With my pants riding low on my hips, I decided it was time for someone else to start losing some clothes.

Collins bit down on her lip, seemingly contemplating her choices before rolling over on the bed. Her ass popped up for a second, and I barely withheld the urge to palm it. She pushed upward, kneeling on the bed with her back to me. Once straightened, she flashed a heated glance over her shoulder.

"Unzip me?"

"Nothing would make me happier."

And that wasn't a lie.

I brushed a finger down her spine, loving the feel of gooseflesh rising. When I reached the edge of her dress, I fumbled with the zipper for a second—tiny little fucker—before easing it down. Her dress peeled open, leaving beautiful skin in its wake. Before I could second-guess myself, I flicked the clasp of her bra open, too.

This was officially a no-clothes zone. And I planned for it to stay that way all night, and maybe even all morning, too.

That satiny dress fell to her waist, meaning that when I hooked an arm around Collins, pulling her back, our bare, feverish skin collided. My chest, her back. Who knew a back could feel so fucking...good? It was the heat, the closeness—soothing and unnerving all at once.

"Tell me again," I whispered in her ear. Her hair tickled my nose, and it smelled so flowery, so feminine and sweet.

She squirmed when I coasted my palm across her bare midsection. "What?"

"That I can touch you."

My fingertips reached the bottom curve of her breast, sweeping under it, and she arched back. Wanting more.

"You can touch me."

I eagerly cupped her in my palm, brushing my thumb across her peaked nipple. Fuck, what a handful. What an overflowing handful. I didn't realize perfect tits like hers existed, but sure as fuck, here they were.

Collins' head fell back onto my shoulder as she moaned in response. Twisting my head to the side, I captured her lips, kissing her quick.

"Are you with me?" I asked, using my other hand to slide beneath her half-fallen dress and cup her sex firmly. Collins gasped, rocking her hips up as I trailed a finger over her wet slit. "Because I'm gonna need you to talk, baby."

"I'm with you, Beau," she said on an exhale that made me so fucking giddy.

"Good." I smiled. "Now tell me what you like."

___

My dick and I were in a heated argument right now. Because, yeah, I was walking away from a naked Collins, and yeah, it was physically painful to give up on the opportunity to crawl back into bed, especially when I still had the taste of her in my mouth. But I had to.

First of all, I should have been out the door like a half-hour ago.

And second of all, if I got back in bed, I would lose the last shred of self-control that I had left.

I'd already lost most of it, considering the whole tongue-fucking thing. But that came after the whole no-shirt thing. And the Beau-please thing. And the don't-say-that-you've-tasted-other-people thing.

Honestly, what was I supposed to do? I'd needed her in some way, and that just seemed like the way to do it. Teasing that little clit until she pressed my head into her pussy and begged for more definitely seemed like the way to do it.

Fuck, I wanted more of her, though. That taste wasn't enough. God, who was I kidding? It would never be enough. But if I fucked Collins, she was mine. If she touched me again, she was mine. Being friends with her wasn't going to work for me. And that included friends-with-benefits. I didn't like the blurry lines involved in that or the confusion it would cause me. It would only lead to more arguments between my dick and my brain and my heart, and I was already struggling enough in that department.

The three of us were not in agreement at the moment.

So here I was in the bathroom, trying to figure out what the hell to do now. Besides the obvious: shower and get my ass out the door.

Sighing, I flicked the faucet on and stepped beneath the cold water, hoping it would get my raging body temperature under control. Holy motherfucking Jesus Christ, I couldn't believe that just happened. Had Christmas come earlier, or what? Although as much as I was a giddy-fucking-fool, today would be a hard one. Because I didn't even have time to jerk one off before I was rinsing off and wrapping a towel around my waist.

Collins was gone when I strode out of the bathroom, which was probably for the best in the grand scheme of things. Another glimpse of her in my bed would have sent me plummeting further into purgatory.

Yep, I was playing the waiting game now. Floating somewhere between heaven and hell, trying to figure out what my verdict would be when it came to Collins Bryant.

After throwing on my base layers and grabbing my winter gear, I flew out into the kitchen, where I found four pairs of eyes staring in my direction. Bren peered at me over his coffee. Grayson leaned back into his chair with a smirk. Nessa bounced eagerly on her toes, and Madie was fighting a smile as she plopped a strawberry into her mouth.

I looked around for Collins, but she wasn't in sight.

Clearing my throat, I nodded at them. "Hey, guys."

Be cool, dude. Don't be obvious.

"Where's Collins?"

Goddamnit. Obvious. That was very obvious.

Nessa raised a brow. "She ran from your room to hers like fifteen minutes ago."

"In your clothes," Bren added before switching to the other side of the kitchen island and wrapping his arms around Madie from behind.

I relaxed a little. Assumptions, I could handle. If they'd said I don't know, but I heard her moan your name earlier....then we might have had problems.

"Yeah, well, you two—" I said, pointing at Nessa and Grayson before grabbing a piece of toast off of the stack. "—were putting on a show in the living room, and we didn't want to interrupt."

Nessa turned a definite shade of pink, but Grayson only chuckled.

"We moved the show to the bedroom pretty quick," he said. "But you're free to use us as an excuse for keeping her all night. That's fine, man. I'm here for you."

God, sometimes I hated how much of a smooth motherfucker Grayson was.

"Oh, leave him alone."

I knew you were my favorite, Madie.

"Now," she said, breaking away from Bren to give me a hug and earning me a very definite glare from the emo-boy. "I never got to say thank you for the Christmas present. So thank you for the book, Beau. And good luck today. Be careful, okay?"

Oh, sweet Madie. Hugging her back, I nodded, realizing that I hadn't actually watched any of them open their gifts. Not the vinyl for Nessa and Bren or the sheet music for Grayson. I had been too preoccupied with Collins, which made me twinge a bit in regret. But based on the grins and the thank yous going around the room, no one was too put out about it.

"Okay, I gotta run." Throwing on my coat, I grabbed my snowboard and marched to the front door, knowing that I would have to hustle my ass to get to the gondola in time. "Have a chill morning, guys. I'll see you on the slopes at noon?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Bren said, flashing me a grin that told me he'd forgiven me for temporarily stealing his girlfriend.

I was two steps out of the front door when my name stopped me in my tracks.

"Beau!"

I jerked back. My heart immediately stilled, like her voice had a hold on it. Ridiculous organ, such a simp. It was going to cause me cardiac arrest one of these days. But then my lungs crapped out on me, too, as soon as I turned around. Because good heavens. Collins, in all her curly-haired, gorgeous glory, stood in the entryway. And she was still wearing my clothes. My shirt. My pants. Mine.

Yeah, sorry, sweetheart, but we really can't be friends. It's not going to work for me.

"Stop buying me boots!" she said, stomping her foot down on the porch. Angrily. Well, this wasn't exactly what I was hoping to hear. Maybe a good luck, Beau. Or a be safe, Beau. Or let's ruin our friendship—that would work, too.

My eyes lowered to the pair of snow boots tucked beneath her arm.

Oh yeah, forgot about those.

A grin wormed its way onto my face. "Now, why would I do that?"

"Because I don't need them."

I looked around pointedly. My parents' place sat tucked away in a grove of Evergreens that was secluded but not too distant that I couldn't walk to the mountain's base and easily catch a lift. A path led off the property, shrouded by rows of trees. And it was also completely covered in a fresh coat of snow.

"They're snow boots."

Her eyebrows pulled together. "I know what they are."

"Okay, just checking. Because there sure as hell is a lot of snow out here."

"I can see the snow, Beau."

"Oh, good." I shoved my helmet onto my head, adjusting my goggles on top so I wouldn't have to carry them. "Then you agree that having snow boots is a good idea."

She sniffed. Rolled her eyes a little. Sassy, wasn't she? That attitude hadn't been around an hour ago. She wasn't so obstinate about taking what I was offering, then. Begging for more of it, actually.

Oh, God. Was she going to be able to see my semi-hard cock through my snow pants?

"Maybe I have my own boots."

"Do you?" When she didn't immediately answer, I added, "You're from a place that averages zero inches of snow a year. Why would you have your own boots?"

Collins didn't seem to have an answer for that. She sighed before wagging a finger at me. "Fine, but I'm going to pay you back. For these and the rain boots."

I stiffened. "Please don't do that. They're gifts."

Shifting the boots from beneath one arm to the other, Collins lowered her voice. "I thought we established that I don't like charity, Beau."

The snow crunched as I took one step toward her, wanting to keep my voice just as low as hers. Compared to this morning, it felt like we had an ocean between us, and I longed to eat up the space. I wanted to do things I hadn't done earlier. Like reach out and touch her.

But it wasn't time for that.

Yet.

Collins seemed to be holding her breath as she waited for my response, and I kicked my mouth up in a smirk.

"And I thought we established this morning that I enjoy the fuck out of doing things for you," I muttered.

That did it. I rendered her speechless. Felt kinda good, too. Although it wasn't the first time. And it wouldn't be the last.

"Wear the boots today, Collins," I called over my shoulder, hoisting my board up beneath one arm. "I don't want to be worrying about your feet when I'm trying to land a double-cork."

I caught a glimpse of her suddenly stricken expression and winced.

"I'll be careful, okay?" I added.

She nodded adorably. The boots started to slip out of her grip, and she hoisted them back up into her arms. With a shake of my head—a shake that acknowledged how fucked I was for this girl—I took off down the path.

So late, I was so late.

"Did you at least eat something for breakfast?" Collins yelled after me.

I grinned and spun around, walking backward as I hollered in return.

"You know I did, baby girl!"

✨

🏂we're cheering for ya beau 🏂

thanks for reading!!

xoxo amelie