Page 149 of Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate 2)

Laine flips in the chair and faces me, but with such little room, her nose is only two inches from mine. “How do you know what he was thinking? Ang?” When I avoid her gaze, she does what her sister so often does to Kane; she grabs my face and forces my eyes back to hers. “How do you know what he was thinking?”

Tell her, and become her hero?

Keep it to myself, and spare her brand-new nightmares?

“I’m assuming. It’s what most guys see when they look at you two.”

Her eyes narrow. “So I’m only valuable if I come in a twin pack?”

“No.” I lay my head back and close my eyes, because she’s so fucking close, and I could have been her hero if I’d told the truth.

‘Because I wanted them both,’Graham said.‘Like a collection.’

“You and Jess are two completely different people, and the right kind of guy doesn’t want both. He’ll love you both, because you’re so close and it’s important he does, but he won’t want to bang you both. Just like how Kane loves you, but he’sin lovewith Jess.”

“And what about you?”

I open my eyes and stop on her ocean blues. “What about me?”

“Are you in love with anyone? You’re getting to be an old man–”

“Hey, now. You don’t have to be mean.”

Snickering, the tension slowly leaves her body. “Sorry. I just meant… all of your friends are settling down with babies and girls, and then there’s you, chaperoning a road trip because I was a loser who couldn’t travel without a babysitter.”

“You’re not a loser.” Somehow, my hand ends up on her naked hip so my thumb strokes the bone. We’re so close.

If I just leaned forward two inches…

“Why haven’t you found a girl yet, Ang?”

“I’m just…” I shrug. “I’m waiting for my turn.”

“Waiting for your turn for what?” she whispers.

“The right girl to see me.”

Silence falls over us for a full minute. It doesn’t feel awkward –fuck, I hope it’s not awkward in Laine’s head– it just feels contemplative. Like maybe she’s seeing me. Finally seeing me.

Could all my dreams finally come true?

Would she step outside?

“Would you… would you not judge me if I asked for something right now?” Her words are no more than a whisper. “No panicking allowed, no judgement, no worrying about what everyone else thinks. It can just be between me and you, just a friend doing another friend a favor.”

Friends.“Um…” I don’t pay attention to the way my hand massages her hip, or how my heart races in my chest. I don’t notice the way her pulse thunders against her throat, or how her foot slides along my leg. “Sure. Maybe. What do you need?”

“I want a re-do.”

“A… what?”

Her lashes kiss the tops of her cheeks as she avoids my eyes. “I want to replace what I know. The last man that ever kissed me still hurts me in my dreams. I just don’t think he deserves that throne, ya know? I hate that the last man to kiss me is a horrible human being, and I’m too stubborn to let him keep that title.”

“Laine…”

“You’re a good man.” She meets my eyes. “A really, really good man. You treat people right, you protect people you don’t even know, and you’re one of my best friends in the whole world.”

Again with the friends.“Okay…”

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