Crashing Into You (20 page)

“I know, right? You want to
get the syrup out of the fridge?”

“Absolutely.”

He unlocked his arms from me
and stepped toward the refrigerator. I checked on the waffle, to make sure it
was reaching its maximum crispness—but I spent more time checking out
Evan’s backside. His ass was tan and toned, yummy enough to bite on. He had two
more tattoos, another series of tiny stars right below his neckline, and a bald
eagle that took up most of his upper back.

He pulled out the syrup and
asked, “You want me to get plates?”

“That'd be great.”

He set one, not two, down
next to the waffle iron; apparently we were going to share. I lifted up the lid
and slid the perfect golden waffle to the plate.

“Mmm,” he said, and started
pouring the maple syrup into all the little pockets.

“Here, I'll get some
silverware.” I reached for the drawer, but Evan pulled my arm away.

“No, no,” he said. “Let me.”

He tore off a piece of the
waffle, and brought it to my mouth. He hovered it in front of my lips, and let
me do the rest of the work. I leaned my head back, just an inch or two, and let
the first scrumptious bite drop into my mouth.

“Oh my God,” I said, all
sultry, but I didn’t mean it as a come-on. I was starving. Evan Taylor was
naked beside me, but I only had eyes for the waffle.
 

He split off another piece
and dropped it in my mouth. I savored the crispness, the sweetness. It was
almost as good as the sex. Almost.

“Here. You're having some,
too,” I said, and slipped a large wedge of the waffle into Evan’s mouth. He
moaned even louder than I did. A small bit of the syrup trickled down the left
side of his chin. I pulled him toward me, and licked it off with my tongue.

“It tastes so good,” Evan
said, “but this is better.” He pushed his lips against mine, and wrapped his
arms around me. He slipped his tongue into my mouth, lifted me into the air,
and all of a sudden, I forgot about breakfast.

He brought me to the other
side of the kitchen counter, where my ass wouldn’t land on anything that would
burn me, and dropped me down, just a foot from the sink. He lifted my shirt
over my head and started running his tongue along the top of my chest.

I tilted my head back, looked
out the window. We were on the second story of the apartment complex, so no one
could look directly in. But right below was a sidewalk that led to the parking
lot, where a family of four was walking side by side. If they just looked up…

“Evan, not here. Someone
might see us.”

He came up for air, just for
a second, to say, “Let them watch.”

I smiled, as he slipped my
underwear back off, and wrapped my legs over his head. He brought his tongue
inside me.

“Oh God... Evan…” I kicked my
feet against his back, then grabbed a knob behind me, banged my head a couple
times against the cabinet.

“Evan… that feels… that feels
so good...” I started breathing faster and faster. When he drew his tongue in
even deeper, I let out a high-pitched shriek. “Oh God… oh Evan… oh—”

Something loud dropped to the
hardwood in the entrance hallway.

My eyes popped open. I looked
toward the main door.

Lukas opened his mouth real
wide, and slammed his hands over his eyes. He almost tripped over his giant
suitcase.

“Oh shit,” he said.

Chapter 23

Lukas kept his eyes shut
tight. He reached down for his suitcase, but he couldn’t find the handle.

Evan smashed his back against
the refrigerator. As soon as he saw Lukas, he covered up his junk with both
hands.

I reached for something,
anything, to cover up with. Napkins? A rag? A waffle cookbook? There was
nothing within reach. I found a spatula, but that did no good. I leaned over
the sink, grabbed a long strand of paper towels, and placed them over my body
like a poor man's blanket.
 

“Explain yourself!” I finally
said.

“I’m sorry,” Lukas said,
still with his eyes closed. He finally found the handle. “I was able to get an
earlier flight—”

“Why didn’t you knock?”

“I don't know! Maybe because
I
live
here!” He sped toward his
bedroom, but before he completely departed, I saw him open his right eye, fiddle
with his glasses, and glance, not at me, but at Evan. “Oh wow,” he said.

I pointed. “Go!”

He ran into his bedroom and shut
the door. I waited five seconds, at least, to confirm he wasn’t coming back
out. Then I tossed the paper towels aside, picked up my clothes from the floor,
and charged into my room.

Evan followed me. “Well,” he
said, after he closed the door, “that was awkward.”

“Oh God,” I said, this time not
in the good way. I slipped on my underwear and reattached my bra. “I was so
hoping I could break this to him more easily.”

“What do you mean?”

I leaned against my dresser
and tapped my fingers against my hips. “Lukas has been acting a little funny
lately. He wants the best for me, but... he hasn’t really been on board with
this, me and you spending so much time together.”

Evan sat on the bed. By now I
had put on a blue t-shirt and some jean shorts, but he just stayed naked. “Really?
Why?”

Because Melanie’s body is
still fresh in the ground, that was why. But I couldn’t tell him that.

“I just think he's afraid of
losing me as a friend, that's all,” I said. “Evan, you and I can still do whatever
we want in here. We just might have to cool it in the kitchen for now.”

He chuckled. “And the living
room sofa?”

“Yes,” I said, with a smile. “That,
too.”

“What about your balcony?”

I slugged him, playfully. “You're
an animal, you know that?”

Evan scooted closer to me,
took my hand in his. His palm was so warm, so gentle. I didn't know how I had
gone two years without feeling that sensitive touch.

“Speaking of the kitchen,” he
said, “we never did have the rest of that waffle.”

I glanced at the door. Pushed
my lips together, not to kiss him, but to think. “Yeah, you’re right. We could just
have it later, I guess. I'm not that hungry.”

My stomach growled, right on
cue. We both laughed.

“I guess maybe I am,” I said,
and pushed my available hand against my belly.

“I’ll tell you what,” Evan
said. “How about we take a shower, get dressed, and I take you out for a
real
breakfast?”

“Oh God, really?” I smiled,
relieved. If I didn't have a proper meal soon, I was going to either faint or
try to hurt someone.

I nudged my forehead against
his, and kissed him. His lips tasted of sweet maple syrup. I drew my tongue into
his mouth, only slightly, before I pulled away.

I jumped off the bed, made
sure my bedroom door was locked. I hated that Lukas had to see me like that,
with any guy, let alone Evan, but I tried to forget about it. I opened my
bathroom door and stepped inside. I had just gotten all dressed, but the
clothes were coming off again.

Evan pulled my shirt over my
head, and unhooked my bra. He threw my shorts against the door. He got down on
his knees and pulled my underwear down my legs, slowly, delicately. He jumped
back up to his feet, as I turned on the shower. I waited for the water to get
hot, and when it did, I stepped in—and Evan followed.

I let the hot water pound
against my face, let it wash away all the sweat, and humiliation. Was Lukas
ever going to look at me the same way again? I ran my hands against the soap
and started washing my upper body. I started at my neck, then moved to my shoulders.

I didn’t get very far. Evan
took the soap out of my hands and dropped it back in its holder. He got down
under the water, too.

“Evan?”

“Yeah?”

I tried not to look too glum.
“Do you think it’s okay? What we’re doing?”

“What do you mean?”

I brought my hands to his
abs, ran my fingers against them. “I just… it does, it feels right. It feels so
right, and that scares me.”

“Why?”

“Because. I feel like I
should have more guilt or something.”

He brought his hands to my
cheeks, rubbed his thumbs against my chin. “What happened with Melanie was an
accident. There’s nothing either of us could have done. She’ll always be a part
of me, I won't deny that.” He pulled me close, pushed his chest against mine. “But
I love
you
now. And we have to move
on. What’s done is done… and we
have
to move on.”

I gazed at him for what
seemed like forever. I finally kissed him, softly, and said, “I love you so
much.”

No more soft kisses—I
pulled him against me, slammed my back against the tiles, wrapped my arms
around his shoulders, and dipped my tongue into his mouth. The water pelted
against us as we continued to kiss, as we continued to prove last night was no
fluke, that this was only the beginning.

Evan and I spent the rest of
the day together. He took me out to the San Fernando Valley, where we had
brunch at a cute hipster joint called Aroma Cafe. Later on we saw the new
Matthew McConaughey drama at the Arclight Sherman Oaks, and then we took a
stroll around the luminous Balboa Park. When he dropped me off at my apartment
as the sun started going down, he kissed me good-bye, said he’d call me
tomorrow, and drove away. Just like that, my perfect weekend was over.

The apartment was unlocked,
so I knew Lukas was inside. I walked straight to his bedroom door. I didn’t
want to avoid him. I didn’t want any secrets between us. I hesitated, only for
a moment, then knocked.

“Yeah?” he said.

“It’s me. Can we talk?”

“Of course.”

I opened the door, and did my
best not to giggle. He was in the middle of the room, in a white t-shirt and
blue gym shorts, performing lunges.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Just stretching before my
jog.”

“Before your
what
?” I closed the door behind me.
“Umm, what’s your name, and what have you done with Lukas?”

He reached his arms toward
the ceiling, and continued his adorable attempt at lunges. “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t exercised a day
in your life. At least, since I’ve known you.”

“So? It's never too late to
start.” He patted his hand against his belly and said, “I’m getting a little
flabby down there. I want to look my best.”

I crossed my arms, and leaned
up against his desk. “Wait a minute. This wouldn’t have anything to do with
Robert, would it?”

He tried to suppress a smile,
but I saw it before it disappeared from his face.

“Oh my God,” I said, as my
hands started shaking in excitement. “Did something happen? I know you guys
have gone on a couple dates, but...”

He stopped stretching, and
just stood there for a moment. When his gaze didn’t meet mine, I knew something
was up. “He might have… well…”

“What? Fucking tell me!”

“He might have kissed
me on Thursday. Before I left to see my
mom.”

I put my arms above my head,
and clapped my hands together. “Holy shit! Lukas! Are you serious?”

He opened his eyes real big,
and grinned all stupid happy, like a five-year-old on Christmas morning. I
charged toward him, more like a bull than a friend, and collided against his
chest.

“Oh my God, I’m so happy for
you!” I shouted, and hugged him tight.

“Thanks, Sydney.”

“This is so exciting! You
have Robert, and I have…” I stopped. Didn’t finish the thought. “So are you
guys officially a couple yet, or what?”

“I don’t know,” Lukas said.
“I think so. He wants to go out tomorrow night.”

“He wants to go out on a
Monday
?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Oh, you’re definitely a
couple.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bed. “Wow. This started off as
the worst summer of my life, it really did. Now things are finally coming
around. For both of us.”

“I know. I feel so lucky. I mean,
who would have expected Robert to just randomly show up at Rage that night?”

I shook my head, with
pleasant ignorance. “I know, right? What a coincidence!” I smiled. I loved
seeing Lukas so happy. “So he kissed you on Thursday? Why did you wait three
days to tell me?”

Lukas grinned. “I wanted to
tell you in person, that's all.”

“Well here I am. Tell me
everything
.”

“Yeah? Well, that goes for
you, too, you know.”

I lowered my head. “What do
you mean?”

He tapped his fingers
together and gave me a knowing look, like he was waiting for the
real
talk.