Before any of his intense feelings escaped from his mouth, he retreated. Ignoring the way he chilled the minute her body left his embrace, he lifted her and placed her next to him on the sofa. It was best not to give too much attention to the glimmer of happiness that lit in him each time their lips touched. Better to not explore how bereft he felt walking away from the guest house that night.
Colette was here to push his boundaries and help him become a better man.
She wasn’t here forever.
He just wished his heart would understand that.
CHAPTER 26
This video call was falling off the rails.
“Just tell me how you really feel and stop saying ‘I’d tap that!’” Colette stomped her foot, crossing her arms as she watched Cameron and Simone on her iPad screen.
“Yeah, but like—ten out of ten—would bang you in that dress.IfI was into women,” Cameron said, laughing and turning to Simone, who vibrated with laughter, her hand covering her mouth. Glasses of wine dangled in their hands as they went through Colette’s cute dress fashion show. Operation: Snag that Cowboy was well underway.
“What he means to say is, the yellow sundress is so pretty, the blue flowers bring out the gorgeous color of your eyes, and those boots,” Simone groaned mid-sentence. “Totally fuckable.”
Colette rested her hands on her hips as she turned to look at herself once more in the mirror. She nodded, satisfied.
The sundress revealed a little more of her body than she usually did with her blouses and cardigans, and she could see the tip of a large scar on her back. It made her nervous to show her scar in bathing suits or dresses, because they always initiated uncomfortable conversations. How casual could one be about having had heart surgery as a child? People always treated herdifferently once they knew, as though she was somehow made more fragile. But she wasn’t fragile. Her scar was a permanent reminder of her strength.
After noticing her legs go blue as a toddler, her mother had raced her to the hospital. They diagnosed the coarctation of the aorta quickly and planned for treatment. It was hard for Colette to imagine the fear her parents must have felt, sending their three-year-old in for open heart surgery to repair the problem. She was so grateful they had.
Besides being in and out of doctor’s appointments and having to be more careful than her sister in those years after recovery, she enjoyed a successful prognosis. Sure, there were moments when she resented her sister having more freedom to be a kid. While Colette had to be more careful and regularly visit cardiologists, Aurora was able to live a completely normal life. Even now, the condition meant she would be on blood pressure pills the rest of her life, but it was worth it to have a long life that would have been cut short had she not had the treatment.
“Hello? Colette? I asked you if you think this is a one-time thing? What’s the vibe?” Simone asked, startling her out of her reverie.
“I think he’s romantic, guys. I don’t think it’s just a hookup,” Colette said, boot heels clicking on the hardwood floors as she went to sit at the table and take a sip of her own glass of wine. She adjusted the iPad to see her face better and settled in, leaning back in her chair with a sigh.
“He bought me flowers,” she admitted.
Cameron gasped and fanned his face.
Simone snorted. “Marshall is a fuckboy. Prove me wrong,” she said with an exaggerated nod, to which Cameron gasped. “I’ve heard stories.”
“He’s a grown-up cowboy now. Maybe he’s changed,” Cameron said, to which they clinked their glasses on the other end. Colette chewed on her bottom lip, unsure.
No, she had agreed to go on this date because she trusted Marshall.
And because of the way he made her feel, like she could be special to him.
“If he’s a fuckboy, then I’ll have a good time. If he’s changed, I’ll have a good time too.” She giggled, taking a sip of her rosé. “What have I got to lose? It’s not like Mr. Micropeen has been desperately looking for me since I left the city. I haven’t dated anyone since, and that was one in my unfortunately long list of non-starter relationships. My love life is literal crickets. This feels…different.”
“Amen for that,” Simone said. “Wait…if you fall for Marshall, does that mean you won’t come back? I was all for an adventure, but I didn’t think this would mean you would leave us forever. I miss you.” Her friend pouted and turned to Cameron, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Colette shrugged. “I don’t know anything. There is absolutely nothing waiting for me in Calgary, except you thirsty bitches. I can’t think that far ahead, let’s be honest. I’m hardly close to finishing up my work here. It’s only been a few weeks, right? If he’s a fuckboy, I’ll find out, I guess.”
“Alright, we’d better go,” Simone said. “It’s movie night while Roger works late and Cameron pickedDirty Dancing.”
“Ooooh, Patrick Swayze is so hot. Nice choice,” Colette said, blowing them kisses.
“Thirsty bitches, out,” Cameron said, and the screen went black. Sighing, Colette checked the time, butterflies coming to life inside. Marshall would pick her up in ten minutes.
She walked to the mirror once more, applying another coat of her raspberry lip gloss. It left her lips with a clear, darkerpink shade that complemented her pale skin and dark hair. Her body tingled at the thought of him seeing her in her little dress. Should she put a sweater on to make her outfit less revealing?
Colette shook her head. No. If he was going to know her in any capacity, she wanted him to know everything. There were so many parts of herself she kept hidden in her casual relationships. Having known Marshall before dating him, she was already confident their relationship was going to be different. Their physical connection was undeniable, of course, but Marshall made her feel special. Desired. Treasured, even. She squeezed her thighs together, her body reacting to the thought of him even when he wasn’t there. Moisture pooled at her core and her skin was so damn sensitive. A hand played with the hem of her dress while the other pressed against her stomach, willing her nerves to settle. This was not her first time going out with a man. And yet, going on a date with Marshall made her body buzz with electricity and longing.
Somehow, it wasn’t like anything she had experienced with any other man.
