His arm curled around my waist, pulling me snug to his chest. “Shush.” Colton rested a finger against my lips. “It’ll be fun,” he whispered, his mouth hovering a breath away from mine. My heart began to flutter when his warm tongue lightly traced over my lips, easing inside. He kissed me long and slow, stealing my breath and making me dizzy with want.
Ahem. Blex cleared his throat, drawing us from our trance. “Everyone is in their seats waiting on the two of you. Coach wants to say a few words before we eat.” Oh God. How embarrassing.
Colton’s teeth bit into his bottom lip as he huffed out a deep sigh, shaking his head with laughter. “Sorry, guys.” He shrugged, holding his hands up. “My girl’s a little distracting tonight.” Then he fucked me with his eyes right there in front of the entire basketball team, coaching staff, and cheer squad.
A chorus of hoots and cheers rang in my ears as I shielded my heated face with my hand, allowing Colt to lead us to our table, where we were seated with Finn and Blex.
“Damn that was hot,” Finn announced. “I’m gonna need you to teach me how to do that smolder thing, Fowls.”
Colt chuckled. “Sorry, bro, some things can’t be taught. You either got it...or you don’t,” he jeered just as Coach stood, blowing his whistle to silence his players.
“Merry Christmas, everyone.” Mr. Grady’s eyes flitted from one table to the next, making his way around the room. “I’d like to start the evening by thanking each of you for being here tonight. I realize most of you are missing out on festivities back home, and we hope you know how much we appreciate your dedication and your commitment to this team. Tonight, we want you to forget about the game and enjoy yourselves. We’ve got a great meal being brought out to your tables shortly. DJ Ritchie will be taking over in about an hour, and we hope you’ll stick around to enjoy a couple of drinks.” His eyes narrowed, trailing around the room, “Those of you of age, of course, and some dancing. Bon appétit!”
As if on cue, servers appeared with trays of food and pitchers of water, filling our glasses. Dinner was a feast of honey glazed ham, rib roast, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and buttery rolls. The types of food you’d expect to find at a family holiday gathering. It was absolutely delicious.
“Would any of you care for a glass of wine?” a waiter asked, passing out wine lists to each of us. I stared down at the menu in my hand, waiting for one of the guys to tell the man we were underage, but Blex, Finn, and Colt started discussing our options like ordering wine with dinner was something they did every day.
“We’ll take four glasses of the Cabernet Sauvignon, please,” came Colton, collecting the wine menus and passing them back to the man.
“What are you guys doing?” I muttered when the waiter had walked off.
Colt’s arm went around my shoulders, his lips to the shell of my ear. “It’s a private party, Al. No one is going around checking IDs. They won’t tell us anything if we don’t draw attention to ourselves.”
“I don’t even know what you just ordered. I’ve never had wine. We aren’t this fancy in Texas, Colton,” I teased, poking fun at his new lifestyle, which, to be honest, was quickly growing on me. What girl wouldn’t enjoy getting all dolled up for fancy dinner parties and weekends at beachfront mansions?
“It’s a popular dinner wine,” Colt answered. “You’ll like it. It’s strong, so sip it,” he added with a sly smirk. “Remember, I said don’t draw attention to yourself.”
The wine was disgusting. I can’t even explain the taste, but it wasn’t sweet at all, and I was a sweet drinker, on the rare occasion that I did drink. I’d consumed more alcohol last summer with these boys than I’d probably ever drank before, combined. But I sipped that wine anyway because everyone else around me was drinking it and I wanted to fit in. I could be classy, damnit.
“You don’t have to drink it, Alex.” Colt laughed, watching my face pucker as I took another swallow between bites. I liked it better that way. The food erased the lingering yuck from my taste buds.
“It’s fine,” I said, forking a bite of ham into my mouth.
“You look like you just got a whiff of ass, Lexi,” Finn argued from across the table.
“Shh,” I hissed, looking around to see if anyone had heard him. “I’m trying to be sophisticated, Finley.” I widened my eyes at him, indicating for him to shut up.
He shrugged, his shoulders shaking with a chuckle. “Well, I’m just letting you know, as your friend, that you are not pulling it off.” He winked.
Glaring at Finn, I grabbed my glass, chugging the last of it while making a conscious effort to control my outward reaction. It burned the whole way down, and I felt my cheeks flush as I hurriedly chased it with a bite of potatoes, giving the jerk across from me a snide smirk.
Ignoring the boys’ laughter, I concentrated on my plate, feeling relieved to have that wine business over with. Then our waiter returned while I had a mouthful of food and refilled that fucking glass. When he walked off, Finn raised his brow in challenge.
“Just drink your water, babe.” Colt moved to grab the wine, and I swatted his hand away.
“It’s really not that bad anymore,” I insisted. “I think I just had to get used to it. Leave it.” I don’t know why I felt the need to keep up, but I wanted to fit in. Somehow in my mind, that equated to drinking the nasty wine.
Colt shrugged. “Drink it slowly, Allie, or it’ll sneak up on you.”
This time, I listened to him, figuring if I finished anytime soon, that waiter would be back, topping it off again.
Halfway through the second glass, I got the warm fuzzies. I was feeling hot everywhere, but it was an enjoyable heat, the kind you get cuddled up in front of the fire on a cold night, wrapped in your favorite blanket. My skin tingled.
“You need to just fuck that girl and get it over with,” Finn said to Blex, regarding the new cheerleader, Georgia, who he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from. Georgia was a beautiful redhead with freckles on the bridge of her nose and just under her eyes, which were green like Colton’s. And she was nice. I sort of steered clear of the cheerleaders in order to avoid Lyla, but she was always coming over to talk to me. I’m sure it had more to do with getting close to Blex than her desire to be in my company, but I didn’t even care. I liked her, and I hoped they ended up together. Blex deserved a good girl.
“I think I might ask her to dance in a minute, but I don’t want to be the only ones out there.” His eyes darted to the empty dance floor. DJ Ritchie had kicked things off about thirty minutes ago, and it was still bare.
“We’ll go!” I offered, all too eager to feel Colton’s hands on my body. Apparently, wine made me horny. It didn’t taste quite so awful anymore either.
“Will we?” Colt teased.
Lowering my bottom lip, I tilted my head to the side and fluttered my big brown eyes at him.
“I was kidding.” He winked, taking my hand in his. “Let’s go.”
We were the first two out there, but I didn’t even care. As far as I was concerned, we were the only two people in existence when Colt placed his hands on my waist and began swaying our bodies to the sensual rhythm of “Slow Hands” by Niall Horan. Colton had amazing control and awareness of his body. The slight thrusting of his hips perfectly timed to the beat. His lips brushed my neck, setting my pulse to race just before swinging me away and reeling me back in. His moves were fluid, like the music moved through him, while at the same time each touch felt deliberate. Dancing with him was a constant building of sexual tension and the ultimate foreplay.
When the song switched to something more upbeat, I glanced around, noticing the dance floor had started to fill up. Blex was a few feet away with Georgia, and Finn was near the bar, cozying up to a girl I didn’t know. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, even Coach Grady and his wife, who were tearing it up with the rest of us to “Salt Shaker” by the Ying Yang Twins.
“Ready to go?” Colt’s whispered words came hot on my ear, caus
ing my body to shiver.
“I thought you’d never ask.” In reality, we hadn’t been there but a few hours total and had only made it through a handful of songs, but I was ready to explode with how badly I wanted him.
Colton’s eyes bore deep into mine, hooded with desire. I felt his stare in the pit of my stomach. “What d’ya say we pick this party back up at home?”
“Let’s get outta here.”
COLTON
I AWOKE TO THE greatest Christmas gift I’d ever received: Allie asleep in my arms. The sun was barely beginning to rise, casting the faintest glow over her naked body. It was a sight that still blew my mind every single day. Her red dress was thrown over the back of the desk chair. My suit in piles on the floor. Alex’s titty tape stuck to the headboard. I chuckled at the memory of the two of us trying to remove those things without ripping her skin off. Allie stirred at the sound of my laughter.
“Hey, Al,” I whispered into her ear, knowing I should have let her sleep after keeping her up most of the night, but it was Christmas, and I was excited to give her, her gift.
Alex moaned low in her throat, swatting my lips from her ear as if they were a gnat.
“Merry Christmas, baby,” I said a little louder, earning her back as she rolled over to her stomach, dismissing me. I knew that I could’ve gotten her up by fooling around a little, but I was afraid she’d be too sore after last night, so I decided to leave Alex in bed and grab a shower. As I was preparing to brush my teeth, I heard a loud banging on the bedroom door. I pushed the bathroom door open just in time to hear Finley tell Alex that her delivery had arrived. I’d never seen that girl pop out of bed as fast as she did in that moment.
“Shit! I’m still naked,” she announced, ambling over to the dresser for some clothes.
“Expecting something important?” I asked, lurking in the doorway with my arms crossed over my chest as she scrambled around the room.
Alexis slipped the “Big Cock” tee over her head. “Yeah,” she answered, all out of breath as she stepped into a pair of my boxers.
“Want me to go get it?”
“No,” Allie said, shaking her head. “You stay put. I’ll be right back.”
It took her more than five minutes to return. I was tempted to go down there and make sure she hadn’t forgotten about me when the door opened and Alex walked in carrying a wiggly ball of wrinkles with a red bow tied around its neck. “Merry Christmas, Colton!”
The only thing I’d put on my Christmas list for three years in a row when we were kids was an English bulldog puppy. After the third year, I gave up. Today I understood that the reason I never got it was because my father was severely allergic to dogs, but back when I was eleven, twelve, and thirteen-years-old, it was the end of the world. I’d been devastated.
“You bought my puppy,” I said, stunned. Getting a dog hadn’t even crossed my mind since I’d moved out here, and honestly, I wasn’t home enough during the season to give one the attention it deserved. But now I had Alex. And she was standing in my bedroom wearing a shirt with a big cock on the front, her hair looking like she’d stuck her finger in an electric outlet, makeup melted down her face, holding a little piece of my childhood. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
My chest tightened as I took the puppy from her hands. Only Alex would know to do this. She literally knew everything there was to know about me. “Thank you, Allie. I can’t believe you remembered.”
Her smile was radiant as she watched the dog lap at my face. “I remember everything, Colt.”
“Do you remember his name?” I challenged, quirking my brow.
Her lips puckered as she tried not to laugh. “You’re not still calling him Bacon?”
“What do you think, huh?” I asked, scratching the top of his head. “Is your name Bacon?” His tail wagged at the sound of my voice, and I shrugged, looking back to Allie. “Bacon it is.”
“That’s an awful name.”
“Watch your mouth, woman,” I teased, sitting on the floor and setting him on his feet. “You’re going to hurt his feelings.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Be right back. I need to grab his things.”
She came back in with a dog crate filled with toys, bowls, and dog food. After setting it on the ground, she dug out a collar with a green nameplate on the front that said, “Bacon.” “Told you I remember everything.” She smiled, fastening it onto the puppy’s neck.
“How’d you get a dog and all this stuff delivered on Christmas day?”
“I had all of his stuff hidden in Blex’s closet, and I got the puppy from Gertie’s son. When I met with her last week, she told me his dog had puppies, and when I found out they were English bulldogs, I mentioned possibly getting one for you for Christmas.”
My stomach knotted when it dawned on me how expensive these dogs were. Alex was living on student loans and whatever money her parents put in her account each month. “Babe, I can’t believe you spent this much on me for Christmas.”
Her head shook. “You shush. I have money. I’ve saved the extras from my grants and scholarships while living with Mom and Dad, and my grandparents give me way too much for every holiday. Plus, Gertie’s son practically gave him to me, and you never let me pay for anything anyway. What else do I have to spend it on?”
It was true that Alex and I had both lucked out in the grandparent department. Our fathers were both their parents’ only children, and Alex and me their only grandchildren. They threw money at us like it grew on trees. “I love you, Allie.”
“I love you too, Colt—” Alex’s head pulled back, and she let out a scream as Bacon played tug of war with a lock of her hair, growling and whipping his head from side to side.
“No, Bacon!” I shouted through a laugh, prying his jaws apart to free Allie’s hair.
Rubbing at her scalp, she rose to her feet. “I’m gonna go grab a quick shower. You should probably take the Baconator out to potty.” Just as the words left her lips, Bacon popped a squat, relieving himself on my bedroom carpet.
“No, Bacon!” Alex and I yelled in unison. Something told me being puppy parents was going to be a lot of work.
“Yeah, so the guy at PetSmart said we should keep him on the tile ’til he’s potty trained.” Her mouth pulled into a frown. “I didn’t think he’d have to go so soon. I took him out before I brought him up here.”
“It’s fine, Allie,” I laughed. “Go get in the shower, and I’ll clean this up.”
“Where’s Bacon?” Alex asked, coming out of the bathroom, followed by a cloud of steam.
“Finn and Blex are playing with him downstairs,” I said, patting the bed next to me for her to sit. “Time for your present.”
Allie’s face lit up as she sat with her hands laced in her lap, bouncing on her knees.
I handed her the small box, watching intently as she ripped the paper off, eager for her reaction.
“Tiffany’s?” she shrieked. “You got me Tiffany’s!”
“Are you going to open it and see what’s inside?” I laughed.
Allie pulled the top off the blue box and lifted the black velvet one from inside. She pried it open slowly, gasping when she found the heart-shaped locket. Her eyes welled up with tears before she’d even seen the best part.
“Take it out and open it, Al,” I urged
Her thumb rolled over the words engraved on the front side, “Our love story.” Then she opened the locket. One side held a picture of two chubby babies and the other a photo my mom had taken of us on Thanksgiving Day.
“It’s perfect,” she rasped with tears dripping down her face as she fingered the photos inside. “I love it so much, Colton. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, taking the necklace from her hands and fastening it around her neck. “All set,” I whispered in her ear. “Two decades down, Al, and we’re just really getting started.”
Alex spun around to face me, her hand clutching the locket to her chest. “Kiss me, Colton.”
>
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered with a salute before taking her chin with my thumb and forefinger and molding my mouth to hers. My tongue pressed against the seam of her lips and they parted, granting me entry. Alex let out a whimper. Her hands lifted from my chest to cup the sides of my face as she began smoothing her fingers through the day-old scruff. I worshiped her with every thrust of my tongue, pulling her tighter into my arms until I could feel her heart beating with mine. Until my own felt as if it would burst, incapable of containing the overwhelming love I felt for this girl.
“Colton,” she breathed, rocking into me.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
A fist pounded on our bedroom door. “Colton, your present just dropped a deuce on the kitchen floor. I’m not dealing with this shit...Literally. I’m not. I’m gonna puke.”
Alex and I pulled apart, resting our foreheads together as we shared a breathy laugh.
“Are you two doing the nasty?” Finn whined.
Alex burst into a fit of giggles.
“No,” I said, “we’re coming.”
“I didn’t ask all that now,” he grumbled through the door. “Hurry up. The whole house smells like a turd.”
ALEXIS
“WHERE THE HELL IS Colton?” I asked, coming into the house from walking Bacon. He was supposed to be practicing my shot with me for that damn halftime show I’d stupidly agreed to, which was tomorrow night.
“Coach needed his help with some things. Come on, Alexis,” Blex said, getting up from the couch. “Put Bacon in his crate, and I’ll go practice with you.
“Blex, he’s been gone like all day, and yesterday too,” I whined. I missed him like crazy, and everyone was acting so weird, not giving me any real reasons for his absence. I hated that my mind kept going to very dark places, but I just couldn’t help it.
“You swear he’s not cheating on me, Blex?” I finally asked, gnawing my thumbnail down to the skin.
“I promise,” he answered, looking me right in the eyes. “That boy’s got it bad, Alex. Trust me, he is not interested in anyone else. I swear he’s with Coach Grady.” That made me feel a little better, if only marginally. I didn’t think Blex would lie to me, and honestly, I knew in my heart that Colt wouldn’t either. I just couldn’t help the paranoia creeping in.
Breakaway: A friends to lovers romance Page 20
