Waking up next to Ivy is the best feeling I’ve had in a long time. She sets her e-reader down and I ask, “What time is it?”

“Almost seven, you passed out and I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Thanks.” I stretch and she takes her hand and touches the top of my head. “What happened to your hair?”

“I cut it off for the wedding, more as a ‘fuck you’ to my sister than anything.”

“It’s nice, I like it,” she says.

“You think?”

“Yeah. And your face looks better.”

Gently she touches it and I grab her hand, bringing it to my lips. “What happened to your place?” I ask her, concerned.

“I sort of lost it after I left your place, and haven’t been able to bring myself to do much of anything.”

“Did you quit your job too?”

She scrunches her eyebrows, obviously caught by my question. “No, but I missed a few days and was already on a warning for absences, so they let me go.”

“Why didn’t you reach out to me?”

“You were busy with the wedding and I didn’t want to distract you.”

“God, Ivy, I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

“I knew if I missed any more days, I’d get fired, so it’s my own fault. But at the time, I didn’t care.”

Her stomach growls, diverting my attention. “When was the last time you ate?”

She shrugs her shoulders and I look at her pissed off; the way she is acting doesn’t settle well with me. She needs to take care of herself. Getting off of the bed, I head into the kitchen dodging the piles of crap along the way. Her cat meows again and I see its empty water bowl on the floor. I fill it up and it jumps down, drinking like a dehydrated camel. Opening the fridge, I look for anything that she can eat but come up empty. Her sparse cabinets aren’t much better.

Walking back in her room, she’s reading again and I snatch her e-reader away. “What was that for?”

“You have NO food in your fucking house. Do you have a death wish or something?”

“Do you?” she asks me back.

I glare at her and toss her e-reader aside. Climbing on top of her on the bed, I straddle her tiny body watching the way she freezes beneath me. “You better watch your fuckin’ mouth.” I can’t help the smile that is on my face when she nods. “I’m going to go and get some food. I want you to shower, and don’t you dare get back in this bed, you understand me?”

She nods once and I kiss her forehead, leaving her panting under me.

Walking back up to Ivy’s apartment with my hands full of bags, I knock on the door and hear her say, “It’s unlocked.”

Christ!

Even after I told her to lock it behind me, she just leaves it open for anyone to stroll in. Opening the door, I walk in and kick it closed. She is sweeping up the remnants of her destruction and I say, “I asked you to lock your door for a reason.”

“And I kept it unlocked for you.”

“Well, don’t! Keep it locked! That’s twice now that I’ve been able to just walk in here, which means anyone else could do the same.”

She ignores my rant as I set the bags on the counter. I begin to put away the groceries, feeling bad for getting on her, but her safety is important to me. Turning on the oven, I pop the pizza in and look at her. Her wet hair is drenching through her shirt, making her nipples as clear as day. My cock twitches seeing the ridges of them peeking through. “Will you put a bra on?” I grumble. The last thing I need right now is her distracting me like that.

She looks at me and then down at my pants as she brushes all of her hair over to one shoulder. Walking up to me she takes one of my hands and cups it over her perky tit. I adjust my cock, losing my breath doing this with her. Her lips are slightly parted and my mind begins to swirl with all sorts of naughty things that I’d like to do to her. Letting go of her, I ask, “What are we doing here?” Flipping the question she asked me days ago back on her.

“I don’t know. You’re the one ordering me around like you own me.”

“I just want what’s best for you.”

“Then why did you push me away last week when it wasn’t good for either one of us?”

“I thought it was for the best. You deserve a guy that can give you the world. That guy’s not me; trust me, I wish it was.” She blinks a few times, hurt by my words. “I’m sorry, I’m only trying to be honest.”

“I know you are and I don’t mean to push things, but I feel differently. Losing Zoë brought us together and I believe for a reason. It’s her pushing us towards one another. I want to see where this could go, what we could be together.”

“Ivy, I want that too, more than I think you know. But I also can’t risk ruining our friendship over it. You mean too much to me. When I’m not with you, I’m fucking lost. I don’t like the person I become.”

“Krane, nothing will ruin our friendship. That’s the basis of who we are together.”

Taking my hand, I run it up the middle of her chest, until I am cradling the side of her face. I contemplate kissing her slightly parted lips, but I am reminded of the risks and worry what it’ll do to us. We are both breathing heavily. She smells amazing, driving me mad, and then the oven dings and it jolts me back to reality.

The moment…ruined.

Pressing my lips to her forehead, I let out a deflated breath. Pulling away from her makes my heart hurt, but something inside of me is telling me that it’s the right thing to do. However, Ivy pulls me back to her, holding on to me by the sides of my t-shirt.

Her eyes are pleading me to her lips, and what she wants couldn’t be clearer. “Kiss me,” she whispers.

With trembling hands, I pull her body close to mine. My chest is heaving up and down like I’m about to jump off a building. “Please,” she begs and I move in slowly. Letting this moment burn into my memory forever. The room is spinning as we are grounded in the middle of it. Her warm body feels amazing in my grip.

Closing my eyes, I try to move forwards, but can’t close the distance. I’m not sure what is stopping me, maybe it’s Zoë, even though my mind feels clear of the past right now. But I can’t move. Then she kisses me and the second that our mouths touch, a passion ignites inside of me. I mold my lips around hers, the sensation so good it hurts.

Looping my fingers into the back of her hair, I hold her to me as our tongues intertwine. She tastes of mint mixed with a twist of her scent, and as much as I want to carry her to her bedroom and never stop kissing her, it’s best not to push things. This is a very fine line that we are walking and both of us have to be careful with how we proceed. Because if we did not have each other, I’d be terrified for what the future will hold.