31. Bailey
A sliverof sunlight broke through the slit in the heavy curtains and shone across Cole’s stubbled chin. The day was dawning. Far too soon, this carriage was going to turn back into a pumpkin.
I’d spent the night watching Cole as he slept. Not in a creepy way. It was more of an Aerosmith scenario. I just didn’t want to miss a thing. I didn’t want to waste even a second of the time that I had with him. It was too precious.
Not to mention, he was not bad to look at. He truly was a perfect specimen of a man. His features were masculine but also so pretty. His square jaw, peppered with a five o’clock shadow, was the perfect balance to his long, dark lashes. His high cheekbones complemented his strong forehead and straight brows. That didn’t even cover his other attributes: his ocean blue eyes, chiseled frame, deep voice, woodsy scent, soft touch, and large…hands.
I wasn’t exactly sure what the science was behind what made people attractive, but I knew that there was some. And whatever it was, Cole Crawford had it in spades.
The longer I stared at him, the more turned on I got. Not that I’d been aware of it in real time. It must have happened gradually. I only realized just how worked up I was a second before I felt my nose twitch.
My hand flew to my mouth, and I did my best to suppress the sneeze that exploded behind my palm. I thought I’d gotten away with it until I saw Cole’s long, thick lashes flutter open. Feeling like I’d just gotten caught with my hand in the cookie jar, I quickly turned my head and shut my eyes. As soon as I did, I regretted my decision. I’d had the nerve to say that Cole was too young for me, yet there I was, pretending to sleep.
Either I wasn’t particularly convincing, or Cole didn’t care if I was still asleep because I felt his arm wrap around me and grab my ass, pulling me closer to him.
“Good morning,” he rasped as he buried his face in my neck. The hand that had started on my butt was now moving up my back beneath my shirt. “Why do you have clothes on?”
“I got cold,” I lied. The truth was, in the middle of the night, I’d had to use the restroom, and it felt strange to walk around naked with him in bed, so I’d put on a shirt.
His hand shifted to the front of my body and cupped my breast as he whispered against my neck, “I would have kept you warm.”
A smile pulled at my lips as my entire body lit up with tingles. His thumb and forefinger tweaked my nipples as his thigh moved between my legs and nestled against my sex. As soon as I felt the muscle in his quads rubbing against my core, a shiver of pleasure raced up my spine. He continued massaging my breast as my hips began to grind against his leg.
I’d never come by humping someone’s thigh, but it seemed that Cole was the master of first times for me. I’d never come from solely vaginal sex before. I’d always needed some stimulation to my clit. The first night when it happened, I assumed it was just because it was new and exciting, but then it happened again last night.
I was just about to lose myself when Cole’s phone rang. He froze, and for a second, I thought he was going to ignore it, but instead, he turned and grabbed it off the nightstand. When he saw who was calling, he cursed beneath his breath before putting the phone to his ear.
“Hey, is it okay if I?—”
Whatever the caller’s answer was, it caused him to pull away from me and sit up on the side of the bed. “Okay. Okay. It’s okay. No, it’s okay. I’m on my way. I’ll be home in a couple of hours, and I’ll take care of it. No, it’s fine. Don’t worry. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Okay, love you, bye.”
He lowered the phone, and his head hung in defeat.
“Is everything okay?” Obviously, I knew it wasn’t and internally facepalmed at my lame question.
“Um, yeah, there’s a situation with some prescriptions.” He turned and looked down at me. There was so much pain in his eyes that I wanted to cry. For a moment, I was sure he was going to elaborate and tell me exactly what was going on. I waited, but he just shook his head. “I just need to get home to take care of it.”
“Oh, okay.” I sat up and started to walk to the bathroom to get ready to go, but I found myself being pulled back toward him.
He was still seated on the side of the bed, and he pulled me in between his legs. His arms wrapped around me as he hugged my waist. My first instinct was to, once again, ask if he was okay, but it was clear he wasn’t. His cheek was pressed against my belly, and I ran my fingers through his hair.
“I don’t want to go.” His arms tightened their hold. “I don’t want to leave you.”
There was a finality in his words. I knew this wasn’t real, we weren’t real, yet I still felt myself tearing up at the thought of this being over.
“I know. I don’t want to go, either.” My voice cracked, and I quickly sniffed back the emotion clogging my throat.
I was not going to romanticize this and make whatever was going on between us into something it wasn’t. I’d spent over half my life doing that. And for what?
Even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I forced myself to take a step back. Literally and emotionally. I needed to put this where it belonged. It was an amazing weekend. That’s it. Nothing more.
When I moved out of his embrace, his shoulders slumped as he looked up at me. There was so much going on behind his eyes—so much more than he was telling me. I wanted to ask him what it was. To beg him to let me in. But why would he? I wasn’t his girlfriend. We weren’t together. We weren’t even dating.
“I’ll just get dressed and pack. I’ll be ready to go in ten minutes.” I grabbed clothes from my suitcase and headed into the bathroom. After using the restroom, washing my face, and brushing my teeth, I pulled my hair up in a bun and threw on jeans and a T-shirt. When I came out, Cole headed into the bathroom, and I finished packing.
Less than fifteen minutes after Cole got the call, we were putting our bags in his SUV and driving away from the vineyard. I stared in the side mirror as the entrance got smaller and smaller.
It had only been three days ago that we’d arrived, but it felt like a lifetime. I’d been so nervous about what the weekend would bring; I’d just wanted to get it over with. Now, I wished I could go back and do it all again. Well, at least the parts that I was with Cole.