Unexpected by Meg Jolie Page B

this morning.”
    I smiled, imagining it. “I did too,” I admitted.
    He made a conspiratorial face at me. “We don’t have to tell her.”
    “I need to tell Jamie,” I told him with a laugh. “She’s my best friend and I don’t keep secrets from people.”
    “Yeah,” he admitted. “I figured. But thought it was worth it to ask.”
    He followed me down the stairs .
    As I tossed myself onto the couch, I belatedly wondered if I should’ve turned on the light. I’d been sitting with only the light of the television—which was now off—and the fireplace. The flames were still flickering away. Their hazy amber glow made the room warm and cozy.
    Tristan sat next to me. He grabbed my feet and spun me around so they were in his lap. He peeled off my socks. My feet were freezing and the snow that had stuck to them was starting to melt.
    “I can’t believe you didn’t put shoes on,” he said. He had an amused smile as he grabbed them and warmed them in his hands. One at a time, holding them and rubbing them. I was trying not to think it was weird that Tristan was rubbing my feet. Because feet are…well, feet. And I for one don’t really care for them. I mean, I don’t like my own feet. The idea of holding someone else’s is just—
    A little hum of appreciation slipped out of my mouth. The friction he was causing to get the heat flowing again felt so good.
    “Better?” he asked.
    I nodded as he let them go. I curled up my legs so my feet were under me.
    We just sat there for a few minutes. Neither of us seemed to know what to say. The awkwardness of the moment pressed down on us both, strangling us with discomfort. I’d sat next to Tristan possibly hundreds of times over the years. At his house. In my backyard. At restaurants. In the tree house they used to have in the Jacobs’ backyard. In the backseat of a car. Even last night, alone in my car. But then, we’d had a destination and a definite purpose. Now? It was just the two of us, alone, at my house with the lights off and a fire blazing in the background.
    So instea d of feeling familiar, it felt strange. While it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, it was very, very different from what I was used to feeling when I was around him.
    It wasn’ t like things had first been with Corey. There had been no friendship before it. Just attraction and then dating. Not years of history. With someone that I never imagined, until just recently, finding myself with.
    And while it may have been buildi ng for a while, in some ways, it felt like it had all happened so fast. It was all so…unexpected.
    Sitting here, alone with him . With all of these unasked questions between us.
    Do I find a movie to watch?
    Do we make small talk?
    Did these mean we were actually dating?
    Was this a date?
    Or did this just mean that he was more than willing to come in?
    We weren’t just…hanging out, were we?
    No. I decided. If that was all this was, he wouldn’t have said Jamie would hate it. Although, maybe he would have. As that thought darted through my mind, I realized that might not be true. Jamie wouldn’t like us together-together , but she wouldn’t want us hanging out either. Was that all he’d meant?
    I was flustered.
    I glanced up at Tristan and he looked as nervous and confused as I felt. He finally asked the question that I couldn’t.
    “So…now what?” he wondered . His expression was somewhere between a smirk and a smile.
    My heart swirled in my chest. If I’d had any doubts about what I’d started to feel, they vanished in that moment.
    “You could just kiss me,” I suggested. “We could get the weirdness out of the way.”
    Did I just say that? Out. Loud?
    Apparently I did. He hesitated, just like he had the night before. His eyes taking in my face, trying to decide if I was serious or not. My expression must have told him I was. He pulled me into him and I was more than happy to go. He was warm and I was still chilled. His arms slid around my back and