Read Online Mind Over Matter by Kaia Bennett - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kaia Bennett
Tags: Loose Ends 3
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looked up, silently weighing whether or not venturing out for this lunch date was a good idea. But then their eyes met and they shared the same smile. Why not?
Why not give it a shot? And whether they were thinking about chancing a rainstorm, or this new phase in their relationship, was anyone's guess.
***
"So... can I ask you a question?"
It was a strange and unseasonably warm day. Gabriel was taking a break from packing up things for his new place as well as a break from working in the studio, and Nicole was taking a break from working on her next book. They were walking and getting some fresh air in the park while munching on sweet pretzels.
"Yeah, sure," Nicole said with a nod. She peeled off a piece of her pretzel, popped it in her mouth, and then sucked the sweetness off her fingertips.
She looked at him, but when she noticed his eyes focused on her lips she turned away .
Focus, Nicole, keep your mind out of the gutter .
He wasn’t thinking what he used to every time he looked at her and she needed to do the same. Forcing herself to be unselfconscious, she went back to devouring her pretzel. Her lips encircled her thumb and her tongue darted out to taste the sugar on her lips.
"What... um... what made you decide that you wanted to start hanging out with me?" he asked.
Nicole's eyes, which were focused on finding the next perfect sugar and cinnamon piece, shot up to his and then immediately looked away again. So, this was how they were gonna play it? She thought they were just going to leisurely skate the thin ice over the truth. She liked that idea better. It was easier, would make this whole ordeal so much safer.
But then she should have seen this coming. This was the man she was always honest with. Couldn't expect to change the formula this late in the game.
"Why'd you think I wanted to hang out?"
"Don't answer a question with a question," he joked, pinching her cheek. "It's rude."
She smiled and pulled her face away, blushing horribly at the teasing gesture he used when he was trying to cheer her up or embarrass her. "Fine. Honesty is the best policy and all that jazz."
Gabriel nodded in agreement and went back to taking a bite out of his own pretzel.
"You hadn't been around in a while. And the last time we saw each other, it was really brief. You were just passing through. It was easy for us to tote the whole 'friends' label and not commit to it. But then I was talking to Jackie the other day, and she said I should stop being a shitty friend—"
"Ah, hell, don't listen to her! You're just fine and I don't want you to feel like you've been forced into being around me, not if you don’t want to be."
"No, I love being around you!"
That silence again. She never did get a handle on that whole censoring herself thing. The look in his eyes when she said those words made her wonder what exactly she'd meant by them. They made her wonder why her heart beat faster as his eyes focused intently on hers.
"I mean, s-she didn't make me... I'm not hanging with you out of guilt. But she was right. She really was..." she swallowed, bracing herself for the way her next words would affect them. "Back in the day, even when we were just hooking up, we always kept in touch. A phone call here, an email there. And since we broke up and agreed to be friends, I can count on one hand the number of times I've called or written. That's not cool on my part. That's not me being a good friend."
Gabriel sighed, and she watched as his eyes trailed the cracks in the path they were on. It was like he was a mirror image of her own guilt. Her mention of the old days when they used to fuck like crazy made her body start to tingle with heat, only to be doused with the memories of their painful parting of ways.
"So," she continued, the fine tremor in her voice giving away her nervousness, "here you are, actually in town for a while, and I was about to go down the same road of trying to call you my friend without even knowing
Why not give it a shot? And whether they were thinking about chancing a rainstorm, or this new phase in their relationship, was anyone's guess.
***
"So... can I ask you a question?"
It was a strange and unseasonably warm day. Gabriel was taking a break from packing up things for his new place as well as a break from working in the studio, and Nicole was taking a break from working on her next book. They were walking and getting some fresh air in the park while munching on sweet pretzels.
"Yeah, sure," Nicole said with a nod. She peeled off a piece of her pretzel, popped it in her mouth, and then sucked the sweetness off her fingertips.
She looked at him, but when she noticed his eyes focused on her lips she turned away .
Focus, Nicole, keep your mind out of the gutter .
He wasn’t thinking what he used to every time he looked at her and she needed to do the same. Forcing herself to be unselfconscious, she went back to devouring her pretzel. Her lips encircled her thumb and her tongue darted out to taste the sugar on her lips.
"What... um... what made you decide that you wanted to start hanging out with me?" he asked.
Nicole's eyes, which were focused on finding the next perfect sugar and cinnamon piece, shot up to his and then immediately looked away again. So, this was how they were gonna play it? She thought they were just going to leisurely skate the thin ice over the truth. She liked that idea better. It was easier, would make this whole ordeal so much safer.
But then she should have seen this coming. This was the man she was always honest with. Couldn't expect to change the formula this late in the game.
"Why'd you think I wanted to hang out?"
"Don't answer a question with a question," he joked, pinching her cheek. "It's rude."
She smiled and pulled her face away, blushing horribly at the teasing gesture he used when he was trying to cheer her up or embarrass her. "Fine. Honesty is the best policy and all that jazz."
Gabriel nodded in agreement and went back to taking a bite out of his own pretzel.
"You hadn't been around in a while. And the last time we saw each other, it was really brief. You were just passing through. It was easy for us to tote the whole 'friends' label and not commit to it. But then I was talking to Jackie the other day, and she said I should stop being a shitty friend—"
"Ah, hell, don't listen to her! You're just fine and I don't want you to feel like you've been forced into being around me, not if you don’t want to be."
"No, I love being around you!"
That silence again. She never did get a handle on that whole censoring herself thing. The look in his eyes when she said those words made her wonder what exactly she'd meant by them. They made her wonder why her heart beat faster as his eyes focused intently on hers.
"I mean, s-she didn't make me... I'm not hanging with you out of guilt. But she was right. She really was..." she swallowed, bracing herself for the way her next words would affect them. "Back in the day, even when we were just hooking up, we always kept in touch. A phone call here, an email there. And since we broke up and agreed to be friends, I can count on one hand the number of times I've called or written. That's not cool on my part. That's not me being a good friend."
Gabriel sighed, and she watched as his eyes trailed the cracks in the path they were on. It was like he was a mirror image of her own guilt. Her mention of the old days when they used to fuck like crazy made her body start to tingle with heat, only to be doused with the memories of their painful parting of ways.
"So," she continued, the fine tremor in her voice giving away her nervousness, "here you are, actually in town for a while, and I was about to go down the same road of trying to call you my friend without even knowing
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