“Come for me, Red,” he growled.

And I lost it. My orgasm shot through me, racing through my veins, causing my body to jerk and my muscles to shake. He kept going, wringing every last tremor of pleasure from my body as I gasped for air. Just when I didn’t think I could take anymore, he thrust in hard and stilled, grunting my name as he came with a final jerk.

We were both drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. He pressed a soft kiss to my lips and slipped from my body. He rid himself of the condom and collapsed to his back.

I understood what he’d meant when he’d said, “There was no going back.” Things wouldn’t be like it used to be. I didn’t know what this meant for us, but I knew, for sure, friendship was no longer an option.

We lay there for a while, catching our breath and silently freaking out. I just had sex with Drew. What we just did was on a loop in my head as I stared at the ceiling. We weren’t drunk, I wasn’t asleep. This really happened.

I turned to look at Drew, dying to know what he was thinking. His eyes were closed, but he was smiling. He rolled over to face me, bringing a hand to my cheek and pressing his forehead to mine with a sigh. “I won’t ever be able to stop this,” he whispered.

“Then don’t,” I said as I kissed him and pulled him over me.

After a while, my voice was hoarse and my body was spent. I had never in my life felt this satisfied or relaxed. Drew placed a soft, lingering kiss on my lips and I smiled. I was struck completely dumb. I came over here worried about something, but that all vanished when he kissed me.

He pulled away. “You hungry?” he asked, getting up from the bed and pulling on his jeans. “I’m going to order some food.” He didn’t wait for my answer. He just walked out into the living room.

***

Just as my stomach started to growl, there was a knock on the door. Drew threw on some shorts and went to get the food. Realizing that I had nothing else to put on, I slipped his shirt over my head and settled down on the bed.

He came back with a pizza and two beers. I dug into the pizza as he searched for a movie. Things felt easy between us again, like the tension from the past few weeks just lifted away. I still had no idea where we stood, but I was determined not to ruin this incredible euphoric feeling swelling within my chest.

When the pizza was gone, I curled up next to him with my head on his chest as he wrapped me in his arms.

“I’m glad I came,” I said, absently tracing circles on his chest with my fingers.

“A few times.” He chuckled.

I quickly pinched his nipple and twisted. He cried out and grabbed my hand.

“Not what I meant.”

“I know.” He pressed a kiss to my knuckles and down my wrist.

“I was afraid you were giving up on me, that you were letting me go.”

Drew put a hand to my cheek and softly kissed my lips. “You silly girl,” he said. “I told you, you’re stuck with me.”

He kissed me again, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth. I pulled away and rested my head back on his chest, letting out a contented sigh.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, light was streaming in through the windows. I reluctantly opened my eyes. Drew was asleep beside me, his bare chest moving with his steady breathing. I couldn’t help but smile to myself.

He was beautiful. I was so lost in the man. I’ve loved him for so much longer than I realized. He was sweet and caring, funny and so incredibly thoughtful. He was everything to me. He saved me when I thought I would be alone forever. He gave me someone to belong to.

Even though we were just friends, I always felt like I’d belonged to him. It amazed me how quickly everything had changed. I would never be able to look at him the same way. He was under my skin in a way no man has ever been.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand, breaking me out of my daydream. He stirred and reached for it to read the text. He smiled and typed a quick response before setting it back on the night stand. Drew reached for me, kissing me softly.

“Good morning,” he said against my lips. I grinned at him.

“It sure is,” I said.

He pulled me beneath him, nibbled on my ear, and slipped his hand beneath the shirt I was wearing, the one from his room. “So, Millie wants us to come to brunch.” He kissed down my neck.

“Uh huh.”

I was so caught up in what he was doing with his fingers, I almost didn’t hear what he said next. “I don’t think we should tell them about this just yet.”

My eyes snapped open. I pushed his shoulders back so I could see his face. “Why?”

“Because, for now, I just want to keep you to myself,” he said between kisses. He turned his attention back to my neck and his exploration of my more sensitive nerve endings further south.

My head was spinning. Why keep it a secret? I get that they would be curious and just bombard us with questions we really didn’t know the answers to yet, but I wanted to know those answers too. For example, were we together?

His head disappeared beneath the sheet. I felt him part my thighs and all reasonable thought left my head as his tongue worked its magic on the lower half of my body. I would worry about this later.

***

I had to go home and change before brunch. As I left, he said he would meet me at our place in an hour.

At home I hopped in the shower, then quickly dried my hair. I stood in front of the mirror, suddenly a little self-conscious about how I looked. I was going for casual, effortless even, which, of course, took a hell of a lot of effort. I’d laid out a cute sundress and some strappy sandals, but when I put it on, it just looked like I was trying way too hard.

It was brunch at Millie’s. If I showed up all dressed up, Millie would know something was going on. I changed into a pair of skinny jeans, a pink cami, and a gauzy white button down. After a few swipes of mascara and a subtle lip gloss, I grabbed my bag and headed out to meet Drew.

He was standing in our spot in the center of the square, looking effortlessly sexy, as usual, in jeans and a dark gray t-shirt. He smiled when I approached and slipped an arm around my shoulder as he led me to his car. He opened the passenger door for me. Laying in the passenger seat was a gorgeous bouquet of cream hydrangeas.

“Drew, they are beautiful,” I gushed, picking up the flowers.

“I figured Millie would like them,” he said, bursting my bubble. I tried to play off the disappointment I felt. I’d assumed the flowers were for me, but it wasn’t a bad thing they weren’t. We were going to Millie’s for brunch. The polite thing was to bring flowers. He was being polite.

“I’m sure she will.”

Don’t start, Alex. Do not be the girl who questions everything he does.

Drew got in, started the car, and dropped his hand to my knee. I stared at his hand and tried desperately not to overanalyze his every move. Just for once, let yourself be happy, go with the flow.

When we got to Millie’s, I handed the flowers to Drew as he knocked on the door. It wasn’t long before the door flung open and Millie was there with an apron that said “bun in the oven” stretched across her growing baby bump. Her eyes widened when she took in Drew and I standing next to each other.

“I’m so glad you both are here.”

She embraced us both and ushered us into the house. Drew went off to find David while Millie herded me into the kitchen.

She was flitting about like a humming bird, putting the last few touches on the meal. I offered to help and she handed me a stack of plates and told me to set the table.

I was setting the last plate down when she came in with a quiche and arranged it in the center. “So,” she said, rearranging the quiche again, “looks like you guys talked it out.”

I smiled at her. There wasn’t a whole lot of talking, but I didn’t want to upset Drew by spilling the beans. “Yeah, we’re good,” I said, placing forks on all the napkins.