AllFreeNovel
Share Us
7
Cole
Best. Night. Ever. My eyes open and I instantly remember last night with a dumb-ass smile on my face. I can’t help it. It’s not like it was the best lay I ever had. I didn’t get laid, and my morning wood is a stark reminder. No, it’s because of her.
The adorable curly hair that bounced when she laughed. The way she lit up and started cheering at the fight, the fight I showed her. Nah, this morning, my raging hard on is all thanks to my overactive imagination that went crazy last night with all the possibilities that could have happened last night.
After an extra cold shower, I pad down the hallway with an extra kick in my step. Downstairs, I notice her right away sitting at the island. I say a small prayer shit isn’t awkward and turn the corner just in time to notice Marcus.
“Sup, man?”
“Morning,” I reply, suddenly regretting my choice to not wear a t-shirt.
“Good Morning, Cole.” Lyla’s sultry voice hits my ears and travels straight to my cock. Fucking woman is going to kill me. I had to stroke it twice before I could fall asleep last night.
“Mornin’,” I say back, raising my chin but not looking at her, knowing Marcus would know something’s up by the guilt written all over my face. I respect Marcus. Love him like a brother even though we’ve only known each other the year we’ve lived together. I want to listen when he threatens my life to stay away from her. I do. Or I did. I think I need to be psychiatrically evaluated. Something is definitely wrong with me because all I can think about is touching her.
“I was just telling Lyla we’re all having dinner at Hamilton’s steak house tonight; be there around six,” Marcus says, mentally pouring a bucket of cold water over me. Family dinner night. My best friend, his daughter Harmony who is the worlds best little girl and means the world to me and the reason our group of friends all get together once a week. You know how they say it takes a village to raise a child? We are her village and I need to remember to keep it in my pants, so I don’t cause any drama.
“Oh yeah, it’s Friday. Family dinner night. Also, Harmony weekend, right?” I reply
“Yep. I got Charlie and Mason covering the studio through Tuesday, and I’m going to take the world’s greatest daughter to Disneyland. We’ll be back Monday night, but I’ll have to take Harmony straight back to her mom. Sorry, Lyla, but we planned this trip a year ago.”
“No worries. I’ll get to see her for dinner, right? Does Grace stay and eat?” Lyla says and pouts her lips to blow the steam rising from her coffee. So fucking hot. Does she even know she’s doing it? Casually, I bend over the island all my attention on Marcus and never look at her again.
“Yep. They’ll both be there. Cole calls it family dinner night because it’s always all of us. As busy as we all are, we always have dinner together at least once a week. Usually we plan on Friday and adjust it when needed.”
“Who is all? Who all comes to dinner?”
“This lumberjack here,” he says, slapping me on the back. “His sister Willow, Harmony and Grace of course, Charlie, Mason who works for the studio, and me.”
“Cool. I’m really excited.” She says it with a smile that looks fake, then looks down into her mug.
She’s wearing a white robe with her crazy curls on top of her head in a messy bun, no makeup on her face, and her long legs propped up on the stool beside me. She is so beautiful. I can smell her perfume—a vanilla mixed with brown sugar maybe. My eyes pinch closed and I grit my teeth and slowly exhale. This is fucking torture. I need to leave; hell, I need to run as fast as I can in the opposite direction of this woman. Instead of being smart, I ask, “Hey, what’s with the face?”
“What face? This natural beauty?” She teases, tapping her nose, which is fucking adorable.
Shaking my head, I tell her, “No, why’d you get all sad when you said you’re excited about dinner?”
“I’m not sad. I said I was excited.” She starts wiggling in her seat, uncomfortable with this subject, so naturally I must push.
“You said excited; your face said misery. Why?”
She looks at Marcus who’s filling up his travel mug to my left and back to me again. “I just realized how much I’ve been missing out on, being in Chicago. Where there were never any awesome family dinners.” She shrugs with a shy smile ghosting her face.
“Well, that all changes now, babe.” Marcus says, walking around me and wrapping his arms around her neck. “I’ll see you guys tonight. Six p.m. at Hamilton’s. Don’t be late.”
When he’s out the door, she turns to me. “Thanks for calling me out, fucker.”
My eyes snap to hers, and I’m thankful she’s smiling. “No problem. I knew you had feelings in there somewhere,” I joke, finally standing up now that Marcus is gone.
She gasps in fake horror. “I do not!”
All I can do is laugh. “So, are you nervous about dinner? Do you know Grace very well?”
“No, Grace is the best. I hate that her and Marcus couldn’t make it work between them, but I’m also very grateful that they still manage to co-parent so damn well. I love Harmony and have missed her like crazy. We FaceTime at least once a week, but I can’t wait to get my hands around her.”
Her beaming smile tells me exactly how much she loves that little girl. I can’t blame her. I’ve only known her a year, and she won me over in the first two minutes. Me, a dude who didn’t think he liked kids at all. “She is definitely a badass three-year-old.”
