Cloud Walking (Find You in the Dark #1.5)(7)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

The moment went on forever and I thought I would lose it if something didn’t happen soon.

“RACHEL!” Kaitlyn yelled from her bedroom. Well something happened all right. Kaitlyn’s bellow snapped both of us out of whatever was going on between us. Daniel jumped back as though he was on fire and I hopped to my feet.

“I guess I should see what she needs,” I said lamely, hurrying down the hallway. Away from the thing that almost was.

Chapter Five

~Daniel~

Idiot!

What the hell had just happened? I watched Rachel as she scurried down the hall to her sister’s room. My hand lay in my lap. The same hand I had just run through Rachel’s hair. It was like a compulsion, I hadn’t been able to stop. I sat there and glared at it for the treasonous thing that it was. My fingers clenched and I took a deep breath.

Something had just gone down between Rachel and me and I wasn’t sure I wanted to think too long about it. Because she hadn’t been Rachel-my-best-friend-since-birth-Bradfield. No. She had been someone else entirely.

I had wanted to kiss her.

Hell, I had wanted to do more than kiss her if I was being truthful with myself.

What was that about?

My mind was whirling a thousand miles a minute and I was having a difficult time settling down other parts of my body. Certain areas below my belt had been called into action just by looking at my best friend. When the f**k had that started happening?

I needed to get out of here. I needed to breathe and I needed to think. My nose was full of the smell of Rachel’s shampoo and it was not helping with getting my raging hormones under control.

What was wrong with me?

I barely noticed Rachel come back into the room; I was so knee deep in my thoughts. She snapped her fingers in front of my face, causing me to blink. “You awake over there?” she asked me lightly. But I could hear the forced casualness in her tone.

I was almost scared to look at her. But I couldn’t help myself. I had to look at her. Maybe the whole wanting to get her naked thing was a fluke.

Yeah. It was a fluke.

I had myself pretty well convinced by the time I lifted my eyes to her face.

Her beautiful, perfect face.

And her amazing body that I knew was just as amazing without clothing.

Shit! Not a fluke! SO, NOT A FLUKE!

I dropped my eyes back to my lap. This was going to be a serious problem. I leaned over and started shoving my stuff back into my bag. “What are you doing?” Rachel asked in confusion. And I hated the sound of the hurt in her voice.

Just great. I was hurting her. Again. Why couldn’t I stop being an ass**le for two seconds? Oh that’s right, because my insides were currently a flipping mess because of a sudden realization that my best friend was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

“Uh, I just remembered that I was supposed to get together with Jake in a little bit. I’ll study later.” I said lamely. That excuse was weak at best. I still couldn’t look at her. Scared that if I did, I would attack her. And by attack, I mean maul her face with my lips.

I started thinking about pressing her tiny, pert little body against mine. Running my hands along her sexy curves. Tasting her tongue as I…

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Think about Granny Lowe naked. Ugh. Okay, now think about Granny Lowe and Stephen naked. Together.

Yep, that did it. My burgeoning erection was now limp in my pants. Thank god. Last thing I needed was for Rachel to see me at half-mast as I ran from her house.

I got to my feet, confident I wouldn’t reveal a tent under my zipper and headed for her front door. I just had to leave. I had to put some distance between me and the girl who had somehow morphed into a sex siren in the span of forty-five minutes.

“Daniel. Are you okay? I mean…you’re being stranger than usual.” Rachel sounded worried. Upset even. I knew that in her mind this was just me blowing her off again. But I knew, without a doubt, that if I sat in her living room, just the two of us, for a moment longer, I would make a complete and total fool of myself. I would touch her and kiss her and hold her in a way that would ruin everything we were.

Because Rachel Bradfield was my best friend. And she deserved a hell of a lot more than an ass**le like me. She deserved a guy who could be her prince charming. Not a douchebag who didn’t know his ass from his elbow. A guy who had spent his entire life screwing up everything he touched.

Rachel was better than me. She could do better than me. And damned if I didn’t want more for her than my sorry ass.

I stopped at her front door and hefted my book bag up on my shoulder, steeling myself to turn around and face her. I swiveled on my heel, a smile firmly in place. Rachel would never know the out of control thoughts running through my brain.

I would take it to the grave.

I would not ruin the best relationship in my life over crazy hormonally driven lust. But even I could recognize that what I felt for the girl in front of me went way beyond lust.

But I couldn’t go there. Not now. Not ever.

So I ignored the way her mouth turned down in that cute way of hers. The way her eyes crinkled up at the corners when she was irritated. The hot flush on her chest that spread up the sides of her neck, a sure giveaway that she was not happy. Okay, now my eyes were focusing a little too long on her chest.

Get it together, man!

“I’m fine. I just really have to go. Thanks for offering to help. Sorry if I screwed up your evening,” I told her sincerely. Because I really did hate the fact that she more than likely put aside her own stuff to help me. Maybe I really did take her for granted. Because Rachel never thought twice about helping me.

See, that was why she deserved better.

Rachel’s brown eyes softened a fraction, though her pretty mouth was still set in a firm line. “Yeah. Well, maybe you need to start keeping a schedule. You know, since you’re so busy,” she bit out and I blinked at her in surprise.

Wow. I was not used to the biting responses from her. This new no-nonsense side of Rachel was a surprise.

And freaking hot.

I had to leave! Now!

“Yeah. Good idea. Later, Rach,” I said quickly, pulling open the front door and dashing outside. Yep, I ran away. Like a little bitch.

Things were not going well. Ever since our almost kiss three days ago, Rachel and I have been at each other’s throats. Her patience for all things Daniel Lowe seemed to be at an end. I could practically taste her annoyance as we sat together during lunch.

Maggie hadn’t shown up yet, so it was just Rachel and me. Together. Being agonizingly silent as we ate our lunch and tried not to choke on the tension that seemed to have blossomed between us.

It seriously sucked.

“Rach…” I started to say. I wasn’t exactly sure what was about to come out of my mouth. It could have been a plea for her forgiveness. An apology for all of my assy behavior over the years.