Page 59 of Worth the Fall
“You don’t have to be tough with me, Ally.” He was kneeling in front of me again, his hand on my knee. “Please, trust me?”
He phrased it like an invitation, rather than a demand. I ignored the pitter-patter of my heart and let my guard drop. He had done so much to earn my trust; I didn’t doubt that he wouldn’t honor it.
I took my shirt off, wincing, feeling incredibly exposed in my tank top. I lifted it higher to see what had caused the rip and blood. A long scrape, no doubt from one of the tree branches, was slicing across my skin.
Colton swallowed, hanging on tight to my ripped blouse.He lifted the strap of my tank top off my shoulder and placed it tenderly on my arm, careful not to touch the bruise. “That’s gonna be sore for a while.”
“Yeah,” I said back, lamely, not able to come up with anything more clever. I stood in front of the mirror, wanting to see how bad it actually was.
The purple spots wrapped around my shoulder and stretched into my back. He was right, it would be sore, but that was all.
I was incredibly lucky I didn’t do more damage.
He stood behind me in the mirror. His white shirt was as dirty as my face was. I wanted him to take it off. I wanted him to feel as vulnerable as I did in my thin tank top.
Colton’s hand was on my waist. I took a breath, steadying myself. He pressed his chin against my temple. His eyes were closed. He was breathing hard.
In an instant, he pushed my waist, forcing me to spin. His thumb tucked itself under my chin, forcing me to look up. We stared at each other for only a second before our lips crashed into each other.
He moved his hands to my cheeks, and mine found his waistline.
He opened his mouth, inviting my tongue inside. I complied.
He kissed like a cowboy, tough and gentle, all at once.
My heart was pounding. I was light as air. Nothing felt as right as kissing Colton Nash did.
“Oh, hey guys! How was the ri-”
Colton and I pulled ourselves away from each other to seeDean standing in the doorway.
We were in the middle of the bathroom, Colton holding my shirt in his hand, making out like teenagers.
Dean put his hands up and slowly backed away.
Colton and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Chapter Twenty
I let the hot water scald my back, reveling in how good the steam felt. My mind was still wandering back to Colton’s lips, his hands on my face, his room-filling laugh. I had never felt so good in my entire life, even with the bruise that was growing by the second, and the long scrape on my stomach.
As I splashed water in my face, I thought about Colton wiping it with the rag. I smiled to myself.
After Dean had caught us kissing, Colton had stepped out of my way. He said he needed to get some chores done before the rodeo tonight.
“Take all the time you need,” he said, kissing my cheek quickly.
I wanted him back. I wanted him to keep kissing me. I didn’t want him ever to stop touching me.
But reality must persist, and we both had a job to be done.
I took a semi-long shower, thinking about my nightly baths in Chicago, and stepped out.
Using another homemade rag, I wiped the steam off the mirror. A girl I hadn’t seen in years stared back at me. I saw the spray of freckles her dad had given her, the ones that were always hidden under a pound of makeup. She had messy blonde hair, slicked straight from the water. But the most surprising part was the huge grin plastered on her face.
I hadn’t seen myself that happy in a very long time.
I couldn’t wait to tell Martha.
