Page 9 of Crossing the Line

Kelsie wasn’t just one in a long line of girls. She was special, and I wasn’t going to let her become a notch in Gordon’s bedpost. No way in hell.

As the dinner ended, we all filtered out of the restaurant. It was a part of the resort, so we were in the lobby as the group started to branch off in various directions. Jake headed to the bar, probably to meet the busty brunette he’d arranged a date with during our boat outing. Some people headed to the elevators to go to their rooms and another group walked off together while talking about checking out one of the resort’s pools, where there was a glow party taking place.

But most of the wedding party seemed to be heading upstairs to the rooms. Kelsie was one of them, but I quickened my pace to reach her, grabbing her by the elbow to get her attention.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I couldn’t explain why I felt such urgency to do this right now. Something told me that if I didn’t seize the opportunity to have this conversation, Kelsie would find a way to avoid it. I couldn’t let that happen. Things were already so fucked up between us, and I hated it.

This was why I never should have slept with her. I knew it could break us, and that made me feel like someone had punched a hole in my chest and was squeezing my heart in an iron fist.

Kelsie hesitated, her unique grey eyes full of uncertainty. “Uh, sure.”

That unenthusiastic response was a punch to the gut, but I just guided her to a corner of the room where there weren’t many people loitering around. I released her arm and turned to face her.

In that moment, it didn’t matter how ramped up my anxiety was or how much regret I was carrying. She was standing close to me for the first time since I started to recall what happened between us last night, and my body was suddenly buzzing with desire so strong that I nearly reached for her before I caught myself.

I shook my head to clear it, rattled by the urge I felt to yank her body flush against my own and feel all of her feminine curves while my mind was clear. I wanted to kiss her while sober and see if she tasted as sweet as my hazy memories told me she did.

No. I couldn’t think that way. The sex was out of this world—I knew that even though I couldn’t completely recall everything that happened—but I couldn’t let myself think that way about my best friend. The temptation was too great, and the cost would be even worse.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Kelsie blinked before giving me that fake smile again. “Of course. I’m fine.”

I frowned and reached for her hand. It was just meant to be a casual touch, the kind that we’d shared a thousand times before without even thinking about it, but she pulled her hand away, using the excuse of tucking a strand of hair behind her ear to avoid contact.

The hits just kept on coming.

“Are you upset about what happened last night?” I asked.

I expected her to say yes, but she immediately shook her head.

“No, I’m not upset about that at all.”

I ignored the feeling of satisfaction that washed over me at that. “Then, what’s wrong? Why does everything feel so… off?”

“Nothing is wrong.” Kelsie’s eyes shifted to the side for just a second, and I knew that wasn’t the truth. “Let’s just forget about what happened.”

So, she wasn’t upset about sleeping together, but she wanted to forget it happened? None of that sat right with me, but I leapt at the chance to erase the awkwardness between us.

“Okay,” I said, letting out a long breath and scrubbing my hand down my face. “Okay, yeah. Things can just go back to normal. We can stay friends, right?”

The small grin on her face was almost sad. “Sure, Damien.”

My gut twisted. “How about we hang out tonight? I bet the hotel’s streaming service has that scary movie you’ve wanted to see.”

Kelsie loved horror, even though she covered her eyes for all the scariest parts.

I hated the way she hesitated, but after a couple of seconds, she nodded. “Yeah, sure. That sounds fun.”

“Like old times.”

Again, she flashed that sad smile that I couldn’t quite interpret. “Meet in my room? Twenty minutes?”

“It’s a…” I trailed off before I could finish that sentence. Calling our movie night a date didn’t feel appropriate, even though I wouldn’t have thought twice about it in the past. I swallowed around a lump in my throat. “I’ll be there.”

We walked to the elevator together in a silence that wasn’t comfortable but also wasn’t tense. It didn’t feel like we were fighting, but it didn’t feel as easy as it should have to be with my best friend.