17. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

JUSTIN

I knocked once on the door before opening it. Colton had been quiet at work all day today. At first I thought he might be down because he dropped Riley off at the airport yesterday but he had his thinking face on. He didn't even notice Vicky falling all over him and that's when I knew something was really on his mind. Usually he would at least have a minor look of irritation on his face but he was deep in thought. I had barely walked in my door after work before he texted and asked if I could come over. As I stepped through the door and greeted Maggie and Rex, my stomach clenched as nerves rattled inside it. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Momma A always said not to borrow trouble before it happened.

"Colton?" I called out, not seeing him in the living room or kitchen.

"Here," Colton said, coming down the hallway from the bedroom, tugging a fresh shirt down his body. My mouth went dry when I saw his bare skin, a leftover reaction from our time in college.

"What's up? Your text didn't say much." Possibilities of what Colton wanted to talk about flew through my head. Was it the business? Was it Riley? Was he tired of doing the long distance and wanted to move up to Minneapolis to be with her? Was I about to lose him forever?

Colton turned towards the kitchen and fished two beers out of the fridge. He opened both of them and passed one to me. He jerked his head towards the couch, hazel eyes studying me like he could see into my soul. He was probably the one person on earth who could.

I settled onto the couch on one end and stiffened slightly when instead of taking the other end, Colton settled on the middle, facing me, our knees brushing. I wanted to pull away but I was desperate enough for the contact that I let my legs stay where they were.

"Riley talked to me yesterday." I did stiffen then. What did she say? Did she say something about me? Had I made her uncomfortable at all? I tried to hide my attraction to her and Colton. Riley's words from a few nights ago came back to me when she called me out on my feelings for Colton. I still don't know how she noticed as I had been so careful to hide it but surely she wouldn't have told Colton about it.

"What did she say?" I lifted the beer to my lips, taking a sip but not tasting it.

"That you're still in love with me." Oh fuck. "Just like I'm still in love with you." Oh, double fuck.

I froze on the couch, not knowing what to say. I could lie but the problem was that Colton knew all my tells. I had avoided this topic for years since college and he'd never brought it up either so I had gotten away with it. But now…

His eyes studied me, and he nodded slowly. "That's what I thought. She said we both had been hopelessly blind and that everyone but the two of us knew. And I spent the whole day thinking about it and she's right. I'm still in love with you. Probably just as in love with you as I was in college if not more."

My jaw hung open. Never in a million years did I expect those words coming out of his mouth. I thought he was going to say something about how Riley was uncomfortable about our friendship but I should have known better. She had an eye for detail that rivaled mine and I should have known she would be the one to ferret out my hidden feelings.

Colton was looking at me expectantly and I dropped my eyes to the beer bottle, fingers picking at the label. Colton didn't press, just let me gather my thoughts. It was one of the reasons I had fallen in love with him in college. He never pushed me, but he was always there. He deserved so much better than I could offer but at the very least he deserved my honesty.

"I– I never stopped loving you," I confessed, eyes still on the corner of the label I was picking at. "But I'm not– I'm not good at relationships. I didn't want to hurt you so I ended it."

Colton shifted closer and I dragged my eyes up to his hazel ones. "The only way you could hurt me is if you left." He said softly. "I was hurt when you ended it, but I also didn't want to lose you as a friend so if friendship was all you wanted then friendship I would give you. But I never stopped loving you."

The burn at the back of my eyes was unfamiliar and I dropped my gaze as I nodded. "Where does this leave us then?" Was this what he and Riley talked about?

"Well, I want you. And I want her. I want you both and I want this to work so I need to know if you see her that way because I want the three of us to be in a relationship."

I didn't think he could stun me anymore and then he said that. I just blinked at him. He wanted me and Riley? He wanted us both and wanted all three of us to be in a relationship? What did Riley think?

"What does Riley think?"

"Riley thinks she couldn't possibly compare to the history that we have together and wants to step aside so that way we can be together but I really like her and I think you could too."

Riley was going to step aside for me? I blinked slowly, brain processing his words. Riley was so different from any other woman Colton had dated. Based on his past relationships, I expected this conversation to be about how Riley was uncomfortable with our closeness but instead she noticed something that I spent years hiding and then was going to step aside for me? It didn't make any sense. But on the other hand it made total sense. From the little I had gotten to know Riley, I knew she had a big heart and was constantly putting others before herself. She cared so much about Colton, her readers and fans, her friends. Everyone else but herself. I knew how happy she made Colton and I could see how happy she was around him and if I was honest with myself, she intrigued me as well. Could I see myself in a relationship with her? I hadn't really given it much thought as I had firmly put her in the Colton's girlfriend box but now that I thought about it… well…

I thought about what that could look like, thinking back to the night the three of us sat on the couch. Instead of Colton and Riley cuddled up, would Riley cuddle up next to me? Would we sandwich her between us? Could she lay on me while I lay on Colton? I thought of her curly brown hair that I was dying to run my fingers through and those brilliant blue eyes that pierced right through me. I didn't know her very well but I would like to. I glanced up at Colton, who's steady gaze hadn't wavered while I processed.

"I don't know her very well," I said cautiously. "But she seems like someone I want to get to know better."

He grinned. "She said practically the same thing when I asked her about you."

"She did?"

"She did." He grinned again, a familiar devilish look in his eyes that had my cock stirring. "Then she admitted she found you attractive. "

I could feel heat on the back of my neck and I rubbed my face with my hand. "She's very pretty." I said lamely and Colton laughed.

"You forget I know your type," Colton teased and he did. I was aching to run my hands over her curves and watch her come apart beneath me.

"So where do we go from here?" I asked, changing the subject and getting my mind out of the gutter. We were a long way off from that.

Colton set his beer on the coffee table and leaned forward, snagging my beer from my suddenly loose fingers and placing it on the coffee table before placing one hand on my leg and wrapping the other around the back of my neck tugging me forward. I stopped breathing, as his lips brushed mine softly before he pulled back.

"Well, first, I'm going to kiss you like I've been dying to. Then, we're going to get our girl."

I melted into him, closing the distance like I had been dying to as well. He groaned when I immediately opened my mouth to him, letting our tongues tangle. He pulled me closer, running his hand up my leg and it was my turn to groan when he brushed the edge of my waistband with his fingers.

My head spun and I wasn't sure if it was from the kiss or from what just happened. In my wildest dreams I had never imagined I would be here right now, kissing Colton and having just agreed to a three way relationship but here I was. There was still a large part of me that wanted to run and hide and whispered poisonous things about how everyone I ever loved always left me. But if Colton was going to leave me, he would have left me by now or he would have left me for Riley but instead he's here, wanting me. Wanting us.

Colton pulled back and pressed kisses along my jaw. I didn't usually let him take control like this but I was happy to turn it over in the moment.

"Just think of how it's going to feel with Riley pressed between us," Colton teased softly, his breath puffing against my skin causing goosebumps to break out. "Or maybe we'll press you between us both."

I groaned as the delicious image sprang to mind and ran my hands through Colton's hair, gripping it lightly and dragging him up till I could kiss him again. I kissed him hard for a few moments before leaning back.

"Let's go get our girl then."

Colton's eyes widened. "Now?"

I shrugged but nodded. I suddenly wanted to see her. "Why not. We don't have any big jobs starting till next week. Jake can cover us both for the time being. Let's do it." My tone was confident but I still felt shaky.

Colton's eyes softened and he pressed one more gentle kiss to my lips before pulling back. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and dialed Jake's number. He put the phone on speaker, his eyes never leaving my face.

"Hey, Jake, I need you to cover the crew for the next few days. Justin and I are going to Minnesota to convince Riley to come back with us."

I could hear Jessica shriek loudly in the background before yelling "Go get her!" into the phone. I laughed and Colton grinned as Jake scolded Jessica playfully.

"I've got it. Go get your girl," Jake didn't sound surprised, just amused. Did everyone know but us? "And Justin, it's about time, man."

I rolled my eyes even though Jake couldn't see me and laughed. "I know. Apparently I was the only one who didn't know."

"You were," he shot back. "But seriously, we're happy for you both. And I'll convince my wife not to shout it from the rooftop while you're gone."

"Probably for the best, at least for a little bit." I said before Colton could say something. Just because Colton was all gung-ho about a three-way relationship didn't mean the rest of the town was. And it would be nice to have some time to ourselves before we shared it with the world.

Colton nodded. "Just for a little bit. Gotta go now. Need to pack and find a flight."

Jake hung up and Colton leaned over and pressed a quick, hard kiss against my mouth. I chased his lips when he drew back and he chuckles. "More to come," he promised. "We've got a plane to catch."