Seven Letter Words #Wattys2016

Part 19

Liam

I really wanted to know what she was thinking in that pretty little head. Her cheeks were rosy and her bottom lip was trapped between her teeth. She had one hip popped up and was resting her hand on it. The position made the bottom of her t-shirt ride up and expose a little more of her smooth thigh. I tried to drag my eyes away, but when she grabbed the tray and turned around, my eyes stayed right on her so I could watch her ass as she fled.

I followed her over to the small table and watched as she grabbed one of the strawberries and spun back around to face me. Her hair was piled up on top of her head and her face was free from make-up, but she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. My heart tried to pull me to her. I felt it flipping around in my chest as she brushed back a piece of escaping hair and closed her eyes to take a bite from the strawberry. Holy shit.

She made this tiny sound as it hit her mouth and my knees literally got weak. I set the champagne down and adjusted my stance. There was no hope however, that I would be able to stop watching the show she didn't even know she was giving. "Mmmm," she moaned as she opened her eyes. "This is so good." Her red tongue peaked out of her mouth and ran along her lips and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to taste them now. "You have to try one," she insisted.

I couldn't tell her no, because I couldn't form any words. I felt that small woozy feeling you get after taking a shot of hard alcohol. Just like then, heat rose up and spread through every vein in my body. My head grew a bit dizzy and I had to tell myself to breathe as she innocently lifted a strawberry to my lips. She was saying something else, but I couldn't even focus on her words. The small strand of hair drifted down along her face again in a delicate curl and I opened my mouth to take her gift as she concentrated on directing it into my lips.

I think she suddenly realized what was happening. Her eyes appeared to get darker and her cheeks, which had finally begun to pale, brightened with a new flush. Her stare moved to my eyes and her breath caught in her chest. I took the bite and as I did, her teeth captured her bottom lip again. She was going to step away, I could see the thought behind her eyes. My hand moved up instinctively and held her hip gently so she couldn't step back. I knew I shouldn't, but there were stronger factors at work than just the bro code. Everything seemed to be conspiring to bring us together in that moment.

I couldn't even tell you if that strawberry tasted good or not, but I could tell you the exact shade of pink her lips were and the length of her lashes as she slowly blinked her eyes. I could even tell you that her scent reminded me of the breeze over the gardenia flowers on my first trip to Hawaii. All of my senses were tuned into her. Her body was soft beneath my hand, and I moved my thumb slightly over her t-shirt and watched as goose bumps raced up her arm and along her collarbone.

Her eyes finally looked away and she took that step back that I knew she was determined to take. I let her go, but felt her leave all the way in my soul. We didn't say anything for a long moment, both of us a little caught up in the chemistry between us. There was no denying it. The tension in the room was thick and heated. "Do you know how to open the champagne?" she asked a little breathlessly. I managed to nod my head. When she took another step back, the space between us seemed to let me take a breath and clear my head a bit.

I grabbed the bottle and held it tightly in my hands. I'd opened champagne bottles a few times and hoped I wouldn't fumble it now. I tipped it at an angle and twisted the cage on top of the cork a few times. I pressed my finger over the cork and felt it pushing back against me. Finally, I pushed the cage down and released my finger. The cork popped out with a small fizz of liquid. Her laugh was like music as she tried to catch the champagne quickly with a glass.

She brought it to her lips and took a sip. I think I might have been falling in love a little at the way she closed her eyes each time she knew she was about to put something wonderful to her lips. Her eyes opened again and her lips tipped up into a smile. "That lady knows her stuff," she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and grabbing the other flute to fill up for me. I poured us each a full glass and then lifted it up for a toast.

"To you, my wife. The girl I fell in love with the first day I saw her," I was teasing, but something in the back of my head warned me there was more truth in that line than I'd like to admit. She stopped laughing, but her smile didn't drop. She raised her glass as well.

"To my husband, the man that stole my heart even though I thought I had it protected." We clinked out glasses together, but continued to look into each other's eyes as we raised them to our lips. At the very last second her blue eyes closed and I closed mine too. Maybe if I tried not to look at what was happening between us, I wouldn't feel so guilty when I fell in love with my friend's sister.