Page 55 of Stay With Me

She lets out an adorable huff in response to my words but then looks at her clothes and her shoulders droop. “Fine. But I’m coming to keep you company. We can chat and I’ll bring my book in case you can’t hold up your end of the conversation.” She gives me a cheeky wink,

“Ah, yes. Your smoky book club is coming up soon. Jack invited us guys out to O’Riley’s that night. Finn’s coming too, since Shayna’s hosting at her house.”

“Spicy Girls is asteamybook club, Charlie, notsmoky.What do you think we’re reading about? No. Don’t answer that. I’m gonna top off my coffee. Do you want me to do yours, too?”

“Yes, please. And I know exactly what you read about in thatsexybook club.” I return her wink from a few seconds ago and watch her mouth drop, then I turn and head upstairs.

By four-thirty p.m., we’re exhausted but finally finished painting and have cleaned up all the mess and paint supplies. Not wanting to risk getting paint from our clothes on any of Emily’s furniture, I use the first-floor bathroom to change out of my paint clothes and into the clean clothes I brought, and she goes upstairs to change.

When Emily comes back down to the living room, she gets us both beers and we plant our exhausted bodies down on her couch.

“I’m pretty sure all the reaching and up and down on the step ladder is the most intense workout I’ve had in months,” Emily says. “I’ll be paying for it Monday when I’m trying to chase five- and six-year-olds around the playground at work.”

I take a swig of my beer and peer around the room at the freshly painted walls. “We made pretty good progress today. And I like the color you picked. I’m thinking we can do the flooring next weekend. If it’s okay with you, I can come over on my days off this week and pull up the carpeting.”

“Sure, but I can also start working on that. It will be therapeutic for me to do some demolition.”

I chuckle that she considers pulling up carpet demolition, but I’ll give it to her.

Emily nudges me playfully in the shoulder. “Guess we make a good team, huh?”

“We sure do.” I rotate my body to look at her and when I do, I see exactly how much gray paint is in her light blond hair and I can’t stop the laugh that erupts from me.

“What?” she asks, clearly confused.

“I think you got more paint in your hair than on the walls.” I smile at her and wonder if she’d let me take a photo on my phone.

“Shit. The last time I painted it took almost a week for me to pick all the paint out of my hair. And I walked about with a sizable streak of navy-blue paint on the back of my head for a few days until I saw Shayna and she told me about it.”

Emily sags back into the couch and throws her head back, closing her eyes and releasing an irritated sigh.

My beer is almost empty, so I swallow the last bit. “Come on, I’ll help you. Let me sit over there by that light since it’s bright and you sit on the floor in front of me.”

Emily’s eyes light up. “Really? You’ll help pull the paint out of my hair?” She asks as she’s already rising off the couch to make room so I can scoot over to where she’s sitting.

“Of course I will.”

I guess I didn’t think this through, because when Emily plants herself on the floor, between my legs, I realize it feels more intimate than I expected. But I swallow the lump in my throat as she takes down her messy bun and runs her fingers through her hair. The faint floral smell from her shampoo fills my nose and I smile, realizing it’s how she always smells—soft and feminine.

“Okay. Have at it.” Emily laughs and leans her head back a bit. I grab one of her lap blankets from the back of the couch and roll it up, sliding it under her neck so she’s comfortable. Then I get to work using my fingers to pull the paint coating off the strands of her hair.

Over the next half hour, I pull as much paint out of her locks as I can find while she talks about anything and everything. I mostly answer yes, no, and as few words as I can say because I’m fucking distracted by the occasional satisfied sighs that escape her when I’m moving my fingers through her silky strands trying to see if I missed any spots. I’m sure she has no idea the effect she has on me.

“I could sit here all night. It’s like getting a head massage. I forgot how nice it feels when someone plays with my hair.” She pauses. “I mean, I’m not saying you’re playing with my hair, but it feels similar. When we were younger and Trina used to brush my hair and braid it for school, I loved it. It’s one of the most relaxing sensations. And… I’m rambling.”

The mention of Trina jolts me back to reality. This is Emily—my friend, but mybestfriend’s little sister. And it won’t do any good to let my mind think of the possibility of anything more, since it can’t happen. I gently remove my hands from her hair and clear my throat.

“I think I got it all.” My voice sounds rough, gravelly.

Emily stands without saying anything and pulls the coffee table closer to the couch, sitting down on it and facing me. She looks down at the floor before she speaks.

“C-can you check the front, too? I know I can do it myself but…” Something in her voice sounds uncertain, too quiet, like she’s afraid I’ll say no. She rubs nervously at her forearms and meets my gaze with her bright blue eyes.

I smile at her, forcing down the thought that I should say no. That this feels like I’m playing with fire, and I should avoid it. But I can’t. And suddenly all the reasons I should—her loss this year, not wanting to risk our friendship or mine with Trina but, most importantly, knowing I’m probably not good for her—fade into the background.

“Sure.” I slide forward on the couch and grasp the coffee table on either side of her, pulling it closer so I can reach her easily without either of us straining.

I got a lot of the paint out of the front when I was behind her, but there is definitely some I couldn’t reach. Even with her hair a mess and full of paint with speckles of gray on her face as well, she’s still the most lovely, breathtaking woman I’ve ever seen.

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