Best friend's Baby Sister [END]

BFBS : 31

•••

Being together.

"I love grilled cheese," she says with a smile.

"I remember." I push the plates to the other side of the island counter, where we can sit on high-backed barstools. "Cheese and Chinese food are your favorites. Not necessarily together, but now I'm wondering what fried rice with cheese would taste like."

"I've never tried it." She fetches the water bottles from the living room and comes back to sit beside me at the counter. "But now I want this."

"Maybe for breakfast," I joke and she laughs.

"Thanks for making me a sandwich."

"You're welcome, though it was easy."

She takes a few bites, looking from her food to me every few seconds. "So...it's late," she says after eating half her sandwich.

"It is."

"And you have to get up early."

"I know." I swallow the food into my mouth and reach for my water, slowly unscrewing the cap and trying not to think ahead. I fail. I think and plan ahead by nature. I risk a quick glance at her. She looks at me at the same time, and we both look away.

How can she be shy around me after two rounds of mind-blowing sex?

"Will you stay?" she finally asks.

"Do you want me to stay?" Answering her questions with a question irritates her, I can tell.

Her eyes narrow slightly in a two-can-play-this-game kind of way. "Do you want to stay?"

"Depends if you want me to."

She purses her lips and leans back with a sigh. I close my eyes in a long blink and look away, hating the tension creeping back up on us. I like her. I've liked her for years. Years. Why the hell is it so hard to tell her?

She picks the crust off her grilled cheese, neither of us speaking. A sleek, two-colored cat jumps up on the counter and tries to steal food from Rebecca's plate. She picks up the cat and puts it down, only to have the cat do the same thing again. And again.

"Luffy," Rebecca says sternly. "Stay down."

"Luffy, Leo, and Lego...your cats' names start with an L?"

"Yes. The fourth cat is Lucy." Rebecca gives up and goes to the pantry to give the stubborn cat a treat.

The smile comes back to her face, but it's not the same as before. I feel like an idiot again, and I'm afraid it's too late. We just had sex — twice — and I'm acting like none of it matters. If only she knew how much she meant. As she always has.

I eat the rest of my sandwich. "Bec," I start and turn around. She's back at the counter, picking at her food, but hasn't sat down yet. She's uncomfortable, thinks I see this as a one-night stand, and tries hard not to let it show.

"I want to stay. With you."

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

I flinch inwardly. "If I didn't want to, I wouldn't. Just like I wouldn't have invited you to dinner if I didn't want to spend time with you." I wipe my hands on a napkin and pick up my plate, taking it to the sink before Luca returns. My heart pounds in my chest and I curse myself for putting this distance between us after we'd come so close. I need to fix this.

"You're not going to make me sleep on the couch again, are you?" As soon as the words come out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back. My failed attempt at a joke makes her face slack.

"I, uh, I wasn't going to, but, uh..."

"I'm kidding," I say, walking over to her and pulling her into my arms. Her body is stiff against mine, worlds apart from the way we were not so long ago. I'm smart. I got into Duke University School of Medicine, for Christ's sake. How is it possible that I'm such a complete idiot at the same time?

It's Rebecca, and I don't blame her for turning me into a bumbling fool whenever I'm around. It's either that or shut her out again.

Fuck.

There was a reason I hated my psych rotation. I'm not good with emotions in general. I'm even worse when it comes to my own.

"I would love to sleep next to you in your bed," I tell her, tucking her hair behind her neck. Every second she doesn't relax, I feel like I'm losing her. "I want to wake up next to you," I say softly, letting the honesty she likes so much come out. "And I'd like to take you to breakfast. And then dinner again after the conference is over."

"I like to eat."

"Yeah? Me too."

"So much so that I do it every day. Sometimes several times a day." She puts her hands around my shoulders. "Out of context, that might sound a little dirty."

I kiss her neck, remembering how incredible she looked with her hand between her legs, touching herself. "I like to think of it the dirty way."

Early morning light streams through the large windows in Rebecca's bedroom. My alarm goes off and I scramble to turn it off, not wanting to wake her. She looks fucking adorable in her sleep, buried under her thick blankets. I was hot five minutes after cuddling with her, but I wouldn't change a thing.

— TBC 🐻