Page 72 of Worth the Fall
“So how much research didyoudo, Colton? How long did it take for you to find out that my mom and I don’t talk? How did you find out about my dad?” I was crying now, my pathetic lip quivering like I was a toddler. “Is that why youchoseme? Because you knew how much I would love yourfamily? You knew how easy it would be for me to fall-”
He held up his hand, cutting me off. “My turn to talk,” hedemanded.
I immediately shut up, surprised by his sudden reaction.
“Let’s start with what Sav told you. She said after a year, I broke up with her for ‘nothin,’ right?”
More or less.
“I broke up with her the day you interviewed me.” His eyes softened, begging me to listen. “I broke up with Sav because the moment you and I started talkin’, I felt more for you than I ever felt for her. It would’ve been cruelto keepdatin’ her.”
When I didn’t reply, he went on.
“I felt more for you in one minute than I ever felt for her.”
A part of me wanted to doubt his words, to believe he was saying all of this to get me into bed. But the yearning lookin his eyes, his outstretched hand, all he’d done for me, it was all genuine.
Colton wasn’t using me; I knew it with every inch of my heart.
His hand was beginning to tremble. He started to close it.
I couldn’t let him go.
I grabbed his hand, begging him to stay.
He gave in to my touch immediately, pulling me close. His hands wrapped around my waist, and mine travelled up to his neck. We stared at each other, neither of us moving. His green eyes were drowning mine, droplets of rain sliding down his nose.
Like an avalanche, his defenses fell. His hand grabbed the back of my head, forcing me up and into his lips. He was kissing me like he was hungry, and I kissed him like I’d been waiting my whole life for his lips.
“Ally,” he whispered between breaths, “promise me you’ll never leave.”
In this moment, I would’ve promised him my every dime, everything I’d ever owned, I would’ve given up my own life for him. I would give anything to stay in his arms forever. “I promise,” I said with surety.
~~~
I was shivering by the time Colton opened the screen door for me. My heart was heavy from the rollercoaster of emotions. A part of me wanted to lock the bedroom door, curl up, and sort all this out in the morning.
But I owed Colton more than that, after I had accused him of those horrible things.
“I’ll grab you some clothes,” he said quietly, sliding his boots off by the door.
I wanted to stop him, say that I had perfectly dry clothes in my suitcase he had just carried in, but I stayed silent. I was sopping, a puddle forming at my feet on the welcome mat.
Colton stopped in the hallway and looked back at me. “You don’t have to wait at the door like a stray dog,” he said with his crooked smile. “Come on.”
I let a hint of a smile cross my face as I followed him, my feet leaving squishy wet marks.
I parked myself in the bathroom, just like my last disaster,and grabbed a towel from under the sink.
The girl in the mirror looked shocked to see me. My eyes were puffy, my face deprivedof all makeup after the heavy rain. My hair was soaked, stuck to my neck. I looked five years younger, like a kid again. I swallowed, wiped my eyes, and began wiping my skin with the towel.
Colton returned from his room with a sweatshirt and loose pants. He was still soaked. “Here, just until I get your clothes in the dryer.”
Once again, I had a suitcase full of perfectly dry clothes sitting by the front door. But I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to wear Colton’s oversized sweats.
“Thank you.”
He swallowed hard, setting the clothes on the counter.
