He looked as broken as I felt, and his pain, believe it or not, cut deeper than my own. “Do you really want to hear about this?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed with a hard swallow, and he nodded.
“He took me salsa dancing.”
Colton’s head hung. I felt his body shake with a humorless laugh. “Damn, he’s better than I thought.”
“It was fun.”
“You always did love to dance...”
Reaching up, I cupped the side of his forlorn face. His skin was rough with day-old stubble. I realized I was absentmindedly rubbing his cheek and quickly pulled my hand away. “You’re still my favorite partner.”
Colton’s hooded eyes locked with mine. As he continued to stare, my heart began to race. “Dance with me?” His tone was pleading, bordering on desperate.
“Now?” I asked, taking in the mess we were still sitting in.
My obsession cleared his throat. He looked almost nervous like he actually thought there was a possibility I’d ever have told him no. “Now,” he affirmed.
I shifted to my knees, between Colt’s legs, positioning myself with my face toward his. “I’d love to.”
Colt took my hand into his own, practically dragging me up the stairs to his bedroom. He powered up his laptop, and within minutes, I heard the opening chords to “Despacito.”
I was staring out of his bedroom window when I felt his presence behind me. He didn’t breathe a word, and I didn’t dare move. My body temperature rose by at least ten degrees before he even touched me. I could feel my heart pulsing in the back of my throat. Colton closed the space between us, pressing his erection into my ass, as he grabbed my waist with both hands and molded his body to mine. And I swear to baby Jesus, I nearly orgasmed on the spot.
Colton started out slowly, undulating our hips in time to the beat. His lips were on my neck. His hands exploring my body in ways they never had—in ways I’d only ever imagined in my dreams. They brushed over my breasts, traveled down the outside of my legs, and crept up the sensitive skin of my inner thighs. I was a puppet, putty in his hands.
I tried to reason with my overzealous body. Colton was drunk. We were just dancing. Only dancing. It didn’t mean anything. The hard length pressing into my back wasn’t any indication of how he felt for me. I bit my lip to keep from crying out at the all too recent memory of Candy’s lips wrapped around that very erection.
I was in heaven and my own personal hell. It was the closest I’d ever got to everything I’d ever wanted, and at the same time eons away. Because while he may have been igniting a fire in my body, I’d just witnessed him doing so much more with another woman mere minutes before. That hard-on, now pressing into my most intimate places, wasn’t for me. As much as I wanted to believe differently, I knew that it belonged to her. I was a convenient body to rub up against, to work out the sexual frustration I’d caused with my interruption.
With every breath against my neck, I smelled the alcohol, reminding me of how drunk he was. My nipples grew hard despite the pain I felt inside. My panties were soaked. Physically, I was aroused. Emotionally, I’d never been more damaged.
Just when I felt like I would crumble in his hold, I heard my best friend singing softly into my ear. He was completely oblivious to my feelings in his drunken state. “Desperito, this is how we do it in Puerto Rico. Do you wanna play with my big burrito?” His face landed on my shoulder, and his arms tightened around my middle in a bear hug as Colton’s body began to shake with the force of his laughter.
Amid the tears and heartbreak, I was reminded of why I loved him so much. Of why no matter how much it hurt, I would love him always.
When I awoke the next morning, Colton had already left for practice. The only indication that I hadn’t imagined the entire ordeal was the faint sound of “Despacito” playing on loop coming from the direction of his laptop, which was still open on the desk. My life was such a fucking mess.
I glanced at the glowing red numbers on Colton’s alarm clock, noting that it was already after ten. I was meeting Gertie in an hour and was a hot mess in every way imaginable.
After a quick shower, I blew my hair out, applied minimal makeup, and threw on a sundress and flip-flops. Then I headed downstairs.
As I retrieved my purse on the way out, I noticed that someone had cleaned up my mess from last night. My eyes wandered to the couch and began to sting. I shook my head to myself as I pulled the door shut. Not today, Satan. I had to get a grip. Colton was free to put his dick wherever he wanted. Apparently, he wanted to put it in the mouth of every blonde hoochie in LA. But that was not my business.
My Uber arrived within two minutes. It seemed like there were always five cars lurking around any given corner in LA. The level of convenience was out of control. I was becoming spoiled.
Less than ten minutes from the time I walked out of the door, my driver was dropping me off in front of Sammy’s Café. Gertie said they had the best French onion soup and grilled cheese she’d ever tasted. Apparently, her son lived just down the road, and she ate there often.
Sammy’s was small, located on the corner of a shopping center. The entire front and left side of the restaurant were floor to ceiling windows. I spotted my friend right away seated at a booth with her wrinkly little arm flailing in the air to get my attention. My heart warmed at the sight of her. I loved that she seemed just as excited to see me as I was to see her.
A huge smile split my face as I yanked the heavy door open and rushed over to join her. Gertie stood, wrapping me in a tight hug. I squeezed her back. I didn’t want to ever let go. I knew no one apart from Colt and his friends in the city...But with Gertie, I could finally let my guard down a little. I knew she was on my side.
“All right. All right, child,” she said, patting the back of my head affectionately. “Have a seat and tell me alllllll about this blonde bitch.” Her lips curled into a smirk when my mouth fell open. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. Those were your words.” Gertie winked, slipping back into the booth.
“Well...” I laughed, taking a seat across from her. “There are two now. Actually, three altogether, but two since I messaged you.”
Her eyes narrowed as she sat back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. “What kind of shady shit are you kids doing in that house?”
Water sprayed from my nose as I choked mid-swallow. “Gertie!”
“Honey, I thought we decided you came to get the guy. So, explain to this old woman how you’re off dating his friends, and he’s having whores over to the house.” Her brows rose, and her eyes homed in on my face. Well, when she put it like that...
I felt my face heat with mortification. “Well, I...Blex said we should make him jealous...” Good one, Alexis. Blame Blex.
“Blex is...?”