Always With You - A Best Friends To Lovers Novel

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Bowie

I've never visited his apartment, but I was surprised by how clean and tidy it was, considering two men living here. I looked around the living room, eyeing the big tv and bookshelves, knowing that most of those books belonged to River. He liked to read, especially books about psychology. No wonder he studied that subject.

Although River wasn't a big talker when it came to other people, with me he talked a lot about his feelings and thoughts. He also listened when I had something on my mind and tried to help me figure things out when I was having a tough time deciding on something.

"Come on," River said, pulling me towards the hallway. "Let's go talk." I loved spending time with River alone, and now that I was in the same town, we would have more time for it again.

I turned to Whitley to tell her that I'd be back soon, but there was no need to. She was already sitting on the couch, and Aiden was handing her a beer. It was only four in the afternoon, but they seemed to get along well, so I wouldn't bother them.

We entered River's bedroom, and a picture of him and I when we were kids caught my eyes immediately. It was stuck to the headboard of his bed, and I smiled at the sight of it. "Has that been on there since you moved in here?" I asked, turning to look at him. He was standing by the door, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.

He nodded, puckering his lips, and watching me carefully. "You have no idea how many girls have asked if you were my sister."

I chuckled, turning my back to him, and looking around the room again. Not sure what it was, but something about that sentence bothered me. "So...do you take many girls here?" I asked, sounding slightly more jealous than I wanted to.

"Not really. I mean, there are times I need to blow off some steam...but they never stay longer than one night."

I nodded, walking over to his desk, and picking up one of the books on there. "How are you holding up with college?"

"Pretty good, I would say. I'm not having much trouble understanding everything, and my classes are interesting." He was smarter than most guys I knew. Only thing was, he didn't look like someone who was doing well in college. No, he looked more like that one badass who skipped classes and hit on girls, rather than attending lessons. River didn't have any tattoos, but even without colorful pictures on his skin, he attracted a lot of girls, even back in high school.

"Did you settle on your major? Or have you changed your mind last-minute?" he asked, walking to the bed and laying down on his back. He lifted his arms, putting his hands behind his head, and keeping his eyes on me. I looked at him, shaking my head.

"I decided on marine biology," I told him, and he smiled. "Good. That's what you've always wanted when you were little."

We talked about our future a lot when we were kids, and he had always told me how he wanted to find out why some people reacted the way they did or said the things they said. He was interested in knowing how a human brain works, and how humans make decisions about certain things.

I knew his intentions were to figure out why his father decided to become violent toward him, but he never admitted to it.

We were looking at each other, me still standing by the desk while he was lying on the bed. His eyes narrowed, following my dress down to my thighs, then back up where they lingered on my boobs. I didn't mind him checking me out, but I didn't like the way it made me feel. Too many tingles in my stomach. I even might've blushed a little. Shit.

"Come here," he whispered, holding out one hand to me. I smiled, knowing exactly where this was going.

I walked over to the bed, taking his hand, and getting onto his bed next to him. He pulled me into his arms, and I cuddled up to him, hiding my face into the crook of his neck. His right hand was on my lower back, while his left cupped the back of my head, holding it close to him.

"I missed this," I whispered. He kissed the top of my head and buried his fingers into my hair, pulling at it slightly.

"I missed us," he whispered back. I loved having his arms wrapped tightly around me. In fact, I forgot much I loved it, that my heart couldn't stop beating in my chest. Something was different, and it felt something had changed between us in that very second.

We were quiet again, enjoying each other's company, while Whitley was out there with Aiden in the living room, talking and laughing. It didn't bother me much, and I was almost starting to fall asleep, cuddled by River.

His hand moved from the back of my head to the side of my neck, brushing his thumb along my jawline and cheek. I pushed my knee between his legs, and he wrapped one of his around mine, holding it tightly in place.

We used to lay like this before he left for college, and there had been one moment in which I thought he was going to kiss me. He didn't, and I was a little heartbroken. I got over it fast, knowing that if there was ever more than just friendship between us, we would sooner or later fight and break up, ruining everything we built for many years.

Now that I was eighteen, and although I had a different mindset just hours ago before getting here, I knew my heart was telling me to just go for it. We never fought, so why would anything go wrong if we took the next step?

"Stop worrying so much, Bow," River whispered, and I turned my head to look up at him. His eyes were on me, watching me closely like before.

Another thing he was good at...analyzing people. One look at someone, and he knew what that person was thinking.

"Something on your mind you wanna get off?" he asked, tucking one strand of hair behind my ear. I studied his face for a while, then smiled and shrugged.

"I have no idea how I managed to let those two years go by without you by my side," I told him.

"You're here now," he whispered. "And if you don't wanna spend the night on the couch, you can sleep here with me. I intend on keeping you as close as possible anyway. Might as well leave some of your clothes here."

I wished he were joking. He made it hard not to let my feelings run wild. But of course, I couldn't say no.

"What about other girls?" I asked.

He was silent for a moment, then smiled at me again. "I want you close. Now that I can have you, I don't want any other girl."

His words made my heart flutter. But I knew there was no way he meant it in a romantic way. I was his best friend, and nothing was going to change that.

"You're twenty, Riv." He understood what I meant by that.

"I am. And I've had fun for the last two years. But now I want you close. I wanna help you with your classes. I wanna help you study. And I want to see you every single day."

That made me smile, and I moved my hand from his stomach up to his chest. "That sounds nice," I said, and he grinned.

"It does. Now, stop frowning. I wanna see you smile. And tonight, I'll take you to your very first college party."

I was excited about that. I've always wondered what that would be like. River and I attended some high school parties, and we always had lots of fun dancing. I knew college parties were a little more intense.

"Can't wait," I whispered, hiding my face back into the crook of his neck again.