Cole: A Boulder Series Novella

by Eve L Mitchell

  Ari emerged from the pool, I sat forward involuntarily, her blouse clung to her curves and I was pretty sure I was drooling. I curled my hands around the arms of the seat to keep me in place. She tossed her wet hair over her head; she had no idea the affect she had on the male population. Wringing her hair out, she shouted at the guys in the pool who laughed back at her. Throwing her hands in the air she laughed along with them before heading towards the house. That creep Jay shouted something to her from across the deck and she laughed as she replied before she went inside. He jokingly pretended to follow her into the house, one of his buddies pulling him back down on his seat. They were all laughing as he pulled another beer out of the ice cooler they had brought.

  I saw Aaron watching me. He nodded and raised his tumbler mockingly. I tipped my bottle back to him, dick. I hadn’t spoken to him and I wasn’t planning on starting to now. Yes, we had asked them here, I still wasn’t sure what Matt and Theo hoped to achieve by doing this. They were the sociable ones so I was leaving this plan up to them, though so far, they didn’t seem to have a plan. If I could avoid them all, I would be happy. If they weren’t here at all, I would be delighted.

  Matt, Theo, and Connor continued to mess about in the pool, and I was relieved. It had been too tense in the house recently. Connor’s mess had all of us on edge and it was telling on the relationships between the four of us, Matt was especially sharp with him. To see the three of them fuck about in the pool was a good thing. Soon I was laughing at their antics, especially when Theo and Connor both tried to take Matt down, but Connor’s clothes were weighing him down and eventually they gave up. Matt and Theo both walked up to my area of the decking and I moved my legs to let them past.

  “That was fun.” Theo laughed as he sat.

  “It was,” I agreed with a grin. “She’ll be okay in the house?” I asked as he and Matt sat.

  “Corey has her,” Theo explained.

  I looked at him in question.

  “I saw her take Lil Bit’s hand in the kitchen when I was in the pool. She’ll sort her out.” Theo kicked his legs out. “Mom ordered those clothes for her, they’re in her room.”

  “Corey doesn’t know that,” I commented dryly.

  “She’ll be fine. I wouldn’t have left her otherwise. I know you’re on dickhead duty, but we’re on Lil Bit watch.” Theo rolled his eyes at me. “Fuck, how are you not dying in jeans anyway? This heat is ridiculous.”

  “Or you’re just a lightweight,” I answered him with a grin. Matt grinned and we fell into an easy shit-slinging session. Movement at Connor’s window caught my eye and I turned my head. I caught her at the side of his window, staring right at me. She was half hidden and she seemed to take a step back to hide. Didn’t she know she didn’t have to hide, not from me? I held her stare until something caused her to jump and turn away.

  I turned back to my friends and met Matt’s unyielding stare head on.

  “You have to quit it,” he said firmly.

  “I didn’t do anything,” I growled back at him.

  “You’re being you but on fucking steroids,” he snapped at me. “Stop thinking with Colton junior.”

  “It’s not so much a junior,” I retorted and then scrunched my face up. “Okay, that was juvenile.” I held my hand up. “It was also automatic. You know that.” I looked at him and then Theo, who thankfully was hiding a grin.

  “Aw c’mon Landers, that was a fucking automatic response.” Theo nudged Matt with his shoulder. “We say stupid shit like that all the time.”

  Matt glared at me and then reluctantly nodded. “Yes, we do. I’m just really protective of her.” He shrugged.

  “What? So much so that you were going to take her to the Roadshack the other night?” I snapped.

  Fuck’s sake, why did I go there with him just now?

  “You want to try and tell Bit she can’t do something when she has her mind set on something?” Matt snapped back at me.

  “Yes, it’s easy. You say no.” I took a swig of beer.

  “It’s not 1954, Cole. Jesus.” Matt ran his hands through his hair. “Fuck, have you been drinking tea with my mom?”

  I barked out a laugh, his mom was ace but she did have some non-progressive views when it came to women sometimes.

  “Here comes Lil Bit,” Theo muttered softly. “Can we park this for now?”

  I turned and watched as she hesitated and then saw her wave at Jay. My teeth clenched again.

  “Cole,” Matt warned.

  “I’m fine,” I snapped at him.

  “Yeah, you’re a fucking rainbow,” his sarcasm dripping.

  I was fine. As soon as I saw her head over to us, I was more relaxed. I wasn’t sure I could sit out here if she had gone over to him again. I moved my legs for her as she made her way past me. Theo reached out and pulled her down onto his lap. I couldn’t stop the smirk. I wasn’t sure who he was protecting, her, or him. I took another drink of my beer and turned my head away when I saw her blush. Why was she blushing, Theo or Matt always had her in their lap?

  “Corey knows?” Matt said as he stretched out in the seat beside us, pretending to be at ease. I had forgotten Connor fed his new girlfriend a bullshit story and quickly looked at Ari to see if she was okay.

  “Oh, yes.” She nodded.

  Theo laughed and even I snorted at her dry tone.

  “Bad?” Matt asked. Her smile for him was full of love and she reached over and squeezed his hand.

  “No, she was super cool and really lovely. I like her, she’s perfect for Con.” Ari smiled.

  Of course, she would like her. She saw the good in everyone, one of her biggest faults. I shook my head. Matt frowned at me and I ignored him.

  “I like her too,” Matt declared, I turned to him in question.

  So…we were doing this in front of her, were we? Okay then.

  “Me too,” Theo blurted.

  Both of you? Fuck my life.

  “Really?” I asked him, this was news to me. Both of them looked at each other and then nodded.

  Okay, brothers let’s play. I’m in the mood to fucking play.

  “Is it because she follows him around? Needs him constantly or because you both wanted to fuck her?” I asked. I raised my beer and took another drink.

  “Jesus, Colton,” Ari snapped at me pushing off Theo’s lap to stand glaring at me.

  “Ah there she is.” I couldn’t help it, she wasn’t who I wanted a reaction from, but I would take it. I would give my left hand to see the fire in her eyes.

  “You’re being a dick. She’s nice and they can like her if they want,” she snarled at me. Angry Ari over timid, frightened Ari was perfect. I laughed with delight.

  “What is your problem? Is it me? Do you want me to go?” she demanded.

  She wouldn’t understand and I couldn’t explain it to her without explaining everything to her, so I shook my head and took another drink of beer. “Sit down Lil Bit, you’re making a scene.” I forced my head away from her and took another drink of beer as I looked out over the garden. I saw Matt pull her down onto his lap but I could see the spark of anger in her eyes and despite my hard-fought composure I couldn’t contain the smile that she was finally fighting again.

  She jumped off Matt’s lap like she had been stung. Fuck.

  “I’m going to get a drink.” She glared at me as she pushed past my legs.

  “Running again?” My voice was soft, but she heard me, I knew that she heard my disappointment.

  She stopped, turning to look at me. “Fuck you Colton.”

  Fuck me? Fuck you Ari. I didn’t fucking run away and hide. I took my shades off and met her furious stare with my own. “You almost did.”

  “Yeah and as I remember, it wasn’t Theo or Matt who wanted to fuck their brother’s girlfriend.” She turned and walked away, no ran away. Again.

  I made to move, to go after her, when a hand clamped onto my arm.

  “Don’t,” I looked at the owner of the arm and surpri
singly it was Theo. “Let her cool off,” he added softly.

  “I—” I started.

  “Seriously Cole, leave it,” Matt bit out.

  I sat back and looked at both of them, they both watched me.

  “Fuck!” I cursed as I turned and then saw that Jay was with her. “Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me.” I let out a small laugh.

  “I think you need to let it lie,” Theo said to me so quietly I almost didn’t hear him. “She seems more at ease over there.”

  “She’s making a mistake,” I drank deep from my bottle of beer.

  “She is,” I looked at Matt in surprise. “Hey, I said take it slow, I didn’t say don’t try.”

  “Well you could have told me you were on my side a little bit earlier,” I muttered as I drank more of my beer.

  “I’m not taking sides,” he chided.

  I looked over and saw Ari laughing, even Aaron was laughing. I stood. Matt and Theo tensed.

  “I can’t sit out here and watch that. I’ll be inside. See you later.”

  I walked inside the house and made my way up to my room. I had the whole of the top floor almost, there was one other room up here, a smaller room that Dad took when he stayed, which wasn’t often. I passed the dining room on the way upstairs and took a bottle of Wild Turkey with me and an ice bucket. Party for one in Colton Dawson’s bedroom. Friday night was rocking. Sitting on my bed with the bottle, a tumbler and the ice bucket, I flicked through TV channels trying to forget her.

  Try as I might, images of her on the day of her mother’s funeral flashed through my mind as I steadily drank my way down the bottle. The more I drank, the more I remembered her. I could still remember the taste of her. I drank more, hoping to wash the taste of her out of my memory. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel her on top of me, feel her nails raking down my back as she tried to get my shirt off me. I took another drink of bourbon. I flexed my fingers, the fingers that had dug into her soft ass, as I pulled her over my dick and she rubbed herself over me. Fuck this. This wasn’t helping. Getting off the bed I wandered over to the window and looked down to the pool.

  Cold anger washed over me. Jay had his arms wrapped around her as he kissed her and much to my chagrin, she was kissing him back. I huffed out a derisive snort of laughter. Well that’s the price of you Colton, you’re up here snivelling like a little bitch and she’s downstairs tongue wrestling with a scumbag. I hadn’t been with a girl since I realised that I had fallen for Arielle Miller, stupid really. Bad enough that I lived with the guilt of falling for my brother’s girlfriend, but I also didn’t want the guilt of being with someone else when I knew I could never commit to them fully. So, I had turned down all offers from girls, hell I even had offers from guys. Because when you turned down so many girls, it was inevitable that you must be into guys. I wasn’t, but it was flattering, nonetheless.

  No, I was only interested in Ari. I was nineteen-years old and I had been single for sixteen months. Which wasn’t long really, but when your two best friends were determined to sleep with as many women as possible, it only highlighted my self-proclaimed abstinence.

  And now look at her, kissing a stranger. A fucking jerk she knew nothing about, who she would hate if she knew who he really was. I turned away from the sight, I was being hard on her. It wasn’t her fault, she didn’t know, I never got the chance to talk to her. My dad let her go and I was no saint as I had left her that day, choosing to run after Connor. What the fuck was she supposed to think? How was she supposed to know that I cared? How the fuck was she supposed to know that she was my everything? I still couldn’t tell her. I poured another drink, my ice long since melted.

  Connor would freak out, he was still so vulnerable, this fucking mess with the fighting only highlighted it. I still couldn’t understand what he had been thinking when he went to approach a businessman for a deal. A deal of which I still wasn’t sure of the details. Then when the ‘businessman’ fleeced Connor, he had gone back again to ask for a loan. A fucking loan. I shook my head. We had to sort out this money business. We could never involve Ari because she would get caught up in it, I would lose my shit if she became involved. I was tired. Nineteen-years-old and I was fucking exhausted. I downed my drink. Okay, that was probably enough of the self-pity party. Shit needed to be done and nothing got done if you were sitting in your room, drinking alone, feeling sorry for yourself.

  I opened my bedroom door to head downstairs to see how the party was doing when I heard Theo.

  “Not tonight Lil Bit.”

  A door was closed and then I heard another set of footsteps. “Should we check on Cole?” Matt asked quietly.

  “I think we should leave him,” Theo answered.

  “Yeah,” I heard Matt sigh. “She okay?”

  “She’s going to have a hangover,” Theo chuckled.

  “Well, we’ll deal with that in the morning. I’m going to bed.”

  “Yeah. Everyone gone?” Theo asked.

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t be here if there was anyone else outside.” I heard Matt chuckle and then a door close.

  I waited a few more minutes. I didn’t want to see either of them, I couldn’t be bothered with the lecture. Matt wasn’t nicknamed Marshall Matt for nothing. I made my way stealthily down the stairs with my liquor bottle and double checked the back door. They both were incapable of making sure it was locked. It wasn’t. I sighed as I secured the house.

  Heading back upstairs, I paused on the second floor. I looked at her doorway. Don’t do it. You’re just being a creeper. Don’t do it. I opened her door. The room was empty and I frowned as I moved inside, where was she? I heard water running in the bathroom and realised where she was. Grinning, I sat in a chair in the corner of the room. I didn’t expect her to come out in her underwear, though I was very grateful and the alcohol dumbed down my sense of wrongness that I shouldn’t be in here. In fact, the alcohol encouraged me to look my fill.

  “Holy shit Colton!” she jumped. “What are you doing in here?” She muttered as she hastily covered up in shorts and a T-shirt. “What?” She sat on the bed and looked at me and then with a heavy sigh, she looked away.

  “You kissed him.” Just blurting it out then? Great.

  “He kissed me first.”

  Wow. Okay, let’s do it your way.

  “So, if anyone kisses you first, you just kiss them back?” I leaned back and crossed my legs. We could be mature adults about this. Couldn’t we?

  “Don’t be stupid,” she mumbled at me as she stared at the lampshade.

  Mm hmm maybe we couldn’t be adults, she couldn’t even look at me.

  “I’m being stupid?” I queried her. “You just made out with a guy you don’t know in front of everyone!” Your jealousy is showing, I warned myself.

  “What? I’m only supposed to kiss people inside? Fine, next time I’ll make sure the bedroom door is closed!” she snapped as she leaned forward on the bed.

  Like fuck you will. I stood and made my way over to her. She jerked back but yet again the little coward wouldn’t look at me.

  “Ari,” I said softly as I placed a finger under her chin to tilt her head up. She resisted for a moment and then with a sigh of defeat, she tilted her head and those huge grey eyes were looking at me. Fuck, you’re so beautiful. My hand moved of its own accord and I brushed my thumb over her cheek, before I cupped the side of her face. She leaned into my hand and still without thought, my thumb ran over her bottom lip. What was I doing? I shouldn’t be doing this. “I’ve had too much to drink. I shouldn’t be in here.” I took my hand away, shaking my head, I needed to think clearly. “Matt is going to be furious.”

  “Why?” Her eyes were searching mine, looking for answers I couldn’t give her, not yet.

  “Shit Ari, don’t look at me like that, I’m trying to be a good guy here.” I ran my hands over my head, anything not to touch her again.

  “Too bad you weren’t thinking that earlier.” The bite in her words was deserved. She stood
, surprising me, I didn’t have time to stand back. We were suddenly pressed against each other. Oh fuck. She swayed and I caught her to steady her. My hands ran over her shoulders, travelling down her arms, I entwined our fingers. I shouldn’t be touching her. Leaning down I rested my forehead against hers. It felt so right to be here. “I’m sorry for earlier. It’s hard...” This wasn’t the time to be explaining.

  “What’s hard?” She giggled.

  I sighed at her silly innuendo and I felt her move away. I released her hands and ran my hands up her arms again to settle her. She stilled but I used the opportunity to also push her away. I needed to get out of here before I fucked this up again.

  Ari looked up at me as I moved away from her. My breath caught at the look in her eyes. Her hand caressed the side of my face and this time I was the one leaning into her palm. My eyes closed as she ran her thumb over my cheek. Her thumb dipped and ran over my bottom lip, in a move to mirror mine of earlier, unlike her, I bit her thumb playfully. I opened my eyes to see her reaction and had to close them again at the naked desire I saw. I had to get out of this fucking room before I threw everything away.

  You have to do this, for your brother, for your family, for Ari. Walk away, Colton.

  “Go to sleep Ari.” I walked out of the room and closed the door firmly behind me with my heart beating in my chest like I had ran a marathon.

  I woke up earlier than normal and after a quick shower, I decided a workout in the basement would clear my head. A good run outside is what I needed, but the treadmill would do today. After my workout in the basement, I cleaned up from yesterday. There wasn’t much to do, we had a housekeeper, but this wasn’t a job for her. It was our mess. After a second shower, I thought it best if I get out of the house before Ari came downstairs. The way she had looked at me last night, was haunting me.

  “Where you going?” Matt asked me as I picked up my car key.