“Whether it’s offered up or not, sweetheart, I’ll be taking it,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. I forget a moment too late about my bare nether region as I’m bending over because Colton runs a finger across my naked backside before landing a playful slap on it making me jump and jarring my constant ache for him into a smoldering burn.
We eat the simple meal I’ve concocted in a comfortable exchange. He tells me about his endless meetings in Nashville and what he’d hoped to accomplish during them. I tell him about the progress on the project at the office as well as little tidbits about the boys’ week. I find it endearing that he actually listens when I talk about the boys and that he asks questions letting me know that he has a genuine interest in them. It’s important to me that he understands what a big part of my life they are.
“So why’d your trip get cut short?” I ask him while we finish up our meal.
He wipes his mouth with a napkin. “We started reviewing meetings we’d already had. It started to get redundant...” he shrugs “...and I hate redundancy.”
That’s not what Teagan says, flickers through my head thinking how she told me that Colton likes to dabble with past flings while in between current ones. I chastise myself for trying to sabotage a perfectly good time.
“Besides,” he says, looking up from his plate to me, “I missed you.”
And now I feel like crap for my little mental barb. “You missed me?” I ask incredulously.
“Yes, I missed you,” he says, smiling shyly, his foot nudging mine beneath the table to emphasize his words.
How is it four simple words from his mouth could mean so much to me? The emotionally unavailable bad boy I tried so hard to keep at arms’ length, I now never want to let go.
“I could tell by the beautiful poetry you wrote me,” I tease.
He flashes me a heart-warming grin that makes me want to pinch myself to know this is real and that smile is meant for me. “Those were clean compared to some of the nasty ones we wrote.” He raises his eyebrows and his eyes alight with humor.
“Oh really?”
“Yep. I think I’d rather show you though.”
“Is that so?” I smirk as I bite into my last strawberry.
“Yep, and we brainstormed the meaning of Ace as well.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to hear these…” I raise my eyebrows at him and laugh.
“Always creating ecstasy.”
“Nope.” I laugh. “You do know that you’ve made such a big deal about this that you’re going to be so disappointed at the real answer right?”
He just smirks at me as I get up and start clearing the dishes, rejecting his offer of assistance. We chat about the sponsorship some until the ringing of his phone interrupts us.
“One sec,” he says as he answers the phone. He holds a short conversation about something work related and then says, “Thanks, Tawny. Have a good night.”
I automatically roll my eyes at the name and he catches me. “You really dislike her, don’t you?” he asks, a bemused look on his face.
I sigh deeply, wondering if I want to tackle this right here and right now. She is an ex-girlfriend, friend of the family that his parents obviously love, and an important member of his CDE team. Do I really want to fight a losing battle here? If I’m going to be with Colton, I have to face the fact that she is going to be a part of his life, whether I like it or not. I twist my lips as I contemplate the right words to use. “Let’s just say that she and I have had a couple of exchanges that lead me to believe she’s not as innocent as she seems…and I’ll leave it at that,” I tell him.
He stares at me for a long time and a lopsided smile forms on his lips. “You’re jealous of her, aren’t you?” he asks as if he’s just had an Oprah ah-hah moment.
I return the same measuring stare at him before averting my eyes and rising to wipe off the counter that I’ve already cleaned. “Jealous no…but c’mon, Colton.” I laugh with disbelief. “Look at her and look at me. It’s pretty easy to see why I’d feel that way.”
“What are you talking about?” Colton asks as I hear the chair scoot out from underneath him.
“Seriously? She’s a walking wet dream. Perfect in every way whereas I’m just…I’m just me.” I shrug in acceptance.
Colton rests his hips on the counter beside me as I fiddle with the dishtowel, and I can feel the weight of his stare on me. “You’re something else, you know that?” he says, exasperation in his voice.
“Why’s that?” I ask, suddenly feeling embarrassed about revealing my insecurities when it comes to Tawny. Why did I even say anything? Me and my big mouth.
Colton pulls on my hand, but I don’t budge. Someone as attractive as Colton has no clue what it’s like to be insecure. “C’mon,” he says, pulling my hand again without taking no for an answer. “I want to show you something.”
I follow him reluctantly down the hallway to my bedroom, curious as to what he’s being so adamant about. We enter my bedroom and Colton leads me to my en suite bathroom. He ushers me in so that my back is to his front. His eyes blaze into mine as his hands run up the sides of my torso and back down. On their second pass, his fingers veer over and start undoing the buttons on my sweater. Although I feel and see what he’s doing in the mirror, my eyes instinctually look down.
“Uh-uh, Rylee,” he murmurs, his voice a seductive whisper against my neck. “Don’t take your eyes off of mine.” My eyes flicker back up to his, and we stare at each other like this for a few moments, neither of us speaking. Colton’s fingers finish undoing my sweater, and he steps back as he pulls it off of my shoulders. His fingers rasp across the bare skin of my lower back, and then I feel the zipper on my skirt being lowered. Colton’s hands run over my waist and then slide inside the loosened waistline of my skirt. He pushes my skirt down until it clears my hips and falls to the floor.