.

Cullen stopped and turned, his lean body strong and tall. He cut a fine figure in his uniform and all her girl parts tingled with awareness as they crossed the lot toward him. Sunshine glinted off the shiny buttons and medals on his uniform.

They stopped and she held silent as Beck and Cullen shook hands. She scarcely breathed as they exchanged greetings.

Cullen’s dark eyes were cool and distant as they settled on her. “Hey, Huntley.”

She forced a smile. “Cullen.”

She fell in beside her brother as they entered the building. Cullen and Beck stopped every few feet, greeting people they knew. She stood by patiently, trying not to devour the sight of Cullen. He was so hot it hurt to look at him. Not that it stopped other women from looking. Every female in the vicinity did double takes of Cullen and her brother, lust and admiration bright in their gazes. She wanted to slap them. Or worse. She wanted to walk up beside Cullen and put her hand on him in some way that marked him as hers. Yeah, that was definitely worse. And ridiculous.

Beck led her to a seat at the front of the auditorium. After a quick kiss on her cheek, Beck left and took his place up on the stage. Cullen left her, too, moving off to talk to another man in his dress uniform. Voices buzzed around her as others found their seats. She crossed her legs and settled her hands on her lap, staring straight ahead and wishing this thing would get started so she didn’t have to focus on the fact that Cullen seemed to be giving her the cold shoulder. Or maybe he was just doing what he did after he fooled around with a woman. A painful thought. He had never treated her to Sullen Cullen before, and she didn’t like it. Not one bit.

* * *

She smelled good. She looked good.

These two thoughts bounced around inside his head as the ceremony began. He couldn’t bring himself to sit beside her, so he deliberately waited until it was too late, until all the seats were occupied and he was forced to remain standing along the edges of the auditorium.

He supposed he should count it as a blessing that he was so wrapped up in her and how pretty she looked in her dress that he could barely concentrate on what else was happening. Even when the ceremony began, he found himself staring at her sitting there in her coral-colored dress with the heart-shaped bodice that showed just a hint of cleavage, but it was enough. Enough to make him want to haul her somewhere private where he could tug down the little cap sleeves and bare her for his hungry mouth.

Suddenly he noticed Beck was talking behind the podium, accepting the Silver Star. He listened to Beck’s words, listened as he dedicated the medal to Xander, and felt something loosen inside his chest. A small measure of peace maybe.

He also noticed the woman sidling up beside him. He glanced at her and then away before his gaze jerked back. It was Mary, Beck’s ex-girlfriend. He’d met her a few times before Beck deployed. Beck looked equally surprised to see her, pausing as he descended from the stage. Cullen’s gaze sought out Huntley. She looked shocked, as well, and decidedly not thrilled to see the girl who stomped all over her brother’s heart. In fact, she looked like a mama bear ready to tear Mary apart as she intercepted Beck. She rose from her chair and stormed in their direction.

Cullen grabbed her arm, stopping her as Beck and Mary slipped out through one of the auditorium’s exit doors.

She tugged on her arm. “The nerve of her coming all the way here after what she did—”

“Give them some privacy.”

She glared at him. “Let me go—”

“Are you going to go after them?”

Her mouth pursed mulishly.

He shook his head down at her. “Your brother is a grown man and can fight his own battles.”

“I know that, but Mary just isn’t some girl he dated. They’ve been together forever. She was my friend first. Did you know that? Since kindergarten. She betrayed us all when she betrayed him.”

Cullen held her stormy blue gaze for a moment before nodding and letting go of her arm.

She looked toward the door where they departed and then back at him. “Fine.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned against the wall beside him. “I’ll give them a couple of minutes and then nothing is stopping me from following and giving her a piece of my mind.”

A smile twitched his lips.

“What’s so funny?” she snapped.

“I’ve never seen you like this.”

“Like what?”

“Mad.” Before he could consider it, he added, “It’s kind of hot.”

Color flooded her face, and suddenly all the tense awkwardness of last night was between them again. They were in his bed and his hands were on her skin, sliding her thighs apart, sinking into her satin heat, wringing soft little cries from her lips. He inhaled and smelled that fruit shampoo of hers. His gaze slipped down and he got caught up in the way the coral dress made her skin look lush as peaches. Lust slicked through him and he dropped his hands to disguise his sudden hard-on.

She stared straight ahead, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s enough time.” Turning, she made a beeline for the exit, the hem of her dress flirting around her knees.

Chapter Six

Huntley rounded the hallway and stopped hard. She didn’t see Mary anymore. No. There was only her brother lip-locked with a dark-haired girl in a white lace dress. Well, that would explain the absence of Mary. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was over his ex.

Not that it was hard to imagine him getting over Mary when he had this girl to help him along. She was vaguely familiar and Huntley thought she might have seen her around town. Maybe on base. She was beautiful. Edgy, even in white lace. Beck looked like he was going to pull her deep inside himself and never let go. Her hands crawled over Beck’s massive shoulders, and it was clear she was all for that plan.

This girl was the reason for that elusive expression on her brother’s face on the drive over. He was in love with her. She knew this about him just like she knew he loved banana and peanut butter sandwiches and spent the first eight years of his life with a Rambo poster on his wall.

Cullen came up beside her. She was assailed by his scent. That faint hint of soap and laundry sheets and man. And something else. That thing she had smelled in his bed with him. A pheromone that belonged to him alone. Whatever it was, it shot a bolt of lust straight through her.

God. It was like she was a victim of her body. For a brief moment she was on her back again, his hand between her thighs, the salty musk of his skin swirling all around her. She salivated as though she was hungry. Starving. Only not for food. For him. For what he could give her. Last night had been a sample. Sometimes it gets a little rough. She knew there was more. So much more to be had. His body was built for pleasure, and she knew he would have sex like he did everything else. With focus and intensity and power.

“I don’t think he’s going to need a ride home,” he murmured beside her.

“No,” she said evenly, glad her voice came out normally. “Looks like he’s got that covered.”

Whatever was going on with her brother and this girl, it wasn’t meaningless for him. Her chest hollowed out a little watching Beck make out with a girl whose name she didn’t even know.

With Cullen beside her, she shifted nervously. She tried not to think about them. About them yesterday.

He had lit a fire within her. Stirred coals to life that had been long dormant. She needed to get laid and soon, before she threw herself at Cullen’s feet and begged him to finish what he had started.

Cullen propped a hand on the wall, his arm brushing along her back. “Well, good for Beck.”

She nodded, a lump forming in her throat. Yes. Good for her brother. He had found someone. He had been here all of three days and found someone. Meanwhile, she was a leper. Even Cullen didn’t want to seal the deal. Last night she had been his for the taking and he had stopped.

“Yeah,” she replied, hoping she didn’t sound as shell-shocked as she felt.

“He deserves it.”

She turned to face Cullen, suddenly not wanting to talk about her brother and the happiness he’d found. Yes, he deserved it. Yes, she wanted him to be happy. But right now it only reminded her of how she got a fat fail when it came to relationships.

Cullen’s sculpted lips twitched like he wanted to smile, clearly pleased for her brother.

“And you don’t, Cullen?” she asked.

He turned to face her, his mouth all hard and flat again, a faint question in his eyes.

“Deserve happiness,” she clarified.

Okay, calling attention to his perpetual single status might not have been the way to go if she was trying to get things back on normal footing between them. She never questioned his lifestyle. She certainly didn’t pressure him to get serious and date any of his one-night stands.

His eyes grew more hooded, the dark depths shielding whatever was going on inside his head. “Don’t put me on your shrink’s couch, Huntley. I’m satisfied with my life. I think it’s you who isn’t happy.”

Cullen was right on that score. She’d joined a dating service because she wasn’t happy with the status quo. He knew that. But at least she was working on changing her life. Grandma always said there was nothing wrong with taking a hard look at your life and not liking what you saw. The wrong was in doing nothing to fix it.

She glanced back at her brother, still lip-locked with his girl, his big hands cupping her face like she was the most treasured, special thing in the world to him. She wanted that for herself. Returning her gaze to Cullen, she knew she wasn’t going to find that with him. Her stomach churned sickly. Suddenly that mattered a lot. It hurt. Even though she told herself not to let it, last night with him mattered.

Without another word, she turned and started down the long hallway. She’d text Beck later. She didn’t want to interrupt what was obviously an intimate moment. Besides, she had a coffee date tonight that she needed to get ready for. The first step to fixing her life. Grandma would be proud.

Cullen’s dress shoes clicked next to her. “Where are you headed?”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, lifting one shoulder as she stepped out into fading sunlight, unwilling to tell him about her date for some reason. It felt weird confiding that after last night.

“Home. I’m kind of tired.” She winced over the implication that she hadn’t slept last night, but the words were out of her mouth before she could snatch them back.

He scanned the parking lot, his eyes squinting slightly against the sea of gleaming hoods and glinting windshields. “Guess I’m to blame for that.”

“No blame,” she quickly replied, her voice breathless. “It was a rough night. I get it.” The word rough conjured other ideas too. Conversation. Memories. The surety of his movements. He didn’t coax. He didn’t ask for permission. His fingers claimed their place between her legs like they belonged there, as though it was his right. Her body had only responded with invitation, panting and moaning and clinging to the sheets like a woman begging to be ridden.

He’d made her feel so small and feminine. His big shoulders wedging between her legs along with his hand, his fingers. The ridge of his erection had felt bigger than anything she ever encountered.

A moan welled up from her chest, and she bit her lip to trap it inside.

He shook his head and snorted lightly. “It was still wrong of me.”

Heat slapped her cheeks. That’s what he was calling what happened between them. Wrong. She stopped beside her car, punching the unlock button. “It’s okay. You were dealing with a heavy load yesterday and—”

“Don’t treat me like I’m some fragile soul, Huntley.” The warning rang in his voice. “Save that for your patients. I shouldn’t have—”

“Oh, I know you’re not fragile. Not an ounce of weakness in you.” She clucked her tongue and leaned back against the side of her car, looking up at him. “Nuh-uh. You’re the eternal soldier. Never weak. You carry the world on your shoulders and take the blame for everything.”

Suddenly, she felt very tired. Who was she to think she had all the answers and could fix him? It was enough effort to carve the life she wanted for herself. She couldn’t save him too.

She waved her hand slightly in a gesture of apology. “Look, let’s just forget last night. We’re friends.” She laughed once. “You’re probably the best friend I have here. I don’t want to mess that up, and I don’t want things to get weird.”

A muscle feathered along his jaw. “Agreed then. Let’s just forget it.”

She blinked and stared at him for a long moment. Squaring her shoulders, she tried not to feel offended that he could so easily forget it and move on when that was precisely what she was asking him to do.

“Good.” She nodded stiffly. “I mean, we didn’t even kiss.” Okay, this would be the point where she stopped talking. “We did that other … stuff … but we’ve never even kissed.” Sweet Jesus, she was babbling.

His head tilted to the side a fraction, his hooded eyes studying her, the corners of his well-carved mouth dipping as if that had not occurred to him. “No,” he said softly, his voice a deep purr that stroked her skin. “We skipped that.”

“Yeah.” She continued nodding like one of those bobblehead dolls. “Right? We haven’t even kissed, and that’s the most basic form of making out, right? Like first base. We skipped first base, so. So …”

God, Huntley, shut up. Before she could insert her foot any deeper in her mouth, she whirled around and unlocked her door.

She pulled it open and her spine collided with his chest. “Oh, excuse me.”

His warm breath gusted her cheek. She turned. His mouth was so close. Tantalizingly close. She caught a whiff of his mint toothpaste. Her gaze darted from his lips to his eyes, so dark and mesmerizing. They pulled her in, muddied her thoughts. She leaned in slightly, forgetting everything, wanting that mouth.

“Such a shame,” he murmured. His thumb brushed her bottom lip and a bolt of lust shot through her body. “I should have tasted this mouth when I had the chance.”

Desire licked through her, mingling with regret. He exerted more pressure on her bottom lip, parting her mouth so that his thumb dipped between her lips. Her breathing hitched. She tasted him with her tongue, the barest, swirling stroke, and his eyes went black with heat. He closed the fraction of space between them, his chest grazing the front of her dress. Her breasts grew heavy and tight, aching. Sweet Jesus, he was going to do it. Yes, yes, please.

He dropped his hand and pulled back.

She fell back a step against her car, gulping a shuddering breath, fighting for composure. Tossing him a faltering smile, she slid inside her car. “Glad we had this talk.”

He stared down at her, the heat in his eyes banked.

She offered him a tremulous smile. Everything was supposed to be fine between them now. There wasn’t supposed to be any more weirdness or tension. Except for the fact that she couldn’t quite catch her breath and her skin felt like it might catch fire.

She swallowed against the lump in her throat, desire still pumping through her and settling heavily between her legs. “I’ll see you around.” Ugh. Couldn’t she project more confidence? It sounded more like a question than a statement.

He nodded, looking at her with his cold, hooded gaze. The dark, slashing brows over those deeply set eyes made her stomach dip and twist.

“Sure,” he said, but his hand lingered on the frame like he was going to stop her, and a part of her wanted him to.

She wanted him to argue with her. To insist things could never go back to normal. To yank her door open and haul her out of the car, snatch her up in his arms and kiss her senseless.

Only he didn’t do that. Of course not. She wasn’t the irresistible sort that drove controlled men like Cullen to lose control. Last night had been an anomaly.

She tugged on her door and he let it go. It shut with a thud, sealing her in like she was protected within a little bubble. She on the inside. He outside.

With shaking hands, she turned her ignition and started the car. Still watching him, she backed out of her spot, her breath a ragged rattle in her chest. Get it together, Huntley. You have a date.

Training her gaze ahead, she drove away.

* * *

It took everything in Cullen not to march across the parking lot and get into his truck and follow her.

Why the hell hadn’t he kissed her?

Now he was consumed with this regret, feverish for the taste of her he had missed.

Shit. He dragged a hand over his scalp. When it came to Huntley, he had ceased to think. The only thing guiding him was his cock. It was a real problem.

He could only replay her words in his head. We didn’t even kiss. We skipped first base.

It was a fact he had been achingly aware of from the moment she left his house last night. He couldn’t explain the oversight. Only that when he felt her back her ass into him, he could only think of getting his hands on her, sliding his fingers inside her heat, touching her where he imagined burying his dick.

Her words served to taunt and challenge him simultaneously. He knew she didn’t intend for that, but her intention didn’t matter. There was only what he felt. The need to chase her, pin her down and take. Claim. Finish what they began. This possessiveness was a wholly new experience for him. It never happened with other women, and he knew it was because Huntley wasn’t like other women for him.

Cursing, he retreated to his truck and headed home. Once there, he changed and took a run, pounding out his frustration on asphalt in the fading light of day until sweat clung to him.

He pushed himself until his muscles burned, and then he turned back and ran the remaining miles home. He sought exhaustion. Bone-deep weariness. Maybe if he were good and tired, he wouldn’t spend the rest of the night thinking about her.

That plan lasted until he returned to his empty house and took a shower. Walking into his bedroom, he glanced at the clock. Five minutes past seven.

Immediately, he had a vision of Huntley sitting at Java Joe’s, nursing her steaming mug with whatever latest book she was reading in one of the coffeehouse’s comfy, well-worn armchairs. She was probably there now. He usually joined her. He chalked it up to doing his part, keeping his promise to Beck and keeping an eye out for her.

But Beck was back now. You don’t have to go there and babysit her.

He pulled a black T-shirt on with angry movements, wondering why that didn’t seem to matter to him. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door. He knew he should probably give them both some space after yesterday. God knew he needed perspective. Or maybe a quick hookup with someone else to help him shake off this unacceptable bout of lust he was feeling toward her.

And yet the image of Huntley sitting alone in Java Joe’s spurred him on.

He told himself he was going there for her, because he couldn’t stand the thought of her sitting all by herself. Because he was her closest friend in this town.

Not because he wanted to see her again. Not because he craved more of last night.

Not because he intended to have her.