Page 33 of Colton
“I can do that.”
14
COLTON
Iused to love sleeping in. I’m not a fucking teenager anymore, but I still sleep ‘till at least nine on the weekends. This morning, and every morning since Evie moved in, I’m up at five fucking AM to make sure that I don’t miss her. Even on the days I know she’s not going to work, I can’t fucking sleep in.
Since I can’t lay in bed staring at the ceiling without slipping into painful daydreams about Evie and, more specifically, Evie’s ass, I get dressed and hit the gym. I can get a short workout in and still have time to pick up the girls after Evie’s night shift. As soon as I step into the gym, I hear the pounding of feet on the treadmill. Declan’s running for his life and considering how much the guy’s bulked up over the last few months, it sounds like a fucking rhino’s running around in here.
Our gym is wide open, spanning the entire floor. There are a few showers and a bathroom in the middle, the rest is floor to ceiling windows. There’s even a patio up here, though we’ve never used it. But we can get a hell of a breeze in here when we open those doors. When you have all nine of us in here sweating, the hippo enclosure at the zoo smells better.
I hop on the treadmill next to Dec, glancing at him as I set it to a fast walk. We focus on our own shit for a bit, but I don’t like the look on his fucking face, so I slap him on the shoulder. He thinks about being a dick for a minute, but with a tense jaw, reaches up and pulls out his earbud. I hear some screaming, and wince. Declan’s got shit taste in music. Everyone knows the ’80s are where it’s at.
“What’s riding you, brother?” He’s a stubborn fuck, but slows his treadmill down. He grips the handles tightly as he hangs his head. He side-eyes me, and in that one glance, thanks to over twenty years as brothers, I get an idea. “Cara.”
His eyes widen, and he exhales a growl. “How the fuck do you do that? You look like a fucking meathead. Couldn’t you be dumber?”
I give him a wide smile. “I can’t help it. I’m just naturally awesome, man.” Dropping the smile, I grip his arm. “Talk to me, brother.”
“It’s stupid. There’s no way, and she scares the hell out of me. But I can’t get her out of my fucking head.”
I know exactly how he feels. I’m right there with him, obsessed with a certain MILF. “I know you don’t have a ton of experience with women, Dec, but why does Cara scare you so much?”
He powers down the treadmill, bracing both hands on the bars. “She…I. Fuck. There’s something about her that just…makes me feel off-center. She’s nothing like the girls I go for, you know? The last couple of girls I dated, I met playing video games. We talked for months, then we met up and spent time together. Fuck, we’d spend more time playing games than actually interacting with each other.”
“I feel like I have to tread lightly here…but you haven’t…dated much at all, have you?”
“Get that look off your face, Horsey. I’m not a virgin.”
I barely notice theHorsey. I haven’t been called Colt by anyone in this building, except Evie and Holly, in a month. “Sorry brother. I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad. It’s just until that bet with Jonas you were the pasty, skinny computer geek.”
He nods tightly. “Yeah. I don’t know how the fuck to talk to her man. Or how to handle her.”
“Not much experience having women chase you? I know you don’t dress like you have money, but you drive a $300,000 car. That’s got to attract attention.”
He scowls, shaking his head dismissively. “Yeah, but it’s easy to ignore those women. They don’t know me. Cara though…”
“You’ve been doing this dance with her for a long time. Long before that.” I say, gesturing to his muscled body. Boy’s been getting some sun, too. I bet my fucking left arm that his ass cheeks are still bread dough white, though.
He runs his fingers through the hair hanging long in his face. I kinda miss the mohawk. The bright red mohawk was the result of losing a bet with Jonas, but he liked it and wore it until most of the red had grown out. Thought it made him look cool, dumbass.
“I make up excuses to see her, but I can barely put together two sentences when she’s around. And when she…” He holds his hands up, right in front of his face, eyebrows wide “she’s right here, my fucking dick stands at attention and I want to hump her in the fucking hallway.”
I’m laughing so hard I lose my footing, falling, the treadmill shooting me off the end. I don’t bother getting up, just stay there laughing until Declan kicks me in the thigh.
“Get up, asshole.”
Scissoring my legs, I sweep his feet out from under him, sending him down to the gym’s padded floor. “Fucker,” he moans pathetically.
I sit up and pat him on the chest. “So, you like her. What are you going to do about it?”
Sighing, he stares up at the ceiling. “I have no fucking idea. I feel like a teenager around her. I just wish I felt more confident talking to her, you know?”
“Well, if confidence is your issue, you’re going to have to figure out a way to build it up.”
“How the fuck am I supposed to do that?”
I ponder it for a minute. BE (Before Evie) I would offer to be his wingman, take him to a club and help him chat up a few ladies. But I have absolutely no interest in going out unless Evie comes too.
