Did I want Colton Fowler? More than anything else in this world. Could I admit that to this guy that I’d only just met? I guess I didn’t have much choice. I bobbed my head up and down slowly. “More than anything,” I whispered.
His smile was warm and his bright white teeth a striking contrast to his dark chocolate skin. “Then follow my lead,” he said just as I heard Colt’s footsteps descending the stairs.
COLTON
WHEN I STEPPED OUT of my room, Finn cornered me in the hall. “You are so fucking in love with that girl, it’s sickening.”
“Whatever, dude, get outta my way.”
“Fowls, you’ve been screwing this up for years, and if you don’t fix it this summer, you might never get the chance.”
“You don’t think I fucking know that, Finn?” I asked, irritated as shit. If this fool could see how much I cared for Alex, why couldn’t she?
“You need to make her jealous, Colton. Stop following her around like a lovesick puppy and treat her like one of your bros. Business as usual. We’ll go out to the club. Have girls over to the house. Let her get a taste of what it feels like to see what she’s missing. That’s my advice.”
For an idiot, he was making a lot of sense. I’d worn my heart on my sleeve for years, and if she couldn’t see it, then what did I have to lose? I’d already lost the girl.
“All right, man. I’ll give it a shot.”
When I walked into the kitchen, Al was already sitting at the table with Blex, deep in conversation. “Hey, guys,” I said, taking the seat beside her.
“Oh, there you are,” Allie chimed with a mouth full of pizza.
I laughed. “That’s really hot, Alex.” I dabbed the sauce dripping from the corner of her mouth with my thumb, and her face turned red. “You in the mood to go dancing?” I asked, reaching into the box for a slice of pizza.
“Really? I’d love to. I mean, I need a few hours to get dressed, but yeah!”
“A few hours? Allie, you look fine in what you have on.” And she did. She was wearing a pair of jeans with a black flowy top. I saw no reason she’d need to change.
She scoffed. “I’m not going out in Los Angeles dressed like I just got off a plane, Colton Fowler. It’s still early. We have time, right?” Her face was beaming. I couldn’t wait to get her on the dance floor.
“Yeah, you have time, Al.”
Alex wasn’t exaggerating. Almost three hours after she’d gone upstairs to get ready, I finally heard her footfalls on the stairs. I turned my body on the sofa to get a good look at her, and my jaw damned near fell through the floor. What the hell?
Finn whistled. “Hot damn, Lexi. Those legs!”
She walked around the couch and into the living room, and I still couldn’t find my voice. “Y’all ready?”
I shook my head.
“Do you need more time to get ready, Colt?” she asked innocently. Like she didn’t know what her body in that tiny black dress and fuck me heels did to a man. A woman knew what she was doing when she put on a dress like that.
“Explain,” I rasped.
“Huh?” She looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Explain what? Colt, are you okay? Are you sick?” she asked, leaning over to press the back of her hand to my forehead.
“Those,” I said, staring at the cleavage that was very much on display. “Explain those.”
Finn sucked in his lips, trying to hide his laughter, as Allie stood up straight, crossing her arms over her chest.
“The boobs, Alex. Explain the fucking boobs. Where’d they come from?” Those were a new development.
“Fuck, Fowler, are you trying to embarrass the girl?” Blex gritted out.
Alex shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Colt’s always had something to say about the size of my breasts, haven’t you? First, they were too small...Now what? Too big? Too fake?”
I shook my head. “I never said your boobs were too small Alex. Why? Why’d you do that? You were perfect. Now every guy in the club’s gonna be looking at you like you’re trash.”
The look on her face told me that was the wrong thing to say. She laughed a humorless laugh. “Now I look like trash. Please, Colton, keep going. Destroy what’s left of my self-esteem while you’re at it.”
This was getting out of hand. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I didn’t get boobs for you, or Dean, or anyone other than myself. I got them because they make me feel sexy. Thank you for taking that confidence away from me, Colton Fowler.”
My friends both glared at me. She’d won their allegiance already. Traitors. “Take ’em back,” I growled.
Finn cracked up laughing on the sofa beside me. I was gonna deck someone before we’d even left the house.
She leveled me with a murderous stare. “Fuck. You.”
I wasn’t done digging myself into a hole just yet. “I’ll pay for it. There has to be a place somewhere around here that can remove those things and put you back to normal. It’s fucking LA for God’s sake...There’s a plastic surgeon on every corner.”
“I don’t want to take them out,” she gritted. “I think they look great. I could have never filled out a dress like this before. What do you think, Blex?” She cupped her breasts, rotating from side to side the way girls do when they’re trying on a new outfit, to give him a good look.
He choked. “Uh, I think they are some very nice breasts, Alex.”
I was going to kill him. “Well, at least go change.”
“I will not.”
“Fucking, hell...” I said, standing from the couch. I walked over to Alex, which was mighty brave on my part, I must say because she was seconds away from castrating me. “Will you at least wear a jacket?”
“It’s ninety degrees, Colton.”
“I liked you better in your T-shirt and jeans,” I groaned.
She shook her head, revealing the tiniest of smirks. “I didn’t ask.”
“Right. Let’s go, then.”
We took her to Night Caps, where a buddy of ours worked the door. None of us were twenty-one yet, but he always hooked us up.
While he was checking her I.D., I yelled over the music, “She’s with me.” Randy smiled, handing back her license and slapping a yellow bracelet on her arm.
Al looked at me hesitantly, and I nodded, ushering her inside. “Does that mean...?”
“You can buy alcohol. Just don’t go crazy.” I laughed, all of a sudden wondering how great of an idea this was.
Alex went directly to the bar to order her first drink. I came up behind her, handing the bartender my card. “She’s with me. Put her on my tab.”
“You don’t have to do that, Colt.” She looked back at me over her shoulder. Her lips were so close I could almost taste them. I could barely hear the bass over my own heart hammering in my chest.
I brushed a strand of hair out of her face, needing an acceptable reason to put my hands on her. “I know. I want to. Sorry ’bout earlier.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine. I just thought if anyone could appreciate a nice pair of tits, it’d be you,” she teased, elbowing me in the stomach.