Page 67 of The Dance
“He’ll just deny it. It’s been a year.”
“Yeah.” He blew out a breath.
“Plus, you can’t do that. He’s your business partner. This goes beyond kicking his ass.”
“Right.” Eddie sat next to me. “I need to figure out what to do before Monday.”
“There’s nothing you can do.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I never went to the police. I never got a rape kit. I did nothing, and he got away with it.”
“He’s not getting away with it.”
“You’d risk your business for me? Lose your best friend because of me?” I asked because even just confronting Brody would open a can of worms.
He got down on his knees in front of me again. “I will do everything I can to find proof to stop him. In case you didn’t know, I kinda have a crush on you.”
It was my turn to draw my head back. “Really?”
“Since high school.”
I smiled a genuine smile. “I like you too.”
“More than a brother?” He grinned.
I chuckled. “More than a brother.”
Eddie’s gaze moved to my lips, and I waited for him to lean forward. Instead, he stood. “I know you don’t want to go back to the party, and neither do I. How about we get a few movies on pay-per-view and raid the minibar when we get hungry?”
My smile widened. “I’d like that.”
* * *
We stayed in my room,and I changed into my pajama shorts and tank top. Eddie stripped down to his boxers and under tee. We settled onto the king-sized bed, the pillows propping us up, and I scrolled through the movies the hotel offered On Demand.
“Rom-com?” I grinned.
“If that’s what you want.”
“Really? You’re going to play that game?”
“What game?”
“No guy wants to watch a rom-com or chick flick. They just say that to get into the woman’s pants.”
“Well …” Eddie smirked, and I snorted. “But seriously, whatever you want to watch, I’m cool with.”
“Okay, but you asked for it.” I found the cheesiest rom-com there was and ordered it.
As it started, my focus wasn’t on the movie. It was on the guy next to me, who had just told me he had a crush on me. I liked Eddie too, but I never thought we would confess our attraction to one another, especially after I’d told him someone he trusted was a bad person. As the movie played, I wondered what it would be like to kiss him. I was certain I would have to make the first move, given the topic of conversation earlier.
Checking the clock, we still had over two hours until midnight, so I couldn’t use that excuse to kiss him. Why was I nervous? Why couldn’t I just straddle him and go for it?
I could.
I could totally do that.
