Beautiful Oblivion by Addison Moore Page B

nicest guy on the planet.” I run my finger just under his jaw, and his chest expands with a breath. “You’re amazing.” I glance down a moment. “I missed you. Did you miss me?” I hate how desperate I sound. How broken and fragile I’m coming across. I wish I were like Brylee. She would have shoved him over the mattress the first three seconds of their arrival, and, here I am, helping to set up a board game.
    “Yes, I missed you.” He glides his finger down my cheek, and I tremble at his touch. “And, you happen to be the sweetest girl I know. You’re my best friend, Reese. You know you’ve always been that.”
    “So we’re best friends.” I latch onto his eyes and hold his warm gaze. My girl parts sigh, and my panties start to slide down on their own volition. It’s becoming obvious that I will never survive this summer.
    “And I want to keep it that way,” he says it firm. His eyes never waver from mine. “God, if you hate me at the end of all this, I’ll never forgive myself.”
    A string of laughter ripples from my throat as I take in his sweet cologne. “There’s nothing you could ever do to make me hate you, Ace. I swear on all that is holy, at the end of this summer, we will still be friends.” And, if I’m lucky, we’ll be something more, forever.
    “Best friends.” He gives a curt nod. The light shines down over his thick, dark hair, and I twist my fingers through it like I’ve wanted to do so many times before, like I’ve dreamed of all those lonely nights in my dorm.
    “Best friends,” I parrot back to him while feathering my fingers down his chest in a giant letter S.
    “So let’s get this mapped out, plain and simple. I’m a guy”—his left dimple plays peek-a-boo—“I need a roadmap.” His hands float down to my waist, and my body is ready to start a riot and take over. “You want to have sex.”
    I give a quick nod, a little too overeager, and he rumbles with a soft laugh. I wonder what Ace would think if he knew I’ve already had him a dozen ways in my mind just tonight alone.
    “You want to stay friends.” He ticks into me with his forehead.
    “Yes,” it comes from me emphatic. “Friends forever.” Maybe something more, but my heart breaks at the thought that he might not agree, so I don’t bother going there. Why argue with the price of the future when I already have the prize right here in the present.
    “So this is strictly platonic.” He seems almost amused.
    “Platonic—but not vanilla. I don’t want to bore you.” An image of him wielding a whip comes to mind, and I quickly usher it away. We’re far from the exploratory kink phase of our relationship. Besides, that’s not what this is about. This is going to be sweet, beautiful. If I come across as a freak, he’ll gladly give me the boot long before the end of the summer. “But, I don’t know jack, so that’s where you come in.” I lean in and press my lips directly into his ear. “Make this exciting for me—for the both of us.” And I go right back to kink. There’s that.
    His abs twitch, and I run my hands over them in the shape of a rainbow.
    “Trust me”—he swallows hard with his eyes closed, his neck slowly arching back—“this just might be the most exciting summer of your entire life.”
    “And what about you?” My cheeks burn with heat as the question sails from my lips. “I mean, I’d love to return the favor.” And I very well plan to once I figure out how.
    “Oh, sweetie”—he gives a dark laugh—“you already have.”
    He presses out a smile as my insides cinch.
    Maybe Ace has feelings for me after all. Maybe molding them into something meaningful will chase the shadow of all other girls right out of his head.
    “Great.” I lean back and take him in. “Let’s start right now.” My legs tighten around his waist. God knows I’ve already saturated my panties just hoping tonight was the night. When I dreamed up the idea of a summer fling, I never thought in