“Violet.”
“Colton,” I said in a mock serious voice.
“Don’t make me send you a food delivery,” he threatened.
“You know what? There’s an orange in the break room. I’ll have that too. Happy?”
“No.”
“But will you go enjoy yourself and stop worrying about me?”
Colton sighed. “Fine.”
The next timeI looked up, it was 10 p.m. 10 o’freaking clock, and I only looked up because my phone buzzed. Colton again. “Hello?”
“Hey, are you still at work?”
I slumped back in my seat and yawned. “Yeah. How was the party?”
“Can you come downstairs?”
I froze. “Where are you?”
“Alter Hall. Come down and let me in. The building’s locked.”
My heart sped up and I couldn’t stop the smile spreading over my lips. “Be right there.”
I tried not to skip my way down the stairs and through the long hallway. I saw him from the back: broad shoulders leading to a tapered waist on his long and tall frame. Fucking linen pants. I wouldn’t even think of putting a man in linen pants away from the beach, but Colt wore them effortlessly.
And of course his ass looked ridiculous in them. Ridiculously good.
But more than anything, Colton washere. He left a party and came to be withme.
I flipped the lock on the glass doors and held it open. He looked over his shoulder with a shy grin. He extended the takeout box my way. “Hungry?”
I tried not to moan at the mouthwatering smell wafting from the box. “Starved.”
I waved him inside and led him to the elevator, scanning my badge. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“The Colton Jones Foundation for the Sciences insisted,” he joked. “Do I get to see where you work?”
My stomach rumbled. I wasn’t allowed to have food in the lab area, but I wouldn’t be having food at all if he hadn’t shown up.
I badged into my area and made a turn for the breakroom. “Let me just set this down and I can give you a tour.”
“Set it down? Vi, I came so you’d eat. I can keep myself entertained while you eat, or I can leave you with your food. Whatever you want.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to send you away after you brought me dinner at 10 p.m. on a Wednesday. Come on.”
We sat at the small table in the breakroom. Colton sat kitty-corner to me and it was weird to see him in my work space. Anydiscomfort evaporated when I opened the box. “Oh my god, this looks amazing.”
Colt’s lips twitched. “Jeanine tried to send me with leftovers for you, but I told her you really like burgers when you’re stressed. If you still do, that is.”
I was already a quarter of the way into the burger, trying to slow down because I was being uncouth. I held up the half-vacant sandwich. “I still do. Jesus, Colt.” I legitimately had to pinch my legs together, the feeling of actual full calories hitting my stomach close to orgasmic. “So, whose house again?”
“Jeanine and Dylan Sorrento. Dylan was the captain in LA, and now he’s an alternate here. Both alternate captains for the Rusties are married, so they sub in for me as hosts. Jeannie and Sorrento sort of adopt me and have me over for dinner when they feel bad for me. Jeanine—actually, nope, you go.”
I’d started to talk and stopped, realizing how full my mouth was. I worked around another massive bite. Instead of being grossed out or annoyed, Colton just watched me with bright eyes, waiting for whatever I had to say. I wiped a napkin around my lips. “Wait, wasn’t it a cookout? And you still went and bought me this burger?”
