Page 21 of Merrily Yours
“Hey,” I whisper back, using my hand to tip her chin back up. “Don’t do that. You know you’re welcome with us anytime.”
She nods and leans a little more into me before I bring my hand back down to my side, willing myself to stop touching her. “It’s just that Bex is like family, you know?”
I huff a laugh. “Yeah, I do know.”
“Not like that.” She flicks my arm. “Listen, we were both kids, okay? It’s been years. I think we can move past all of”—she gestures around vaguely—“this.”
I swallow hard. Can I move past the mistakes I made so many years ago? I really want to. So I nod. “Yeah, you’re right.”
She sticks her hand out for a— “You want to shake on it?” I laugh.
She nods emphatically. “Yeah… I do.”
So we shake hands. And then our fingers twine together. And we don’t let go.
At least, not until I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and see everyone from our table walking toward us. I pull my hand out of Luci’s and miss the touch instantly. I look into her eyes expecting to see hurt, but I only see understanding.
Luci has always understood me. Even when she didn’t want to.
“We’re headed out!” Bex says, once she reaches us. “But you guys feel free to stay and… do whatever…”
“Subtle, Baby Bardot,” Anders jokes. “Let’s get home.”
We say our goodbyes and then Luci turns to me.
“I guess that’s our cue,” I say at the same time Luci says, “I think we should go upstairs.”
“You think we should…” Wait,what?
“C’mon, Gabe.” She runs a finger up and down my arm, my skin erupting in goosebumps. “I don’t think I’m misinterpreting here, am I? I’m leaving town after the holidays. We don’t have to, but I’d like to spend some more time with you…”
“Mmhmm. Yeah, that. We should definitely do that.” A smile lights up her face, and I’m already incredibly hard just thinking about more time with her.
I close out our tab, and Luci immediately laces our fingers together, dragging me behind her as we exit the building and walk around to the apartment entrances. I think I might be dreaming because she keeps shooting coy looks over her shoulder. We open the door and make it halfway up the stairs before my impatience and impulsivity gets the better of me.
“Wait,” I say, stopping so abruptly, Luci crashes back into me.
Her hands are on my chest as she looks down through thick eyelashes. “What, Gabriel?”
“How much have you had to drink?” I ask. I had several of Louie’s drinks but also had a big dinner and some snacks so I’m only feeling slightly buzzed. I watched Luci only drink two glasses of Christmas punch, but I want to—no Ihaveto—make sure she consents to this.
“You saw how much I drank tonight. That’s all I’ve had. I am a little tipsy, but we can make some coffee upstairs if that’ll make you feel better.”
“And you consent to this?” I ask.
She nods, licking her lips as her gaze drops down to my mouth.
Fuck. “Words, Luce. Can I kiss you?”
“Please.”
“Can I fuck you?”
“Please,” she whines.
“Will you stay the night?” That catches her off guard.
“Uh… maybe. I’m not—I don’t know if…”
