Page 55 of Love Potion

Bane grabs my hand, squeezing it gently and moving a little closer as we walk. “You can see it? Us as a couple?”

I nod, biting my bottom lip. “I had a crush on you for the longest time back when we were younger.”

Bane’s smile grows. “No way. You never let on even a little bit.”

“What was the point?”

“You outgrew your crush?”

“More like buried it. I think it’s been hard to reconcile what my brain wants and what my body does.”

“I get it.”

“You don’t. When you want to be with someone, you just can. You know you’ll get turned on at the right time and you’ll be able to perform, but I don’t know that. I don’t know if…” I stop myself again, blowing out a slow breath. “I’ll tell you the rest when we get home. I don’t want to out here.”

“No problem.”

Bane pulls me closer, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. It’s something he’s done a thousand times before, but it feels different now. Definitely feels like more.

We arrive at the house a few minutes later, removing our jackets and shoes before heading straight up to Bane’s room. I don’t know why we mostly hang in his space. Maybe because he invested more in his gaming setup, or maybe it’s because it smells like him—spicy and sexy.

“Want some hot chocolate?” he asks, already on his way to the kitchenette. He knows the answer.

“Yes, please.”

“Get comfy. I’ll be right over.”

I head to his couch, sinking into the soft, deep cushions. Lowen picked out amazing furniture for us to choose from, and Bane chose this cream chenille sectional, so it’s incredibly soft and comfortable enough to sleep on. I know, because we have, several times.

He’s back in a minute, tugging his shirt over his head and tossing it onto the back of the couch. Instead of looking away like I normally do, I keep my gaze on him, taking in his lean muscles, the dark brown disks of his nipples, and the light dusting of brown hair on his chest down his stomach and below the waistline of his jeans.

He’s not looking at me yet, as he runs his fingers through his curly hair, but then he lifts his head and focuses his sultry gaze on me. My stomach flutters a little, and just as I open my mouth to confess more truths, the electric kettle clicks.

Bane smiles. “Be right back.”

He disappears around the corner and I sigh, leaning back. When he comes back, I’m gonna be brave enough to tell him things I’ve kept to myself for a very long time. I didn’t think it was important to tell him, since it never led to anything interesting, but if we’re really gonna move from friendship to romance, he should know.

He returns with two mugs of steamy chocolate goodness, handing me one as he sinks onto the couch right beside me. I blow into my mug, giving myself a few more seconds to compose my thoughts, and Bane, because he knows me so well, just waits quietly.

“So the reason asexual never fully resonated with me… Wait. I should maybe give some context.”

“Start wherever, Jerr. I’ll catch up.”

I nod, clutching my mug. “Right. Okay. I’ve never told you this because… I don’t know, it didn’t feel like it mattered, but now I think it kind of might.”

“Okay.”

“Sometimes, in rare situations, I do feel sexually attracted to something. Or someone, I guess.”

His eyes widen briefly with surprise, but then he nods. “No, you haven’t told me that. I thought it was never there.”

“It’s not frequent, but it does happen. Um, it happened when you kissed me.”

“It did?”

I nod, feeling the lump in my throat growing. “But it’s gone too quickly. I don’t know how to make it stay, but it does happen.”

“That’s awesome.”

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