by Linda Kage
He typed in a few search words, then scrolled through a screen until he came to something called No-Colton-No. “That’s our screen name for our profile. Caroline used to read me this book called No, David! when I was little, and it was my favorite because my middle name’s David. Plus, I misunderstand things in a literal way a lot in our Vines, so it just seemed to fit all the way around.”
I nodded, loving the explanation of how he’d come up with their screen name, as he pushed play. What popped up was the strangest mix of mini videos I’d ever seen. Some were just odd, but then others made me crack up until we hit one where his sister told him to grow a pair, and a literal pear started to sprout from his forehead from a branch, and I lost it. I started laughing until tears fell.
Each skit was pure silliness, clean enough for kids to watch, and totally not something I would’ve expected the suave flirt I’d met almost a year ago to take part in. He basically made fun of himself in each Vine. I loved it; I loved learning about this new dimension of my man.
“And you make money from this?” I asked, glancing at him before I settled close enough to rest my chin on his shoulder and continue to watch him do the most bizarre things on the tiny screen of his phone.
“Yep,” he answered, sounding proud of himself.
“How much money?” I hedged.
“Enough to put me through college and let Caroline stay home with her daughter.”
Shit. That was impressive. I grew proud of him. But I murmured, “Weird,” and shook my head as I enjoyed watching his Vine compilation.
JULIANNA’S CHAPTER | 23
I woke the next morning to Colton kissing his way up my shoulder.
Mumbling incoherently over the fact I was now awake and didn’t yet want to be, I rolled toward him and reached blindly until I found his chest, which was covered by the cotton material of his shirt.
Yes, that made waking up better. Except, wait.
My eyes came open. He hadn’t worn a shirt to bed.
Finding him fully dressed, I immediately pouted. “You have clothes on.”
“I know, I know.” He expelled a dramatic sigh. “You want some really fun morning nookie, I get that. I mean, hello.” He waved a hand over his chest. “Why wouldn’t you? But I’m sorry, baby doll. I’m already running late. I need to get home and shower and change. My first class starts in half an hour.”
He pressed his lips to the base of my neck, kissing me noisily before he pulled away to hop off my bed. “When’s your next night off?” he asked as he tugged on his shoes.
I groaned because I had a pretty full schedule this week. “Thursday.” That was ladies’ night at Forbidden, and only guys worked on ladies’ night.
“So the countdown begins anew.” Pausing to check his phone and type something quickly, he grinned and winked at me before slipping it into his pocket.
My cell chimed a second later as he started for the door.
Frowning, I checked it to see that he’d texted me, saying:
My insides warmed, and my face split with a grin. But just to be contrary, I lifted up and called, “Fifty-eight.”
He laughed and volleyed back, “Fifty-seven and a half.”
And then he was gone, his footsteps echoing down the hall before I heard the front door open and close.
I lay there, depressed a moment, before I checked the time. Eyes shooting wide, I leaped up off my bed, screeching, “Holy shit.” I’d forgot to set my alarm. Like him, I also had half an hour to get up and around before class.
I yanked open my closet and automatically began to reach for something typical and appropriate, but then paused when Colton’s words from the night before echoed through me. Shoving the beige sweater back inside, I reached for the boisterous turquoise top with a huge dream catcher printed across it so that it appeared to be draped over my shoulder. And when I did my hair, I poufed it a little spikier in the back so it looked a bit more like a spirited mess. Then I put a little more color into my makeup, and when I was done, I stepped back and looked at the overall picture.
I liked it, I thought I looked cute, and that was all that mattered.
Unable to stop grinning, I began to leave the apartment until a phone call stopped me.
“Oh my God,” Sasha screeched into my ear. “I left my book bag at home and I have a paper in there to turn in to my English professor in an hour and twenty minutes. Please tell me you haven’t left the apartment yet.”
“You are so lucky,” I told her. “I was just about to walk out the door. Is it in your room?”
“Yes, right on my bed. Thank you, Juli. I owe you so big.”
“No problem,” I answered, backtracking to her room. I was actually honored to get her things for her. She’d called me for help, not Tyla. I was pathetically pleased by that until it struck me, she might’ve called Tyla first only to discover Ty wasn’t home.
My eagerness to please her deflated a little at realizing I was probably second choice, but I was still happy to help.
“Where do you want to meet?” I asked as I scooped her bag off her unmade bed and hurried from the apartment with both our things.
“How about by the Viking statue in the quad right before my eleven o’clock class.”
“Okay.” That meant I had to carry around both her and my things through first hour. “I’ll see you then.”
My nine thirty class lasted only an hour when it was supposed to run closer to an hour and a half, so I made it to the quad almost half an hour early. I sat on the bench next to the statue of Victor, ESU’s school mascot, and I tried to read a little from my Kindle, but Colton had ruined the story for me. When I got to the part where the hero said he could see heaven when he looked at her pussy, I snorted and put the book away. I was tempted to text him and call him a reading ruiner, but Sasha showed up, gushing her gratitude as she swiped up her bag and unzipped it to make sure she had her paper inside.
Then she hugged me, and we talked a few minutes until she decided she needed to go.
We’d just parted ways, Sasha heading one direction and me starting the other.
When I caught sight of Colton up ahead, I slowed to a stop.
He stood just off the sidewalk in the grass with one foot propped up against the seat of a nearby bench, while some tiny blonde bimbo preened in front of him, twining a piece of hair around her finger as she freaking flirted with him.
Flirted with my man.
Shading the sunlight with his hand, he nodded at something she said and then laughed.
The bastard laughed.
He hadn’t laughed or smiled on the first day of class when that other floozy had flirted with him. But here he was now, laughing with the blonde, while he had something going on with me on the side.
That just wasn’t acceptable. Bitch better keep her hands off.
Before I could rationally think past anything but claiming him so she would disappear, I stormed into action, marching forward, straight up to him so that I had to brush past her to get right into his face. And then I kept going, grabbing the front of his shirt and fisting it into my hand as I stepped up onto my toes and jerked his face down to my level.
“Wha...?” His gaze registered shock that whole split second before my mouth collided with his. And then he kind of tightened against me before he seemed to realize who was kissing him.
At first, I was hard and demanding, my mouth punishing him for even looking at another woman. But then he relaxed against me. His fingers grazed the side of my neck. And his lips softened against mine before parting and sweeping his tongue into me.
When a strangled, hungry groan rose from his throat, I felt settled and infinitely calmer.
I broke away, gently and slowly, backing off just enough to look into his heavy-lidded, aroused gaze. Then I let go of my grip on his shirt and smoothed my fingers down his chest.
“You’re still planning on coming over Thursday, right?”
He blinked once before breaking into a sly grin. “Nowhere el
se I’d rather come.”
“Good.” Unable to help myself, I glanced at the bimbo, the meaning in my gaze absolutely clear.
This territory was mine, honey. The flag had just been planted.
Receiving the message, she was already backing away, her shiny golden hair no longer in her hand. “Well, I...I’ll talk to you about the assignment later. Bye, Colton.”
He waved. “See you, Jess.”
I watched her hurry away, clutching a pile of books to her chest before I turned back to him and lifted an eyebrow. “Jess, huh?”
“Hmm?” He’d been checking out my cleavage before lifting his face. “Yeah. Jessica. She’s in my history class. I like your top. Very colorful, and tight in the most perfect places ever.”
I ignored the compliment. “You have history with her, huh?”
He stared at me a moment before a smile spread across his face. “You’re jealous.”
I sniffed because I had to hide the fact I was suddenly embarrassed to realize that yes, I was jealous. Extremely, blindly, irrationally jealous.
“Of Jessica the tiny blonde bimbo?” I said, though. “Honey, I don’t think so.”
With a chuckle, he slid his hands around my waist until he was sinking them into the back pockets of my jeans and tugging me forward against him. “She’s not a bimbo,” he murmured, his grin way too freaking smug for my liking. “She’s actually really smart. We’re on the dean’s list together.”
“Oh? So you’re in history and on the dean’s list with her?” Mad he was changing his story about just how well he knew Jessica, I tried to shove at his chest to make space between us, but the bastard only snickered and tugged me closer until my hips crashed flush against his, and shit, I felt the stirrings of a hard-on coming from him.
God! He was getting aroused about pissing me off. Not cool.
“Yep, we’re on the dean’s list together, plus we share a history class and English 101.” Lifting his brow, he widened his eyes and whispered, “Scandalous, isn’t it?”
“You are such a jerk.” I shoved at him again to no avail. “Why don’t you and your perfect, blonde genius just—”
“Do nothing together,” he finished for me, leaning in until our noses touched. “We do nothing together but talk about school. Like just now, we were talking about the history term paper the professor went over today. But, wow, I kind of like this hot, angry jealousy thing you have going on. Are you going to spank me for talking to another girl?” When he wiggled his eyebrows and added, “Please,” I slapped his chest.
“Shut up.”
He caught my hand and kissed the knuckles. “I actually meant a smack on the ass, not the chest, but...if this makes you hot, baby...”
I growled, upset because I wanted to swing at him again, except now I couldn’t after that comment.
“On a scale of the Sahara Desert to Niagara Falls,” he asked, his voice changing timbre. “How wet are you right now?”
“God, you never give up, do you?” A reluctant grin broke across my face, glad he was flirting with me despite my awful jealous outburst. But a second later, my smile fell and I looked deep into his brown eyes. “Be honest, though. You never fucked her?”
He choked on the question, sputtering out a surprised laugh. “What? No! Hell no.”
“But you want to?” I pressed, knowing my worry was showing in my eyes.
Gaze sparking with challenge, he tapped his chin thoughtfully before answering, “You know, now that you mention it, I guess I was debating whether to bend her over this bench here and take her from behind or back her into that tree and shag her rotten against the bark. Jesus, Juli. Get your head out of the gutter. We share a couple classes together. That’s all.”
“Whatever,” I muttered, scowling. “I know how the male mind works.”
His eyebrows rose, and I could tell I’d offended him. But a second later, he let go of me and took a step back.
“This may sound hard to believe, but I don’t fuck every woman I talk to. I mean, what exactly do you think happens? I get within five feet of a chick, smell pussy, and my cock just takes over my brain until I’m forced to chase her down the sidewalk, tackle her into the grass and mount her right there, pounding into her until the testosterone settles down and I can think like a rational human being again?” He winced before adding, “Yeah… I have a tad bit more self-control than that.”
I folded my arms before glancing away. “Well, some guys don’t.”
His mouth fell open before realization sparked his gaze. “Ah hell, baby doll,” he said softly, pressing his nose against my temple. “I’m not your ex-husband.”
My stomach pitched sickeningly, and I shifted my attention away.
He shook his head and pulled me closer so that he was hugging me and kissing my brow. “It’s crazy to know some dumb bastard actually cheated on you. I mean, what the hell kind of idiot would cheat on you? You have a fucking golden pussy. I swear to God, you’re the best I’ve ever had.”
When I sent him a stern glance for being crude, his shoulders sagged and he must’ve realized he hadn’t cheered me up with that line.
With a sigh, he grasped my elbow and gently tugged me toward the bench. “Come here. Apparently we need to have that talk.”
My brain seized as I glanced up at his face. “What talk?” Oh God, my jealousy had pissed him off and he was going to end this, wasn’t he? Shit. I wasn’t ready to end it.
A big ball of dread lodged itself in my throat as he encouraged me to sit and then he sat next to me, his knees angled toward mine until our legs brushed against each other.
“I thought this understanding between us was implied, but I’m thinking we need to state the should-be-obvious ground rules aloud so we’re both on the same page.”
Oh God, he didn’t want to be exclusive, did he? And oh hell, had he already been non-exclusive with some other girl since we’d started sleeping together? How many had there been? Did I need to get myself tested?
Taking my hands, Colton looked me in the eyes and dropped the bomb. “I don’t care if it’s casual or serious, when I’m ...involved with someone, that’s it. There’s no one else.”
My lips parted, and I had to blink before crinkling my eyebrows and croaking, “What?”
He grinned. “I just said I only sleep with one woman at a time. Why are you staring at me like I’ve grown a second head?”
“I...I...I don’t know.” I shook my head, still stunned. “I just...you...we never discussed it, so I thought—”
“That I fuck every woman who crosses my path?” he guessed. “Yeah, sorry, I don’t work that way. I just don’t see the point. To me, it’s more fun to focus all my attention on one at a time, instead of trying to juggle and keep track of who likes what and where and how hard, and—”
I cut him off by leaping at him and kissing him hard.
He laughed against my lips before kissing me back. Our mouths opened and tongues touched. In that moment, I wanted to kiss him for the rest of my life. “I guess this means you’re cool with being exclusive,” he muffled against my lips.
“Yes. Hell yes.”
He pulled back and declared, “You know, we should end all our discussions this way.”
With a nod, I agreed. “I could handle that.”
One second, he was grinning at me in the middle of the university’s courtyard. The next, his eyes flared as he glanced over my shoulder, and he was hissing, “Shit,” as he jerked to his feet away from me.
“Wha…” I started, standing as well so I could whirl around and face what he’d just seen, only to gasp when I realized Brandt was right there. Like right there.
He hadn’t seen us yet; he was too busy reading something on his phone as he approached. There was no hiding, though. As soon as he looked up he’d see us because he was seriously right freaking there.
“Yo, the nursing building’s that way,” Colton said, making Brandt pop his face up and break out into a grin.
“Hey,
punk.” He slapped his brother companionably in the arm. “I wondered if I’d ever bump into you on campus. I was headed to get some coffee. Come with me.”
Colton glanced at me before he could answer, which caused Brandt to finally notice me as well.
“Juli!” he greeted in surprise. “What a coincidence.” Then he glanced between the two of us and winced toward me as if in apology. “He’s not annoying you again, is he?”
I opened my mouth, wondering how I should answer. He’d think it was weird if I suddenly got along with his little brother who typically irritated me on every level ever invented. Except I couldn’t even pretend to act as if every breath Colton took still pissed me off.
So I sent big brother a tight smile and murmured, “Surprisingly, no. He hasn’t annoyed me at all today.”
Colton flashed me a million-watt grin while Brandt gave a low, impressed whistle. “Really?” Messing with Colton’s hair to purposefully jumble it out of place, he said, “That’s surprising.” But then his eyes flashed eagerly as he returned his attention to me. “Guess what? I did it.”
I stared stupidly a moment before it struck me what he was talking about. Then I blurted, “Oh my God, really?” I pressed my hand to my heart. “That’s uh…” I wasn’t sure what it was, so following his expectant smile, I lamely finished with, “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, I—”
“You did what?” Colton asked, darting a confused scowl between us.
When Brandt frowned at him as if reprimanding him for butting into our conversation, I cleared my throat. “So how did Sarah take it?”
“You totally called it,” he gushed, turning back to me. “She was ecstatic and wouldn’t stop smiling all night.”
“Hey?” Colton burst out, obviously tired of being left out of the conversation as he waved his hand between us. “What the fuck did you do?”
I froze at his pissy demand while Brandt stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“He quit his job,” I finally explained, feeling the need to soothe him.
