Chapter 4
Landon had done a pretty good job distracting me, but the second Colby stepped into the house, I’d known. It was as if I could sense him watching me, and though it wasn’t easy, I kept my attention on Landon.
He was finishing up a story about a guy who’d managed to get himself ejected from the bar last night. I shook my head as he described how the guy had mistaken a closet for a bathroom, and couldn’t help but laugh as Landon did a spot-on drunk guy impression.
Landon grinned over at me, his story now winding down, and reached over, freeing a strand of hair that had managed to stick to my gloss without my knowledge.
I looked up at him and helped tuck the strand back. “Thanks.”
His smile hitched slightly higher on the right, then he nodded, and as he said a quick “no problem,” Colby came into view.
He’d finally made his way into the kitchen, but instead of a greeting, I got an icy stare. Well, maybe not icy, but definitely not warm and tingly, at least not from what I could make of it. But curiosity got the best of me and I turned my attention fully to him.
And yep, as expected, he didn’t look happy to see me. But not necessarily mad either. Indifferent? No, that wasn’t it. He looked…well, agitated. Except I couldn’t really tell if it was directed at me or not.
And before I could decide what in the world had him all worked up, he relaxed his stance, and asked, “When did you get here?”
It didn’t exactly sound like an accusation because he combined the question with a smile, but still, something was amiss. The obvious thing would be what happened last night, except he hadn’t acted this way at Eddie’s.
“Not that long ago.” I raised my drink, slowly taking a sip, eyeing him over the top, then lowered it. “Can’t stay too long though. I need to study.”
I waited to see if he’d look relieved by the fact I’d be leaving soon.
“Whatcha studying tonight?” Landon asked.
“For midterms.” I shrugged. “But don’t forget. Sunday. Breakfast.”
“Yep. I’ll be there,” Colby quickly answered, catching me slightly off guard with his sudden cheery response. Talk about whiplash.
But then his gaze dropped as Landon shifted, his arm brushing my hip. Call me crazy but there was the tiniest twitch in his jaw.
“Me too,” Landon added, completely oblivious to whatever was happening between Colby and me right then.
Of course, when it came down to it, so was I. What in the world was going on with him? And how was I supposed to feel about it? Mad? Hurt? Definitely confused. I could ignore it and maybe give it time to work itself out, but this was Colby. My friend. Hopefully. Either way, it was probably time to find out.
I forced a smile. “Cool. Well, I need to get going.” I turned, tossed my soda in the trash, then glanced over my shoulder at him. “Walk me to my car?”
Colby stood upright, glanced around the group then nodded. “Sure.”
I said a quick goodbye to everyone, told Taylor we’d have to get together soon like we’d planned, then headed toward the front door. I didn’t glance back to be sure Colby followed but I knew he had. My body always seemed to sense when he was nearby.
Once outside, I leaned against the driver side door of my car and stared up at the stars. The moon wasn’t quite full, but close enough to brighten the entire sky, making it easy to see everything. From the quiet, colorful beach cottages lining Coral Cove, to the way Colby’s eyebrows had pushed together and his downturned mouth.
I sighed, feeling my own expression sink into a frown, then shifted my gaze to him.
Now or never.
“Are we okay?” And before he could even answer, I blurted, “It was just sex, right?”
“Uh…” Colby straightened his shoulders, glanced around, maybe hoping no one was in earshot, then said, “I hope we’re okay.” His expression softened. “Are you okay?”
But when he looked at me, my I-can-handle-one-night-stands persona wavered. So I did what I did best. Talk. “Yeah. I’m good. And, really, I don’t want things to get weird. They shouldn’t. But it seems like maybe they are.” My rambling lost steam and I finally stared down. “Or maybe it’s just me. I don’t know.”
“No, it’s me too. But you’re right. It shouldn’t be weird.”
I peeked up at him and he looked like my Colby again. Warm eyes, sweet smile…
“We’re still friends.” His hand extended toward my hair much like it’d done last night but then it seemed to shift course and he pulled me into a playful hug. “Nothing’s gonna change that.”