Gem in the Rough

Chapter 15

"He's so delicious," Alice moans, leaning her head back on the sofa beside me.

I feel Kieran chuckle softly, his body shaking against my shoulder. We're sitting on the couch, me in the middle, Kieran touching my left side and Alice on my right sitting farther away. There was a point where she claimed she didn't want our "cooties".

"Agreed," I exclaim, popping a gummy bear in my mouth. A red one, my favorite.

"He's alright," Kieran shrugs.

Alice turns her head towards Kieran in disbelief. "It's Ryan-fucking-Reynolds. Shut your mouth."

I laugh and continue listening to my best friend's monologue about Ryan Reynolds and how she'd like to lick his face, his abs, and everything lower.

I gasp quietly when I feel Kieran's palm against my thigh, his fingers brushing lightly up and down in painfully slow movements. I shift my eyes to his face, making sure not to move my head because that would surely tip Alice off. This is exactly the behavior she was afraid of that could give her said "cooties".

There's a blanket covering my lap along with Kieran's, making it easy for him to touch me discreetly. At least as discreetly as my face will let him, considering my cheeks are heating in record time. Kieran's face holds a smirk and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. He's getting cocky and I kind of like it.

Hell, I love it.

My thoughts are interrupted when Alice stops abruptly, saying, "You're getting freaky under the covers right now aren't you?"

Kieran's hand stops and I begin laughing as his face turns beet red. Not so cocky anymore. It's so strange how he can be so confident and dominating one minute but is still capable of getting embarrassed. Kieran stops his movements but leaves his palm flat on my knee, keeping things PG now that we're caught.

Alice is still giving us the side eye but flashes me a smile. I smile back and nudge Kieran playfully, letting him know it's okay.

We finish the movie with no more funny business, which is a little disappointing, but I understand. Alice can be intimidating and very blunt, so I get where Kieran is coming from. Alice waves at us after cleaning up her mess on the couch, wrapped in her fluffy blue blanket that has dinosaurs on it. She winks at me before disappearing down the hallway.

There's silence as Kieran and I sit on the couch, unsure of what to do next.

"So.." we both say at the same time, laughing awkwardly. I look to him and notice he's already staring at me.

"Go ahead," I offer.

Kieran runs a hand through his dark hair, leaving it ruffled in an adorable way. "I was going to say I should probably get going. It's Sunday and I have an 8am tomorrow." He moves to stand up and I follow behind, making our way to the door in complete silence. All I hear is my breathing and it's deafeningly loud right now. Can he hear that too?

"Why am I so nervous?" I ask out loud. I've been myself with him thus far, might as well continue so he knows that I'm not afraid to call myself out.

He chuckles and tells me he's nervous too.

"Really? Why?" I'm sure the shock is evident on my face.

"Because I'm in front of you and you're insanely gorgeous. I'm sure you're used to guys being nervous around you," he looks to the floor, running a hand through his hair again. I guess that's one of his tells for when he's nervous too. I'll keep that in mind.

I snort in response, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "I'm definitely not but thank you." I feel my face blush at his words, but I try not to give too much away. He doesn't need to know about my insecurities right now.