Chapter 41 Riley
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Riley
I didn’t have a lot of options for what to wear tonight, but I’m happy with what I settled on—a maroon bodysuit with long sleeves and my favorite pair of jeans that make my ass look amazing.
I usually don’t wear very much make-up, but I put a little more on tonight. I’m not wearing it for anyone else, just for me. For the final touch, I put on some dark wine lipstick.
I take the time to add a bit of extra curl to my hair on top of my natural waves. It looks kind of messy and sexy, so I just leave it down.
My brown booties are the shoes of choice for this evening because with the sundown, it’s going to be chilly out there.
I peek at myself in the mirror, spinning to look at my ass. Yup, perfect. And that’s why they have been my favorite jeans for half a decade.
I pull my hair over my shoulder to see the way the bodysuit dips low, revealing most of my back. Thank goodness it has a bra built in because there’s no way I would be able to wear a bra with it.
Excited to get the night started, I make my way downstairs. My feet don’t even hit the ground floor before a fuck me hits my ears. Cole is standing there, staring at me, slack-jawed.
“I guess that means I look good enough to go out in public,” I say, tilting my head to the side.
He growls, stepping closer. He wraps his arms around me until I’m pressed against his front. “I don’t know how I feel about you going out looking like this.” His eyes are blazing as he stares down at me.
“What if I tell you other people might see me tonight, but I’m going to come home to the three of you?”
His eyes flicker with something I can’t quite put my finger on. The corners of his mouth tilt upward. “I like the sound of that.” He kisses my forehead, then lets me go.
In the kitchen, I find Theo leaning against the counter. His eyes feel like an X-ray as his gaze roams over every inch of me.
There isn’t a single detail he is missing, and based on the appreciative glow in his eyes, there isn’t a single thing he doesn’t like.
These guys really know how to make a girl feel beautiful.
He stays in the same spot, only pulling me into him when I step close enough. I move in between his legs. His hands slide into the back pockets of my jeans, giving my ass a little squeeze.
“You look gorgeous,” he tells me. Shivers race through me from the small circles his thumbs are drawing on my ass. The simplest of touches is making every cell in my body stand at attention.
“Thank you.”
“Do you feel pretty?”
I smile, nodding. “I do.”
“Good. That’s what matters most.”
Fuck me.
“Theo,” I start, tears springing to my eyes. I don’t know what else I’m going to say, but I don’t have to figure it out.
“Holy shit,” Finn’s voice rings out from behind me. His eyes are locked on either my bare back or my ass. I can’t quite be sure.
Theo gives me one more squeeze and a kiss on the cheek before letting me step away. “Hey,” I say, turning to face Finn.
“You can’t look like that and just say hey to me,” he says, waving his hand around.
“Then, what do you want me to say?”
“‘Finn, I want to suck your cock while I wear this hot as shit outfit,’” he says in a voice that apparently is supposed to be mine, even though it’s far from accurate.
I strut to him with the sexiest walk I can manage. I trail a finger down his chest and abs, over his shirt.
I don’t stop there. My finger continues over his belt and to his hard cock that’s pressing into his jeans. I slow my pace.
“Is that what you want? My lips wrapped around your aching dick?”
He swallows. “Yes.”
I let my hand fall away from him. “Too bad it would mess up my lipstick.”
His hands lift to either side of my head. “Then at least let me kiss you.”
My eyes widen. “My lipstick, remember?”
“I don’t care. I’ll help you put more on after.”
“No,” I say, laughing. I duck away from him, taking a step back. When he steps toward me, I bolt for the living room. I’m laughing when I hide behind Cole.
“Really?” Cole asks, peeking at me over his shoulder.
“I love you, Cole, but move,” Finn growls.
“No,” I yell, gripping the back of Cole’s shirt with both hands. “You can kiss me as much as you want tonight.”
Finn’s eyes light with what I’m sure is a devious plan brewing in his mind. “Anywhere I want?”
I let out a breath. “Yes, anywhere and as much as you want.”
“Deal,” he says, holding his hand out in my direction.
I tentatively step around Cole, sliding my hand into Finn’s. He jerks me forward until my chest crashes into his. He leans down like he’s going to kiss my lips, but at the last second, he detours to my cheek.
“Such a rule-follower,” I whisper.
“Only for you,” he says.
“We should probably get going,” Theo says, stepping into the living room with the rest of us.
“We?” I ask, confused.
“Yes, we,” Theo says. “We want you to have a good night and not have to worry about staying sober enough to drive yourself home.”
“I told Abby I was going to pick her up on my way to the bar.”
When I texted her earlier, she said it was the perfect night to go out. She thought she was going to get called into work, so Mav was already having a slumber party at her parents’ house.
She didn’t end up being needed at work, so girls’ night to the rescue.
“I’ll drive. I’ve been to her house before,” Cole cuts in dryly.
“I also told Hadley I would pick her up,” I add.
She texted me while I was getting ready, saying her guys got hung up at work. I said I could pick her up, too.
“Okay,” Cole says with a shrug. “Grab your stuff. Let’s go.”
Theo literally wraps his arms around Finn to keep him in the house when Cole and I walk out into the garage. I’m still laughing when Cole helps me into the passenger seat of his truck.
Cole reaches over, gripping my thigh as he drives into town. He gives me a small smile. I’m sure he’s thinking of all the times he did the same thing that summer.
“Thank you for inviting Abby,” he tells me.
“You don’t need to thank me. She’s super cool, and I wanted to hang out with her.”
“Don’t go stealing my best friend now. I know how cool she is.”
I’m about to say that she could be both of our best friends, but the words get caught in my throat. That isn’t possible. I’m leaving soon. Everything here is temporary.
The thoughts feel like ash seeping through the crevices in my brain.
Well, that’s a mood ruiner. I shake my head, trying to push it back in my mind. I just want to enjoy tonight and not worry about everything else.
I’ll deal with it when the time comes, not a moment sooner.
Cole doesn’t get his truck into park before Abby locks her front door and walks toward us.
He rushes from his seat, gently shoving Abby’s hand away from the door handle. “Geez, Abs. You know I’m going to get the door for you.”
“Ever the gentleman,” she says, dramatically tossing her long hair over her shoulder as she climbs in.
I can’t really see Cole clearly from this angle, but I’m pretty sure he rolls his eyes as he shuts her door.
“You look hot,” Abby tells me.
Cole grumbles something under his breath as he climbs behind the wheel, but I can’t make out what he says.
“Thanks,” I say, looking at her over the seat. “So do you.” She’s wearing a pair of black leather pants with what looks like a corset-style top.
“My feet are going to freeze,” she says, wiggling her toes in her strappy black sandals. “I don’t give a fuck, though. I never get to dress up like this.”
“Why are you never this excited to hang out with me?” Cole grumbles, maneuvering the truck down the road.
Abby laughs. “Because you aren’t as fun as Riley.”
He just grunts, which makes Abby and me laugh more.
“You two haven’t even had anything to drink, and you’re already this giggly. What are you going to be like at the end of the night?” Cole groans, running his hand over his face.
Abby pulls her seatbelt as far as it will go, leaning over the front seat. “You know you love us.”
She doesn’t tell me. She told us.
He doesn’t say a damn word, just stares at the road like it’s the most fascinating thing he has ever seen in his life.
“So, you two obviously fucked and made up.” Abby’s eyes twinkle with amusement.
“Abs,” Cole says in warning.
“What? I’m not an idiot. You two aren’t exactly subtle.
The chemistry between you has been…” She makes an exploding motion with her hands.
“And I’m guessing by the fiery ease woven between the two of you that you got to the bottom of it.
And by the bottom of it, I mean you fucked each other’s brains out. ”
I snort out a laugh, covering my face with my hand.
“Abby,” Cole says. His voice is louder this time.
I reach over, grabbing his hand. “She isn’t wrong.”
“Introducing you two was a horrible fucking idea,” he groans, pulling up in front of Hadley’s house.
I lean over the center console, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I think you’ll live.”
He turns his head toward me from where he has it resting on the headrest. “I hope so.”
The words are heavier than three little words ever should be. They aren’t even those three little words. The depth in them hits me right in the heart.
I don’t get long to contemplate it, though, because as soon as Hadley opens her front door, Cash comes bolting outside.
“A dog,” Abby shrieks, climbing from the truck. She bends down, petting the fluffy dog when he bounds toward her.
I slide from my seat, joining Abby to pet Cash.
“He is so cute,” she says.
“He’s the best, but he is also kind of a pain in the ass,” Hadley admits, a little out of breath.
“I need to get a dog,” Abby says. She points at Cole. “You need to get a dog.”
Apparently, Cole has joined us outside, too. “Me?” He points to himself. “No, I don’t need a dog. I have a Finn at home. That’s all the crazy I need in my life.”
This makes me laugh. I don’t know if Abby and Hadley have ever met, so I introduce them. Abby and I say our goodbyes to Cash before Hadley shuttles him back into the house.
I would think Cole would be annoyed by our girly chatter, but he seems oddly content. Maybe it’s my fingers laced through his or something else, but he seems relaxed and, dare I say, happy.
Sienna’s curly red hair, blowing in the wind, comes into view when Cole pulls up in front of the bar. I offered to pick her up, too, but she said her guys were adamant about dropping her off. Too cute.
Hadley hops out of the truck, bounding to her best friend. Abby wraps her arms around Cole from behind in what looks more like a headlock than an actual hug. “Thanks for the ride.”
“You’re a menace.”
“Love you,” she says sweetly, like he didn’t just insult her. They really are like brother and sister. The thought of them actually doing the act that made Maverick is hard to fathom.
“I love you, too,” he says, patting her arm.
“I’ll see you inside in a minute… or maybe ten,” she says, slamming the door closed and walking into the bar.
Cole’s forehead thunks against the steering wheel. We both start laughing.
“She is such a shit disturber,” he says.
“I don’t know how you aren’t in love with her. I think I’m halfway in love with her, and I’m not even into women.”
His face is more serious when he turns to me. “Because I was already in…” The rest of his sentence peters off. He shakes his head. “You should go. Don’t want to keep the girls waiting.”
The abrupt change in subject makes me dizzy. I want to know what he was going to say, but I don’t want to press him right now.
Things have been so good between us for once. I don’t want to ruin it.
“Yeah.” I lean in until my lips are a breath from his. “I’ll miss you tonight.”
“Same.” He rests his forehead against mine. “Call me when you’re ready to come home.”
Home. The single word creates a feeling in my heart that I have no business feeling.
“Have fun, sweetheart,” are the last words I hear before closing the door and walking into the bar to join the girls.