Page 87 of Cole

“Remember me?” It was the guy from my first night here… what had his name been?

“Travis!” he reminded me.

I nodded.

“So, you decided to come back. It’s a pretty fun place,” Travis said, pulling me close.

“Oh, right,” I muttered. Travis pulled me closer, taking my acknowledgment as permission to touch me more.

I swung my gaze back to the bar, looking for Cole.

He was gone. The space where he’d been standing mocked me.

Of course, he didn’t care. Why would he?

Then Travis’ hands fell away, and I stumbled back against a hard chest.

I twisted around, and there he was. Cole Bailey, in all his glory, standing right behind me, one long, tattooed arm extended toward Travis, who he held just under the collar in an undoubtedly threatening way.

“Shit, what are you doing?!” Travis yelled, though his voice had little heat to it. This was the Pres, after all.

“Cutting in,” Cole announced, his voice somehow carrying over the music. His eyes never left mine as he held his man back.

“But I was getting somewhere⁠—”

Cole shook his head. “No. You weren’t.”

“Bullshit, man. You know that because?”

Cole’s mouth lifted in an arrogant smirk. “Because, she’s with me.”

I found myself nodding. Travis looked between us.

“He’s right,” I called over the music. “I’m with him.”

Travis turned to Cole and said something I couldn’t hear. Cole answered, something inaudible, his eyes never leaving me.

After a moment, Travis swore and walked away, leaving me facing Cole. We were pressed together in the middle of a packed dance floor, but we could have been alone for how little I noticed those around us.

There was only me and him.

He pulled me close, his hands landing on my hips. The beat of the song just starting was slow, sensual. Couples paired up and the lights dropped even lower.

“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be here.”

“And why’s that?” Cole murmured, pulling my hair off my neck so he could move his mouth to my ear.

“Someone told me it’s members only.”

Cole chuckled. “Right, true. Members only, unless you’re with someone.”

“Ok, well. I guess it’s good that I’m with you, in that case… like you said before? You said I’m with you.”

The alcohol was making my head spin, and my tongue loosen. After weeks of thinking about this man, longing for him, I just wanted to be close to him. I’d missed him, somehow, like someone misses a part they’d never realized was missing before. Once you notice, it’s impossible to ignore.

He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess I said that.” His hips moved against mine, and I could feel him. All of him. He was hard, pressing into my hip, right here in the middle of the dance floor.

“Isabelle!” It was Arianna, bumping into my side. She had two shots in her hand. “Birthday shots!”