Chapter 23 Colson
COLSON
ONE YEAR AGO
Dear Mom,
I can’t believe I’m still writing these to you…but maybe that therapist knew what he was talking about. I don’t see one anymore…sometimes I think maybe I should. I don’t know…I honestly don’t even know what made me want to write this to you today. I guess it was because I met someone …
She’s my boss’s daughter…and the second she introduced herself and I shook her hand, I knew she was different.. I don’t know, Mom, do you believe in love at first sight? I’m twenty-seven years old…I don’t really believe in this stuff, but she made me think it might be possible.
I always thought you and me would talk about this stuff someday…I don’t know, but I can’t stop thinking about her.
Her name is Nora.
Nothing will probably come of it, but you never know, right?
Maybe I can get to know her, and she’ll give me the time of day.
Maybe you can send a little prayer for me or talk to the big guy up there…or however that works.
Anyway, I love you, Mom.
I’m still dreaming of tomorrow.
Cole
Nora’s hair was too straight.
I knew she’d done it the night prior for dinner, but I was hoping overnight that the curls would come back, and I could wrap them around my fingers. It was early and sometimes when I couldn’t sleep, I’d play with her curls…almost as a way to deal with my anxious thoughts.
She was the best form of therapy for me.
Her strong heart, big enough to fit all my fucked-up issues inside of it and still find room to be generous and kind. Her tenderness from the night prior pulled at my gut. I had warned her that I could become an asshole, then she went and saw it for herself…and she didn’t run.
I’d always known my aversion to facing my mother’s death and the reality of her mental state wasn’t healthy.
I never talked about it, and the only thing I did in the form of dealing with it was to write to her every now and then.
But that didn’t mean I was actually processing the pain, so there were pieces that were left unattended and festered.
Like Haley.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I tried to push all the stress away.
The pain of what Sherrie had done…of what Haley heard me say…
what she’d been hearing from me for the past fourteen years of her life.
I liked her, was even nice to her when she was little, back when she was just Sherrie’s little girl.
The second she became my sister, that all changed…
and not because my dad was a fucking cheater, but because her existence led to the end of my mother’s.
It wasn’t her fault.
I knew that…logically, but it hurt so badly, and hating my father wasn’t enough, not when he didn’t give a fuck either way.
But Haley wanted my love, so not giving it to her allowed me some form of control.
I knew I needed to change…especially now that Nora had witnessed my toxic behavior, but it was going to take more than this visit to shift all that shit around.
I couldn’t think of it anymore.
I had to stop, so I turned on my side and stared at Nora.
She was still sleeping, even as streaks of light crept inside the room from the sheer blinds. So, being selfish, I woke her.
When Nora slept, she liked to pull the blankets up from the end of the bed and have them loose around her feet.
Keeping the sheet tucked around her chest, I slowly moved the blankets aside from her waist. She wore a pair of cotton panties and one of my T-shirts, and the sight of her asleep in my bed, wearing one of my shirts was too fucking much.
My heart thundered in my chest with the need to explain what she meant to me.
First, she needed to be awake.
I moved to my stomach in front of her, pulled her underwear down her hips, and then lightly pushed her right leg to the side. Advancing forward, I slipped my arms under her and around her hips, then slowly licked along her slit, through her center.
She tasted like crushed rosebud, musky and sweet, and that taste belonged entirely to me.
“Colson.” She rasped with sleep heavy in her tone. She gently pushed her fingers into my hair, while adjusting her legs as though she was slowly waking.
I sucked and licked, loving how her hips lifted off the bed.
My arms caged her in, my hands came together over her stomach as I continued to suck her clit into my mouth.
She was losing herself as she gasped and muttered curses under her breath.
Her hips swiveled and rocked against my face until I felt her shudder against my tongue.
With a sultry moan, she tugged on the ends of my hair and that’s when I let up and slowly lapped up her orgasm, needing every single drop.
Not finished with her, I got to my knees and grabbed her by the backs of her thighs, until she was aligned perfectly with my engorged erection.
Gripping my cock by the base, I pressed the head into her soaked center, loving the way her eyes dipped to see the two of us connect.
Before I went any further, I paused, making sure I had her attention.
“Nora.”
Her gaze lifted, watching me.
Her eyes were always beautiful, but even more so reflecting the sunrise breaking into our room. And the way she observed me…the way she seemed to see through my armor, all the iron pieces I had pulled around me to keep the hurt out, it was my undoing.
“I love you,” I whispered, sinking slowly into her.
Her lips parted on a silent gasp as I filled her.
“I’ve loved you for a long time…probably longer than I even realize, but you need to know”—holding her knee, I gently pulled out and kept her gaze—“you’re mine.”
I thrust into her in a long, deep stroke, pulling a moan from her.
I repeated the movement, pulling out and thrusting forward.
Our gazes locked as she moved her hips with mine, and I saw the smallest tear slip down the side of her face. I bent forward, fitting myself in between her open legs, and pressed my lips to hers.
Her hands came up to hold my jaw as we fucked slowly.
“I love you too, and I’ve been yours for longer than you’ve deserved.” She smiled.
Her lips met mine as our hips lifted and pushed against one another. I drew out both of our orgasms as long as I possibly could, until with our heads pinned together, we finished at the same time.
With heavy gasps, we stayed pinned together while we both caught our breaths.
“That wasn’t a bad way to start the day,” Nora joked, pressing a quick kiss to my nose.
I got to my elbows and kissed her again.
I couldn’t stop kissing her. Our lips moved sensually slow, nipping and teasing one another until I finally pulled out of her, and got up.
“You’re not going to make me wear your jizz all day again, are you?” Nora slid to the edge of the bed and gingerly placed her feet on the floor.
Pinching her ass, I smiled over my shoulder at her. “Not today, go shower. I’m going to go downstairs and see if I can get some breakfast to bring up here.”
Watching me from her spot near the bathroom door, she dipped her dark brows.
“Colson, find Haley please. You need to make things right with her.”
I gave her a nod, ducking my face.
I knew she was right, but I still wasn’t entirely sure how genuine it would be if I went to her. I could apologize, though. I could start there.
Pulling on some jeans, and a shirt, I padded downstairs, assuming I’d see my brothers watching something on the TV, or goofing off in the kitchen, but no one seemed to be around.
An entire breakfast spread was laid out in the kitchen, with bagels, yogurt, orange juice, and fresh berries. From the amount Sherrie had prepared, you’d assume she’d opened a fucking bed and breakfast.
Grabbing an orange juice, I spun on my heel and started for the library, looking for Haley. She was a reader, so I knew she appreciated hanging out in the elaborate collection our dad had.
As I passed the office, I heard my dad.
“Colson, good you’re up. I need to talk to you about something.”
Talking business with my father was always a bad idea, but I would rather get it out of the way.
Nora and I were only staying for the day and tomorrow, then we were heading back home.
The only reason we were staying after last night was because, although these pricks paved over my mother’s garden, this was still her home.
There were still places that reminded me of her, and I needed to be around it.
“What?”
I sat in the chair that faced his rather obnoxious desk.
He’d been hinting at something all night about my job, and it was either to make it seem that I was only dating the boss’s daughter to get in with my boss, or he was trying to get at something with the sale of Peter’s company.
My dad was in casual clothes, which for him meant he looked like he was about to go play golf. He wore a collared peach shirt with khakis and loafers. It was Christmas Eve, dude could afford to dress down once a year.
“I just wanted to extend a professional courtesy to you regarding the bid on the Petrov company.”
My confusion must have reflected on my face, because one of his shit-eating grins slowly spread across his pasty white face.
“Oh, your boss didn’t tell you?” He settled into his chair, drawing a cigar out.
Sherrie hated when he smoked in the house, but only because my mother used to. Once upon a time, my father’s secretary cared about my mother, or at least she pretended to. But the two tag-teamed Oliver into quitting his ugly habits of drinking and smoking, for a while at least.
“After you turned the bid down by bringing his daughter here, he reconsidered my offer.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Peter wouldn’t have done that. There’s no way he would have sold the company to my dad, not when he’d preached about my dad being poisonous.
“Well, considering you’re my son, Peter and I have gotten close, professionally speaking of course, and well, we talked about the offer you had on the table.” He shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “It was assuming you’d leave his poor daughter out of our dirty family affairs of course.”
“Interesting choice of words.” I narrowed my eyes on the man I knew as father but had more than proven was my enemy.
“You lost the bid. It’s going to me, so I suppose I’ll be your new boss.”
His smile was conniving as it disturbed his normal scowl and deep-set jowls.
“Like fuck are you getting that company.” I stood to leave.
My dad’s voice trailed me.
“You’re too late, I already have it in motion. You made the wrong choice bringing her here. Now you don’t have a shot.”
I entered the hallway right as Haley came out of the library, her face withdrawn, her brows dipped as she tried to piece together what we were talking about.
I half turned to my dad. “He’s not selling to you…he would never sell to you. I just need to talk to him.”
My dad stepped closer. “How strange that you were willing to risk it…knowing it’s the only way to be truly free of me. You’d be out of your trust fund money and own something not tied to me in any capacity. That company was your way of standing on your own two feet.”
“Fuck you!” I yelled right as Nora rounded the corner.
Her eyes were huge and worried.
My stomach swirled with fear and the anxiousness to talk to Peter. He wouldn’t sell to my father. He had to be bluffing.
Haley walked closer.
“Colson,” Haley interjected, trying to insert herself into our conversation.
My dad swung his gaze to her, sneering at her interruption.
“Haley, not now.”
Nora focused on Haley, her gaze going soft and a line forming between her brows as though she wanted to know what the interruption was.
I ran upstairs with Nora trailing.
Nora followed me. “Colson, what happened?”
I couldn’t explain it until I had a chance to clear it up because there was no way. No fucking way.
“Colson, talk to me, what’s going on?” Nora asked again.
I had to get out of there.
Pushing through the door, seeing our bed still tossed from our sleep and time together this morning, I ignored it and the look that Nora gave me when I ran up here.
I had to talk to Peter.
I had to stop this; he wasn’t going to sell to my fucking father.
Not this.
“Colson.” Nora pressed on the door, walking inside.
My head stayed down as I tossed my clothes into my bag, stray socks, boxers. I moved to the bathroom.
“Colson!” She tried again, but I couldn’t focus on her right now.
Toothbrush, deodorant, hair shit. I swiped it all into my suitcase.
“Can you grab my cell and open the airline app, see if you can pull up a last-minute flight for us?”
Nora scowled, her arms linked over her chest and her mouth set in a firm line.
“Not until you tell me what’s going on…”
Heaving a sigh, I gave her a quick glance. “I promise I will explain it, but we have to get out of here.”
I ignored the fact that she looked so good in her leggings and tank top, with freshly showered curls spilling down her back in waves.
“Are we in danger?”
Zipping my suitcase, I shook my head. “No.”
“Is someone hurt back home?” she questioned, stepping closer.
“No, it’s nothing like that, Nora. I just need to get back home and I promise I will explain everything on the plane.” I pulled the case shut and set it on the floor.
She stared at it, then glanced at her suitcase, which was still open by the closet. “Well, I think you need to talk to Haley first. Whatever this is, it can wait.”
Shaking my head, I grabbed my charger and phone base.
Nora watched, but didn’t move to gather her things. “I’m serious…she has something important to tell you and she said you’ve been dodging her.”
“I’ll call her.” My eyes were on my cell since Nora hadn’t grabbed it.
“I’m not going with you unless you talk to her.”
My head lifted at that.
“What?”
Her shoulders lifted, like she wasn’t sure what other options she had.
“You need to talk to her…and you’re not telling me what’s going on, so I’m not leaving with you until you take two seconds and explain, then listen to her.”
I didn’t have time for this, and I wasn’t about to be told what to do, not when it came to this fucking family. Nora didn’t know them like I did. Haley was using a manipulation tactic, that was all.
“Let’s talk about this later, on the plane, preferably.”
“No.” She stood her ground.
Fuck.
Nora would understand later, but I absolutely could not allow my father to sign those papers.
“You’re an adult, Nora, I’m not going to play this game with you.
I don’t want to talk to Haley, so I’m not going to.
And I already told you that I will explain everything once we’re on the plane, but I need to go.
If you really want to stand on some moral high ground and not get on a plane with me, then I love you and I’ll see you in Macon when you come back. ”
Grabbing my suitcase, I pecked her on the cheek and then walked past her.