Addicted to You(15)

Her smile was genuine but I wasn’t quite sure what she was thanking me for.

She must have noticed because she clarified, “For making me feel welcome.”

“Oh, I’m not—You are. I’m not just being nice or anything. You’re Brandon’s sister and Matt’s girlfriend. You’re more than welcome.”

She glanced at me, a little wrinkle formed on her nose then she shook her head with a laugh. “Y’all are a pretty tight group. I guess maybe you don’t see it from the inside but, well, I’ve been on the sidelines for a while. I’ve seen how close you are and I know it’s weird having a new girl around—”

“Hey, don’t feel like that. We’re just close because we’ve all known each other forever. But trust me, we’ve had our fair share of ‘new girls’ coming around and, by far, you’re the best.”

She laughed as she parked. “Well, thank you. I think?”

“Maybe that came out wrong. I just meant we’re glad to have someone like you around.” That didn’t sound much better. “Um, maybe just trust me on this one?”

She nodded, clearly not offended at my rambling. “Of course.”

We both hopped out and I couldn’t help but smile. Felicity had been gone for almost three months now, and it was nice to have a girl to hang out with.

—

We’d spent time talking on the beach, followed by a cool-down in the water, and were back to soaking in the sun’s rays, when a shadow blocked my light, and Taylor let out a squeal. I should have known it was Matt, but my eyes still flew open as I sat straight up, my heart pounding.

“That was cold!” She swatted at Matt’s leg with one hand while drying her stomach with the other.

Matt, who was holding a bottled water, just laughed, then grinned. “You looked hot.”

But my gaze was back on the person standing a few feet in front of me. Colby. Of course.

It shouldn’t have surprised me to see him, and not even a week ago I would have been thrilled over this unplanned visit. Except things had changed.

Sure, my heart still raced and there was the tingling in my stomach, but now it wasn’t the butterflies of love. It was the twists of disappointment. My Colby wasn’t mine. And it seemed unlikely he ever would be.





Chapter 6


Using my hand as a shield from the sun, I looked up at Colby with his messy hair peeking out around his trademark hat. My mouth involuntarily twitched into a smile—what could I say, he’d always do it for me—but I quickly smothered it.

“Hey.” He smiled.

“Hey.” I went for friendly, with a touch of indifference.

The sand molded under Colby as he kicked off his flip-flops and settled next to me. Maybe he was going to try to make amends. There was definitely a part of me that would love to be past this.

“Pretty nice out here, now that the crowds are dying down.”

Or maybe he was just going to make small talk…

I pulled my sunglasses back over my eyes, adjusted the towel doubling as a pillow, and said, “Should we talk about the weather next?” Sure it was a bit snarky, but really? I’d rather not talk than do this.

And to my surprise, that comment earned me the first genuine Colby smile I’d seen in days.

“I’m happy charter season is over.”

Now this was the real Colby, but that statement was the last thing I’d expected to hear from his mouth.

“Why’s that?” I asked.

Colby’s gaze followed as a little boy ran past, seashells clinking in his bucket. His dad knelt down and peered into the little pail, then smiled.

“Eh,” he shrugged. “Just tired of getting up early. Nice to sleep in.”

It was most definitely a lie. I couldn’t really be disappointed that he didn’t open up to me—that wasn’t Colby—but I also didn’t have it in me to pry for more.

I took a deep breath, then blew it out and turned away, tilting my chin toward the sky as the sun warmed my face. “Yeah. Must be exhausting.”

“Hey,” he called to Matt. “Want to go to my place and order a pizza? We can all eat, then head over to Jack’s to check out that band tonight.”

Matt glanced at Taylor who shrugged, seemingly cool with the idea. She probably figured that’s what Colby and I had been discussing because she didn’t even clear it with me, and considering she was my ride…

“Sounds good, man.”

If I truly wanted to restore our friendship, I had to give a little too. “I am getting pretty hungry.”

“I’ll be sure to get a large pizza just for you. Extra black olives.”

And I smiled. Because this was the Colby I knew. “Just get what everyone else likes. I can eat whatever.”