Friends Upgrade Read Free Page B

palms of her hands.
    Without taking his lips off hers, he backed her up and leaned her against the closed door. He moved his hands from her face and began to explore other parts of her body, mainly her breasts. When she let out a squeak, it seemed to bring him back to earth.
    He looked at her with a wild, hungry gaze that she’d never seen, not even from her former boyfriends. It frightened her. She saw a different man, not her buddy. Not her pal, but a man that had need in his eyes.
    “Judith,” he barley breathed out. “I...I’ll talk to you tomorrow...after I make our reservations.” He just about ran out the door.
    Unable to speak, Judith stood there, looking at him as he got on the elevator. Not once did he turn back to face her. Being stunned stupid, words escaped her at the moment. Yet her mind buzzed with questions.
    Judith ran to the window and watched him get in his car and drive off. She wanted to know what had gotten into him. But deep down, she really didn’t want to know the answer. Any admission on his part could ruin the friendship, opening a whole can of worms.
    Putting her fingers to her lips, she could still feel the burn of his kiss. And what a kiss. What did he mean by it? That would bug her for a good while. Their kisses never went further than platonic, sweet, sometimes “Hollywood” air kisses. Where did this come from?
    She could have been tired from the party and going to the mall. Or she could have been caught up in the moment. But with a kiss like that, the moment his lips touched hers, rational thought flew out the window. She may have been dead tired, but his kiss brought her back to life.
    Judith shook herself and headed toward the bathroom. She ran her bathwater and sat on the edge of the tub, pouring the bath salts that Doug bought for her for a “just because” present. She smiled looking at all the bath gels and oils he purchased for her. Lucky woman, having such an attentive and thoughtful man for a friend. She had more “just because” presents from him than from all of her ex-boyfriends combined. Damn. Doug turned out to be a better male friend than her exes. He sure kissed better.
    Okay, she needed to get that kiss off her mind.
    After the tub finished filling, Judith took off her clothes and sank into the relaxing warmth of the water. As she felt herself drifting, she thought back to what he asked her earlier this afternoon.
    Did she, like many of the women, have an orgasm as he entered the room? She’d skirted the truth by playing the BFF card, knowing if she told him the truth, she would have been embarrassed.
    How do you tell your best friend, especially a male best friend that you can’t wait to go to bed at night because you know that you’ll be having the most erotic sexual dream about him? That every time you heard his voice, your body tingled and your palms sweated.
    But she couldn’t go there with Doug. Been there, done that, got burned, kicked to the curb and forgotten.
    Yes, she had a firsthand account of what mixing sex and friendship could do. The outcome had shocked and scarred her: kicked to the curb, no one having her back, and bitter feelings of betrayal after giving her most precious gift away. Judith swore never again and she meant it.
    Judith had put her trust in people that she thought were her friends. They had all made a pack that no man or woman would come between them. And if any of them found someone special, all would share in their happiness.
    Little did Judith know that the one man would be in their inner circle. Ironically, a friend.
    They’d run around together—Terri, Lana, Mark and Judith. They were always seen together on campus, at the mall or movies. If one person were missing from the group, people would ask questions. They were that tight.
    Until that faithful night.
    Mark Jaxon, a.k.a, campus cutie, Harvard heartthrob, you name it. Terri and Lana would tease and flirt with him. He flirted back, but didn’t take them seriously. At