Page 56 of Crave Thy Neighbor

Moving in with Nolan was a massive mistake for one obvious reason: I’m undeniably attracted to him.

Based on that alone, I should have thanked him politely for his offer and declined it, then moved in with River and Dean.

Except I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t put them through that.

So I pulled up my big girl panties and moved in with the first guy to make me want to pull said panties down in alongtime.

We’ve barely talked since we kissed. We’ve been too busy tiptoeing around one another to speak.

Luckily, Nolan works long hours, so I only have to avoid him in the evenings when he’s home. I make dinner and leave it on the stove for him, then hide away in my bedroom. I’ve already blazed through two whole seasons ofDawson’s Creek, so I can’t say it’s been a total waste.

“So, how’s everything going with Nolan? I feel like we haven’t had a real chance to talk this week with all the orders coming into the shop.” River shovels a bite of pie into her mouth. How she can eat that many sweets, especially in the morning, is beyond me, but the girl can consume pie like nobody’s business.

It’s Sunday morning and we’re at The Gravy Train for our near-weekly routine of breakfast and gossip. Though, admittedly, it’s not as much fun as it used to be back when River was single and dating. Now, we mostly complain about customers at work.

“It’s fine.”

Her fork stops mid-bite, and she tips her head to the side. I shift under her watchful gaze, hating the way she’s staring at me. “You keep saying that, but I’m not sure you mean it.”

My heart rate picks up. Does she know about the kiss? No, that’s crazy. There’s no way she could.

“What do you mean?” I ask, playing it cool.

She stabs her utensil my way. “I’ve known you twenty-plus years. You’ve been crazy distracted at work this week, and you look like you haven’t slept much. So, something must have happened.”

Yeah, I kissed Nolan!

I want to yell it across the table so badly…but not as badly as I want to kiss him again.

It’s all I’ve been able to think about. No matter the number of times I run my fingers over my clit, nothing feels as good as it did when Nolan’s leg was between my thighs.

I clear my throat, squeezing my legs together at the memory.

“Nothing happened,” I lie.

I hate lying to her, but I don’t want to tell River about the kiss because she’s going to think it means something, and it definitely doesnotmean anything.

It can’t. She told me herself Nolan doesn’t date. Hell,hetold me too. He doesn’t do relationships, and he definitely doesn’t do kids.

Us kissing? Doesn’t mean a thing because nothing will ever come from it, so there’s no reason to tell her if it doesn’t mean anything.

At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

“I’m still…adjusting,” I add.

She nods. “I’m sure it’s all a little strange still. But like I said, Nolan’s a cool guy, and you guys will get along great.”

Don’t blush. Don’t blush. Do not blush.

“I’m sure we will. He’s not home a lot, so we haven’t spent much time together.” Because we’ve been ignoring one another, but she doesn’t know that.

“You two should come down for dinner one night. Just us adults. We can get shit-faced without having to worry about anyone driving home.”

It’s an awful idea.

It’s awkward enough when we’re alone. I can’t imagine how much worse it would be if we had to pretend I didn’t almost get myself off on him in front of other people.

“I’ll talk to Dean and see what night works for him,” she continues. “Maybe we’ll do a Sunday, that way we won’t have to worry about opening the boutique hungover.”

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