“Cole, Oh god,” I pant as I follow my body with his words, replicating the beautiful torture he’s describing.
“That’s right, baby,” he husks.
Suddenly there’s loud pounding on my door.
I let out a frustrated groan. “I’m on Aubry’s phone. He’s knocking on my door. He might need it.”
“Fucking fuck,” he shouts. “Fucking Aubry and his ability to cock block even when I’m miles away from you,” he says, his breathing heavy.
I let out a strangled laugh as I get up and wrap the towel around myself again.
“What’d you need to talk to me about?” I ask remembering that he called to ask me something.
“Aubry says you’re not staying in my house when you come this weekend. I can assure you, especially after this conversation, that you’re not staying anywhere else.”
“Cole,” I start as I open the door and find Aubry with an eyebrow raised. I’m sure my flushed face has “guilty” written all over it. “I’d rather stay at a hotel. I really don’t want to see Erin after what happened the other day,” I say. I really don’t want to see her at all, but I’ll keep that to myself.
“We’ll see about that,” Cole says and I hand the phone over to Aubry.
Aubry gets it and greets Cole again. As he walks away I hear him say, “Don’t worry, Cole. I’ll pick up where you left off.”
I laugh and close my door. That night, I fall asleep smiling, and dream about Cole’s body over mine.
Chapter Eight
Present
“It feels so good to be getting out of here,” Aubry says as we wait in the security line at O’Hare International Airport.
I was able to get out of staying in Cole’s house. Luckily, he didn’t argue when I told him I would prefer to stay in the city. His house is a thirty-five minute drive to the city, so I told him I’d rather stay with Becky and shop while he’s at work.
“Sure does,” I say smiling.
I still haven’t checked out the safety deposit box at the bank. I’ve gone and chickened out three times. I haven’t even been able to step inside the iron doors. I contemplated telling Mark about it, but I still don’t know how much I can trust him. Shelley did tell me to question everything, and even though she said he has my best intentions, she doesn’t know what happened that night. Since I can’t rely on the memory of my four year old self, I’ll just have to question his motives.
We arrive in New York at noon, and take a cab to the Waldorf Astoria, which is where Greg’s team is staying. He was assigned to room with a teammate, so that he would be less distracted so Becky, Aubry, and I will be sharing a two bedroom suite. I’m sure Greg will find a way to sneak in there as well, though. When we pull up in front of the stunning hotel, Aubry gets our suitcases out and tips the cabbie, who did not say one welcoming word to us during the ride. He did however, make sure to tell us three times that the credit card machine was broken. Somehow, I doubt the machine was broken, but thankfully we had cash.
As soon as we step into the luxurious lobby, we are greeted by a shrieking fiery redhead. We hug, kiss and examine each other’s outfits and faces a hundred times. The last time I saw Becky was during Christmas, so I’m glad for this weekend with her. She informs us that Greg’s coach is still being lenient and not enforcing rules yet since the real season hasn’t started. The Chargers are playing the Jets in a scrimmage game tomorrow night. So while Greg is in a team meeting, Becky is ready to shop.
After checking out our glamorous suite, we leave to the stores. Becky and Aubry talk about work for the better part of the afternoon. When they’re not talking, Becky and I are trying on outfits while Aubry text messages furiously. Cole calls us around six o’clock, when he gets out of work, and lets us know that he’s meeting us for dinner.
When we get back to the hotel, we spot Greg and a few teammates in the lobby bar. When he sees us, he stops talking and stands up to greet us.
“Cowboy!” he booms as he sprints toward us smiling with his arms open wide.
I skip over to him and throw my arms around him while his teammates make dumb remarks to Becky. Becky laughs it off and introduces us all. Aubry and I meet Trevor and Donovan, two very big guys, and small talk for a little while before we head upstairs to get ready for dinner.
“Blake, you must wear this dress,” Becky says as she hands me a ridiculously short black sequenced dress.
“Becks, aren’t we going to eat dinner downstairs? Why do you want to dress up so much?” I ask.
“Umm...hello? Where have you been? We’re at the Waldorf, not Motel 6. You have to dress up here,” she says with a puzzled look.
“True,” I laugh. “I just don’t think I’ll be able to sit in this dress, let alone bend down for anything.”
“Eh, whatever, you have Aubry and Greg to bend down for you if you need anything. When you sit, cross your legs-problem solved,” she shrugs.
I know better than to argue with Becky about clothing, so I grab the dress and put it on.
“Becky,” I shout from the bathroom. “I can’t even wear a bra with this!”
“It’s fine, it’s too tight anyway, your boobs won’t have anywhere to move,” she shouts back.
Aubry laughs loudly and says something about girls being weird.
“Yeah, or breathe,” I mutter under my breath as I struggle to pull up the tank top. I really hope my boobs don’t pop out of this dress tonight.
I put on a pair of tall black Louboutin peep toe shoes that Becky lent me, and pray that my feet survive the night. I towel dry my hair and apply anti-frizz serum. After I put on some light make up, I make my way out to the living room area where Aubry is sitting.
“Becky’s still getting dressed?” I ask.
“That girl takes for-fucking-ever to get dressed. Every single time,” Aubry replies looking up from his newspaper and whistles. “Damn, you look hot!”
“Thanks, Aub, you don’t look so bad yourself,” I wink.
He’s wearing black dress pants, a blue long sleeve button down, and suspenders. Only Aubry could pull off suspenders. Instead of making him look dorky, they add a sexy appeal to his boy next door look.
Becky comes out of her room wearing a short gold dress and killer heels.
“I don’t know how you walk in these heels, Becks. I already feel like I need a foot massage,” I groan as I practice my walking. I really don’t want to eat pavement in these. Or in this case, marble floor.
“Blakey,” Becky says rolling her eyes. “Stop whining. Let’s go.”
When we get downstairs, Greg is waiting for us with Trevor and a different big guy. Where do they breed these guys? They’re so freaking big. Greg’s brown eyes light up at the sight of Becky, and my heart swells for them. Maybe someday. My thoughts are interrupted by a whistle.
“Blake, you look stunning,” Trevor says eyeing me from head to toe. “You can be my date tonight.”
I laugh. “That depends. Do you have a wife, fiancee, girlfriend, or anybody you’re casually dating?”
He raises his eyebrows. “Damn, that’s a hell of a list. No, no, no, and sort of,” he replies with a smirk.
“Sort of casually dating someone?” I ask pursing my lips.
“Well, I went on two dates with the same girl, so I guess that counts,” he chuckles.
“You get an A for honesty. I’ll be your date tonight,” I reply sticking my arm through his.
Aubry laughs behind us and coughs out, “Russell.”
I turn on my heels and playfully slap his arm. Russell and I are on a break. Really, we’re broken up, even if he refuses to accept it. Either way, I’m not planning on doing anything with Trevor, he’s just my pretend date for the night, no big deal.
We’re all sitting down laughing over drinks, when I feel the hairs on the back of my neck spike up. I instantly know he’s here and can feel his eyes on me before I look up to meet them. I’m surprised to see him here by himself. I smile warmly at him, but instead of retur
ning my smile, he glares at me. He fixes his eyes on the arm that Trevor has draped over my shoulder. I roll my eyes dramatically and shake my head in disbelief. Cole greets everyone and extends his arm out to Trevor, successfully getting him to remove his arm away from me.
“Mind if I scoot in between you two?” Cole asks. “I haven’t seen my friend in a while, and we need to catch up.”
“No, that’s fine,” Trevor replies shooting me an apologetic look. I give him a small smile as he gets up and moves over a seat.
“You look beautiful, baby,” Cole says in a low whisper, stirring the butterflies in my stomach. My breath falters when he leans into me and kisses the spot just below my ear.
I let out a low gasp. “Cole, we’re in a public restaurant. People will most likely recognize you. You need to think,” I reprimand through gritted teeth, but he just shoots me a devilish smile, showing me his dimple.
The rest of our meal flows smoothly. Greg, Aubry, and Cole tell stories about their teenage years as Greg’s teammates egg them on. From the corner of my eye, I see Trevor lean forward to look at me when Cole is recalling a prank he pulled on Aubry once. I lean forward as well careful to not let my boobs spill out of my dress and all over the table.
“So, Blake, what room are you guys in?” Trevor asks in a hushed provocative tone.
Cole, who is talking to Greg, grabs the hand I had resting on my lap and squeezes it tightly.
“One of the suites,” I respond coyly.
“Oh, it’s like that?” Trevor jokes. “I’m staying here too, I could just follow you up, you know?”
“You need a key to stalk,” I flirt with a wink.
Cole lets go of my hand and squeezes my thigh. Trevor’s eyes travel down and notices.
“So, Cole, are you still dating Erin?” Trevor asks cocking his head to one side.
I feel the blood draining from my face at the mention of her name, and I turn away quickly focusing my attention on Becky. Becky is talking about her and Greg’s new place by the water, but I’m only half listening since my ears are tuned into Cole’s answer.
“We broke up recently,” Cole says, and I unintentionally tilt my head to look at him. He gives me a crooked grin, showcasing his dimple and the mischief in his twinkling green eyes. He draws circles on my thigh where his hand still rests, and I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest. I look back toward Becky in an effort to keep the composure that is slowly fading away from me with every touch and look he gives me.
“Oh...sorry to hear that, she’s a great girl, we’ve met a few times,” Trevor responds.
“Yeah, she is a great girl. She’s just not my girl,” Cole responds, and I could feel his gaze heating the side of my face. I bite the inside of my cheek as I feel a blush creep up my body, and I silently thank baby Jesus and Becky for the deep bronzer I have on.
We finish dinner and walk toward the lobby to continue our conversations. Cole excuses himself and goes to the bathroom. Aubry trails behind him since they’re still discussing last night’s Cubs game. I stand with Trevor, Becky, Greg, and their other teammate, Jimmy.
“Are you guys dating?” Trevor asks nodding his head in the direction Cole disappeared to.
I scrunch my eyebrows and look up at him. “No.”
“Doesn’t seem that way,” he says pursing his lips.
“Yeah, he can be a bit overprotective of me,” I explain.
“That’s more than a bit overprotective, Blake. That’s...something else,” he mumbles.
I laugh and playfully slap his chest. “Something else?”
He holds the hand I used to slap him and he watches me intensely. The desire swimming in his deep brown eyes cuts my laughter short.
“You do look beautiful, by the way,” Trevor says before he kisses the top of my hand and lets go. “I’m in room 824, if you want to hang out...or whatever.”
I smile at his invitation, but don’t reply. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say to that. Thank you for inviting me to have sex with you, but I’ll pass?
I feel an arm snake it’s way around my waist. When I look up, I’m met with Cole’s icy green eyes. Trevor says good night with a salute before walking to the elevators.
I wave my hand, but my eyes are still on Cole’s. I smile at him, remembering the last time he did this to me, and I see his eyes soften. He turns my body in his embrace so that I’m facing our friends and nips my earlobe lightly.
“I love you too, baby,” he says in a low voice that makes me shiver. Cole has been saying those words to me for the past nine years. I’ve never said them back. He stopped asking me to years ago. He accepted that I couldn’t and that I was scared to for what I think are good reasons. Every time I’ve said those words to somebody, I lost them. He always assures me that I wouldn’t lose him, Becky, Greg, Aubry, or Maggie, but I can’t take that risk. I love them too much. They are my world.
We crowd the elevator on our journey upstairs. Cole presses me against his solid chest and puts both arms around me, knotting them together in front of me. When we reach our floor, I stop him and hold on to his arm as I step out of my heels. I cannot take one more second of having them on.
“Blake!” Becky squeals. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Ugh. Shut up. My feet are about to commit suicide,” I groan painfully.
The guys laugh and Becky rolls her eyes. “You’re such a baby.”
“Yeah, whatever, diva,” I grumble before I let out a loud screech when Cole lifts me off the floor. “Cole, are you crazy?”
“Only about you, baby,” he murmurs into my hair. I bite down on my lip as my heart hammers relentlessly against my chest. I feel like butterflies are having a Sock Hop in my stomach. When my eyes meet his, I’m expecting them to look amused, but they’re completely serious and a little sad, even.
“You can put me down. I can walk just fine,” I say pointlessly because we’re already in front of our door. “I probably flashed everybody.”
He puts me down slowly, never taking his eyes off mine. I want to look away from the intensity in them because they are making me feel like I have a gaping hole in my stomach.
“Uh...guys? Are you coming in or are you going to stand in the hallway eye fucking each other all night?” Becky asks with a laugh. I snap out of my trance and push off of Cole. As I make my way past Becky, she nudges me playfully. She is so obvious that I can’t help but laugh as I walk to my room.
I change into a pair of blue shorts and a red T-shirt that reads “Murphy” in the back. It’s Cole’s football shirt from high school, and my most comfortable sleeping shirt. After I scrub my make up off, and tie my hair back, I go back to the living room. Becky and Greg are already tucked away in her room, but I find Cole and Aubry flipping through channels in the living room area.
A large brown duffel bag that I don’t recognize catches my eye. “Is that Greg’s?” I ask to no one in particular, but look at Aubry.
Aubry’s eyes widen as he bites down on his lip to keep from laughing, but doesn’t reply.
“It’s mine,” Cole says nonchalantly.
“You’re staying here?” I ask confused. “What’s wrong with your place?”
“You thought that you were going to get rid of me just because you decided you were too good to stay at my place?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Um...no, I never said I was too good for you,” I reply quietly as I wring my hands together.
“You’re right, you told Aubry that you were going to hook up with somebody,” he says looking amused, while I glare at Aubry. “You told me, that you were staying here for Becky and shopping. I don’t care either way. I don’t like being far from the action, and since we’re both here and you need a hook up partner, hey,” he shrugs.
My mouth pops open. I close it. I process his words, and start laughing.
“You...” I say smiling and shaking my head. “Are easily the most controlling person I know, and that’s coming from me,” I joke. He real
ly is controlling. I know why he needs to be in control. Problem is, I need to be in as much control as he does. Our past taints us. As much as we try to paint our own canvas, our past is always there, hovering over our lighting.
“I prefer the term planner, but you can use controlling if it makes you feel better,” he says winking at me before I head back to my room.
Cole steps in as I’m getting into bed and goes straight to the bathroom. I stop leafing through my gardening magazine and look up when he comes back out, he’s dressed only in his boxers. I don’t know how he keeps his body in such great shape, even after he stopped playing football. I bite down on my lip to keep my mouth from opening as he strides over to the bed. His movements flex the perfectly defined muscles on his stomach. He crosses his arms, displaying his bulging biceps and strong forearms.
“I think you may have drooled on yourself,” he says before he darts out his tongue and licks his lips slowly. A shiver runs down my spine at the sight of it.
“Says the guy that ran Trevor off when he saw him talking to me?” I ask arching an eyebrow.
“Talking to you?” he growls. “He was practically eating you with his eyes. What was he telling you when I was in the bathroom? When I came out, he was holding your hand, and you were looking at him all dazed and shit,” he says. His jaw is clenched and his fisted hands are resting on his waist.
I laugh. “Some things never change. I have a boyfriend, remember?” I don’t, but he doesn’t know that—I don’t think. Aubry might have opened his big mouth.
“Do you?” he asks with narrowed eyes, making me squirm.
“Uh...” I start as I make a mental note to kill Aubry tomorrow morning.
Summer Heat: A Steamy Romance Boxed Set Page 57
