Holding You
Page 25

Alex laughed and handed me her robe. “Get up, I’m dying to talk girl talk. We’ll be downstairs.”
Both Alex and Grace gave me a warm smile that said they both knew how I was feeling. I was so blessed to have my friends in my life. Before they walked out the door, I called out. “Wait. Where is Colt?”
Alex looked over her shoulder. “He went for a run with Will. I overheard him telling Will he needed to get out of the house because all he wanted to do was wake you up, but he knew you were . . . tired.”
Grace made some weird growl sound and wiggled her eyebrows. Rolling my eyes, I looked away. Once they shut the door, I climbed out of Colt’s bed. Each movement reminded me of yesterday. I was sore, but deliciously sore. Walking into Colt’s bathroom, his smell surrounded me. Seeing one of his shirts, I reached for it and brought it up to my nose and inhaled deeply.
Mmm, how I loved the smell of Colt. Who was I kidding? I loved everything about Colt. He had cut his dark wavy brown hair short, and I loved running my hands over it. It felt so soft. His sky-blue eyes that sparkled when he looked at me. His body . . . oh my, his body. Smiling, I closed my eyes and pictured Colt naked.
Dear God. I craved his body like nothing I’d ever experienced before. He was like the stick to my corn dog. Sliding my hand down between my legs, I gasped at how sore I really was.
Shaking my head to clear it, I set Colt’s shirt back down. Realizing I didn’t have anything to brush my teeth with, I headed out of Colt’s room and into mine. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I changed into some yoga pants. Wanting more of Colt, I skipped back into his room and began going through his drawers, looking for a T-shirt to wear. My eye caught something tucked under his shirts. Reaching for it, I sucked in a breath of air as I stared at the picture. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. My heart hammered in my chest as tears formed in my eyes. My hands shook gently as I attempted to wipe the tears from my eyes. Colt had a picture of me in his drawer. It was taken probably about three years ago when we were all playing football. I was standing with the football in my hand with it lifted above my head. Closing my eyes, I let the memory from that day engulf me.
TURNING AROUND, I waited for the signal from Colt. He gave it to me and I quickly cut back across the makeshift field. Colt threw the ball and I jumped. Catching it, I screamed with delight, only to see Luke and Alex running toward me. Spinning around, I took off for the goal line. Crossing over it, I began jumping as I held the ball up.
“We won! Holy sheets! I scored the winning touchdown!” Grace, Maegan and Taylor came running over as they tackled me to the ground. After they each congratulated me, I looked up. The sun was somewhat blinding, but I knew the person standing over me was Colt. Reaching down, he helped me up. His smile caused my stomach to flop around like a fish out of water. Reaching up with his hand, he brushed something off of my face. “I’ll never forget that smile, Lauren. You sure were happy when you made that touchdown.”
Nodding my head, I said, “Couldn’t have done it without you, superstar.”
Winking, Colt leaned down and kissed my cheek before turning and yelling for his team to huddle up.
I’m never washing this cheek again.
I COULD ALMOST smell the fresh-cut grass from the field we played on. Or the smell of the bluebonnets that were in full bloom. Every time I smelled either one of those two things I thought about that simple kiss on the cheek. It had meant the world to me. Never would I have imagined Colt had taken my picture and had it printed out.
Clutching the picture to my chest, I whispered, “Please don’t ever let me hurt him. Please.”
Slipping the picture back under Colt’s T-shirts, I took a shirt from the top. Slipping it over my head, I felt a warm rush run through my blood. Colt’s smell surrounded me as I smiled, shut the drawer, and made my way out of the room and downstairs.
Walking into the kitchen, Alex and Grace stopped talking and stared at me. Glancing back and forth between the two I asked, “What’s wrong with you two?”
Grace tilted her head and gave me one of her famous, what in the hell are you talking about, looks. “Yeah, no, Lauren Ashley Reynolds. You’re talking. We want all the good shit. Like how both your parents showed up on your doorstep. Will told us how y’all had to beat it home before your parents.”
Alex sat down and placed her hands on her chin. “I want to hear about the hotel in Rockport.” Scrunching her nose, she gave me a small little nod of her head. “I’m dying to know, is my baby brother romantic?”