J. Critch - In Her Best Friend's Bed

She had great legs, in addition to every other feature, and he knew she had a flawless body under all that dress, as he’d gotten more than a few glimpses at a pool party that Jamie had thrown months earlier. When his eyes returned to her face, her smile let him know that she had caught him checking her out. She pursed her lips at him and took a drink from her champagne flute. “I would’ve expected you to have at least two women on your arm by now.”

With a cool smile, Trevor leaned in to her, close enough to smell her perfume, mingling with the smell of the champagne that lingered on her lips. “Oh, you know, I’m scoping the place out, weighing my options. How about you? No men here catching your eye?”

She laughed. The soft, raspy sound made him smile. She took a look around, surveying the room, and nodded appreciatively. “No one yet, but the night is young. There are lots of beautiful people here tonight.”

“There certainly are,” he answered, not able to take his eyes from her. What other people? If Trevor was being completely honest, he would admit that he hadn’t actually noticed any of them, especially with Abby standing in front of him in one of the sexiest dresses he’d ever seen. “And what about your boyfriend?” Trevor asked her, eyebrow raised. “Luther, is it?”

“Luke,” she corrected him with a side-eye glance. “And he’s neither a Luther nor my boyfriend.”

“Oh, really? What happened?” He tried his best to sound like the concerned friend he should be, all the while attempting to conceal his smile. Trevor never liked the guy; he wasn’t good enough for a woman like Abby.

Abby rolled her eyes. “He used the L word.”

“Loan?”

“Love,” she said with a laugh, pushing his shoulder playfully.

“It’s a bit soon for that, isn’t it?” Trevor asked. “You guys weren’t together very long.”

“You are correct. We were together for five weeks.”

“And the L word came out? Like, in conversation, or in the throes of passion?”

Abby giggled. “In a text message. This morning. Not one ounce of passion involved.”

“So, what happened then?”

“I texted him back, saying that maybe we should see other people, and I went back to eating my crepes.”

“That’s cold.”

Abby shrugged. “I’m not looking to be stuck in some relationship. Never have, never will. And he knew that.” She shrugged. Clearly not too broken up about her recent breakup. She turned back to Trevor. “Look at us, just a couple of kids from Montreal, partying with the upper echelon of the Las Vegas elite.” She smiled. But Trevor could tell that the curve of her lips was forced, and in her eyes was a look as weary as the one in his own.

“We sure are,” he agreed, but his sigh was heavy. “It’s a good time.”

Abby’s eyes were sharp as he felt their scrutiny, and it was a few seconds before she said anything. “Then why does it look like you’re about to bolt out of here?”

She had him there. Instead of answering her, Trevor brought his champagne flute to his lips and regrettably found it empty. He wished for more in an effort to cool his internal temperature and to quench his too-dry throat. He looked at Abby’s hand and noticed that she had drained her glass, as well. Turning, he gestured to the bar. “Care for another drink?”

“Sure.”

He looked around, searching for a waiter with a tray of champagne, but he found none nearby. Figuring they could probably get their glasses quickly refilled at the bar, Trevor moved aside so she could go first. He instinctively placed an escorting hand at the small of her back, and his palm tingled at the connection with her smooth skin, exposed by the indecently low cut of the back of her dress and slightly chilled from exposure to the room’s air-conditioning.

When he touched her, she stopped walking and looked up at him, her lips parted in surprise. Despite the considerable height provided to her by her stilettos, she was petite and the top of her head still only came to his chin. Trevor lowered his gaze to her red lips and found it nearly impossible to look elsewhere, until he forced himself and his eyes found hers. A beat of silence fell over them. Trevor could hear neither the music piping throughout the club nor the revelry of his fellow partygoers. He heard only the sound of his own heartbeat, pounding in his chest, and the blood rushing past his ears. And, for a moment, neither he nor Abby moved. Both of them seemed transfixed by the way his hand felt on her, how his palm flattened and molded to the smooth arch of her lower back.

Unable to tear his eyes from her, he took a chance. Testing the boundaries of both of them, Trevor moved his hand a little lower, his pinkie finger skimming the top of the material that curved over her behind. He watched Abby’s shoulders rise and felt her ragged shudder when they fell again. He realized then that he had been holding his breath and he let it go, exhaling roughly.

Abby blinked and finally looked around the room. She opened her mouth a little farther as if to speak, and the spell broke. “Uh...how about that drink?”

Trevor pulled his hand away and fastened the buttons of his jacket hastily, leaving only the bottom one undone. Thankfully, the length of his jacket covered the makings of the erection that resulted from only touching her bare skin. He took a step back and extended a hand in the direction of the bar. “After you.”

Abby nodded and walked ahead of him, with him staying a couple of steps behind her, and he couldn’t help but notice the sexy sway of her hips under the dark color of her dress and the way its low back threatened to reveal more with every step she took.

They found two empty seats at the bar. The bartender was quick and in seconds they had fresh glasses of champagne in their hands. Trevor took a sip and hummed appreciatively. Of course the champagne was top-shelf. Jamie knew the importance of creating a good impression with his guests, and he would never skimp when it came to getting the good stuff. He watched the bar staff whom he’d helped hire and train as they worked quickly and efficiently together. He smiled. He was glad that they turned out to be a good team. If the party and grand opening of Swerve Las Vegas was any indication, Jamie was about to have yet another successful venture on his hands.

“Quite a shindig, eh?” Abby remarked as she drank her champagne, her eyes looking everywhere but at him. Trevor wondered if he had previously misread her. He feared that he had made her nervous, and in turn made things awkward between them, ruining the budding friendship that they’d formed.

“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “Classic Jamie. The man knows how to show people a good time.” He once again spied Jamie and Maya in the crowd as a couple of men shook Jamie’s hand and shifted away, leaving the couple alone for once.

“Isn’t it crazy that they’re engaged?” Abby asked him. She was watching them as Jamie scooped Maya up in a bear hug, lifting her off her feet and kissing her. Abby smiled, obviously as happy for them as Trevor was. “It’s so fast!”

“It certainly is. But they’re good for each other. I’m glad it worked out for them,” Trevor agreed, recalling the rocky road that had brought Jamie and Maya to that moment. “And I’m willing to bet that Jamie would like nothing more than for the both of them to get out of here and celebrate in private.”

“You’re telling me,” Abby said with a laugh.

Trevor and Abby sat in silence for a bit, both watching the crowd of people swarming and mingling before them. Then Trevor surreptitiously glanced at the gorgeous woman beside him, and he considered his physical reaction to simply touching Abby. He’d been with his share of women and had certainly touched more than a bare back in his day, but when he was near Abby, it felt like something inside him shifted. Sure, he was attracted to her—she’s a beautiful woman—but there was something else, something intangible that pulled at every fiber of his being, of his desire, when she was around.