BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER

She sat in the armchair opposite. The lighting was soft and low. The space far too intimate. This was her sanctuary, her place of refuge. And yet, having him here wasn’t generating the effect that she would have expected. She was still a little angry, yes-but more than that was something else, something like excitement.

She thought of something then as her stomach growled quietly. “Have you eaten?” she asked

Kaleb took another drink from his glass and shook his head. “No.” He replied. He just realized then that he’d hardly eaten all day; he’d been so consumed with getting out of work and over here. It made him feel uncomfortable now.

Sasha put down her glass and stood up. “I was going to make myself something to eat…that is, if you want something, too?”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“That would be great, I’m starving.” He smiled, and the room seemed to tilt for a second.

Sasha picked up her glass and backed into the kitchen, which was just feet away from where he now sat with an arm stretched out over the back of the sofa. At home, as if he dropped in all the time. She couldn’t think of that now.

“It’s just fish, lemon sole, nothing too exciting. But I have two…”

He nodded. “That sounds perfect. Thank you.”

Sasha busied herself turning on the oven and putting potatoes on to boil. When she looked back over to the sitting room, she could see that Kaleb was looking through her books. She had a moment of clarity. What was she doing? She was meant to be rushing him out of the house, not cooking him dinner!

But, she had to concede, it had been easy to ask him. And he had sent her all those amazing flowers. If she was never going to see him in her house after tonight, then what was the harm in a little dinner? She made a mental note to tell him just that at the end of the evening. The sooner they both faced reality, the better for them.

Happy that she’d justified her actions to herself, and not willing to pay attention to the hum of something in her blood, when she heard the music coming from the sound system, she found it soothing rather than scary.

“I hope you don’t mind?” he asked her.

She looked over to where Kaleb was hunched down at the system, the material of his trousers and shirt straining over taut, hard muscles in his thighs and back. She shook her head, her mouth feeling very dry.

“No…no.” She took another hasty gulp of wine. Oh God.

By the time Sasha was taking his cleared plate from him, and apologizing again that their dinner had been on their knees, she was smiling at something he’d just said. As she’d been preparing the dinner, they’d started up an innocuous conversation, and in the course of eating had managed to touch on films, books, politics, and sports. She’d found herself telling him about her business, unable to keep the pride from her voice. She came back and sat down, tucking her legs under her. She’d slipped off her shoes. She felt energized, zingy, as if she could stay up all night.

To her surprise, she saw Kaleb look at his watch and then he drained his glass of wine. He stood up and Sasha felt unaccountably disorientated. She stood too. The space between them was electric.

“I’m afraid I have to go.” He said.

Sasha immediately felt crushed, silly, exposed. She should have been grinning from ear to ear, racing to hand him his coat, saying good riddance-so why did she feel her stomach hollowing out at the thought?

“Oh, well. I can imagine you must have some business. Somewhere else you need to be?” she asked. Maybe with someone else. The thought of him going to be with another woman made her feel.. Sad.. Jealous. She didn’t know which.

He shook his head and came close. Sasha couldn’t back away as the chair was just behind her legs. Her heart was thumping so hard she felt it must be visible under her top.

“I’ve got important meetings all weekend. It’s too boring to go into. But I need to make my flight slot tonight, otherwise I’ll miss my first meeting in the morning.”

Sasha’s jaw dropped. “You’re leaving…? I mean traveling? Now? To where?”

He nodded. “Yes. To Paris”

The knowledge was having trouble sinking into her brain: he had come just to see her for a few hours. Her shock was obviously transparent.

He pulled a quirky, sexy smile. “It was worth it, Sasha. Just to see you. I’ve been thinking about you all week. I can’t seem to get you out of my head.”

“I…” Her powers of speech had been rendered null and void. He was coming closer, making speech even more elusive and unlikely. He was now so close that her head was tipped back to look into those dark, dark eyes. She felt a warm finger come under her chin, stroking the smooth skin, his thumb on her chin. She couldn’t move.

His scent enveloped her in a haze of desire, desire that she’d never felt before. She fancied that she could hear his heartbeat too. Then he spoke and his voice was harsh. “I told myself I wouldn’t do this now. But…I can’t not. You’re more intoxicating to me than anything or anyone I’ve ever known. And all week I’ve been imagining what it would be like.”

She swallowed, “What what would be like?” she asked. But she knew. And heaven help her but she’d been imagining it too. She knew she had; she’d just been denying it. He said the words and something awful like relief flowed through her.

“To kiss you again and make love to you,” he replied.

Sasha’s eyes looked so deep and drowning. Those sooty lashes a dark sweep against the creaminess of her cheeks. Her mouth, those full and pouting lips that had just felt the moist touch of her tongue, was tempting him to do the same. She smelled so damned good too: a mixture of some elusive floral scent and a warm and sexy femininity… Kaleb gave a low groan in his throat as he felt his body respond to her, his thighs stirring, hardening, pulsing. Aching!