“I’ll wear it for you anytime you want.”
Colton pushes me against the car, presses his body against mine, and kisses me again. “I’ll talk to you tonight.”
“Talk tonight,” I reply, then watch him get into his truck and pull away. This day feels like it was over too soon.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Colton
Mom has me,Dakota, and Elena over for dinner on Sunday. We try to do this at least once a month, but I often see her more than that. I hate that she’s alone now that Kota and I have both moved out. Plus, my family is just close. We don’t know how to be any other way, and every time I think about that, I wish James, Nash, and Sadie had it too.
I felt silly getting emotional when he asked me about my family that first Friday—we’ve had two more since. It was an overreaction, but it had been nice. While I know James enjoys this with me, I can’t help feeling it means more to me, which is unfamiliar territory. But then I remember the man is risking hiscareerto continue spending time with me, and he wouldn’t do that just for some dominance, dick, and me coming up with daily schedules for him, right?
Something hits me in the cheek, and I realize my brother threw a roll at me. “What are you thinking about over there?” Dakota asks. “You’re spacing off.”
“How annoying my baby brother is,” I joke, then turn to Elena. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Hey, I’m awesome, asshole,” Kota replies as Mom and Elena laugh.
“I’m sure,” Elena says. “He’s fun. Keeps things interesting.”
“That’s one way to put it,” I counter, picking up the roll off the floor and throwing it back at him. Dakota catches it and takes a huge bite.
“You’re gross.” James would be horrified, I think, then wonder why the fuck I’m thinking about him again. The man never leaves my brain.
“I wouldn’t want to waste food.” He takes another bite.
“How’s school going?” Mom asks, and I ramble on about my classes, careful about what I say and how I mention my professors. It’s overkill, but you can never be too safe. I don’t want to talk about him in regard to school at all because what if I make it obvious that my professor and I are closer than we should be? The truth is, most people won’t understand. Most people will think it’s unprofessional of him and a conflict of interest. Even my family, who love me dearly and want the best for me, would be uneasy if they knew I was dating my professor, and I get that most of what could happen would come down on him. But clearly, I like James a lot, and part of me wants to tell them about him, wants to share him because I’ve never dated someone I cared enough about to share with them.
I manage to keep my mouth shut about James and my brain off James for the rest of dinner, just enjoying my time with my people. When we’re done, Mom and Elena head to the living room, and Kota and I clean up. I hear them laughing and smile. “Mom loves her.” It’s nice for her to have Elena—to have another woman around. She loves Hannah like crazy, but it’s different since Hannah and I would never be a couple.
“She does, and I’m glad. They had a spa date last week. Elena treated her.”
“No shit?” I ask, rinsing off dishes.
“Yeah, I’m surprised you didn’t know. Mom usually tells you everything.” The truth is, I have been busier lately between school, work, my Fridays with James, the Sunday hair date, and our nightly routine.
“It’s taking me a bit to adjust to everything,” I say, which is kind of a lie and kinda not.
“Mom thinks you’re seeing someone.”
The plate slips from my hand, hitting the bottom of the farmhouse sink.
“Holy shit. You are seeing someone!” Dakota’s eyes widen. “I thought she was just being a mom.”
“Shhh,” I tell him instead of what I should do—say no, I’m not seeing anyone. Really, I don’t even know what this thing with James is, except that it’s more than it was when we started. Neither of us is with anyone else, but it’s not like we’ve had a discussion about what exactly we are.
“Who is it?”
“Just this guy.” My family has known I’m bisexual since I was eighteen. While they obviously don’t know about my preferences in the bedroom and my desire for control, I’ve never felt like my bisexuality was something I had to hide from them.
“Just this guy?That’s all I’m getting? Is it serious?”
“I don’t know.”
Dakota frowns. “You don’t know if it’s serious?”
Fuck. This is exactly why I didn’t want to do this. “It’s complicated.”
