Page 57 of On the Slopes of Tahoe
There’s extra tension in this particular doorway. We’ve been crossing boundaries with each other for a while now, but this one feels different.
“Come on in.” I step aside, grabbing her larger suitcase, and lead her down the hall toward her room. “Is this all you have? Do you need help getting anything else from your car?”
“This is it. Well, and a few boxes, but Jamie took those to his place for now. It’s kind of sad to think I lived in that house for four years and this is all I’m walking away with, you know?”
“The furniture?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “It’s all theirs. The condo was furnished as a vacation rental when I moved in.”
“And Jamie’s okay storing your stuff? There’s space here.”
“It’s fine. It’s only a month. He even offered me a room if I can’t find something of my own before you leave…” She trails off.
“We’ll find you something.” I’m glad she has a backup option, but she deserves to finally have somewhere she can call her own.
“Where’s Willow?” she asks.
“In the hot tub. There was no stopping her from changing into her suit the minute we got here.”
“I can’t say I blame her.”
A vivid picture of Rory in a bikini pops into my mind unbidden, and I have to physically shake the thought away. That’s not going to make this living situation easier. This is what’s been constantly on my mind for the last few days. How do we maneuver around our physical relationship while also living in the same house? It shouldn’t be all that different from the sneaking around we were doing before, when Willow was asleep, but we cannot let those lines blur in front of her.
“Mm-hmm,” I hum under my breath, trying and failing to come up with the best possible way to bring this up.
“Breck?” Rory says from the doorway of her room. It’s the only one downstairs. Mine and Willow’s are both upstairs.
“Yeah?” I ask.
Her head is tilted to the side, like she’s studying me. “You’re overthinking again, aren’t you?” She gives me a knowing smile, and I snort a laugh.
“Yup.”
“I know this changes things. Me living here with you and Willow complicates the…” She hesitates. “The friends with benefits situation we had going. It’s probably not a good idea for that to continue now, right?”
“Right.” I nod, wishing it wasn’t true, but this new situation is tenuous as it is. I’ve already spent almost a month hooking up with my best friend’s sister. Now I’m living with her, and something in combining those two things feels like it’s too much, too far. “Have you told Wes? About this?” I swipe one hand out to encompass the condo and squeeze the back of my neck with the other.
Her gaze drops to her feet and she shakes her head.
“Me neither. Why don’t we call him in a bit?” Her shoulders sag. “How did it go with your parents, by the way?”
I tense, waiting for her answer.
“I still haven’t talked to them. I called their office Monday and left a voicemail saying I’d be out of the condo by this afternoon. I never got a response. I figured they’d make contact today, but nope.” She drags her toes across the carpet and watches the way the color changes as she does.
“It’s their loss, Rory. They’ll realize that eventually.” I leave her suitcase by the bed, listening for any sound in the house to indicate that Willow’s coming back inside. I brush my hand up her arm, past her shoulder, until it reaches her neck. “I’m proud of you. Wes would be too if he could see you.”
I brush my thumb over her lips and feel her body shiver against mine. “What do you say? One more kiss?”
When she presses onto her toes, our lips meet. It’s soft and languid, unhurried—even though Willow could walk into thehouse at any second. As seconds fuse into a minute, then two, the way our lips move together becomes more insistent.
My tongue glides against hers, one hand fisting in her hair while the other slides to her ass and pulls her hard against me. If this is our last kiss, I’m going to make it count. She meets me stroke for stroke with her tongue, her teeth, her body as it moves against mine. There’s something in the way we are together. It’s like the sun, burning so bright, but also dangerous if you look too long. Kissing Rory leaves me with sunspots in my vision, in my mind, for hours… and every time it only lasts longer.
I break the kiss, my breathing ragged and my heart slamming like a drum against my ribs. Rory is just as affected. I love it and I hate it. I feel like a million bucks knowing I can make her lose control like this, but I also know I have no control with her either.
“Dad!” The shout echoes down the hall and I startle back. Rory does as well, tripping over the suitcase behind her and falling flat on her ass in the hallway.
“Shit,” I say, lunging for her.
