Several Hell yeahs resonated among the small crowd, but Colby stayed quiet, his gaze locked on me, seemingly waiting to see what I planned to do. Honestly, the bar wasn’t my scene but if he wanted to go, I couldn’t bum around his place, holding him back.
I forced a big grin. “Sounds fun. You guys have a good time.” Then I turned to Colby so he knew I expected him to leave with the rest of the group. “But I’m going to head home after I eat. My grandma will be home alone.”
Colby turned back to the burgers, sliding a spatula under one and giving it a quick flip. “I’m just gonna hang here tonight. Jack’s gets a bit too crowded for me on weekends. Add in the storm…” He shrugged.
Wait, he was staying home? Dammit. Me and my big mouth. If I’d let him answer first, I could have just stayed too. Now I was obligated to leave. Worst part—Grandma wasn’t even home. Saturday night was ladies’ bunco night. And yes, even my almost seventy-year-old grandma had more of a life than I currently did.
Colby started stacking hamburger patties on a plate, and soon everyone had made their way inside to eat. Or rather, scarf might be more accurate. I found a place at the table by myself while the guys stood around cramming their mouths full of food. And once again, I missed Felicity. She’d been my best friend forever, and though I loved that she’d gotten out of this tiny fishing town, like she’d wanted to, it was hard to get used to life without her.
The chair next to mine groaned as it was dragged from under the table. I glanced up and stopped in mid-chew—not exactly attractive, but Colby had that effect on me. Always had. It was something about the way his light brown hair curled out a bit around the edge of his cap, and his blue-gray eyes always looked like the perfect balance of friendly and thoughtful. Though I’d watch him grow from a skinny kid into this…this perfect guy, he still managed to send my stomach fluttering. A part of me doubted it would ever stop. Mostly because my entire being was in love with him.
Then he grinned and ruffled my hair. And I was smacked with the hard reality that I was in love with a guy who had permanently friend-zoned me.
I rolled my eyes and laughed, because as stupid as it was, it still meant I had his attention. For a few moments, at least. And let’s face it, I’d take what I could get. Lame? Maybe. But did it thrill me? Absolutely.
“You sure you can eat all that?” He nodded toward my burger as he sank into the chair next to mine. “I’m known to cook up some manly burgers.”
“Ah, so that explains why it’s falling apart without my help.” I gestured to the bun as the meat slipped out of it. I gathered it back up and raised it to my mouth. “Good thing it has a woman’s help to stay in one piece.”
He chuckled. “Touché.” He leaned back and tapped his beer can. “Maybe that’s what I need.”
I kept my eyes on my burger, as if it was suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world. “You falling apart, Colby?” My voice was light and playful, or I sure as hell hoped it was.
He shrugged, then rolled his shoulders as if to relieve some tension. “This summer’s charter season was busy. Or at least it felt that way with Dad not around to help out. I’m feeling…” He glanced at me and smiled. “Eh, ’nough about me.” Like always, he shut down just before any real conversation began. “Your burger any good?”
I’d always felt as if I knew the real Colby, and I did. But not because he opened up to me. No, it was because I paid attention. To everything. I’d learned to read his body language. To hear what he was saying. To interpret his moods. I’d learned to speak the silent language of Colby. And I knew that in the last few weeks, he’d been off. More tired. Less talkative. A little withdrawn. And while I thought it had something to do with his favorite time of year—peak fishing season—coming to an end, maybe I had it wrong. Maybe he was burned out. Could the guy who lived for fishing finally have had enough?
But I knew better than to pry right now. Colby would give me bits and pieces in his own time, while I carefully read between the lines. I’d get it all sorted out eventually. And like always, I’d find a roundabout way to offer some support without him even realizing what I’d done.
I was only halfway through my burger—as was Colby, who it was safe to say had slowed down for my sake—when guys started leaving. Now that they’d decided the bar was the place to be tonight, they were eager to get their night going.
As the crowd shrank, Colby started talking more. And these were the moments I lived for.
“Doesn’t your grandma have bunco tonight?” he asked.
Leave it to him to remember such a small detail of my life. “Yeah, but she’ll be home eventually.”
“You shouldn’t ride out the storm alone. Just hang out here until she’s home. If the rain gets bad, I’ll drive you.”
He knew how much I hated driving. Especially in storms. And though I wanted to shout, Yes! I will stay. Forever, if you want, I shrugged a noncommittal I guess.
He ruffled my hair again. Freaking friend-zone.
“I can eat two burgers in the time you eat one.” He stood, made himself a second, then plopped back down.
And my stomach did the flutter while my body got all warm and tingly. There was no denying it. Hopeless.
The last few lingering guys finally said their goodbyes, and then it was just us.
“So what do you want to do?” He pushed his plate to the center of the small table and leaned back. “I can probably find a movie. Or we can keep drinking. Now that all the guys are gone, there might actually be enough beer for us.”
I laughed and mumbled my agreement while inside my head, a tiny voice screamed Now or never. It made me nervous as all hell, and I doubted I’d even be able to go through with it, but it was time to give it my all.
Operation Seduce Colby was on.
Officially starting…now.
“Well, if we plan on drinking, we should play a game.” I pretended to think it over. “But there aren’t many choices with only two people playing.”
“Would You Rather?” he suggested.
“That would work.” I glanced at him. “And if we run out of ideas for that, we can always play Two Truths and a Lie.”
“That’d be fun. Wonder what all I can learn about little Miss Isla.” He grinned. “Like maybe what really happened that night with Hunter.”
“Oh my God, are we still stuck on that?” And for the record, nothing happened that night. We went on one date. And it didn’t even end with a kiss. But I had zero desire to talk about other guys with Colby.
He shrugged. “Inquiring minds want to know.”
“Why haven’t you asked him?”
He shook his head and huffed, “Because I want the real story. Not some dude’s fantasy version.”
“How do you know I won’t lie too?” I teased.
He grinned, eyed me up and down. “Guess we’ll figure that out, won’t we. Remember: two truths and only one lie.”
“I know.” I stood, grabbed our plates, and put them in the sink. “Same goes for you. I’m gonna need some truths with your lies.”
“Eh, I’ve never been that good at lying.”
I turned around and smiled. “But you are pretty good at hiding your truths.”
His eyebrows scrunched together. “How’s that?”
“You don’t talk much. At least about things that matter.”
He lifted his baseball cap, smoothed his hair several times, then placed it back on his head, centering the John’s charter boat logo perfectly. “Fair enough.”
I opened the fridge, pulled out two beers, and set one in front of him. “But tonight I get two truths.”
He laughed. “You do realize if we suck at this game, no one will be driving anywhere.”
I smiled back. “Yep.” And little did he know how much that very thought thrilled me.
—
An hour into the game I’d discovered two things: Colby and I were both horrible liars, and we knew way too much about one another. And the depressing realizatio
n that we were both permanent residents of Friendsville, population two, settled over me. Or maybe it was the dreary weather combined with alcohol.
No matter which type of lie we tried to construct, from the mundane to random facts about ourselves, somehow the other knew the truth. Colby didn’t break his arm at age five. He was seven. My favorite color wasn’t green, it was yellow. His favorite type of food wasn’t Italian, it was seafood. Coconut shrimp, to be exact. And even when we went for things there was no way the other person could’ve known—like the color of our underwear—we’d pinpoint the lie. Every single time.
Though the game made little progress, we kept drinking, which was good. I needed to numb reality, fuel my confidence, and, well, just give my hands something to do besides fist Colby’s shirt and yank him to me because, really, he was gorgeous. And that wasn’t the beer talking. No, that was the voice of my sexually deprived hormones.
Falling for Colby had started with this gradual buildup. He was nice, he was cute, he was sweet. And he was always there, tugging at my emotions, teasing at the naiveté of first love. Like a roller coaster slowly clicking up the tracks, I had it all. Butterflies, excitement, a little fear. But then one day, he found me crying over something that at the time seemed catastrophic—but in reality was completely stupid—and he hugged me. I don’t know if either of us had really anticipated it, but he just reached out and comforted me. And suddenly, it happened. My stomach bottomed out and I was plummeting, heart-first, into Colby.
Problem was, being in love with one guy kind of put a damper on dating others. Obviously, I still did, but those relationships never went far. Not that I was saving myself for Colby or anything crazy like that, but those guys were more a way to pass the time and pacify my emotions.
“Hello, Isla….You there?” Colby waved his hand in front of my face.
I blinked rapidly, then leaned back. “Sorry. Spaced out.”
“Yeah, this game’s getting lame. You know me too well.”
And that was a bad thing?
“Let’s play something else.”
“Like?” I asked.
“Strip poker?” he teased, because we both knew he’d never actually play that.
I laughed. “You wanna see me naked, Colby?” And, holy shit if his gaze didn’t drift. And I don’t mean, away to check his phone, or to the fridge thinking about another drink. No, it went down. As in, roaming over my body.
His head popped back up and his cheeks pinked just the tiniest bit. And it wasn’t a beer flush either, because I was pretty confident that color hadn’t been there thirty seconds ago.
He laughed it off as he stood and walked to the fridge. “Who wouldn’t?”
“You,” I muttered.
His head down as he stared into the fridge, he mumbled something. I didn’t quite hear him, but could have sworn he said, “That’s what you think.”
Had he said that? Or was my brain imagining the words I wanted to hear? Was it possible we were really having a semi-passive-aggressive argument about my nakedness? It was probably all the drinking, but no way would I let this opportunity slip by. “All you need to do is ask.”
He turned, beer in hand, and leaned against the fridge. “Maybe I’m waiting for you to offer.”
“I’m right here.”
“So you are.”
What did that mean? While I went for cool confidence, my insides were in straight-up full-blown panic mode. Did I go to him? Would he come to me? Should I toss my hair? Lick my lips? How was I supposed to know? Operation Seduce Colby was more like a hatchling plan. I’d never thought it would actually work.
And then he was moving. Toward me. Or the table. Or, hell, maybe the bathroom since it was in the hall behind me. I remained motionless. Then changed my mind because I probably looked like a petrified idiot, so I tossed my hair and licked my lips, which didn’t really help me look any less idiotic. But then Colby’s eyes darkened.
Oh God, he must be wasted if he thought that was sexy. Could I kiss a drunk Colby and not be riddled with guilt in the morning?
I almost laughed out loud. Like there were any conditions under which I wouldn’t kiss him. And guilt? Yeah right, I’d waited for almost ten years to get this chance. I’d earned it. Guilt-free.
As he neared, I became more convinced he was actually going to pass by me, mumbling something about needing to take a leak, and not because he didn’t look like he wanted to kiss me, but because I knew I couldn’t be so lucky.
But then he stopped, a few feet short of fulfilling my wildest dreams. Not close enough for a kiss, yet not far enough away, because despite the whirlwind of questions, doubts, and disbelief, that overwhelming desire to tug him to me lingered.
And then everything just…happened. Maybe I moved or he leaned in, but somehow the gap between us vanished. He pressed both hands onto the table while I perched on the edge of my seat, and our mouths came together in a one hell of a lust-filled kiss.
But was this really happening? It wasn’t like I hadn’t fantasized about this a million times before. It was quite possible I’d slipped into another wonderful daydream, except this time it felt real. Which was even better than I had imagined.
My arms slipped around his neck as his tongue worked past my lips in a move so perfect, you’d think we’d done this a million times before. There was no thinking, or planning what should come next, it just flowed from us like our mouths belonged together. And as far as I was concerned, they did.
Then I was in motion. Lifted off the chair so he could occupy it, and then settled back down in his lap. Except I wasn’t draped sweetly across it. No, I was straddling him, and I was pretty sure he’d been the one who’d situated me like that. Of course, I might have had a little part in that decision, but the best part was how right it felt. Natural, as our bodies molded together.
His arms slipped around my waist, our mouths moved together, and his hand slid under my shirt, then slowly grazed up my spine. Warmth trickled through my body in anticipation as his fingers toyed with the clasp of my bra. But then his hand glided back down and rested on the small of my back. Though the slight hesitation and change of course disappointed me, Colby was still kissing me. And really, what more could I want?
His trademark baseball cap, which had always been part of my fantasy, was just getting in the way. So I flicked it off his head and threaded my fingers through his overgrown hair. He groaned into the kiss, causing heat to flare between my thighs and encouraging me to drag my nails along the back of his neck. And to my surprise, it earned me a nip on my bottom lip. An incredibly hot little bite that drove me even wilder. At least, when I was later questioned about my actions, that would be my defense for insanity.
Tilting my head to deepen the kiss, I pressed my body flush against him, rocking my hips ever so slightly, and his grip tightened, his arousal apparent between my legs. I repeated the motion, slow and deliberate, hoping…no, needing him to know how badly I wanted this with him.
“Isla,” he murmured, and my heart sank.
He was going to stop. The reality of what this would do to our friendship was overcoming this incredibly sexy moment. For him. Obviously for not me.
“Bedroom?” he mumbled against my lips.
Wait, what?
I didn’t even have to think about my response because my head was already bobbing my assent. He wrapped his arms around my waist and stood, just as the back pocket of my shorts started ringing.
We spoke almost in unison.
“Grandma.”
And that very sobering thought was like an emergency shutoff button. He lowered me to the floor and I fished my phone out.
“Hello.”
“Hola, mijita.” Though she spoke fluent English, Grandma always allowed her native language to slip out when talking with me. “Are you at home?”
“No, I’m at Colby’s.”
“Ay, bueno.” Her relief was audible. “I didn’t want to drive in this rain, but didn’t want you home alone either.
Do you think you could just stay there?”
“Stay here? Like, overnight?”
“Sí. The rain is so bad.”
I glanced at Colby. Did I want to stay the night? Absolutely. But would that be super awkward now?
“The weather will probably clear up—”
Colby sighed and grabbed the phone, “Hi, Ms. Diaz. Isla can of course stay the night. She shouldn’t be driving through a storm.” He smiled, then laughed. “Yes ma’am.” He nodded as if she could see him. “Okay, here she is.”
“I like that boy. You should marry him.”
“Grandma!”
She chuckled. “Okay, be safe.”
My face warmed, because though I knew she was worried about the storm, be safe suddenly had a whole new meaning.
“I will.”
“Te amo.”
“Love you too.”
“Bueno bye.”
I hung up the phone and slid it back in my pocket, not really sure what to do with myself now. Our moment had come to an abrupt halt, yet I was here for the night. Did we pretend it never happened, or pick back up where we left off? I kind of hoped for the latter.
When I finally found the courage to glance up, Colby was watching me. He didn’t look quite as confused as I felt, but he did seem to be lost in some sort of thought.
But then his expression cleared. He reached out, grabbed my hand, then silently led me down the hall, directly toward his bedroom.
This was it. The moment I’d been waiting for. The moment Colby would be all mine. Even if it was only for one night.
Experience the first rush of love
eOriginal Romance from Random House
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Just a Little Kiss Page 27
