Page 60 of Unrivaled Love
"I'd rather not burn the house down." I tell him. Then I pull a garbage bag out and whip it open. "Wish me luck."
"Oh god," Bryson mumbles. "I love you Jo, if you don't make it out alive I want you to know that."
This doesn't feel like a game anymore.
"I love you, too," I say quietly. The words feel all too natural dancing from my lips to his ears. I shake it off though, ultimately he's my friend and I want to give him some comfort in this time of distress. That’s why I said it. That’s all.
I make a show of tiptoeing down the hall and into the room. “Where was it Bryson?" I ask.
"In the bed." He whisper-shouts. "Keep your voice down, they can sense the vibrations."
"Okay," I respond quietly and I have to hold back my chuckle. I'm not sure if he followed me down the hall or not but love is being able to tease them right? "Oh wow." I say slowly, pretending to come face-to-face with the creature.
"Careful Jo, oh fuck, I'm gonna piss myself." Bryson mutters.
I try to swallow my laugh and it turns into a snort.
"I’ll save you!" Bryson yells and I turn to find him crashing into the room wielding a frying pan over his head. He shoves me to the ground and starts smacking the pan all over the bed.
One of the pillows explodes and feathers poof up and fall to the ground like snowflakes.
"Where is it?" He's panting.
"Bryson, stop! It's fake."
"Josie, baby, you're delirious after the bite. It's your body's response."
"No, I'm serious.” I stand and pull the pan out of his hands. "I put it in your bed this morning. It's a fake snake I found in the bunk room."
Bryson slowly looks from the bed back to me. "Seriously?"
"Yes, I didn't know you'd have such a visceral reaction." I bite my lips to keep myself from laughing.
"I can't believe you did that!" He growls and then his fingers dig into my rib cage as he tickles me and I fall onto the bed. He straddles my thighs and my brain tries to register the feel of his genitals on me but he moves to my hip bones and digs in and I screech.
"Bryson, stop! Ohmygod! I'm sorry, stop!" Okay, I’ll admit it. This is torture and I might have deserved the suspension.
Bryson relents and rolls to his back. We lie side by side and let both of our lungs settle into a normal cadence again. I notice he matches his breaths to mine.
"You good?" I ask.
"Yeah, but, never again Jo."
"Fine.” I sigh. I roll my head to look at him. “You were going to sacrifice yourself for me."
I watch as he closes his eyes, inhales, exhales, and turns to face me before opening them again. "I'd do anything for you, Josie."
The childhood nickname cracks open my chest. "No one has called me that in years.” I admit as I turn back to look at the ceiling.
His fingers brush against mine where they're laying between us. The faint contact is overwhelming.
"Do you like that nickname?" He asks.
I bite my lip and nod. It makes me feel delicate and treasured and when the name is accompanied by the look in Bryson's eyes I like hearing it a lot.
Bryson rolls to his side and brushes his knuckles along the side of my face. "I want to kiss you, Josie."
I don’t even need to overthink this. "I want to kiss you, too," I say on an exhale and the space between us disappears. His mouth and body are hot against me and when his tongue sweeps into my mouth a moan vibrates in my throat.
