Page 24 of One Last Run

“Iwant...” Pete pushed her own hair away from her face, the dark curls taking on a life and a defiance of gravitational law all their own. Danica ached to dig her fingers into those dark curls, remembering exactly how they’d felt in her hands, exactly the way Pete’s voice used to hitch when Danica would gently tug on the strands. “Jesus, Wendell, I know exactly what’s going through your mind.”

Danica forced her face into a neutral expression. “I doubt that.” A bad lie, but she had to lie. She couldn’t reveal just what she wanted from Pete. Why should she trust Pete? The sparks between them were attraction, familiarity, and intrigue. Nothing serious. But giving into this feeling had serious implications. A girl could daydream all she wanted, but honestly acting on those thoughts? She couldn’t, wouldn’t, open her heart up like that again.

Pete’s tongue darted over her full lower lip, followed by her teeth dragging across the sensitive skin. “Tell me you’re not thinking about kissing me,” she stated, her voice lower.

“I’m not,” Danica protested.

“Tell me you don’t want me to,” Pete said, stepping forward so Danica’s back came up against the wall. Her dark eyes sparkled with mischief and amusement as she leaned closer, all coconut and apricot sweetness directly contradicting the smoldering look on her face.

Danica focused on remembering how to stand, wishing her knees weren’t so close to giving out. Her body was embarrassingly melting into a puddle of adoration for this woman all over again, like it didn’t remember how quickly Pete had discarded her at the end of college. Memories of the fight on the quad rushed back, and she gave Pete a long, questioning look.

Pete’s nose brushed hers, and — goddamn her traitorous body — she was leaning in. Even over the sound of a decent Blondie impersonation, she could hear Pete’s breath, rapid and short. Excited.

Knowing she affected Pete, too? That sent a shiver of anticipation up her spine.

Pete bent to brush her lips against the shell of Danica’s ear and Danica fought to keep her eyes from closing in delight at the sensation. The hand she’d placed on Pete’s chest to push her away closed around the fabric of her shirt instead. Pete’s voice was a whisper. “You’ve been thinking about kissing me for days, haven’t you?”

Danica’s knee-jerk response was to lie, to tell her no, to cradle her pride close, but she bit her lower lip, stifling a response. And yet, with the way Pete’s eyes darkened and slid down to her mouth, that was a response enough.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Kiera stepped out, pausing when she saw the two of them in the dark corner, Pete bent so close. With a jolt, Danica straightened, springing back from Pete; the sudden movement making the air crackle between them.

“Everything okay?” Kiera asked, her voice suspiciously calm.

“Yeah,” Danica said, not elaborating as she stepped away from Pete and took Kiera’s arm, walking back towards the bar. Her heart pounded and her breaths were shaky, but Kiera was a welcome distraction. Danica didn’t dare look over her shoulder,her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs, the proximity of another kiss with Pete a dangerous temptation.

“I think I’m a little too drunk,” Kiera said, glancing over her shoulder toward Pete. “You seem a little drunk, too. Should we call a ride and get back to the house?”

Danica nodded, catching her meaning. Kiera was giving her an out to leave the bar and put some distance between her and Pete. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

Of course,Maggie called dibs on one of the two captain’s chairs in the back of the minivan rideshare, Izzy sliding into the other. That left Danica squeezed in the back seat between Kiera and Pete. Each time Pete’s leg brushed hers, a jolt of awareness shot through Danica, making her breath catch; she stared resolutely ahead, determined to ignore the fluttering in her stomach.

Kiera’s phone buzzed with a text from her husband, Alex, who had sent her pictures of the girls in their pajamas, smiling with post-bath combed hair. Kiera turned her phone to show Danica and Pete, and Pete made anawwsound of cuteness-approval.

“You did a very good job making them extremely cute,” Danica affirmed, laying her head on Kiera’s shoulder.

“I did, didn’t I?” Kiera responded, and Danica could hear the smile in her friend’s voice.

The van stopped in front of the condo and they piled out, Pete taking her hand to steady her as she climbed out the sliding door. She could feel Kiera’s gaze on her as Danica took just a beat too long to let go of Pete’s hand.

“Who wants a night cap?” Pete said, unwinding her green scarf to hang near the front door.

Maggie and Izzy immediately said yes, but Kiera yawned, pointing to her room. “I think I’m going to call Alex and get the daily report.”

“Oh, I guess I should do that, too,” Maggie said, frowning.

Danica watched a flicker of concern cross Pete’s face as she turned to Maggie. Pete’s expression was a mixture of worry and contemplation, clearly considering Danica’s earlier comment on Maggie’s odd mood.

“Wendell, you in?” Pete asked, turning to smile toward Danica. She glowed when she smiled, those full lips parting in a wide smile, like she couldn’t hold back her happiness.

“Nah, I’ve got a hot date with my cross stitch and solitude,” Danica said.

“Loser,” Maggie teased, as Danica and Kiera walked down the hall toward their rooms.

“You okay?” Kiera asked Danica once they were out of earshot of the group.

Despite her fluttering excitement, Danica nodded calmly. She just couldn’t admit that to Kiera. Not yet.

“What happened with Pete?” Kiera asked, dropping her voice lower. “Did I catch you guys making out?”

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