Always With You - A Best Friends To Lovers Novel

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

River

I woke up to the sun shining brightly through my bedroom window. The music from last night had stopped playing, and all I could hear was Bowie's slow and steady breathing. She turned away from me in her sleep, but I still had my arms wrapped around her tightly.

I had one hand on her stomach, the other holding on to her hips, pulling her bottom back against my hardness. It felt good having her this close, but I knew the second she'd wake up it would bother her that I was pressing my rigid cock against her.

Stopping myself from imagining situations that would never happen, I turned Bowie around so she would face me. That put a little distance between us, and I liked watching her sleep anyway.

Her lips were slightly parted, but she was breathing through her nose, her long, dark eyelashes brushed against her cheekbones, and the tip of her nose was red from sleep. Not sure why, but her nose and cheeks always seemed to turn red overnight. It was the cutest thing ever.

I pulled her closer again, with my right arm hooked underneath her neck, and the other hand coming up to cup her cheek. I caressed her cheek, making sure not to wake her. Her leg moved, pushing her knee between my thighs. Her hand fell to my chest, then slowly made its way down to my stomach.

I kept watching her, smiling at the small sounds she made in her sleep. I remembered our talk when we got into bed. We both knew not to cross the line, but with each day that passed, it made it more difficult.

Bowie has always been the girl I dreamed of marrying one day. I knew it was silly, but if I had to choose between Bow and all those other girls in the world, she'd always be my first pick.

Her eyes slowly opened, but the second she saw me, she closed them again, smiling and cuddling herself against my body more. "Morning," she whispered, and I ran my hand back into her hair.

"Sleep well?" I asked.

She nodded, running her fingers along my muscles, then wrapping her arm around my body. "I missed this," she said, and I knew exactly what she meant. Waking up with her was one of the best feelings in the world. Knowing she was with me made me happy, calmed me down.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, looking down at her. Another nod and I scratched the back of her ear before pushing myself up. "I'll make us some pancakes. I even have some fruit left."

"I'll help you," she said sleepily, then rubbed her eyes with her fists. I couldn't hold back a chuckle. "You sure you're awake, Bow?"

"No, but I wanna help you," she insisted.

"Alright," I shrugged, getting up from the bed and pulling her to my side of the bed by her arm and leg, then lifted her over my shoulder and carried her to the kitchen. "You're an idiot," she said but wasn't bothered by the way I transported her to the kitchen.

I let her down slowly, making sure she wouldn't fall back by holding onto her thighs and then standing back up straight to look her in the eyes. "Thank you," she grinned, running her hands through her hair.

"Aiden isn't back yet?"

I turned to open the fridge and shook my head. "Doesn't seem like it. But it's only eight-thirty. I'm sure Whitley hasn't even woken up yet."

Bowie nodded, taking the strawberries I was holding in her direction. "How often do you guys go grocery shopping?" she asked as I got every ingredient for the pancakes out.

"Every other day. We like to eat fresh. Well, Aiden likes to cook fresh. And I'm not against that."

"I wonder how long it will take for Whit and me to get tired of cooking and just order takeout for the rest of college," she muttered, and I grinned at her.

"I'm sure Aiden will let you come over here and eat with us. He likes to show off his cooking," I told her.

Before she could answer me, her phone rang, and she walked over to the entrance to get it out of her jacket. "Hi, Mom," I heard her say, and she walked back into the kitchen. I looked down at her bare feet, then up her legs and stopped right where the hem of my shirt stopped.

I loved seeing her dressed in only a t-shirt and panties. Her legs were amazing, and I've always been fascinated by her peachy skin color.

"I'm at River's...no, we went to a party last night and I don't have my mattress yet, remember?"

I listened to her side of the conversation with Marilyn, and I got excited to see her again. She was like a mother to me. Since mine died, Marilyn was the one to take good care of me. She cooked, often washed my clothes, and also taught me how to slow dance. That was when I wanted to impress Bowie at the school dance.

Darryl, her dad, has taught me so much more than my Dad ever could have. He taught me how to ride a motorcycle, how to drive a car, and how to build things out of seemingly nothing. He showed me how to change a tire, or how to get my car to run when it won't start, and most importantly, he taught me how to respect a woman. I considered them my parents, although I did not see Bowie as a sister.

"We'll meet you there...okay, see you then. Drive safe," she said into the phone, then hung up and turned to look at me. "Mom and Dad say hi."

I nodded. "I can't wait to see them again. You think they wanna stick around and go out to eat with us before heading back home?"

"I'm sure they won't leave that fast. Dad cried when I left with Whitley, and Mom had to tell him to man up and not cry in front of me," she laughed, and I imagined that big, badass biker guy with tears streaming down his face.

"What a wuss," I said, and Bowie grinned. "Don't tell him that to his face," she warned, but Darryl and I had a special connection. We joked around a lot and even pulled pranks on each other for a while when I was in high school. Darryl was a good man, and although he always acted so tough in front of his biker-brothers, he was secretly a big tattooed teddy bear.