It was one more thing that made her remarkable in my eyes, and I couldn’t wait to sit beside her in the bar that night.
And if all went according to plan, I’d know what her body felt like against mine one last time.
Chapter 16
Abby
Sitting beside Colin during the rest of the conference was painful, at best. His words kept echoing off the corners of my mind, and if I doubted where we stood before, I most certainly did not now. He wanted to spend time with me, and by the look in his eyes he wanted to spend intimate time with me. His voice caressed my ear over lunch and the way he just pulled my chair towards him, like an animal on the prowl, was single handedly the sexiest thing that had ever happened to me. Just thinking about it fluttered my heart in my chest. His command of the space around us sent electrical sensations down my fingertips. I could feel his body heat radiating against my arm, and when he shifted to lean towards me I almost whimpered.
I had to bite my tongue to keep my sounds from escaping.
The conference ended just shy of five o’clock and Colin escorted me back across the road. I quickly parted ways from him, meeting Maggie in the elevator as we ventured up. She kept rattling on about all these things Ted needed throughout the entire thing and how she was bored half to death through it, but the only thing on my mind was what I was going to change into. I tried to keep my attention on Maggie so she wouldn’t ask why I was so distracted, but it was hard.
And when the elevator dumped us off, I practically sprinted to my room.
“Sorry! Gotta pee!” I said.
“Girl, I feel you. Catch up with you later?”
“Sure!” I said. “Sounds good!”
I rushed around, ripping my clothes off as I dug through my suitcase. I didn’t come prepared to go on a date. I came prepared to work. I sat down at my laptop in nothing but a pair of slim-fitting jeans and my bra, and I started typing away at the article I needed to send my boss. I ripped out my notes and took pictures of them, attaching them with the formal document I was about to send her. I didn’t have time to edit it, but I knew my boss would do that on the other end. She didn’t want perfection, she wanted the spin.
The spin that kept Colin’s reputation positive in the eyes of the media.
I threw in a couple of quotes into the article just to give it some juice, then I shut my laptop down. I had no fucking clue what top I was going to wear, and that top would determine the makeup I put on. I wasn’t a makeup girl and I hardly ever fussed with it, but for some reason I felt the need to tonight.
But a knock came at my door before a familiar voice sounded from behind it.
“If you’re panicking about clothes, don’t. I have something for you.”
It was Colin, and I felt goosebumps rattle across my skin.
“Okay. Um—just give me a second.”
I grabbed my crimson coat and tossed it around my body, suddenly self-conscious about him seeing me without a top. When the hell did that happen? After all the times that man had seen me naked, why was I now so worried about it?
I chose to blame the conference, then opened the door and greeted him with a smile.
“Here you go,” he said. “For you.”
He was standing there in a pair of jeans and a Kansas State University shirt. In his hand was a polyester piece of clothing with the same colors Colin donned on his shirt. I took it from his hands and held it up, then grinned when I saw what it was.
He had brought me a Kansas State University jersey.
Which meant he had to purchase it for me.
“Where did you get this?” I asked. “And—when?”
“Do you really care?” he asked.
My eyes fluttered up to him as a blush tainted my cheeks. I didn’t care. I didn’t care where he got it or how he got it or if he was planning this the entire time. The only thing I did care about was the fact that Colin was standing at my door about to pick me up for a low-key date at a sports bar.
At least, I thought it was a date.
“Thank you,” I said. “Just give me a second to put it on.”
He nodded as I closed the door to my hotel room, then I ripped off my jacket and put it on.
I went and stood in the mirror and admired it on me. It wasn’t the most flattering piece of clothing on the planet, but I supposed that wasn’t the point of a sports jersey. I fluffed my hair out around my shoulders before I darted to the bathroom, then started touching up my makeup. A little bit of mascara, a dash of eyeliner, and some decent lip gloss gave me the toned down look I wanted.
The butterflies were in full swing as I grabbed my coat and threw it around my shoulders.
“Ready,” I said, as I opened the door.
