Chapter Five #2
His hand comes up to caress my cheek, pulling my face up so our eyes lock. I stop struggling instantly as he softly tries to calm me down. His eyes appear full of regret, but who knows if I am reading that right. I don’t trust my own judgment right now.
“This… right now… is not happening. I am sorry about what happened last night, but alcohol was an issue,” he says, causing me to frown.
“Why?”
“I regret not remembering our first kiss in my drunken stupor. I want to remember every moment with you, Dee. Every. Single. One. Starting now,” he says, then leans down and slams his lips to mine.
I close my eyes and take in everything that is Colt.
His smell.
The firm touch of his lips on mine.
His bulging biceps that are wrapped tightly around me.
And for a moment, a brief moment, I get lost in him. Again!
I open my mouth to let him in, and his tongue touches mine. Our kiss last night was full of passion and lust, but this one is different. There’s a yearning in his touch, a delicate softness that sends goose bumps up my arms.
Slowly, he lets me out of his tight restraint, but my lips stay connected to his. He moves his hand to the back of my head, grabs a handful of hair like last night, and holds me to him by my neck.
This is so much better than last night’s kiss.
I thought he was a good kisser when drunk, but when sober, he makes my panties melt with just one flick of his tongue against mine.
I tug him closer so our bodies are touching.
Colt then leans me back against the cab as he gently caresses my cheek and slowly pulls his lips away, resting his forehead against mine.
“How’s that for a second kiss?” he asks with a cocky smirk.
I frown. “Colt, you forgot about me. Completely. You let Jessi sit all over you in the Hummer. Then, to top it all off, you let her drag you into the penthouse with me watching. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with all that.
I can’t take a chance on you never being drunk and doing the same thing. ”
He winces. “I’m sorry, Dee. I never meant to hurt you. I don’t remember any of it. And I sure as shit don’t remember Jessi being on my lap. I only want you on my lap. Just you!”
“But how can that happen, Colt? You’re leaving for America. Where exactly does that leave me?”
He frowns again, but then it’s like a light bulb goes off inside his head. His frown turns into a wide, beaming smile, and his eyes sparkle. “You have nothing keeping you in London, do you?”
I tilt my head and raise my brow. “My parents,” I reply in confusion.
“Parents aren’t a reason. Come with me. Come on tour with me.
You said it yourself that you loved the new you.
I can’t say I won’t slip, but I will promise to try and be better for you.
This is all new for me, Dee. This is not something I am used to, so you will have to be patient.
But say you’ll come with me,” he pleads, taking my hands in his.
“Miss, are you coming or not?” the cab driver calls out, not bothering to get out this time.
“Just a goddamn minute,” Colt yells, then turns to me.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to yell. Last night’s concert was the best I have felt in a long time.
That was all you, Dee. Everyone said it was my best performance.
You inspire me. You have made me feel again.
I’ve been hollow for a long time, but you take my fucking breath away.
You fill me with something I’ve never felt before, and I can’t let that go.
I won’t let you go. You belong with me. So please, I am not above begging… will you come on tour with me?”
Those goose bumps are back with a vengeance.
I look into his hopeful eyes and swallow.
Can I do this?
Can I go on tour with a band of guys I’ve just met and leave my world behind? The only life I have known? I don’t have a job because Daddy keeps my bank account full. I don’t have a home to go to because Joseph kicked me out of mine.
So what do I have?
Nothing.
That’s what I have.
Absolutely nothing.
And my possible everything could be standing right in front of me.
Colt’s patiently waiting as I stare into his luminous, bright blue eyes, which are staring right back at mine. He swallows hard as I look around at all the people watching us from the side of the street, being held back by a security line hired by the band.
“Don’t worry about them. Just look at me. Dee, I need you with me.”
I look back at him and exhale. What do I have to lose? So I make the biggest decision I’ve ever made in my short life. “Okay,” I say quietly.
Daddy will kill me!
But what do I care about that?
When I think about it, Daddy has only ever cared about his social status and not my happiness.
Colt smiles so brightly. “Really?”
I nod, and he pulls me into a tight embrace.
The cab driver begins loading someone else’s bags, then drives off with a new passenger.
While I can’t help but wonder if I’m making a huge mistake.
I will be giving up a lot but gaining a life.
Perhaps the answer is easy when you think about it that way.
Colt holds me a moment longer before grabbing my luggage, effortlessly shouldering past the concierge. I sling my two bags over my shoulders, and together, we walk back into the Rutherford Regent, hand in hand.
My emotions wage war inside me.
Is this fear? The kind that coils in my gut, warning me I’m in way over my head?
Or is it something far more dangerous—excitement?
Because for the first time in a long time, I don’t know whether to run…
Or dive in headfirst.