“What?” I ask.
“You’re gonna need more than that for what we did this morning.”
I turn bright red. “Colt!”
“What? Nutrition is important,” he says, but he’s smirking like the devil.
I kick him under the table.
He catches my ankle between his calves and holds it there.
My breath stutters.
A ridiculous amount of electricity zips down my legs.
He doesn’t let go.
“I could sit here all day,” he murmurs, voice dropping into a register that should not be allowed in public. “Just like this.”
“Colt,” I whisper, “stop.”
“Why?” he asks, eyes steady and impossibly sincere. “You asked me to be your boyfriend ten minutes after we?—”
“Shhh!” I hiss.
He just grins wider.
The waiter returns and he finally releases my ankle.
I feel like I’m in uncharted waters now, but I’m warmer and more alive than I’ve ever been.
I take a sip of coffee, needing something—anything—to ground me.
“So what took you so long to come around?” Colt asks casually, but his eyes are searching.
“Me?” I raise my brows. “You were the one who wasn’t texting me back.”
He exhales, running a hand through his hair. “I thought you were done with me after our last session.”
I laugh—a soft, incredulous sound. “Not in the slightest.”
He grins a little, but his eyes stay serious.
“So why didn’t you reach out? You were the one who suggested casual in the first place.”
A knot forms in my stomach.
Because this part—the truth—still stings.
“Because I’m worried, Colt,” I say quietly. “What if youdodecide you want kids one day? I don’t want to take that away from you.”
His face softens fully.
There’s no evidence of jokes or cocky smiles.
“You need to stop worrying,” he says gently. “Just live life for today.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
