Page 21 of Craved By You
???
After work, I checked my phone, realizing that Colt had never responded.
“Great, he probably thinks I’m crazy,” I said out loud, leaning against my car, wishing that I would get a response.
“You are crazy, but in the best way.” I was startled when a familiar voice boomed from behind me. I turned around to see Colt standing there. “These reminded me of you.” He handed me the most gorgeous bouquet I had ever seen, a sunflower amongst a dozen black roses with accents of baby’s breath.
I leapt into his embrace. “It’s beautiful.” I wound my arms around him as I planted a kiss to his lips. He responded by lifting me off the ground, his hands finding the curve of my ass as he moved us around, deepening the kiss against the car.
I could hear Haileigh yell at us from across the street, “Get a room!” causing us to break our connection with a fit of laughter.
I rolled my eyes as Colt set me down and kissed my forehead. “That woman is going to be the death of me.”
“Give her a break, she’s going through a rough time.” Colt raised his brow at me. “Now, what haveyoueaten today?”
“An italian hoagie,” I responded matter-of-factly. Normally, I didn’t eat lunch, but he didn’t need to know that.
He examined me carefully. “What about water?”
I smirked and thought about my response. “Mixed with coffee.” At my response, Colt released a deep exhale and didn’t appear amused. “Yes, I’ve had water…withlemon.”
“Acceptable.” He seemed to be evaluating my every word now. “Do you want to grab dinner before the concert?”
I rolled my eyes at him and in a sarcastic tone said, “Oh no, more time with you?” Thankfully, he understood me more than anyone I’ve ever met. “Oh, is it cool if Haileigh comes to the concert, too?”
Colt glanced over and grabbed my hand, bringing it up to his lips. “The more the merrier.”
I quickly looked around him and yelled at Haileigh, issuing the invitation. It took no time for her to respond that she would see me there which made me even more excited. I would have someone backstage with me that I could fawn over the band with.
“Can we go now?” I asked, pretending that I had been waiting on him.
Colt looked toward the sky, probably asking the gods what he did to deserve the energy I was giving him. “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter 12
Astrid
Tonight’s concert was even better than the last. Colt dedicated one of his songs to me, and the women in the audience all swooned. Secretly, they were probably imagining that they were in my shoes as he serenaded everyone.
Haileigh seemed to have a good time as well. Chris and Ryder both made sure that she didn’t have a chance to think about Braden leaving. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have said that both of them had developed a crush on her. Part of me genuinely wanted to see that work out. After everything she had been through, Haileigh deserved everything in the entire universe andthoseguys would be perfect for her.
Is it strange that I’m hoping my best friend ends up in a throuple?
One thing stuck out to me, though. At dinner, Colt started asking me about the scars he noticed on my body, wanting to know what happened. It wasn’t necessarily dinner conversation, nor was I ecstatic to explain to him that they were scars fromeither dragging safety pins and razors across my skin or burning myself with lighters. I did point out one scar that had been left on me by a guy at a bar where I worked at one time. That night, after I refused to go home with him, he got pissed and put his cigarette out on my wrist. I was pretty sure that by his reaction, even though the incident had happened years ago, Colt still wanted the person’s information so he could take him out.
The thought of having someone in my life who wasthatprotective of me was going to take some time getting used to. In the past, I needed someone to protect me from my own partners. I could only imagine how he would react if he were to ever hurt me in a way that I didn’t want.
As soon as the car came to a stop at The Shack, Colt took my hand into his. “I had an idea during the concert and I can’t shake it.” He paused and bit his lip while continuing to stare straight ahead. “When we get inside, I need you to wait in the lounge area while I get everything ready.”
Feeling slightly confused, I still mustered up a nod.What could he be up to?I wondered, but knew he would never tell me no matter how much I begged.That didn’t mean I wasn’t tempted to test that out, though.
Colt turned off the car just as it started sprinkling, and by the time we got to the door the skies had let loose and the rain was tap-dancing off the metal building. I loved the way it sounded from inside the warehouse, not to mention the fact that I just love storms in general.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Colt asked. An unprompted shiver trailed across my body, giving me goosebumps. Even without an actual response, he beganbrewing a cup of coffee and brought it over to me a couple of minutes later.
We sat in the quiet for a few minutes while I sipped on the brew. Silence was a welcomed aftermath from the excitement of the concert and the loudness of the speakers. Yet, it was still a fragile peace that my restless thoughts threatened to shatter.
What were we going to do now?
