Page 53 of Crave Thy Neighbor

I pull my lips from her, nipping my way across her jaw and down her neck, then back up again.

Her panting grows louder with each stroke against me as she inches closer to where she needs to be.

“Do it,” I say. “Get yourself there.”

My words snap her out of the haze she’s in, and she’s no longer pulling me closer, but pushing me away.

I don’t overstay my welcome, putting some space between us until I can see what’s happening.

And what’s happening is the storm brewing in her eyes.

She’s upset, but I can tell it’s not with me.

“No,” she mutters, slamming her eyes closed. “No, no, no.” She lifts her lids again, that fucking gray stare penetrating me. “We can’t.”

We…can’t?

Oh fuck.

Wecan’t.

I push away from her, not stopping until I’m safely on the other side of the hall because I can’t think clearly when I’m near her.

She flattens herself against the wall, tipping her head up, sucking in several deep breaths while I do the same.

What the hell am I thinking? What the hell am Idoing?

We can’t get into this together.

She’s not some random girl I met at the bar. She’s not some chick I met on an app for a hookup.

She’s my roommate.

She’s River’s best friend.

She’s a mom.

Attachment after attachment afterfuckingattachment.

We cannotdo this.

It’s too risky.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “I shouldn’t have let things go so far.”

“Don’t.” I shake my head. “It’s my fault. I’m the one who initiated it.”

“But I didn’t stop it,” she argues.

Fine. If she wants part of the blame, she can have it.

We stand there for several minutes longer. Or hours. I can’t really tell at this point.

Maya is the first to move.

She bends, grabbing my three dropped—and long-forgotten—books off the floor. The pages are bent, but it’s nothing a bit of weight can’t straighten out.

She takes a step toward me. “I’m sorry about your books.”

---