“Holy hell, I bet that hurt,” he said.
“It felt like I was dying. Yes. That’s why the hump in my nose is a little off.”
“I broke a bone once. I fell off the roof of my house when I was ten.”
“What were you doing on the roof of the house?” I asked.
“Retrieving a frisbee I threw too far over my mother’s head.”
“I bet that was a fun hospital trip for her.”
“Oh, she blamed me the entire way there. My mother is a parenting master. Nothing ever phased her. I could get past childproof locks and bottle tops and one day she found me in the medicine cabinet drinking that children’s grape Benadryl shit.”
“No, you didn’t,” I said.
“I did. I was four, and I sure as hell did. But instead of panicking, she took the bottle away from me, gave me a glass of water, and told me to chug it while she called my pediatrician. I slept for eighteen hours and to this day she tells me it was the best vacation she’s ever had.”
I threw my head back and laughed at his story as his hand cupped my knee.
“Your mother sounds like a tough old broad,” I said.
“Just don’t ever call her that to her face.”
“Dear fuck, have you done that?” I asked.
“Had I not ducked, she would’ve broken my nose, too.”
Our drinks were set in front of us and we took a few sips before the game started. It didn’t take long for the bar to erupt into cheers and boos, the food soon forgotten about as I watched the game. Colin talked me through the basis as I watched, my eyes taking in the sports team that matched the color of my shirt.
I stood to my feet whenever KSU scored, our drinks going everywhere as we laughed and clapped.
The bar was filled with an intoxicating energy. We devoured our wings and tanked through the bacon cheese fries in a hurry. Drink after drink was set in front of us and I soon lost count as to how many I’d had, and it wasn’t until I got up to cheer again and teetered that I’d decided I’d had enough.
“This is so much fun,” I said.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, though I think we should slow down on the drinks,” Colin said.
“No fucking joke. I haven’t teetered on my feet like this in years. I think I need to put a few more fries on my stomach.”
“Well, it’s a bottomless plate, so eat all you want,” he said.
I got to listen to more stories of Colin’s childhood in between the cheering and jeering going on in the bar. I learned that he had an obsession with fast cars growing up, but grew out of it when his mother got into a nasty car accident. I learned that he still had his collection of useless baseball cards stored in the attic of his home in L.A. I learned that he wanted to play sports desperately as a child, but was never good at them. I listened to his childhood memories and came back with a few of my own. The conversation flowed easily between the two of us, and soon we were no longer paying attention to the game.
We were only paying attention to each other.
We nursed our last drinks as the game slowly began to wind down. Kansas State University kicked Wichita University’s asses, but we were so caught up in one another that we missed the celebrations. Colin didn’t even think twice when he paid, even though he’d footed the entirety of this road trip getting us down here in the first place.
And all the while, I took in all I could about him.
“Thank you for bringing me here tonight,” I said. “I had a wonderful time.”
“I’m glad you did. Your company is always welcomed with me. I was happy I could coax you out,” he said.
“Always welcomed?” I asked.
His eyes slowly panned back towards mine and I could see the questions rolling behind his eyes.
“Despite my prior—decisions—yes. Always,” he said.
I nodded and let go of the breath I was holding, just as he took my hand underneath the table.
“Come back to my suite with me, Abby,” he said.
I started to shake my head to decline before he squeezed my hand.
“Please.”
His voice was low and commanding. Reminiscent of our adventure over lunch. I ran my thumb along his skin, feeling his hand beginning to tremble. There wasn’t an ounce of me that didn’t want him in that very moment, but a part of me was afraid. Afraid that when we both went back to our lives after this weekend, things we go back to normal. It would be as if he never existed and the only part of him I would have would be what I could conjure in my dreams.
But for once, I swallowed my fears and let go of my inhibitions, and I felt my head resistance quickly fade.
So he tugged me from the booth and settled his hand on the small on my back
In front of a massive crowd of people in a random bar in the middle of Kansas, he escorted me back to the hotel. His hand slid from my back as we entered the lobby, but the moment we stepped into the elevator he cornered me against the wall. His hands were planted alongside my head and his eyes were dancing along my face. I looked up at him, my chest heaving as my hands slowly rose up his torso. I could feel the ribbing of his beautifully toned muscles as the elevator whisked up to his floor, and I stood to my tip toes and
