7
THEA
“Took you long enough,” I whisper harshly into the phone. I’m sitting on the edge of the neatly made bed while the bath fills up. I get up and open the closest doors, empty aside from a few hangers.
Cassie matches my volume. “Why are we whispering?”
“I don’t know.” I can’t help the laugh that comes next. “Cass, I’m at Cole’s house. Long and crazy story that I’ll have to tell you when I see you, but oh my fucking god. His house is ridiculous! Think modern cabin on steroids.” I know that this won’t impress Cassie. Her family is wealthy, but this isn’t the type of home she’d ever live in. “The ceilings, the view, the theater room.”
She laughs. “Okay, so you hit the jackpot. Brava bellissima. Your message seemed urgent. Sorry, I was a little tied up with Anthony. What’s going on?”
Yeah, I know what that meant. Tied up was her code for getting railed. Normally, I’d laugh or tease her. However, I’m too invested in scoping out this room.
Curiosity has always been a weakness of mine. I open the drawers of the nightstand, empty. Then I check the other nightstand, the same. Not one hair tie, false eyelash, or lipstick left behind. There”s no way I”m the only woman that’s been in this room.
They must have an excellent housekeeper.
“Long story short, Cole had to drive my truck to his house. I almost hit this guy, he went crazy. There was also a weird note. I’ll have to explain later.” My words are rushed. “I was a little nervous to come here, for obvious reasons, and was going to see about staying with you for the night.”
I turn the faucet off, the steam rolls off the surface of the water. An hour ago I was dead set on leaving as soon as I heard from Cassie, but now…I’m not so sure.
“You’re welcome anytime, although I know you. It sounds like you don’t want to leave. Is tonight the night?” Her voice shifts to excitement.
“No, no, nothing like that. I kind of want to stay, though. There’s a guest room, so it’s not like I have to sleep in the same bed as him or anything. I still want to take it slow.”
Cassie sighs. “You already know what my answer is.” I do. She’ll say to go for it. “Just send me your location in case you go missing and I have to track you down.”
“God, you’re so twisted sometimes. I love it.”
“It’s a blessing and a curse,” she states flatly. I’m sending her my location as she says goodnight. I strip off my clothes and sink into the hot water, savoring the burn against my skin.
Cole’s clothes don’t fit like they should—men’s clothes never seem to. The gray sweatpants hug me snugly while being entirely too long at the same time. I resort to folding the waistband over a few times, making the fabric tighten over my wide hips even more.
His shirt is worse. The white fabric stretches tightly over my chest and I know it won’t fit him the same again. I look ridiculous, but putting on my dirty hiking clothes was out of the question. I do put my sports bra back on, as much as I hate to. It’s that or give Cole and his brother a show they won’t soon forget.
Opening the door, I’m hit with the smell of something delicious and my stomach growls, reminding me I haven’t eaten a decent meal since breakfast. I’m towel drying my hair as I bounce up the steps, eager to see what Cole is cooking.
When I hit the landing, I see Damian talking to someone clad all in black. From his leather boots and jeans to his hooded leather jacket. It all makes sense when I see the matte black motorcycle helmet on the table.
Must be another one of Cole’s brothers.
Damian’s ice blue gaze focuses on me as he stops mid-sentence. Turning to see what caught his brother’s attention, I lock eyes with someone I wasn’t sure I’d ever see again.
My lungs refuse to breathe for a moment and I think I might cry. Goosebumps break out over my skin. And I run to him.
We collide. Throwing my arms around Sutton, I bury my face in his neck as he spins me around. A tear slips out and I hold on tighter. His familiar scent of lavender and sandalwood pulls forward hundreds of memories from the past.
He sets me down and I pull back, staring into my friend’s amber eyes, framed by rounded glasses. We exchange a thousand words with that look.
Sutton’s the same, yet entirely different—we’re both older. He must be thinking the same thing about me.
My eyes travel over his warm brown skin, noting that he’s grown his facial hair some. But it’s the two silver hoops circling his bottom lip that surprise me the most. Those are new. The piercings suit him nicely.
Everything about him is familiar. From the slight natural arch in his dark brows, his wide nose, and his full, well-defined lips. His hair is still cut short, just like it was back then. Even the feel of his body is the same, lean and tone.
While that familiarity is comforting, there’s something else there—something we didn’t explore all those years ago. That old electricity buzzes to life at our closeness. Thoughts of running my hands over his body, kissing him, fucking him flood my mind. All things that we never acted on. And we absolutely can’t act on now. We never could get the timing right.
I hug him again, then realize we must seem like lunatics to Damian and Cole. Stepping back, I see that I’m right. Both of them frozen, watching Sutton and I, absolutely bewildered.
Clearing my throat, I announce, “Sutton and I went to college together.” Looping my arm around his waist, I lean on him, needing to know this isn’t some kind of delusion.
“I’m going to need an explanation. How are you here?” Sutton stares down at me, mirroring my disbelief. It takes me a moment to process his words, because the lip rings aren’t the only new piercings Sutton has. I spot two silver balls sitting on either side of his tongue. I pull my gaze from his mouth and bring my attention back to his words. “Gavin?” I pat his arm and heave a breath.
“We have plenty of time to talk about all of that, but first I need to eat.” I peer around him. In the kitchen, Cole now has his back to us, stirring something on the stove.
Realizing that Cole might be put off by my excitement at unexpectedly seeing an old friend, I make my way to him. Walking past Damian, without giving him so much as a glance, I stand next to Cole and rest my cheek against his arm.
“Smells amazing. What did you make?” I feel him relax a little.
Cole points to each dish on the stove. Herb crusted chicken, garlic parmesan broccoli, and rice. My mouth waters as I take it all in.
“Hey.” He looks down at me and I hook my finger into the neckline of his shirt, gently pulling him down to meet my lips. I let him know with that kiss that he still has all of my attention. His arms pull me close against him.
Pulling away a little, he whispers in my ear. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you look in my clothes, love?”
“I do now,” I answer as I stare into his hazel eyes. I kiss him once more. “What can I help with?”
Cole gives me some plates and silverware, while he brings the food to the table. I purposefully choose the seat next to him.
My earlier feeling that there is some history between all of them that is adding to the tension at the table returns. I’m curious to know more.
SUTTON
I never thought I’d see her again.
My heart is still pounding as I watch her kiss my brother. That’s why she’s here. She’s dating Cole. He didn’t mention it. Damian is probably pissed, however, I don’t care about that right now.
The moment she threw her arms around me, the countless memories of late nights and early mornings came rushing back. It took me too long to get Thea out of my head. Now, here, she is undoing it all.
She’s still unbelievably beautiful. Her hair’s longer, yet everything else is the same. That sparkle in her eyes when she gets excited is still there. I saw it when she realized who she was looking at. Damn, she looks real fucking good in those sweatpants and that tight shirt.
I remind myself that those are Cole’s clothes and that Thea is here with him.
I move my helmet off of the table as she comes over to set it. As she walks by, I get a whiff of her freshly shampooed hair—coconut and vanilla. I want to wrap my arms around her and sit by the fire all night, catching up. But I restrain myself.
Instead, I watch from a distance as she places the plates down, thinking back to the last time I saw her.
The memory isn’t especially pleasant. We spent the first two years at the University of Georgia joined at the hip. Those are my favorite memories. The last two years were much different.
Thea met Gavin in our Junior year. Young love and all that. She wrapped her whole life up in him. I was jealous that I never told her how I felt. There were so many chances when I thought she was feeling the same as me. I was too much of a pussy—scared of rejection. So I watched as she found someone who had no problem taking what they wanted.
At first, we still spent a lot of time together. Then, Gavin got jealous. He’d call repeatedly whenever we hung out. She started seeing me less and less. I know it hurt her just as much as it hurt me. We’d see each other on campus and she’d give me a pained smile. I’d return it.
The last time I saw her was at graduation. She was standing there after the ceremony with her parents, Gavin, and who I assume were his parents. They were all talking and laughing, but Thea wasn’t. She was standing there as if she didn’t belong.
I wanted to run to her, grab her hand, and take her away. I didn’t. I chickened out again and I’ve lived with the consequences of it for over a decade.
She is the one that got away and now here she is, although under very different circumstances that I don’t think even she understands.