Page 14 of The Upside of Falling
Is it the quiet he likes most about this spot? Or being with me?I’d love to think the latter, but given the way he took himself away from the party earlier, my guess is it’s the former.
Taking the seat next to me, Colby’s body—larger than I thought—takes up a great deal of room on the small couch, but he spreads the blanket over both of us and then places his arm on the back of the couch. He must be uncomfortable, because he’s a little stiff. But I'm now forced against his body's warmth, so I amnotmoving.Ever.
Eyeing me, he asks, “Is that better?”
The scent of fresh laundry hits me when I bring the blanket to my shoulders, and for a brief moment, I think it’s the scent of the blanket, until I realize it’s Colby. It’shiscologne filling my senses. Chills run up and down my body as I take in a deep breath. Savor.
“So much better. Thank you.”
Clearing his throat, he says, “Okay, apparently you had a good question.”
“I did.” I pause. “God, it was really good.” I twist my lips to the side, trying to think of my question. “Ugh, I can’t think of it now, because you’ve got me all tangled inside with your sweet gesture.”
“Not sweet, just making sure you don’t freeze to death.” Even when he's gruff he's sexy.
I chuckle. “Someone doesn’t take compliments well. Good to know.” He doesn’t say anything—of course—so I shake my head and continue, thinking of something else. “You’re a local, right?”
He nods his head. “Born and raised.”
“How many times have you done the Incline?”
Not even flinching, he says, “One summer, I did it every day.”Every day? For three months?
Leaning forward, eyes wide, I rapidly blink. I’m all about fitness—it’s my job—but to hear someone traversed the Incline every day during summer, I’m amazed.That’s insanity. We are talking walking straight up the side of a mountain, climbing over two thousand feet in elevation. It’s a challenge, to say the least.
“Why on earth would you do that to yourself?”
No humor in his voice, he answers, “Needed to be prepared. Needed to stay in shape. I couldn’t think of anything more challenging than dedicating my summer to staying as physically fit as possible, and running the Incline every day was one way to do that.”
He ran it? Ran it?
“Was this so you were ready for the Air Force?”
“That and other reasons.” His voice trails off, shutting downthatconversation, so I decide to go a different route.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be up here with you.” His voice is stern, maybe still affected from the last question. I can’t help but love the way he answered, though. Not only did he confirm he doesn’t have a girlfriend, he blatantly pointed out that he wouldn’t cheat on his girl. I would have guessed that about him anyway.If I did, I wouldn’t be up here with you.Yes, Mr. Brooks, I like your answer very much.
Integrity and loyalty. Both characteristics will carve a bright pathway for others to follow. He has a sense of loyalty to himself, never giving away his secrets, and his loyalty is also evident because he came to this party with his friend, despite not wanting to be here at first. There is no doubt Colby wanted to be anywhere but here tonight, but hopefully now that he’s spending a little one-on-one time with me, his tune has changed.
“Okay, no girlfriend. Have you ever had a girlfriend?”
“Two, but they weren’t really serious.” He coughs, covering his mouth in his sleeve.
“When you say not serious, are you talking about . . . fuck buddies?”
His lip curves up. “You want the truth?”
“Might as well tell it like it is, given you’ve been doing that all night.”
His hardened facial expression softens, and for a split second, all breath escapes me as his finger wraps around a loose strand of my hair and playfully tugs on it.
“Fuck buddies is the polite way of putting it.”
“That’s polite?”
He nods. Jesus, why does that make me clench my legs together? “Okay, so you’ve had sex, and from what it sounds like, a lot of it.”
