Page 149 of The Rules of Dating

He smiled. “I often think about how that pizza dinner with you and Saylor was the last normal memory I had before my world changed. That day, that pizza dinner, was the last night I was able to exist without living in constant fear of losing everything that ever mattered to me. I can’t tell you how many times I wished I could go back to that night and take up where we left off, before that knock on the door.” He exhaled. “So the pizza is a symbol of picking up the pieces and going back to exactly where we left off—to that simple night when we had so much hope for the future.”

I looked him in the eyes. “I actually don’t wish we could go back, Colby.”

His eyes widened. “Really?”

“Really…” I caressed his cheek. “I’ve learned a lot about myself in the past several weeks. Being apart from you showed me what I value the most in this life: family—not the one I was born into, the one I chose. What bothered me more than anything was that Maya was getting to spend time with the two people I care about the most, the two people who have become my world. It was never about her or what she got to have. My frustration and anger had to do with what I was missing.”

“I get that, baby.” He ran his hand through my hair. “I so get that.”

“In the end, we can’t definitively say we’d be better off if this whole thing had never happened. We don’t know that. Things happen for reasons we sometimes don’t understand. All I do know is I might not be here on this rooftop with you right now if everything hadn’t happened the way it did. And I’m really grateful for this moment.”

Colby’s eyes glistened. “This night is different than I imagined it would be.”

I tilted my head. “How so? What did you imagine?”

He sighed. “I don’t know. I thought you might still be a little mad at me for that day you saw me laughing.”

“No.” I laughed. “A wise man named Eddie Muscle helped me understand what was bothering me with all that. It was never about the laugh. It was my own insecurities. You deserve to be happy. I just always want to be a part of your happiness.”

“C’mere.” Colby brought me into a tight embrace and spoke into my hair. “I felt like I needed to say so many things to you tonight, but you’ve just said everything I could ever hope for. How the fuck did I get so lucky?”

I reached up to kiss him and patted his shoulder. “Let’s eat before everything gets cold.”

We plated our food and sat down under the beautiful Manhattan night sky. We devoured the pizza and meatballs and broke open the champagne, laughing when it exploded all over Colby’s sleeve. It felt euphoric. And now also a little tipsy.

“Do you want dessert? I made you some spinach brownies.” He smiled.

“Mmm... I’ll definitely be having one. But there’s something I need even more right now.”

His eyes filled with lust. “I wonder if it’s the same thing I want.”

I looked behind me. “Does that door lock?”

“It sure does. And if it didn’t, I’d figure out a way to jury-rig it shut.” Colby took out a key and scurried over to lock the door.

He returned, lifting me as I wrapped my legs around him. We kissed like we depended on each other for oxygen. The wind blew our hair. This felt like something out of a movie: we were about to have rooftop sex under the stars surrounded by magnificent lights. It was so intimate and beautiful.

Colby’s erection dug into my abdomen. “It feels like it’s been forever,” he mumbled over my lips.

“I need you now, Colby.” I panted. “Right fucking now.”

He undid his pants just low enough so his cock sprang out. He lifted my skirt and pushed my panties aside, entering me in one swift movement.

I briefly shut my eyes in ecstasy as he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck. His eyes sparkled under the white lights as he gazed at me while he moved in and out. I threaded my fingers through his thick hair, loving the look on his gorgeous face while he fucked me. I bucked my hips, and my clit rubbed against his lower abs. I could’ve come at any moment if I’d let myself. It had simply been too damn long.

Still carrying me, he walked over to a leather couch at the far end of the rooftop and sat down with me on top of him. I began to ride him hard and fast—angrily. Angry not at him, but only for the time we’d lost. While everything had ended the way it was meant to, time lost together was one thing we could never get back.

His eyes were hazy as he looked up at me. “I was so fucking scared to lose you,” he whispered.

“You own me, Colby,” I said, bearing down harder on his cock. “You never lost me.”

That seemed to set him off, because almost as soon as I said it, his eyes rolled back.

“I love you so fucking much, Billie.” He groaned as his body shook beneath me. He pumped harder as his hot cum filled me.

“I love you, too.” I clenched my muscles and let my orgasm rocket through me. “I missed feeling your cum inside me.”

“Keep saying stuff like that, and I’ll be ready for round two in three, two, one…” He paused. “I’m ready again.” He slapped my ass.