Page 8 of The Upside of Falling
“Who’s your friend?” Ryan asks, her voice distinctly different than Rory’s.
Where Ryan has more of a throaty voice, Rory’s falls off her tongue sweet and smooth, like fresh spring water trickling down the mountain. It does something to your body . . . makes you feel at ease.
Looking up, hands gripping the banister behind me, I listen to Stryder introduce me.
I make eye contact with Rory for the first time.
“This is Colby, my best friend and right-hand man.”
I barely register his words, or the pat on my back followed by a squeeze to my shoulder, because in that moment, it feels like the world momentarily stops spinning, the noise draining into silence around us.
Gorgeous and sensitive green eyes connect with my dark, brooding irises. A tilt of her lips, a flash of her straight white teeth past those full, sleek lips.
“Hi.” It’s a simple greeting, one syllable, but it holds so much weight because that one little word seems to slant my entire world.
I knew there was a reason I should have stayed at the pool house, studying the same books I’ve read over and over again. That reason is standing right in front of me, sending my heart into a sputtering spiral ofoh fuck.
Chapter Four
RORY
The minute he walked out onto the crowded deck, I noticed him.
It’s almost impossible not to notice him.
Not because he’s tall, broad, and handsome as ever with his fitted jeans and the navy-blue Henley that’s stretched over his thick arms and proud chest.
But because with every step, he commands attention, and not in a showboat way, or the way his friend Stryder does with his gorgeous crystal-blue eyes and outgoing personality.
Colby is different. He’s commanding with the strength in his step, the stiffness of his broad shoulders, the mysterious searching of his cautious eyes, and the strong set in his carved jaw. There is an air about him that sucks you in the moment you make eye contact, taking you on a stomach-dropping, heart-stopping journey.
There is no doubt about it; he’s the most eye-catching man I’ve ever met.
Feeling at a loss for oxygen, I take a deep breath and wait intently to hear his voice, to see if it matches his dark and secretive vibe.
Taking a second, Colby looks between Ryan and me, an arch in his carved eyebrows, framing those mysterious eyes, the type of eyes that make you nervous and intrigued all at once.
“Nice to meet you,” he finally says, his voice blanketing me with its deep timbre, rough and jagged.
Lifting his cup to his fine lips, his large hand wrapped around the white rim, he tilts the amber liquid into his mouth. In fascination, my attention glued to his corded neck, I watch as he swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, the muscles in his neck working the liquid down.
“What are you two doing?” Ryan asks, snapping me from my blatant staring.
“Nothing.” Stryder nods at Ryan. “What did you have in mind?”
“Care to play a little pool with the champs?”
Eyeing the pool table, Stryder casually nudges Colby. “What do you think, man? Should we show these girls how it’s done?”
Keeping his eyes anywhere but mine, Colby tilts his head to the side and scratches his jaw, a light five o’clock shadow starting to appear, barely scraping against his short fingernails. “Sure.”
Sure. One word.
One word of commitment to a few more minutes of interaction with this quiet and reserved man. It sends a thrill of excitement up my spine.
Before we walked over here, when Ryan pulled me into a hug after the game we finished up, she whispered into my ear that her sights were set on Stryder, and the brooding one was all mine. I couldn’t have said it better myself. I couldn’t be happier about the claim Ryan laid down.
There is no doubt that Stryder is someone I could see myself with. He’s exciting and the life of the party. Surrounding myself with people like Stryder has been my life goal, never taking for granted what I have, and living my life to its fullest. But for some inexplicable reason, I can’t shift my focus from Colby. I think it has to be his guarded expression, thedon’t mess with melook that has me itching to probe into every last little nuance of what made him the man he is today.
