Page 49 of The History Between Us

The one I shouldn’t be enamored with.

The one with the backwards hat and the crystalline eyes and the warm, bubbly personality that you can’t help but bask in like a cat lying in the afternoon sun on the back porch.

Colt is a ray of sunshine. A tight hug. He’s Saturday morning coffee, and a Sunday afternoon nap. He’s all of those things, and I feel it true right in the center of my chest. The dull ache that I want to gnaw at with my knuckle because this isn’t how it should go. It’s not how it should be. In no world should I be looking at the son of my best friend the way that I am. In no universe should I gaze at him and feel warmth settle in my bones.

I shouldn’t want to sit right here and watch him for hours.

Shouldn’t want to pull him into me and crash my mouth against his. Taste his desire. Shouldn’t have a burning ache for him the way that I do.

Something so wrong has never felt so damn good.

The song comes to an end, and it’s like all of the oxygen has been sucked out of the vehicle at the same time. The air is thick, and sweat lines the back of my neck. My pulse soars as his gaze lands on mine. Humor leaves his eyes, replaced with something dark and carnal. Like everything I was just thinking, he’s thinking too.

My throat tightens.

Mouth runs dry.

Colt’s tongue pokes out, pink and glistening, as he wets his lips. A movement I somehow feel everywhere.

“Come inside with me, Doc.” He says it so simply. Effortlessly. A barely-there smirk… not a taunt. A request. A plea.

I want to. I’d be a bold-faced liar if I claimed I didn’t.

Drop him off, then leave.It’s the fucking plan.

Clearing my throat, eyes dropping to the center console, I say softly, “I can’t do that.”

Without missing a beat, Colt replies, “Yeah? And why is that?”

Again, there’s no taunting in his tone.

I can’t respond as my gaze flickers up, meeting his, a rush of heat flooding my veins at seeing the way he’s biting down on his bottom lip. The smirk. The air of confidence that surrounds him. The sex appeal that comes so naturally to him.

Every. Little. Thing.

“You think you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself if we were behind closed doors?” he asks, voice huskier than before.

Turning my head, I look straight ahead, breathing harshly through my nose. In a move I don’t see coming, Colt hooks his index finger under my chin, forcing my head back in his direction until I’m looking him in the eye.

“Answer the question, Doc.”

Goosebumps bloom all over my body. “I know I couldn’t,” I admit quietly. Cowardly. And it’s true; even one more minute alone with Colt, and I know I’d be all over him.

Brow raised, Colt cocks his head. “And why exactly would that be such a bad thing?”

“You know why,” I growl.

His hand drops from my chin. “No, actually, I don’t.” Lifting his hat off his head, he brushes his fingers through his hair before putting it back in place. “The way I see it,” hegoes on, “is that you want me, and I want you. It doesn’t get much clearer than that. Not everything needs to be a fucking existential crisis. Sometimes it’s okay to give in to your desires, no questions asked.”

I huff out a breath through my nose before gritting out, “Not when you’re you and I’m me. Do you not see how fucked up this is, you and me? I’m your dad’s?—”

“Best friend,” he finishes for me, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, I fucking get it, William. Trust me, I get it. Get off your fucking high horse.” Nearly choking on my own spit, I cough, clearing my throat. “The line has been crossed, Doc. Hell, the line’s been obliterated. You’re constantly saying one thing and doing another. You invite me over in the middle of the night, fuck me damn good, and then act like there’s nothing going on between us. Get over yourself. Live a little and do something you want for a fucking change. He doesn’t have to know. I can keep a secret.”

Something red-hot surges inside of me. I want to say it’s anger, but I don’t think it is. It’s something deeper, something more… lecherous. Something akin to yearning. I grit my teeth, holding my breath as Colt leans forward, bringing his face so close to mine I catch a whiff of his aftershave.

“I’m giving you two options. Either do what you really want and come inside with me, or I’m climbing in your lap, right here and now, for all my neighbors to witness.” Sitting back, looking too fucking pleased with himself, he adds, “Your pick.”

An angel and averyinsatiable devil sit on either shoulder, both shouting at me, one becoming significantly louder than the other as the seconds pass.

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