Chapter 8
8
“Are you coming in, or what?” he calls from the balcony. “Don’t make the Terminator come in there.”
“I’m coming , Mr. Impatient,” I call back. I protested, of course, but he keeps insisting we shook on it . Like whatever we agreed on is now carved into granite. I vaguely remember shaking his hand at one point last night, not realizing that I was entering some kind of my-word-is-my-bond pact . I mean, he filled me in on a few details on the drive but I can’t actually remember all the intricacies of our conversation. Or his promise. All I know is that it involves the lessons we keep skirting around. “Just give me a minute. I need to find my bathing suit.”
“Need help with the ties?”
“No, I do not need help with the ties. It doesn’t have ties. ”
Digging around in my overnight bag, I pull out the white bikini I packed specifically for topping up my tan in L.A., and cringe. It’s easily the tiniest piece of clothing I own and was packed with zero intentions of hanging out in a fancy-ass suite with an almost-stranger under a rare super moon (I only know this because someone mentioned it on Instagram).
I wiggle into my bikini, trying to adjust it for maximum coverage. Which doesn’t help at all. My boobs aren’t huge but they’re big enough and basically on full display except for two tiny strategically-placed triangles. And the bottom piece isn’t exactly a thong but might as well be.
Oh, what the hell.
I’m from L.A ., for god’s sake. People wear this kind of thing all the time and I don’t have to feel self-conscious about wearing a bikini. Even if I am practically naked.
And I refuse to be nervous about a ridiculous pact I may have made while mildly intoxicated.
All I have to do is call it off. Easy.
Or not.
Yes, I can. And I will, of course. I’m the master of my own destiny and I feel like enjoying this beautiful night without over-analyzing every goddamn thing, for once.
So I grab my phone and head back out to the balcony.
To his credit, Colton’s head is tilted back as the bubbles fizz up around his shoulders, and his eyes are closed.
I set my phone on the raised beam next to the hot tub and lower myself into the water. The warmth swirls around my body and I let out a light moan. “Okay, you were right. This is amazing.”
His eyes barely open and there’s a smirk behind his expression. His slightly too-long wet hair flicks and curls around his ears and down the top of his manly neck sort of deliciously. “I’m rarely wrong. You’ll come to know this about me.”
“Your humility is one of your best qualities. Oh, wait, you don’t have any of that. Never mind,” I tease, settling across from him.
“Careful, Sunshine. We’re in close quarters, and I’m not above splashing.”
I laugh and trail my fingers through the bubbles as I lean back against the jets, letting the water relax me.
Colton hands me a glass of champagne and I clink it against his, savoring the contrast of the cool liquid on my lips when the rest of my body is so warm. “This is the life. I like hanging out with you.” I say it in a bantering way, but it ends up feeling sincere.
“I like hanging out with you too.”
His reply has a hot edge and at the same time is more genuine than I know what to do with. My heart skips a beat. I feel the gentle pulse, centering between my thighs and in the peaks of my nipples, which feel warm and hyper-sensitive.
He rests his muscular arm along the edge of the hot tub and I notice then he has a tattoo of a tiger along his side. “Told you this would be better than the RV. ”
“I like the RV. But this is nice too. Thank you for bringing me here.”
“My pleasure.”
The moon and the stars really are something out here in the foothills of the mountains, with almost no light pollution to dim them. “Did you know it’s a super moon tonight?”
“Yeah, I read something about that.”
“It’s supposed to be good luck.”
“I’d say it’s definitely good luck.” Lazily. Taking another sip of his champagne while the bubbles play around his tanned, broad shoulders.
He’s got a tantalizing dusting of dark hair on his sculpted chest. God. He’s, like, seriously cut.
“So, is it true?” he drawls.
“Is what true?”
“Your confession from last night.”
“Um.” Damn it. “Which one?”
“The whole pure as the driven snow thing.”
Oh. That. I sink a little lower in the water.
The smirk is back and it annoys me, that he’s making fun of me now. “There’s nothing wrong with it, Bailey. It’s a good thing.”
“Easy for you to say. It feels more to me like I’ve wasted my life.”
“You haven’t wasted your life. You’ve waited for the right person.”
“No. I waited for the wrong person.” I wish I hadn’t said that. I really do not want to get into the old tired unrequited crush territory right now.
Colton’s quiet for a few seconds and I’m glad. Maybe for once he’ll let it go. But then: “How are you planning on seducing the fucker?”
His sudden low fury as he says the word catches me off-guard. It’s almost like he’s…jealous. But that would be ridiculous. “I have no intention of seducing anyone and I’d prefer to talk about something— anything —else. The sky is so clear,” I point out hopefully. “Look how many stars you can see.”
“What if you get to the wedding and he’s there and you find all those old feelings resurface? Then what?”
“Yay, we’re back to my least favorite topic.” I give him a look I hope will stop him from obsessing about this again. “I don’t have old feelings and I don’t want to talk about this.”
“If you don’t have feelings then why do you cry about him every time you get drunk?”
“Oh my god. I don’t .”
“Well, you sure fucking did last night.”
I set my glass of champagne on the edge of the hot tub. I’m very close to getting out. I’ve explicitly asked him at least ten times not to keep fixating on this incessantly. The one thing stopping me from storming to the only bed that we still haven’t discussed who’s sleeping in is the fact that I’m not wearing any clothes. And Colton’s eyes definitely aren’t closed now .
“And now you’re driving clear across the country to see him again. You can’t tell me you’re over him.”
“Do we really have to do this again? God , Colton.” Here he goes again, getting under my skin like he’s so good at doing. “I’m completely over him, thank you very much, and all I’m doing is going to my best friend’s wedding, like I’ve already explained a gazillion times!”
“You blush whenever you talk about him.”
“I do not blush!” Fuck it, he is like a goddamn therapist—if the devil was a psychoanalyst. “You know what, fine, Colton. Let’s unpack the entire scenario in the excruciating detail you seem to crave. If I get there and if all the old feelings resurface, which I highly doubt they will because it’s been a long time since I even thought about him and I’ve absolutely moved on, then…I’ll talk to him. I’ll gauge the situation with the information I have available to me and the emotions driving me in that moment—and I already know what the emotions will be because I’ve been feeling them for more than a year: that I’M. OVER. HIM. And I’ll confirm that when— if —I see him at the wedding and then I’ll get on with the rest of my life. Get it? My life.”
“What if he offers to take you back to his hotel after the wedding?”
“He won’t. He’s bringing a date.”
“What if he ditches the date and wants you instead?”
“I’d say no, of course.”
“I don’t think you would. Admit it. You’re still in love with him and you’d jump into bed with him at one click of his fucking fingers.”
I take my half-full glass of champagne and I throw it in his face.
In shock, I stand there in the hot tub for a few seconds. I can’t believe I just did that. I’ve never done anything like that in my life.
Colton blinks his eyes, his eyelashes spiked with moisture. Little jewel-drops drip down his face. He hasn’t moved. His grin isn’t exactly amused and it isn’t exactly dark but something in between. Like a lion who smiles before it’s about to devour its prey. “Good girl, Bailey. You just broke through one of your barriers. Reacting is good. It’s how you get over things.”
“I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. I’m going to go out to the RV now.”
“Let’s finish our conversation first.”
“It’s already finished!”
“There’s nothing wrong with being in love with him.” Damn him. He’s absolutely relentless. “Maybe he’s changed his ways and this is the timeline that was meant to be all along.”
I roll my eyes. “I think we both know that’s not true.” Patiently: “I’m not in love with him. At all. I’d completely forgotten about him until Jessie called me. Last night’s gush was just a knee-jerk reaction to an old scar.”
“Exactly. A scar you never dealt with.”
I realize I’m standing, with my hands fisted on my hips, exactly where the level of the waterline is. Nice. I’m practically yelling at Colton Maddox with my barely-covered breasts on full display, no doubt bouncing with my indignation. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of watching me stomp away like he’s won, so instead I sit down into the water again, letting the jets attempt to soothe me. I sigh deeply, pretending he hasn’t affected me as much as he does.
Why do I always indulge him? And how is he able to dig out my deepest wounds and darkest confessions so easily?
I lean my head against the padded rim and let my eyes close.
“Maybe you just want to find out what it’s like, and he’s the only one you’ve ever thought of like that. So your subconscious is fixated on a ghost who never actually existed.”
My eyes open a fraction so I can peek at his face. Which is staring at me like he knows he’s right. I’d never thought about it like that. “I guess that’s a possibility.”
“I’m not going to top up your drink again until after I make this suggestion, but I’m going to see the agreement we made last night and raise you.”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“You said you didn’t know how to seduce a man—which is bullshit, by the way. But you were practically in tears because you feel insecure about your lack of experience.” Sweet baby Jesus. “So, when you asked if I would teach you?—”
“Wait a minute.” I hold up one palm. “ I asked you ?”
“Implored might be a better word. ”
I let my hand rest over my eyes for a second, but I spread my fingers so I can still see him. “Now you’re just torturing me for fun.”
“You deserve it, Sunshine.”
“I guess that’s fair,” I admit begrudgingly. I’m still shocked by my overreaction. “I just threw a glass of champagne in your face.”
“At least we’re in the hot tub.”
Neither of us can hold back our laughter.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him again.
“I deserved it, baby girl. I was trying to get a rise out of you.”
“It worked, Maddox.”
“Don’t overreact to what I’m about to say.”
Now I’m curious. “I can’t guarantee anything.”
“I promised I’d show you how to seduce a man and that I would lay all your insecurities to rest, which I plan on doing thoroughly?—”
“I’d like to strike our agreement from the record book, counselor. You are no longer beholden to the oath. Let’s just forget?—”
Colton slides over to sit next to me, covering my mouth with his hand and splashing water over me with the movement of his body. “Negative, Bailey.”
God, he’s even bigger up close.
“What are you doing?” I murmur against his hand.
“Let me finish.” Sternly. It’s a command, like he’s finally lost his patience with me .
I give him a muffled, “O kay .”
He takes his hand away, but not entirely. His thumb brushes across my bottom lip and his other hand wraps itself around my hair, pulling only enough to let me know I’m fully at his mercy. His sapphire eyes are fiery with challenge. “A part of you thinks you might still be in love with someone you haven’t seen in a long time who never loved you back, because you have nothing to compare him to. Which is something you need and something I can provide.”
I blink at him, sort of obeying him, for once. And possibly only once. Because his warm, solid thigh is flush with mine and my brain can’t quite compute what he’s offering. He’s also without a doubt the most physically beautiful—and strong, and warm, and hard —human being I’ve ever been this up close and personal with.
“I promised you the time of your life,” he growls.
I blink again.
“Let me fucking give it to you.”