Page 53 of Stroked Long
Instead, he looks frantic with his hands gripping his head, his eyes wide and wandering, and his chest falling heavily as he sneaks around the bed, tiptoeing to his door.
“Bodi, I let myself in. Hope you don’t mind,” Eva calls out.
A tidal wave of relief washes over Bodi; he visibly relaxes hearing his sister’s voice.
“Are you still in bed? I brought your favorite bran muffins. You know the ones that have zero taste at all. Rise and—”
Her words are cut short when she bursts through his door, a pink bakery box in one hand and a Styrofoam cup of coffee in the other. Frozen in bed, I lie there, clothed in Bodi’s Team USA T-shirt, with a bare-chested Bodi only a few inches away from the bed.
“Oh dear.” Quickly turning around, she says her apologies and retreats, giggling.
Yes . . . giggling.
I’m mortified. Completely and utterly mortified. And we didn’t do anything. Yes, we held hands and yes, Bodi’s hand was under my shirt at one point in time, but nothing happened.
“Fuck,” Bodi mutters, taking a quick glance at me and then sprinting after his sister.
Oh, this is awkward. This is so very, very awkward. What do I do? Lie here and wait to be called out to join the party of tasteless bran muffins? Do I call from the bedroom that nothing happened and how awkward I’m feeling—that seems like a Ruby thing to do. Or do I slip on the oversized sweatpants and sneak out quickly?
Right about now, the last option seems like the best idea. I would like to save face and sneaking out seems like the best way to do that.
Needing to act on my plan, I quickly retreat from the most comfortable bed ever and head to the bench where I folded up the sweatpants from last night, but I pause when I hear Bodi and Eva talking.
“What the hell are you doing?” Bodi practically yells, jolting me upright.
“What the hell am I doing? Better question is what the hell are you doing?” Eva says in a more even tone, stern, but controlled. Not frantic like Bodi.
“It’s not what you think,” Bodi says. True, very true. I can only imagine what Eva might be thinking.
“Kind of looks like you slept with Ruby last night.” I wish I could see Eva’s face right now. From what Eva and Lauren have hinted at, I wouldn’t think they would be opposed to something happening between Bodi and me, so it would be nice to read Eva’s features rather than only the tone of her voice. Is she mad?
“I didn’t sleep with her,” Bodi responds, aggravation clear in his voice.
“Shall I go back in your room and double-check? Pretty sure I didn’t see a Ruby mirage in there.”
She must be walking toward the bedroom because I hear Bodi’s bare feet pad across the floor, followed by him saying, “Don’t fucking go in there. Yes, she stayed the night but nothing happened.”
“Oh really?” Now Eva’s pressing him, pushing his buttons, buttons I wouldn’t dare push because I think she’s over his threshold and treading on dangerous explosive territories.
“Yes, really,” he grits out. Yup, he’s not a happy camper. “You can’t just walk in here whenever you want without letting me know. You . . .” he pauses, and in my mind I see him wracking his brains for the right words, “you scared the shit out of me, Eva.”
My heart splits in half, splinters right down the center from the almost boyish way Bodi admits his fear.
“I sent you a text, Bodi. Maybe if you weren’t in the middle of getting frisky with your foundation partner—”
“Jesus,” Bodi roars. “Nothing fucking happened between us. She came over to work on the foundation. She was soaking wet from the rain. I let her borrow clothes and since the storm was so bad, I did the gentlemanly thing and told her she could crash here instead of waiting in the rain for the bus that was never going to show up.”
“Then why were you sharing a bed? There is a perfectly good couch in your living room.” Eva doesn’t sound mad now, more amused than anything, as if she’s trying to get Bodi to admit something.
“She was scared, so scared that she was trembling at one point. I wasn’t going to make her sleep in a strange place by herself. Believe me, nothing happened and nothing is going to happen, Eva. Ruby is not my type. She’s just an acquaintance, a coworker, someone who’s helping with the foundation, nothing more. So, drop it.”
Ouch.
Just an acquaintance, a coworker? Someone he’s working on the foundation with? Is that all I really am to him? Nothing more? Not even a friend? I would at least consider us friends if nothing else.
I guess my perceptions of last night were completely off-base, leaving me feeling humiliated and embarrassed for thinking someone like Bodi Banks would be interested in me.
What little hope I had for Bodi and me has now been taken away and replaced with a ball of emptiness. Not wanting to be here any longer than I have to, I secure the sweats, tying the drawstring tightly, and head to the main living space.
