I want to take a step closer and run my hands down his abdomen. Wrap my arms around his neck and let him hold me against his masculine form.
Nathan pauses with his hand on the button of his pants, and then when he flicks it open and I can see the band of his black briefs, reality crashes into me. He’s really going to do it. He’s going to get naked right here in the living room, enacting the fantasy of every woman in America （including me）。 The air around me is burning, and before he can make another move, I shoot my hands out in front of me.
“Stop!”
He freezes, eyes slicing up to me, lips parted in surprise and pecs flexing from how I startled him. He doesn’t say anything, and my breath comes out in a tremble. I shake my head. What was I thinking? I can’t do this. It would be jumping-out-of-a-plane-without-a-parachute-level life-changing.
I’ve got to backtrack.
“Kidding!” I blurt out like this was a gigantic prank the whole time. Ha-ha! You totally fell for it! I laugh and turn away from Nathan just so I can let out a big puff of air. I have 2.1 seconds to salvage this before it becomes weird for everyone. I let this night get the best of me and am starting to lose sight of the plan.
Stay strong, Bree. You’re dazzled by the fake relationship.
With my back to Nathan, I mentally repeat my secret rules for a successful friendship.
1. Keep those feelings wrapped up like an egg salad at a church potluck—they’re not actually good for anyone.
2. Nathan is a natural-born flirt. Don’t embarrass yourself by misinterpreting his personality for flirting.
3. Don’t look at his bare skin or you will burn alive.
I halfway broke that last rule, and I’ll suffer the consequences from now on. I gather all of these feelings buzzing around my body like a hornet’s nest and put them in a jar. I screw on the lid. Seal it with Lock Tight just to be certain no stragglers get away. And then I turn around. Oh my gosh, I need to hold my hand in front of me so I can’t see his body.
“So…kidding?” he asks, and the boyish uncertainty on his face nearly kills me.
“Yeah!” I laugh a little too loud. “Oh my gosh, no way would I actually let you get those pants off. I don’t need to see all that. Just wanted to mess with you and see how far you’d go.”
“Pretty far,” he says with an amused tick of his lips. It makes my stomach turn inside out like a reversible jacket.
I stare one more moment at all that he is and then clear my throat and head for the door like a woman who still has all of her faculties intact. I need to start carrying around smelling salts.
“Okay, well this has been fun! But whew, look at the time. I’ve got to be up early in the morning to bake cookies for the week! Early bird catches the worm!”
“Bree?” Nathan asks with a drawn-out amused tone. “Are you okay over there?”
I stop just briefly to flash gloriously wide eyes at him. HOLY MOLY his body…it’s sculpted clay—soft, taut lines cut over every muscle to perfection. “Moi?” My hand covers my heart. “So okay! Why do you ask?”
I’m now performing the flight of the bumblebee, buzzing around the room and collecting my things. Shoes. WHERE ARE MY SHOES?! I turn three circles and look like I’m chasing my tail.
Suddenly, Nathan’s big hand covers my shoulder. I drop away from his touch like I’m in The Matrix avoiding bullets. He looks completely shocked as he silently holds my heels out to me. “Well, glad you’re okay.” His tone conveys that I’m fooling absolutely no one.
I take my heels and quickly slip one on while hopping on one foot. Nathan’s hand shoots out to wrap around my forearm to steady me. I want to whimper/cry/laugh because I feel extra sensitive to his touch. Once my heels are on, I start wobbling away. Wobbling because I have put my heels on the wrong feet. I’m a little girl who snuck into her mom’s closet and tried to sneak off with her best heels. No time to stop and fix them though. I gotta get out of here.