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He sighs in relief and places his hand over mine. We’ve been in this position so many times before, but this time doesn’t feel the same. This time feels like we have the potential to be something so much more, like there isn’t an end date lurking closer and closer. It feels like he’s mine.
AFTER LOUNGING AROUND, AND talking about nothing and everything all at the same time, we finally get up and head to our spot. It’s the last place I remember having my phone and the only other place I can think to look. If it isn’t there, then maybe Parker took it with him for some reason. The thought makes me nervous because I’m naïve enough to never put a password on it.
As we pull up, I can see my Vespa still sitting where I parked it. After we had sex last night, Colton lectured me for the millionth time on why I shouldn’t be riding it up here. The street winds too much and there are too many people who fly down the road. He insisted on driving me home and told me I could come pick it up in the morning, when it’s light enough for other drivers to see a small scooter.
Walking through the woods, Colton holds branches out of my way and it reminds me of the first time he brought me here. It was the first time I actually felt like I had a piece of him that no one else had. I’d complained about not being able to watch the fireworks together. We couldn’t risk someone seeing us and it getting back to my parents or Maverick. So, on the evening of the Fourth of July, Colton told me to meet him behind the library and he came to pick me up. He had a blanket laid out and a bottle of champagne. The way he was with me that night only made me fall even more in love with him.
Once we step into the clearing, I walk over to the rock where I was sitting and look around. Sure enough, my phone is laying face down on the ground.
“Found it.”
I pick it up and press the power button. I had shut it off after making a post on facebook. I didn’t need Ivy calling me and asking what it meant or Parker texting to see when I was coming home. All I wanted was some time to think, and I ended up with so much more.
The phone comes to life and within a few seconds texts come in. There are three from Ivy talking about her hot assistant chef that she wont make a move on, one from my mom reminding me of my interview this week, and one from Colton. The time stamp on it is from eight in the morning, which means he must have texted me as soon as he woke up. What it says makes my heart flutter.
Colton: Good Morning Beautiful.
I don’t know how something so simple can make me feel so much, but he’s never been that sweet with me. His pet names stayed in the range of babe and baby, and the compliments he gave were either that I was adorable, which made me want to shoot myself, or that I was sexy. While I clung to those like I needed them to survive, they were never words that made me feel like I was anything more than his latest fuck.
“So, you think I’m beautiful, huh?” I tease.
“No, I don’t.” His straightforwardness makes the cocky smirk fall right off my face but he just smiles. “I think you’re so much more than that, but beautiful was the closest word to describe it.”
Just like that, every thought of the way he was four years ago leaves and is replaced with the way he’s looking at me. I step closer to him and rest my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me. This all may be chaotic and could end up backfiring in my face, but right now I can’t find it in me to care.
“Come on.” He hands me his keys and I look up at him, confused. “I’m riding your Vespa down the hill and then I’m taking you to lunch.”
THE DINER WE DECIDE on is closer than I would have preferred, but Colton keeps reminding me that it’s not against the rules for us to get lunch together. If anything gets back to Maverick, all we have to say is that we ran into each other both happened to be hungry. I had no argument left after he pointed out that he deliberately flirted with me at Maverick’s birthday dinner and only Tatum batted an eye.
“So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?”
I smile at him from across the table. “Well, first I need to go talk to Ivy, and then I need to go shopping for my interview.”
“Oh, you got an interview?” I nod. “Where at?”
“The elementary school. They’re looking for a new kindergarten teacher and an old friend of mine recommended me for the job.”
He takes a sip of his drink and then grins. “That’s great, Mac. You’ll make an amazing teacher.”
“Well, let’s not jump the gun. It’s only an interview. I haven’t gotten the job.”
“But you will. They would be crazy not to hire you.”
This is one of the things that I’ve always loved about Colton. He’s great at making me feel like I can do anything. When we were younger, I had fallen off my bike and was too afraid to get back on it. No matter how much my parents and Maverick promised me I wouldn’t get hurt, I didn’t budge. It wasn’t until Colton came and talked to me that I actually got back on. He told me that they were all liars, and that chances are I will fall off again, but that it won’t be the worst thing ever. I’ll be okay.
/> Now, maybe it was because my world revolved around him and at the time I probably would have followed him into a lion’s den, but he’s always known the right things to say. The way he always has so much confidence in me is heartwarming. A part of me wonders what college would have been like with him in my corner. All the times I was freaking out over an upcoming test or worrying about starting a new class – he would have talked me down so easily. If only things hadn’t gotten so messed up.
After we’re done eating, Colton pays the bill and the two of us get in his car. It’s the same Shelby mustang he’s had for years. The horsepower in this thing is intense, and only increases his sex appeal – not that he needs it. This man could make a Prius look hot.
He pulls up to where he parked my Vespa and reaches in the back seat to hand me my helmet. I take the keys from his center console and thank him quietly. I’m just about to get out of the car when he grabs my wrist to stop me. When I turn back to face him, he puts one hand on my cheek and presses a soft kiss to my lips.
“Text me?”
I nod. “I will.”
As I watch him drive away, I wonder how we went from not speaking for four years to this. He’s treating me exactly the way I wanted to be treated back then, and I’m loving every second of it. I just hope it’s not a phase. I’m not sure I can handle having my heart broken by him again.
13
