Page 8 of Unraveled

“Clearly her loss.” Her eyes were full of amusement, and yet I could see something else. Assessment perhaps. Definitely flirting.

“So, you recently moved up here?” I had a million questions, wanting to get to know her, but I didn’t want to come on too strong.

“I did, but to Seattle, not all the way up here in Bellingham.”

Thump. Thump. She was local to me. “I’m there, too. You like it?”

“For now.” She changed the subject and turned the focus onto her brother. “Russ, did you ask Suzanne out?”

He rolled his eyes, undoubtedly not appreciating the question. “Not yet. Unlike you, she’s shy. The students return to school in a few weeks, so we’ll both be busy.”

From what I knew, Suzanne was a fellow teacher he’d been crushing on.

“You’re making excuses, which means it’ll never happen. Come on. Promise me you’ll do it this week? No students yet make it easier to talk to her. Life is too short to wait.”

Although Russ’s face was turning pink with the attention on his dating life, he seemed to take her words to heart. “Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll ask her out for coffee on Monday.”

She lit up at his answer. “Terrific.”

It was obvious Russ was out of his comfort zone. While Layla appeared very extroverted, her younger brother was anything but. Although Russ was a good-looking guy, he was generally reserved and could be painfully shy with the opposite sex.

“Ugh. What if she says no? I wish we could skip this awkward dating part and go straight to the relationship.”

“Says no guy ever,” she quipped, making us all laugh. She patted his arm. “Then again, you’re one of the good ones. The short answer is if she turns you down, she’s a fool, and I’ll treat you to a night out at a strip club to forget all about her.”

Her suggestion made me almost spit out the beer I’d been sipping.

Russ was already shaking his head. “No. Nope. Never. There is no way I’m going to a strip club with my sister. Ever.”

She winked, leaving no doubt she’d try to make good on her promise.

We spent the next hour chatting while drinking a couple more rounds of beer and finishing up the fantasy football draft. When Russ excused himself to go to the restroom, I decided to make my move.

“I owe you a dance,” I murmured, standing up and taking her hand. I was grateful the music had switched to something slower. I wasn’t a dancer, so I would take all the help I could get when it came to moving to a beat.

The zing of our first touch didn’t fade. Instead, it turned into a live wire now where our hands connected. Out on the dance floor, she didn’t hesitate or hold me away from her like most people would if they’d only met for the first time that night. Nope, she threw her arms around my neck and practically molded her body to mine. Her face came up to my chin as I stood almost six foot two.

“You don’t dance much, do you?”

“Is it that obvious?” My steps were slow, but at least I wasn’t treading on her toes. I had no idea how she kept from falling over in her stilettos.

“You’re very tense.”

My hands itched to move south from where they rested on her hips. I had to remember I’d just met this girl, and we were in a public place. “Maybe it’s because I’m trying to remain a gentleman.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Hm. That’s too bad. I’m not really into gentlemen.”

My cock enjoyed that statement. A lot. “What are you into?”

Was it just me or did the air seem thicker? She ran one of her hands down to my chest.

“Only one way to find out.”

Somewhere in the back of my mind, a little voice warned I should think twice about having sex with my good friend’s sister. Having a conscience was a real bitch sometimes. “What about your brother?”

“I don’t think we should invite him.”

I threw my head back and laughed at her deadpan retort. But wasn’t there an unwritten rule about sisters? I knew I wouldn’t be cool if Russell took my baby sister to his hotel room for a one-night stand. But then again, he’d invited Layla to pretend to be my girlfriend, and he didn’t appear to mind our flirting. “There’s Russ’s feelings to consider.”