I kissed the tip of her adorable nose.
“I’ve learned that your favorite color is green. That you live off coffee. That your favorite piece of clothing is your Juicy sweatpants held up with safety pins, even though I know you’re embarrassed to be seen in them.”
I placed my lips beside her ear. “But you still look hot in them,” I whispered before pulling back slightly.
Vivian’s eyes shimmered and she sniffed loudly. I kissed the wetness that fell down her cheek.
“I know that you sing in the shower and have an old Backstreet Boys CD in your car that you play over and over again. You eat pizza all the time and you also keep a bag of Skittles in your jacket pocket because your sweet tooth is seriously out of control. I also know that you’re intelligent, and thoughtful, and entirely too nice to a bonehead like me. I know that you’re capable of putting together something like this gala and you do it while looking drop dead gorgeous.”
She was starting to ugly cry now. And that was okay. Because she was still beautiful.
“I know that there’s no one in this world that I’d rather be with. No one who will put up with my shit the way you do. You put me in my place and you are most definitely not a doormat. You’re the strongest person I know.”
Vivian closed her eyes, the fight draining out of her.
“I just don’t know if I can ever trust you, Cole. And what sort of relationship can we have if we don’t have that?”
I held her tight against me, hating myself for ever giving her a single moment of doubt about my feelings for her. I had put this woman through hell and back and she deserved so much better than me.
But I was a selfish fucking bastard and I’d hold onto her with everything I had.
“I’ll spend every second of every day building your trust in me, Viv. There’s no one I want but you. No one will ever matter to me the way you do. This world could fall apart around me and as long as I had you, I’d be all right.”
“Everything between us is drama! It’s exhausting!” she argued, even as her mouth began to curl upwards into a grin.
“And you love every second of it,” I murmured, leaning down to press my lips against hers.
Vivian shook her head, her eyes were sparking but not in anger. They were heated with something else entirely.
“I’m not sure we’ll survive this,” she laughed and I couldn’t resist kissing her smiling mouth.
“You and me are a roller coaster. So buckle up and get ready for one hell of a ride, sweetheart.”
Six Months Later
“Don’t forget to stand out front. I want to see you when we play,” Cole murmured against my mouth.
“I’ll be there. Though I don’t know how you think you’ll see me with that crowd,” I said, my ears already ringing from the noise just beyond the door.
We were standing backstage at The National in Richmond, Virginia. Generation Rejects had gotten on another tour. This one opening for a band called Cuban Cadillac. They were pretty cool and they seemed to get on well with the guys.
“I’d be able to find you anywhere, baby,” Cole smiled before sucking my bottom lip between his teeth and biting down just hard enough to make me squirm.
“Mmm,” I moaned, knowing it would drive him wild. And it did. His eyes gleamed and I had just enough time to brace myself against the wall before he pounced. His arms went around me. One hand slithered up into my hair and gripped tightly while his other grabbed ahold of my ass cheek and gave a vicious squeeze.
His tongue had just pushed its way into my mouth when we were interrupted.
“Five minutes, Cole!” Mitch yelled and I had to laugh as my boyfriend groaned in frustration.
“That fucker sure knows how to kill the mood,” he complained, resting his forehead against mine.
“You can’t keep your audience waiting.” I told him.
Cole gave my butt a healthy smack and I let out a squeak of alarm.