Chapter 6
Chapter Six
NATHAN
“It’s nice to see a couple so invested in the pieces they’re picking out.” The saleswoman smiles at me as Colt flips through fabric samples.
“Oh, we’re not—” I struggle to find the right words.
“I’m sorry. I assumed you were a couple.” Worry spreads across her face as she turns a bright shade of purple.
“No problem.” Colt waves her off and goes back to flipping through the fabric swatches.
I gape at him momentarily before turning my attention back to the salesperson. She gives me a knowing look and a nod. Maybe I’m not as subtle as I think. Great. I swear everyone at our high school knew about my crush on Colt. Well, except for Colt. At least until I kissed him. His lack of awareness allowed us to maintain a friendship over those years. Maybe it’ll let us rekindle one now.
“What do you think of this one?” He holds out the booklet to show me a dark gray swatch with flecks of white and black throughout.
“It’s a little bland.”
“If I let you have your way, I’d end up with something bright pink.” He flops on the model couch we’re looking at, tossing the samples aside. My clothes are a tad big on him, but the look suits him well. He pulls it off and makes it look like part of a trend rather than someone playing dress up. Even wearing one of my hats—because he deemed his hair unmanageable—his deep features are apparent.
“First of all”—I sit next to him and pick up the swatches—“pink is amazing. Second, I would never force that on you.” I leaf through the various colors until I find the one I want. “What about something like this? It has a bit more character while still being neutral.” The one I hold up is a lighter gray with subtle multicolored flecks. It matches everything but isn’t extravagant. He’s right; I tried to tone down the big pieces in my home. But, given complete freedom and a lack of caring about others’ opinions, my whole place would be done in bright colors.
“What if I say no and go with a standard black?”
I gasp. A big, mischievous grin spreads across his face. “That’s just mean.
“You thought I was serious for a second, didn’t you?”
“Nope.” I shake my head and toss the swatches back on the showroom couch.
“Come on, Nathan. You can admit it. You thought I might want a boring, black couch.”
“You’ll never prove it.” Colt grabs my arm and pulls me toward him. I fall onto his lap, my body draped over his thighs. I stare at him, those big brown eyes I still dream about.
“What if I torture the truth out of you?” He shifts slightly to move his hands out from under me. His right-hand rests on my upper thigh and burns into my skin. I swallow and try to maintain my composure. I need to think about anything else. Anything to get my mind off how close he is to my dick. The last thing I need is for the salesperson to come back to find us in a compromising position and me with an erection. Or worse, for Colt to feel it.
Instead of answering him, I roll off with a heavy groan, landing on my hands and knees on the floor. It looks like I’m trying to escape, and honestly, I am. It’s too much contact. I want to be his friend, but while my mind is on board with the just friends plan, my body hasn’t gotten the memo. “Okay, so I think this is the one. Let’s take a few pictures so you remember later when you are online.” He takes my change of topic in stride and pulls out his phone to capture the details on the couch tag and color. I’m not sure he’ll go through with it, but I like the idea of something in his place reminding Colt of me.
“I can’t manage more shopping until we get some food.”
“I made you french toast for breakfast.”
“That was hours ago, and shopping makes me hungry.”
“Okay, there are plenty of places around here. Let’s find somewhere before you get cranky.” He feigns hurt over my words, but the sparkle in his eye gives him away. “Unless you’ve changed a lot, I suspect you still go from hungry to hangry in a few minutes. I do not want to be on the other end of that.”
“In that case, we have about five minutes remaining.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder, and I stiffen before relaxing into his touch. Yep, I’m killing it at this whole just friends thing.
COLT
“Why did we lose touch?” I’m not sure why I blurted out the question. It’s been swirling through my mind for several days, and I can’t keep my mouth shut anymore. “You moved away to go to college, but we didn’t even try to stay friends.” Okay, I’ve been thinking about this for over a decade. I expected things to be different between us but not to lose my best friend entirely.
“I guess I was trying to reinvent myself at my new school and needed some separation from the old me.” He stares down at his food and pushes it around with his fork.
“I get that. People were shit to you, and you were dying to leave and chase big dreams. I always thought I wasn’t part of what you were trying to escape.” Nathan kept his head up through the endless bullying after someone outed him, but it got to him more than he ever let on. Even with a supportive family, I knew he’d been plotting to leave Elmwood. We’d often talked about it on his bedroom floor, but we were always together in our plans. I’m not stupid; I know kids’ fantasies never match reality. Maybe I figured we were the exception.
His head snaps up, and he grabs my hand. “Colt, you were the only thing I loved about Elmwood. I—” He stops and squeezes my hand. I understood how hard hiding was in a small town. “I needed space to figure out who I was when I wasn’t trying to hide so many pieces of myself.”
“I just missed you.”
“It wasn’t you.” He’s still holding my hand, and I’m not rushing to pull away. I like the softness of his skin against mine. “I never wanted to leave you. I was young and stupid. I thought I needed to escape the whole thing rather than putting pieces of new and old together.” He takes a few deep breaths before continuing, “I’m sorry, though. I wish I’d been better back then.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I just wanted to know.” He shifts in his seat a bit, clearly uncomfortable. How much do I say? It’s a perfect opening to tell him about my crush on him.
“I’m glad we somehow found our way back. I’ve missed you.” He squeezes my hand and pulls away. My fingers twitch. I want to reach out and pull his hand back to me.
“I missed you, too.” Fuck . The one sentence chokes me up, and I take a few drinks of my soda to give myself a few minutes to pull myself together.
“I’m glad we’re friends again.” Friends . A harsh reminder that our relationship has always been a friendship. I love being his friend, and I would never do anything to screw up what we have. The more time we spend together, the harder it’ll be to pretend I don’t feel something more.
“I think we need some dessert.” The suggestion is purely selfish. I need a few minutes to clear my head.
“I know an ice cream place nearby that I think you’ll love.”
“Perfect.” We toss our plates and leftover food into the nearby trash cans before Nathan points us in the right direction. My moment is gone. I swear I’ll tell him. Maybe after some ice cream. Or a lot of alcohol.