chapter Two
Sleeping in hay is not advisable. I woke up with a throbbing headache and no clue why I was covered in the straw. The usual manure smell that permeated our town seemed even stronger. It took me several seconds to realize I was completely naked and most definitely not alone. The hairy leg draped over my body was as naked as the ass it belonged with. I felt the hardness of a very different body part before realizing who all the parts belonged to. Colton’s head rested on my chest, and he slept peacefully. That wasn’t going to last.
I started to push him off me until I realized I didn’t know where my clothes were. His body was the only thing shielding me. He’d already seen me naked, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to see me again.
I sat up enough to notice the pile of clothes about a foot from us. I pushed against him once more, but he didn’t budge. My head throbbed, and I felt sick. I wasn’t sure if it was from being hung over, or from the fact that I’d just had sex with a guy I wasn’t even dating. I didn’t need to look at my watch to realize we’d spent the whole night in the barn. The morning sun streamed in through the slats in the barn wall, reminding me of how much trouble I was in. I was almost positive my stepdad, Rob, would have called the cops already. He may have let me go to college hours away, but when I lived at home, I was still required to follow his rules.
“Colton.” I said his name softly, nervous about what his reaction would be to our precarious situation.
He stirred, but only cuddled into me more.
“Colt. Wake up.”
“Mmm?” he half mumbled, half moaned.
“Wake up.” I pushed into his arms.
He opened his blue eyes. “Morning, babe.”
“Morning? Is that all you have to say?” I pushed against him harder. He wasn’t having any of it, and he tightened his hold.
“That and wow, what an incredible night.”
“You call that incredible? What the hell happened, Colt?”
“What happened? Come on, you were there.”
“I was drunk.” I could remember the whole night and was probably not that intoxicated, but I wasn’t going to admit that to Colt…or myself.
“No, you weren’t. I wouldn’t have let it get that far if you didn’t know what you were doing.” He was right. I did know what I was doing. I just happened to regret it on the other side. I wished I knew what was going on in his head. Surely he had to be thinking the same thing I was. It didn’t matter. It was a one night stand. He couldn’t hurt me, because what happened meant nothing.
“Last night was a mistake, and we need to stop it from getting any worse.”
“Any worse?” He brushed some hair back from my face. “Don’t talk like that.”
“I have to go, Colt. Do you know what Rob would do to you if he found out about this?”
“He knows you’re safe.”
“How?”
“Annie texted you after you fell asleep. She covered for you.”
“How’d she know to cover?”
“I texted her and asked her to. My parents couldn’t care less, but I know yours aren’t like that. For good reason. You’re supposed to worry about your daughter staying out all night.”
“I need to go.” I pressed against him, and this time he didn’t resist. I slipped on my clothes while he watched, just lying there buck naked. He was hard as a rock, but he wasn’t getting any relief from me.
I put on my skirt and attempted to straighten my hair with my fingers. “I can’t believe this. How did I let this happen?”
“You make it sound like a bad thing. It was perfect.”
“We hooked up in a hayloft. There’s nothing perfect about it.” I pulled a few pieces of straw from my hair. People don’t tell you about the non-glamorous parts of a hayloft hook up. In movies, it’s all sexy, but in real life it’s anything but. First, there’s the hay itself, add in the manure smell and the last thing you get is sexy.
“All right, it wasn’t the most romantic first time, but when we look back, we’ll remember the passion that brought us here.” He was just lying there grinning. Still naked.
“First and last time. Don’t make any mistake about it. This was a one-time thing.” I threw his boxers at him. “Get dressed. I need you to drop me off near my house.” I needed to get away from him, and I definitely needed him to put on some clothes.
“Last time? Not a chance. You can’t discover something that amazing and run from it.”
“I’m going back to school in a week. I can’t deal with this.”
“Did you read the letter in the package?”
“I didn’t see a letter.”
“I figured that’s why you were finally interested last night…” He looked at me funny then smiled. “I guess you’d have wanted me anyway. Good to know.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you have to get me home.” Rob would kill me if he found out where I’d been. He’d probably make me transfer to a school closer to home.
Colton slipped into his boxers excruciatingly slowly. “Do you want to do something tonight? Maybe dinner and a movie?”
“Are you serious? Stop stalling and get dressed!”
He sighed. “Calm down, it’s only seven.”
“Please, Colt. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“I know.” He pulled on his jeans and t-shirt, and we climbed down. His truck was the only one left in the empty field. Annie’s uncle was away another few days. I’d have to make sure to come back and help her clean up. If she covered for me, I owed her.
I got in the passenger side of his Toyota Tacoma and waited for him to back out.
“If you get in any trouble, just call me. I’ll take all the blame.” He put a hand behind my seat.
“That’s not going to change anything. I just don’t want Rob freaking out. He already doesn’t want me going back to Harrison. He saw some pictures someone tagged me in where I was drunk at a frat party. I promised him that wasn’t typical behavior for me. Clearly it is.”
“I’m not some random guy. You don’t need to feel embarrassed.”
“I’m not embarrassed.” I looked out the window.
“Good.”
“Stop here.” We were half a block from my house. I didn’t want him pulling up out front. My parents would freak if they saw a guy dropping me off.
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Call me, later, okay?”
“Okay.” I told him what he wanted to hear, but I knew I wouldn’t call. Instead, I’d go upstairs and pack. I needed to get out of my stupid town before I messed things up more. I wanted to leave Gasden behind, and no one, especially not Colton Waters, was going to hold me back.