"We shouldn't be doing this," she breathes, her lips so close I can almost taste the words.
I step in, closing the space, and the second our bodies almost touch, the air between us ignites. "Naomi," I growl, my voice low, urgent. "Don't tell me to stop. Because I... I don't think I can."
Her chest rises and falls, her hands pressing against my chest as if trying to push me away, but her eyes betray her, dark, burning, wanting.
"You're insane," she says, voice trembling, but she doesn't move.
"Maybe," I murmur, leaning closer, until her lips are just a whisper away from mine. "But I'm yours... at least for tonight."
They were just kids when they pinky promised under the monkey bars:
"Best friends forever."
Now? Forever feels a lot more complicated.
Arielle Thompson has always been the quiet, bubbly girl with a heart too soft and eyes only for one person; her childhood best friend, Easton James. He's everything she's not: tall, tatted, effortlessly popular, and dangerous in all the ways that make her heart race. But no matter how many girls want him, Easton has always been hers... just not like that.
Until now.
Senior year hits different. Arielle's feelings are getting harder to hide, her crush turning into something deeper, needier. And Easton? He's starting to look at her like she's more than just his ride-or-die. More than the shy girl who always wore his hoodies and made him laugh since third grade.
Maybe it's the way her body's changed. Softer, fuller, and way too distracting for his own good.
Maybe it's the way she blushes when he calls her baby girl.
Or maybe... he's finally seeing her the way she's always seen him.
But crossing that line could change everything. And if they fall?
There's no going back to just friends.
Expect steamy tension, late-night confessions, possessive energy, and a slow burn that explodes into heat.
Because sometimes, the boy next door grows into the man you can't stop wanting.