Page 61 of Old Habits

His cheeks burn red. “I just need another minute…”

A laugh teases my throat. “No problem. I, uh…” I force a chuckle down as I pick up his beer and set it down in front of him and slide back out of the way.

“Thank you.” He snatches it and swallows several gulps.

I take my own drink and the pizza boxes. “I’ll be on the couch. Wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Take your time…” I step toward the living room, “but not too long because I will eat all of this cheesy bread.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I know.”

I settle on the couch alone and silently exhale every ounce of heat from my body.

Boundaries. Yes. Good, strong boundaries. Walls, even. Big, fancy walls that are sure to keep us apart as long as we don’t touch each other ever again.

Will walks in and sits down beside me, making sure to keep several inches between us.

We look at each other as his smirk slides across his face and my cheeks burn a bright red but we keep our twitching hands in our laps.

Boundaries. Oh, yeah.

This will definitely last.