Read Online Between Friends (Friends with Benefits) by Vristen Pierce - Free Book Online

Evan, though. It was a breeze to be unaffected by that which you don’t even notice. The entire day, my focus had been on him—on us. “A reward for bravery,” I said. “Interesting. Will you win me a stuffed bear?”
    “I was thinking more along the lines of… ah, an adult type of reward. But sure, a bear’s good too.”
    I laughed and tilted my head back to look up at him. “I want both.”
    Evan kissed my temple. “Deal.”
    Actually, what I wanted at that moment was his lips on more than just my neck and above. I’d just had the man early that morning and already I craved my next fix like the addict I was becoming. I opened my mouth to tell him this when I saw that we’d managed to make it to the front of the line.
    Gulp.
    My mantra formed on my lips and Evan must have developed the power to know my next move, because I was about to make a break for it. Strappy sandals, don’t fail me now.
    Evan wrapped an arm around my shoulders as he stepped beside me. “You can do this, baby.” He flashed those dimples, and for the second time in my life I found myself trusting someone whom I had absolutely no reason to trust.
    I glanced up at the coaster before meeting his beautiful hazel eyes again and giving him a shaky smile. “Let’s do it.”
    *      *      *
    As soon as the safety bar latched over our laps I hated both myself
and
Evan, for talking me into this madness in the first place.
Oh, I believe in you! Yeah, well, I believe in the law of gravity. People shouldn’t really fuck with that too much.
    The blasted ride, which had been dreamt up by Satan I was sure, gave no warning before it began its attempt to kill me. Who needed a gradual takeoff? That thing went from zero to what seemed like a thousand and one in a millisecond.
    I was too stunned to even scream. I’d gone from sitting peacefully to being rocketed toward God only knew what. My heart tried to beat its way through my rib cage. Evan grabbed my hand. Grateful, all I could do was latch on before we plummeted. A scream did rip from my throat then as I shut my eyes. “Holy shit,” I cried. And I was, literally, close to tears. Before I had time to contemplate the many ways Evan would suffer for getting me into this, the sound of husky laughter wafted to me over my own shrieks. I glanced over and, sure enough, he was having the time of his life.
    “Damn you, Evan,” I yelled before I was jerked back with a start. Oh shit. There
was
a loop on this thing. I squeezed Evan’s hand as hard as I could while trying desperately to keep my lunch down. My screams faded as the feeling of weightlessness settled on me. Suddenly, I was more amazed than terrified. This was probably as close to flying as I would ever get—outside of being in an actual aircraft, anyway. I couldn’t deny that it was rather cool, albeit very scary.
    Cool or not, I was shaking like a leaf when the ride finally came to a stop. I seriously doubted my noodle legs would hold me. Evan laughed as he pulled me close, giving me a big hug.
    “You did great, baby!”
    My teeth chattered a bit as the adrenaline wore off. “I… I… c-can’t believe I… d-did that.” I looked up into his eyes and was riveted. He really did seem proud of me, and for something most people would have found silly. I could just hear my brother now:
For God’s sake, it was a roller coaster, Stacy. Get over yourself.
But it was a big deal for me, for the girl too scared to ever put a single toe outside of her comfort zone. The fact that Evan not only got that, instinctively, but felt pride at my measly little accomplishment warmed me to the core. I gave him a huge smile.
    “Ready for me to win you that stuffed bear for bravery now?” he said with a grin.
    I nodded. “Right after we ride one more time!”
    *      *      *
    After taking on the ride once more, I felt as if I could conquer the world. Motorcycles, roller coasters… what would I do next? Properly thanking the man