He was so enthralled with his book that when he finally noticed that her breathing had changed again, she was already fast asleep. Page held precariously with her thumb dangling just over her lap. His first thought wasn’t stealing the book to find out what on earth she had been reading, it was very, very shortly his second thought but his first - his first thought was the way her skin glistened with just a bit of sweat from the sun, the beads more obvious between her petite breasts. The way she looked like she was practically glowing from the light, her skin golden. Even how her itty bitty shorts had somehow gotten even shorter riding up her legs and down her waist.

She was arguably the most enticing piece of art Brayden had ever laid eyes on. But just like most art, she wasn’t his to touch. That line was slowly starting to fade for him. He gently lifted the book out of her hand and noted the page it was on before flipping to roughly where he thought that one scene might have been. He found it quickly and started the chapter from the beginning.

He couldn’t believe what he was reading. What filth! With him sitting right there beside her! It’s like she was trying to break him, trying to make all his self-control shatter around her. She shifted then and pulled her legs up onto the small patio couch tucking her toes under his thigh. He stifled a sound of shock. He was so warm and couldn’t decide if it was the unrelenting heat of the day, the scene he just read, or the girl sitting there next to him.

In an attempt not to reach out and touch her like he’d been dreaming about for so long now, he picked his book back up and placed hers down. Flipping to the chapter she’d stopped on and placing it on the table. Brayden decided very boldly and to his credit he’d just continue to read like his whole world wasn’t falling apart. He thanked God for a good book and lost himself somewhere else for a while.

He was woefully unprepared for what happened next. He’d only been distracted once or twice by her shifting sleeping form, particularly when her soft near silent snores broke through the haze he’d put between them. He’d listened far more than he cared to admit to himself. He found them almost endearing and somewhat comical. She complained that James, his roommate, snored uncontrollably and he wondered if she knew.

He had finally lost himself in his book again when her legs came untucked from his leg and draped casually across his lap in a stretch. He froze, not daring to move a muscle. He watched her carefully, was she still sleeping? Was she doing this on purpose? Did she know what she was doing to him? Could she tell how fucking ashamed and entranced he was? He stifled a deep groan begging his body to not do exactly what it was doing. He dropped his head back in defeat and huffed out a breath.

“What’re you doing to me Lillian?” He whispered, barely more than a breath.

He’d already taken so many liberties with her today, what was one more? He readjusted oh so carefully, moving so her feet fell to the other side of his lap with his thigh pressed up against her ass. Like puzzle pieces her knees sat at just the perfect height to not brush against his groin and use as a prop for his arms while reading. Taking one last chance, one last waltz with fate, he placed his free hand on her knee. Keen to just feel her skin under his palms, tracing slow circles with his thumb. Lillian hadn’t stopped her light snores or gave any clue as to whether she knew what was happening. A small amount of guilt tickled down his spine. Would she be angry? Would she feel ashamed? God, he hoped not. She had nothing to feel bad for. All this nonsense was his doing. Despite the guilt and tiny bit of fear, he couldn’t let go. The thought of not touching her skin in that moment was completely unthinkable.

Consequences be damned. He had found a rhythm: turn page, continue small brushes on her inner knee, look over, turn page. It even began to feel natural. Like they’d done this a hundred times before.

He heard the jangle of keys, the unlocking of the door, and steps into the tiny apartment kitchen. Brayden huffed a breath and decided to savor the last of the most unreal moments of his life, and possibly his last moments period. Who knew what James would do? Brayden certainly had no fucking idea and though he wasn’t keen to find out, couldn’t bring himself to stop his small ministrations.

He pretended that he was reading, that he wasn’t bursting through at the seams, that this wasn’t wrong, he pretended it was casual, and he even pretended that he didn’t care what was about to happen. Maybe it was cowardly, or maybe it was just the only thing keeping him from doing everything in his power to make her change her mind and choose him instead. He was doing the right thing - ish.

James stepped out onto the balcony, presumably looking for Lillian. He stopped dead, his eyes darting between the two of them for a second before Brayden raised a finger to his mouth. God what was he doing?

“She’s asleep.” He said in a hushed tone.

James shot daggers at him and opened his mouth as if to shout. Brayden shot him a warning look and set down his book. He very gently lifted Lillian’s legs off his and set them down.

“Mmm - don’t go Jay.” She half mumbled.

He was half devastated and half in awe, whether she knew it or not she had possibly just saved both their skins. James stepped forward and said through clenched teeth

“I’ll be right back.”

“OK.” She pouted and turned her head lips puckered for a quick kiss from her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend.

Brayden was in fact, devastated this time. It really was all stolen moments with her. He ran his fingers through his hair quickly and stepped inside. He was about to get chewed out, might as well just take it like a man, right? James was right behind him, and not with the same cool mask Brayden had picked for this.

“What in the actual fuck do you think you were doing?”

“Look man, we were just reading, and she fell asleep and suddenly all her limbs were covering me with their oppressive heat. It seemed rude to wake her, so I just made it work. It’s not like I was feeling her up or anything, besides I hardly know her.” Brayden lied casually; it was mostly the truth anyway, wasn’t it?

“Not feeling her up huh? Then why are you rocking such an epic hard on right now? You’re a fucking liar, I saw your hands on her legs. She belongs to me!” James’s voice steadily rising with every word.

“She doesn’t belong to anyone.” Brayden growled out.

“Like hell she doesn’t!”

That was Brayden’s last straw. He couldn’t stand the thought of someone acting like they owned her, like she wasn’t the whole world and those privileged enough got to live in it.

“You wanna know what happened?” Brayden ground out. “I saw her out there half draped over all our furniture and I took my chance. The two of us, all alone. Did you see the way she looks today? If she’s going to look like that right in front of me, I’m going to take all the liberties allowed to me. SHE let me sit with her, SHE draped herself all over me. I’m not going to say no!” Brayden was furious, and sometimes when he was mad, he was hurtful.

“Do you want to know what happened out there while she read that ‘book’?” He said with air quotes. “Have you ever even bothered to pick one of her books up? Do you know what’s in those? Let me tell you: pure filth! It’s unfiltered, un-fucking-believably real, porn. It’s really fantastic. It’s like a step-by-step tutorial on how to fuck her. On what really makes her wet. And she was reading it, right there, right next to me. God it was really a sight, almost pitiful how badly she wanted it. The way she squirmed and practically PANTED right there, and wow! Isn’t she just the fucking sexiest when she blushes like that? With her eyes all glossy and filled with dirty thoughts.” Brayden half shouted.

If Lillian wasn’t already listening, she was now. And James, well James was in a fucking rage by then. Fists curled and face red with anger and maybe lust? Brayden wouldn’t be surprised. Maybe he’d crossed a line, but he wasn’t notoriously a nice guy, in fact he was kind of a dick most of the time. Lillian knew he slept around so why did he suddenly feel shame? He never had before, but he kept his head high and the line of his mouth hard. He had started a war and now he was going to have to fight or die trying. Maybe he hopped he’d pushed Lillian away in some way too, so it would be easier to maintain distance.

Just as James was about to open his mouth to say something probably horrific, Lillian stepped over the threshold from the balcony.

“What’re you two shouting about in here?” Arms raised way over her head in a stretch that went all the way to her toes.

“When’d you get home Jay? Why didn’t you come find me?” She yawned, she was either the most brilliant being alive or so oblivious it crushed Brayden’s lungs.

“I did, you don’t remember, on the couch?” He huffed out.

She raised an eyebrow at his incredulous tone.

“Mmm no not really, the sun really took it out of me today. Sorry.” She offered with a smile.

“I’m going to take a shower.” Brayden blurted out and walked off.

Her sitting and reading were one thing but the look of her stood there with long legs and shiny golden skin in its full glory, backlit with the sunset was like his own personal hell. He wasn't sure what he wouldn’t have done to grab her right then and there.

Then he was gone.