Page 55 of The Ex Effect
A warmth seeped into my leg from Frankie’s palm and fluttered up to my belly. I sighed. The only thing that was okay about this situation was how Frankie stepped in to help me. “I’m just so… I don’t know.” I twisted the ring on my finger. “I’m so pissed at myself for letting him do that. So mad at him for thinking he had the right.”And so freaking turned on right now that you came to my rescue.
I would never, ever consider myself the damsel-in-distress type, but this ran deeper than watching a hot-as-hell Frankie blaze alive in that room. For the first time in forever, someone was whole-heartedly, unequivocally, in my corner. But seeing Frankie’s eyes go dark, having her step in front of me, watching that dickhead cower because of Frankie’s presence,that fire reached my core.Oof. Never before had there been quite the aphrodisiac.
“Do not be mad at yourself for acting the way you did. Men like that…they’re unpredictable. You have no idea how much it would’ve escalated. You did exactly what was right for you at that time. Don’t second-guess yourself.” Frankie slowed to a stop at a light and glanced at me through her peripherals. Her knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. “I should’ve never left you.”
“No, you don’t get to do that, either. Your sister needed you, I’m a grown-ass woman, and you couldn’t have known he’d try anything.” I laid a hand on Frankie’s thigh. I meant it as a reassuring squeeze, but it didn’t stop the tingles from flying up my arm. “Thank you for standing up for me. I can’t believe I froze. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t there.”
The light changed and Frankie turned back towards the road. “I have no doubt you would’ve handled it.” Frankie tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. Several silent moments stretched between us before she inhaled a sharp breath. “You’re killing me, you know that?”
I searched Frankie’s eyes, but they remained fixed on the road. “What do you mean?”
Frankie just shook her head, but her pained face spoke volumes. I didn’t want to force anything. But would it kill Frankie to open up, just a little, and tell me what was going through her head? Talk to me.Something.
When we pulled into my place, Frankie cut the engine and gripped the wheel. Long, heavy sighs left Frankie, but I remained silent. I reached for the door handle, but Frankie pulled me back. “Ican’thave anything happen to you.”
Those words reached inside, to my toes and back up. I wanted to say a million things, do a million things, but ugh, this all hurt so hard and felt so good, and I was stuck in the middle of past, present, and future. “Thanks for coming with tonight.” Ineeded to get out of here, get air, stop being in the same place as Frankie. I couldn’t do it anymore. The fresh air hit my face as soon as I hopped out of the truck. I stepped to the porch when the truck door behind me slammed.
Frankie crossed towards me, her eyes fierce and determined. I waited.Please, please say something. Tell me you’re thinking about me the same way I’m thinking about you.My heart was cracking and filling, and the confusing messages messed with my mind. “God, I hate you sometimes,” I finally said.
And maybe it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to say at the moment, but I was raw and emotionally drained and tired, and it needed to be out. Frankie, for her credit, only scrunched her eyes at my random comment.
“I…” I didn’t want to cry, but my chest was tight, and my eyes were hot and Frankie was just right there, being so…Frankie. Hands in pockets. Unaffected. Gorgeous. I stared at the sky and blinked back the stinging tears. “God, I loved you so much. It’s stupid, right? We were kids. It shouldn’t still affect me like this, and it does. God damn you, Frankie, it affects me every single moment and I want it to stop.”
Frankie’s gaze burned a hole into me. She shook her head. “It’s not stupid. It took me years to get over you. And honestly, there was a part of me that wasn’t sure I ever did.”
The stars flickered above us, as the quiet neighborhood stayed asleep. The porch light shone, highlighting Frankie, accentuating the shadows and angular cut of her jaw. She really was so beautiful, always had been. I dipped my head, and Frankie hooked a finger around my hair and tucked it behind my ear.
“Don’t,” I whispered, and Frankie dropped her hands. But it wasn’t what I meant. I didn’t meandon’t touch me. I meant…don’t leave me. Don’t go back to New York. Don’t hurt me.The words gripped at my heart, but I stayed silent. At the same time, everything was sparking and, God, I just wanted totouch her, to taste her mouth again, to feel her next to me. The body tingles collided with the pragmatic thinking, and I was at a loss. I was an adult, for God’s sake. I could have sex and not be all in my feels, right?
I ran my hand across Frankie’s forearm and tugged Frankie close to me. Even under the rough exterior, her skin was smooth and silky, and my fingers immediately wanted more.
“I thought you said ‘don’t,’” Frankie whispered, her breath heating my neck.
My heartbeat steadily rose. I slid my fingers across Frankie’s hip, tugged her even tighter, and melted in the sensation of Frankie’s body pressed against mine. “Don’t make me fall in love with you again.”
But it was too late. I already knew I had fallen back in love. Every feeling, sensation, the same as when I was a kid. And yet, it was stronger, more mature,scarier.
Frankie put her mouth to my ear, her hand gripping my waist. “I make no promises.”
I lifted my mouth to Frankie’s, brushing my lips against hers. Frankie’s mouth was so soft, so full, so ready. I pulled back, my eyes reading hers, needing confirmation we were on the same page. But what page was that? This, now, forever, temporary? I didn’t know. But the fire in Frankie’s gaze showed me that Frankie wanted me just as much as I wanted her.
Frankie grasped me from behind the neck and pressed her mouth into mine. My knees nearly buckled with the sensation. Frankie’s lips were firm, controlled,heavenly, and moved against mine. Frankie circled her velvety tongue, separated my lips, and slid into my mouth.
When I stepped back, the porch creaked under my foot. I stared at Frankie, terrified I broke the spell.
“Are we good?” Frankie asked as she pulled away, breathless.
I nodded and trailed my finger up Frankie’s forearm.Frankie was always strong, an athlete, but now she was a woman, with rippling muscles and dips in her forearms, and I wanted to kiss every part of her. Enough thinking. No more second-guessing anything. “How do you feel about moving this inside?” My heartbeat kicked in, thudding against my chest. What if she said no?
What if she saidyes?
Without a word, Frankie interlocked my fingers in hers and tugged me inside. Each footstep felt heavy and light at the same time, filled with intention and promise. Purse dropped, shoes kicked off, and I surrendered all control. Frankie didn’t even stop at the couch. She clasped my hand and tugged me down the hall.
Oh damn. This is actually happening.
Inside my bedroom, I thought for sure Frankie would tear my clothes off. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed and patted the comforter. Too many moments of silence followed with Frankie staring at her hands and my libido shrunk. Maybe this wasn’t the right time, and I misread the signals. “Areyouokay?”
“Yeah, for sure.” Frankie focused on her hands, squeezing the tips of each finger. “I… um… It’s been alongtime. Like not since Savannah. And I want this. Like holy shit, woman, I want this so bad. But I’m a little freaked out.”
