Chapter 8
EIGHT
COLTON
“No more dating apps,” I say, deleting Kairi’s profile and the app before taking another sip of her beer. “We’re getting you a date the old-fashioned way.”
She lifts a brow. “What, like saying yes to the guy who hits on me at the gas station?”
I choke and nearly slam the bottle back onto the bar. “Has that actually happened?”
“Only when I’m out of town,” she says with a shrug. “And they’re usually homeless.”
“Then absolutely not.” I shake my head. “I was thinking more along the lines of a coffee shop or bookstore meet-cute.”
“Meet-cute?” She stares at me, lips parting slightly. “How do you know what a meet-cute is?”
Heat crawls up my neck and I clear my throat, looking away. I’m not about to tell her I’ve spent the last year reading her favourite authors just to understand why she loves them. I’m definitely not admitting that one of them became my favourite author too.
No chance.
“My algorithm dragged me into some BookTok rabbit hole for some strange reason,” I say casually. “Now I know way more book terms than any person ever should.”
She stares at me long enough that I’m sure she can tell I’m lying, but instead of calling me out on it, she reaches forward—past the new bottle Jazzi had brought for her—and grabs mine, lifting it to her mouth as she takes a slow sip, eyes locked on me the entire time.
There’s no way she did that by accident.
No, that was very much deliberate.
Every second of it.
I swallow hard and wait until she sets it back down before I pick it back up and drink from it without wiping the rim. Her cheeks flush instantly and her eyes drop to my mouth.
Is she thinking about the kiss? Because I am.
I hadn’t planned on doing it, it sort of just happened. I’d walked in angry that she got stood up, and became even angrier when I saw the same asshole laughing about it inside the bar I told her to meet me at.
I wanted him to see what he’d missed out on.
I wanted him to know she could have anyone else.
But the second my mouth touched hers, it stopped being about Brandon. It felt like a cosmic explosion. Like the world blinked out and left only the two of us standing in it in our own little micro-universe.
Pulling away had taken more restraint than I care to admit, because all I wanted to do was wrap her up in my arms, and go home, straight to my bed. Any second longer and I wouldn’t have been able to hold back for the sake of our friendship.
“Ready to get out of here?” she asks, her voice lower than usual.
Her gaze dips to my lap where my pants have started to tent, and I quickly readjust myself, leaning forward against the bar.
It’s fucking humiliating being a man sometimes.
“Give me five minutes,” I mutter.
She scoffs. “Sounds about right.”
I slowly turn, eyes narrowing. “What do you mean by that?”
A wicked smile curves her mouth as she traces one finger around the rim of her bottle. “I’m pretty sure that’s how long you lasted that night we hooked up.”
My brows shoot up and I sit straighter, forgetting about hiding anything.
“You know damn well that’s a lie, Kairi,” I say, grabbing her stool and dragging her toward me.
She bites back a smile. “Maybe it only felt longer to you,” she says, turning to face me. “Concussion and all.”
“Concussion or not, I had you in my bed half the night,” I say, leaning in closer. “More than once.”
Jazzi freezes mid-wipe, giving us a disgusted look as she mutters something under her breath, and walks to the far end of the bar. Kairi presses her lips together, but a laugh slips out anyway.
“I don’t know,” she says slowly, turning to face the bar. “I might need a reminder.”
That knocks every coherent thought out of my head, and all I can do is stare at her while I try to collect myself.
“You want to fuck?” I ask, lowering my voice. “I mean, are you saying you want to fuck me? Right now?”
She nods, but it’s not good enough.
“I want to hear you say it, Kai.”
She turns to face me again, cheeks flushed, hands gripping the stool as she leans in close enough for her lips to brush my ear.
“I want you to fuck me, Colton.”
I pull back, frowning. “What the fuck is going on?”
She meets my eyes. “The first date I was ever going to have turned out to be a shit show, and the guy was a jerk. Then you came in here and kissed me like the world was about to end.” She lets out a shaky breath. “So, now I’m frustrated, turned on, and I just want to feel good for a while.”
My frown deepens. “But why me?”
She gives me a look like the answer should be obvious. “Because.”
“Because what, Kairi?” I press. “Friends don’t just sleep together because they’re sad.”
“They also don’t kiss each other like that,” she shoots back.
Fair point.
“Look, it doesn’t have to mean anything,” she says, softer now. “I just know we had fun last time, even with your injury, and I–I want fun right now, Colton.”
That’s the problem. It’s not that I don’t want to have sex with Kairi.
In fact, there’s nothing I want more right now, but Kairi isn’t built for things that mean nothing, no matter what she says.
She feels too deeply, and cares too hard.
And if we do this sober, there’s no pretending it was a mistake afterward. There won’t be an easy escape.
But the way she’s looking at me with those wide, puppy dog eyes makes it impossible to say no. Without a word, I pull out my wallet and toss a twenty on the bar before taking her hand and leading her outside.
Maybe the drive home will cool down the sexual tension between us; maybe five minutes will be enough. But by the time we walk through the front door of the house, I realize five minutes is not nearly enough time because I still feel like I’m made of exposed wires about to explode.
“Where is everyone?” she asks, glancing around at the empty space.
“It’s free time.” I shrug. “They’re all probably out doing their own thing.”
She slowly turns to look at me, and I know whatever happens next is in my hands. I glance at her and the hunger in her expression makes the decision for me.
I take her hand and lead her upstairs to my room, my heart pounding the whole way. Once we’re inside, I turn to face her, running a hand through my hair.
“I’m not fucking you,” I say, watching her expression turn confused.
“But wh—”
“But,” I continue, cutting her off, “I’ll still help you get some relief.”
I take a step toward her, hooking my finger into her jeans and tugging her closer.
“Starting with these,” I mutter, popping the button and lowering the zipper before I tug them down her legs until they drop at her ankles.
She steps out of them, standing in front of me in black lace panties. I take a step back to admire her but I let my curiosity get the best of me as I reach for her shirt and slowly lift it, finding a matching black bra underneath.
“I hope you weren’t matching your underwear because you were trying to impress your date tonight," I say, feeling unreasonably jealous.
She swats my hand away and narrows her eyes at me. “I can’t seem to get laid by anyone in this house, so why wouldn’t I keep my options open on a date?”
The thought of Brandon’s hands all over her, undressing her, fucking her makes me pissed all over again for not cracking that beer bottle over his head when I had the chance.
A dark pulse of jealousy hits so hard it scares me.
I don’t want to imagine her with anyone else.
But then what the fuck am I doing agreeing to be her love coach?
Being a good friend, I tell myself.
I move my hand to her cheek, thumb brushing softly over her warm skin. “You know you never have to go looking for attention anywhere else, Kai.”
Her breath catches, and her thighs press together as she stares up at me before reaching for my arm and gently tugging.
“I do if I want sex,” she says quietly as her eyes drag slowly down my torso, unhurried and hungry, before settling lower.
The look on her face nearly brings me to my knees as she drops my arm and reaches for my pants, undoing my belt and unzipping my pants before pulling them down along with my boxers.
My cock springs free, and she drops to her knees in front of me, wrapping her hands around it, and squeezing gently, a small bead of pre-cum forming at the tip.
“I’m supposed to be helping you come,” I say, already breathless. “Not the other way around.”
She looks up at me with a devilish smirk, saying nothing as she brings her mouth to the head of my cock and licks off the bead before taking me into her warm mouth.
My head falls back and my mouth turns slack as she sucks, her tongue swirling around and around.
She takes me so deep that when she gags, I almost explode in her mouth right then and there.
“You’re already so close,” she says, pulling back completely. “It’s almost like I was right about you being a five-minute man.”
I chuckle, opening my eyes and looking down at her smirking face. She’s testing me today, but I like it. This is a side of Kairi I don’t see often..
“Don’t tempt me, Kairi,” I mutter, a lazy smirk creeping onto my face.
“Do it,” she says. “Prove me wrong, Colton.”