Heather M. Orgeron

He hangs his head. “Look, we were both drunk and horny, and while the location may not have been ideal—”

“It was a dumpster.”

He clears his throat, and it takes everything in me not to recoil from the spittle that lands on my cheek.

“And you like…put makeup on dead bodies?”

“They don’t bite,” I assure him.

“My wish is to be placed dead center of the mantle…where his next lover will have to pick me up and dust me. My wish is not to be forgotten.”

That there really was such a thing as fate. That the two of us really were destined to be together. That it wasn’t all just a bunch of bullshit that our parents had been feeding us since we were babies. I wished that they hadn’t planted those romantic ideas in my head. That it didn’t hurt so much to love him. Most of all, I wished that he’d loved me back

If I’d known then the way the rest of that trip would go, I’d have fallen to my knees and laid my heart at her feet. I’d have made a complete fucking fool of myself and risked it all before it was too late

Oh my God, Colton...Thank youuuu,” Alex sang as she danced around my bedroom braless, in a tiny tank top and the shortest fucking shorts I’d ever seen. Did she always sleep in such revealing clothes?

I forced a tight-lipped smile. “Don’t mention it.”

“This was the best vacation ever...right? Did you and Chelsie have fun?”

My stomach gurgled. I was going to be sick. “Yeah, Al. It was great.”

“You just...well, you don’t seem all that excited.”

I buried my face in my pillow. “Just tired, Allie. Can you shut off the light and get to bed, please?”

“Really? But we just got home...Don’t you wanna talk?”

I forced a laugh. “Al, what I really want...is to go to sleep.” I was so tired of hearing how much she liked Dean. I just wished she’d shut the hell up about him already.

She huffed. “You’re awful grouchy for a guy who just spent the past two weeks playing with the world’s greatest pair of tits,” she teased, poking out her tongue.

Alex was a talker, and usually, I was more than willing to listen to her endless drivel. Tonight was not one of those nights. I was barely holding it together. “Alexis Mack...the light, please?”

“Fine,” she growled. “You didn’t pull out the trundle. Should I do it, jerk?”

She was pissed, and I was a mess. “Just get in with me,” I said, lifting the comforter.

A shocked expression crossed her face before she switched off the light and scurried into bed beside me. We hadn’t slept together this way in a few years. But, tonight, I just wanted the old us back. I wanted to hold her in my arms and pretend that nothing had changed...that everything hadn’t just changed.

“This is nice,” she whispered, snuggling into my chest.

I smoothed her long hair back and placed a kiss at her temple. “Yeah, Al...it is.”

days ’til we returned home, hoping that everything would revert to the way it was before. But, of course, it never did.

“Colt,” I whispered tearfully.
“Can I?” he asked, waving his hand over the bed. He’d never asked permission before. That he wasn’t sure whether or not he was welcome tore me apart inside.

I nodded. “Of course,” I rasped.

He crawled in from the foot of the bed, and when his head reached the pillow, Colton hugged me from behind, burying his face in the crook of my neck. He feathered light kisses along my collarbone, up the curve of my neck, and the side of my face, until he reached my ear. “I’m sorry, Allie. I’m so, so sorry.” I felt the wetness of his tears on my cheek, and the warmth of his breath on my ear caused a shiver to move through my body. I began to shake as my emotions took over.

“Colton,” I cried. “Don’t...go...”

“Come here, Al.” He grabbed my chin, turning my face until my eyes met his. “I’ll miss you every day. Every. Single. Day.”

My head shook as tears blinded my vision.

“God, I want to kiss you so bad,” he groaned through clenched teeth.

And I wanted it too, more than I’d ever wanted anything else in my life. “Then kiss me, Colton.”

He bent his head until his lips hovered just above mine. “You sure, Al?”

I nodded—just barely—then felt his lips brush against my own. It was soft and slow, and blew every other kiss I’d ever had out of the stratosphere. When his tongue entered my mouth, it was more intimate, more meaningful than any sexual encounter I’d ever experienced. I couldn’t even fathom what sex with Colton Fowler would be like if kissing him was this good.

We kissed ourselves to sleep and morning came far too early for either of our liking. We’d finally got it right, and he was leaving. Life was a bitch that way.

“The fuck do you want?” I asked, pushing past him.
He followed closely behind. “Look, I’m sorry. I was just messin’ around.”
I ground my jaw side to side. “That’s fine. Alexis is off limits. Got it?”
He nodded. “Alexis, that makes more sense. You got it bad, huh?”
“Off. Limits,” I stressed, stepping into my mesh shorts.