My first thought was that he knew. Somehow, he knew that I’d defiled his younger brother, and he was on his way back right now to skin me alive.
“Lea.”
I cleared my throat. “It’s nine-thirty,” I said.
“W-what?” Beau was wide awake now, shoving the covers off his body and racing out of bed. “Oh, god.” He was out of the room in two seconds flat, and the bathroom door slammed shut a moment later.
I got out of bed with a groan and dragged on a shirt as I headed out into the main area to find Judy rifling through my cupboards.
“What are you looking for?”
“Sugar. Do you not have sugar? And I don’t want any of that fake shit. I’ll pass on the cancer.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed the little tin container by the coffee maker. “You didn’t think to look near the coffee machine?”
Judy pursed her lips. “Well, you know, we can’t all be geniuses like Beau.”
I snorted.
“He’s so freaking sweet, by the way. You couldn’t have picked a better one if you’d tried. Wait, did you try? Wait, wait, I don’t even know how you guys met!” She dropped the sugar tin with a loud clatter and grabbed my hands, looking up at me with afrighteningly desperate sheen to her eyes. “I need to know everything about your meet-cute.”
“My—what?”
“God, you’re hopeless. How did you guys meet, dummy?”
I shrugged again, then just answered honestly. “He’s Shea’s brother.”
Her eyes blew wide, and her mouth dropped open. “You stole your best friend’sbrother? Oh mygod. Yes! It’s so perfect. That. Is—” She did a chef’s kiss and then pointed to the coffee maker. “Please, Lea. Teach me your ways and spill the tea. But not my coffee, I’ll murder you if you waste a single drop.”
It hadn’t even been a full two days, but having Judy here had already felt like a year.
Stole?Istolehis brother? I didn’t steal anyone. Beau was an adult, I was an adult, we were both consenting adults, siblings be damned.
Especially my sibling.
After teaching Judy how to use a very basic coffee machine and helping myself to two cups, Beau hurried into the kitchen, barely glancing at me as he snagged a mug from the cupboard and poured himself a cup of coffee. Judy had already left the apartment to go do god knew what. Probably trip children down stairs and push old people into traffic.
“Busy day?” I asked, leaning against the fridge and devouring him with my eyes.
Beau gave me a brief smile as he scooped sugar into his mug. “Yeah, I’ve got a meeting at ten with my boss,” he said. Then he paused, as if realizing something, and said, “I—it’s a video meeting. I can’t—I’ll need the room,” he said, seeming distraught.
“That’s fine,” I told him. “You can have it. How long?”
His shoulders slumped in relief. “Just thirty minutes. Thanks, Lea.”
My body was no longer in sync with my mind, because Icame up behind Beau, wrapped my hands around his upper arms, and kissed his neck. It was still a little damp from his shower, and he smelled like me.
Oh, fuck, he’d used my body wash? Why did I love that so much?
I couldn’t help licking my way to his ear and nibbling on the shell. It was worth it just to hear the surprised whimper he let out.
I kissed him right above his ear, slapped his ass, and said, “Get on it, sugar.” Then I wandered over to the couch, turned on the TV, and pretended to be engrossed with the lady frosting mini chocolate cupcakes and not the shy, gorgeous man I was sharing a room with.
It wasnoon when the guilt started seeping in.
Little trickles of it leeching through tiny cracks, worming its way into the deepest parts of me. I thought it was indigestion at first, to be honest. It was sitting heavy in my stomach and only getting heavier.
But it wasn’t caused by the delicious tacos Monroe had picked up for us fromLa Casa Pequeñita. No, it was because I was finally able to think clearly now that I wasn’t within three feet of Beau.