Page 96 of More For Me

Everly

Iknow it’s stupid to feel this nervous. I’m going out to dinner with Bodhi, which should not be a big deal at all. How many times have the two of us had dinner before? This shouldn’t feel any different.

But itdoesfeel different. It feels entirely different. Because now I know what it’s like to have Bodhi kissing me like he needs me more than oxygen. I know what it feels like to have his hands on me in a decidedly un-friendly kind of way. I know what it sounds like when he growls in my ear.

At that thought, goosebumps erupt all over my arms and I have to set down my curling iron so I don’t accidentally burn myself. Thinking about Bodhi making that noise while holding a hot iron sounds like a really bad idea.

Of course, I’ve always known Bodhi was good looking. I’m a straight woman and my eyeglass prescription would have to be much, much worse not to have noticed how beautiful he is. But I always put those thoughts away in the box in my head labeled Don’t Go There. Bodhi is my best friend and thinking about him like that seemed like a recipe for disaster.

But the night he helped me with my necklace, that carefully constructed little box was blown to smithereens. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him like that. And that was before I knew how good of a kisser he is. Or how amazing it feels to touch so much of his bare skin.

My cellphone beeps on the vanity and I shake my head, trying to clear it. I’m never going to be ready if I keep zoning out like this.

Predictably, the text is from Santana. She’s been absolutely relentless all day. Of course, my cousins wasted zero time informing the entire family what they walked in on last night. They didn’t even bother to make a new group thread, choosing instead to blast that gossip into the same thread Bodhi and I are on. So we had the pleasure of seeing every “OMG” and “Holy crap!!” my sisters and cousins sent back.

At least they kept our parents out of it. I guess I should be thankful for small favors. I’m not sure how pleased my dad would be to find out they walked in on me sitting on Bodhi’s lap with my tongue down his throat.

I read the message from my younger sister.

Santana:Are you sure I can’t come help you get ready? I won’t be annoying, I promise.

Me:I’m good, thanks.

Santana:Everly! This is the most important date you’ll ever go on in your life.

And here come those nerves again. I’ve been doing my best not to think about the magnitude of this date, but it’s hard. You can’t just casually date your best friend—which is one of the reasons I had myself tied up into so many knots over this in the first place. Dating Bodhi is automatically a Big Deal.

But I could do without the reminders.

Me:I appreciate the extra pressure but I’m fine getting ready on my own.

Santana:I’m not trying to pressure you! I’m just saying, you should have your sisters with you for this monumental occasion.

Me:Pass. Thanks, though.

Santana:EVERLY.

I toss my phone aside and go back to my hair, trying to ignore the way my hands are shaking.It’s just dinner,I remind myself for the millionth time. Just dinner. With Bodhi.

Who I really want to kiss some more. And maybe, possibly, go to bed with at the end of the night.

“Shit,” I yelp, yanking the iron away from where I just scalded the back of my neck. I whimper in pain as I lay the iron down and twist, trying to see the red mark on my neck. “Damn it!”

“What’s wrong?”

I look up to see Bodhi sliding into the doorway to my bathroom, looking slightly out of breath, like he sprinted here from his own room.

“Burned myself,” I mutter, my cheeks flushing with color.Do not tell him why you were distracted, Everly. Don’t you dare do it.“I’m really nervous,” I blurt out.

His expression softens. “Let me see.” Then he’s standing behind me, lifting my hair out of the way, and it’s all I can do not to sway on my feet. He lets out a little hiss. “Yeah, it’s pretty red.” His fingers gently trace the area just below the burn. “I’ll get you some ice.”

“Okay,” I manage to whisper, in spite of the fact he just basically shattered my ability for coherent thought.

He leaves the bathroom and I collapse on the ledge of my bathtub, feeling like an idiot. What is wrong with me? This is Bodhi.

The most important date you’ll ever go on in your life.

Stupid little sisters. Stupid cousins. Stupid everyone getting in my head.