In His Bed(5)

“It’s not harmless and you know it. I don’t think your mom would approve of her son having a date with her best friend. Besides, I’m…I’m older than you.”

Colin didn’t give a damn how old she was. “Don’t, Lea. You’re a confident, sexy, intelligent woman. You own those qualities regardless of your age. Your body—Jesus, Lea—you have no idea. Last time I checked, I was a man, and your curves are irresistible. You turned me on when I was seventeen and you turn me on now. Hell, even more.”

After she huffed and stopped and huffed again, she finally said, “No, Colin, don’t say that. It just...wrong.”

“Wrong? Hell no.” Colin pushed off the desk and stood. “I would love to get to know you better, but I understand the barrier here. I don’t want to hurt my mom either. Let’s make a deal. I’ve waited a long time for this chance. If you’ll meet me halfway, we can take things slow. Dinner?”

She shook her head. “Listen,” she said on a sigh, “this flirting has to end here. I can’t think of one good reason why we should carry on when we both know it can’t go any further.”

“I know you have serious reservations about this happening. I’m not saying they aren’t valid. Just answer one question for me.”

The way she bit her lower lip brought his attention to the plump flesh captured between her white teeth. Would she taste as sweet as the icing she’d eaten off the cake? His mouth watered to find out.

“What’s the question?”

He braced himself for her response. “If you weren’t my mom’s best friend, would you go out with me?”

She walked over to the desk and fingered a gold-plated letter opener sitting on an unopened envelope. “No.”

He’d stifled a grin when she turned away to answer. “You sure about that?”

When she turned around, his heart ached. The sadness shadowing her gaze made him realize how bad the bastard had really hurt her. His age, his mother, they had nothing to do with her answer. She was afraid of being hurt again.

When he stepped forward, she didn’t back away. When he reached out to caress the delicate swell of her blushing cheek, she didn’t look away. This woman was going to kill him. “Lea, no pressure. I promise. I was a kid with raging hormones before I left. Now, I’m a man who can’t seem to resist you. If you tell me to walk away, I’ll leave this room. I came home so rarely to try to forget you. Seeing you again, I know that was a fucking losing battle.”

When she stepped away, the muscles in his chest ached. God, if he could just hold her.

“I can’t do this, Colin.”

She was gone before he could say anything. He sat down on the loveseat and tilted his head back, lost in the memories of lying on his bed in this room, watching the porno his friend had given him—the only porno he owned—over and over again, thinking of the one woman who starred in all his fantasies. The one woman who was as unattainable then as she was now.

Lea...



*****



“I missed you. You never came home enough. Working in such a dangerous job this last year away from home scared me to death.” Stacey said as she sat down in the empty lawn chair. “Your dad wants to take you fishing next weekend. He also wants to do one of those ride along things. I told him no, but he’s insisting.”

Colin laughed. “He already told me. I think I can make it happen.” He set the can of beer on the grass and surveyed the party. Decorations hung from moss-covered trees over empty tables set with little baseball centerpieces on top of checkered tablecloths.

“I haven’t had time to get my things out of your room. I’ll work on boxing things up tomorrow so you can start moving in.”

“Mom, about that. I think I might try to find a place to rent. I won’t need much, something cheap until I can find what I want.”

“I think I’m going to head home,” Lea said as she walked up to Stacey.

The setting sun struck orange and muted yellow rays behind the curves of her silhouette. Colin wrestled with the finality of their earlier conversation, and now she was leaving. When would he see her again? Did this arrangement mean he couldn’t call her? God, he needed to hear her sweet voice again, even to say hello and see how she was doing. He’d waited so long to have the freedom to make a call like that to her.

She nodded down at the paper plate she held. “I’m going to take a hamburger to Charlie.”

Stacey squinted as she used her hand to shield the sun’s glare from her eyes. “Your dog is too fat, Lea. Take her some fruit.”