Microsoft Word - Starter Boyfriend.doc

by Lana Jovanovic

  A hand dropped to her chest and her eyes fluttered closed. Finally she opened her eyes and looked at him, “Colton I…” Her foot shifted and the glass scraped against the floor.

  “Don’t move,” he said breathlessly, “your toes.”

  Zoe looked down and then carefully stepped to the side. She watched her steps as she approached him.

  “S-sorry… about the vase. You s-scared me. But… I suppose I shouldn’t be waiting for you back here, but Jamie said it would be okay.”

  He set the things he was carrying down on a stack of fertilizer and slowly walked toward her. Zoe’s amber eyes sparkled as she watched his every step.

  “I’ve been in Italy,” she said on a rushed breath, “I’ve never been there before—it’s so beautiful. The food is amazing—I… I probably gained ten pounds.” She looked amazing—she would always look amazing to him.

  “I probably wouldn’t have come back at all if it hadn’t been for Minnie and Paige…

  and… and you.” She looked away, embarrassed, shy, and maybe cautious, he wasn’t sure. He moved toward her. “I brought you something back,” she turned and reached for her bag.

  Colton closed the gap between them and grabbed her wrist. Her skin, soft, dry, and hot, melted him. A drip of water from his hair fell onto her cheek. He brushed it away, watching the drop turn into a line of moisture along her skin. Standing only inches apart, he could feel her quickened breath against his neck.

  “It’s nothing big or anything,” she whispered, “it’s just a small little souvenir that made me think about you,” Zoe trembled as Colton breathed in deeply. That spicy smell of her hair—god, he’d missed it. “Let me get the present,” she stammered taking a step back.

  Colton didn’t let her go very far. He released her wrist and grabbed her shirt instead. Sure he wanted to rip it off, but he managed to control himself. Instead of tearing it from her body, he tugged her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. She gasped, moaned, and wound her arms around his neck. He let go of all his worries an inhibitions in that moment and completely gave in to every feeling and sensation that he’d felt from the moment he walked in and found her standing there.

  As the kiss became more heated, Colton thought about slowing down, but this was his domain. He had every right to possess whatever stepped into his space. He wanted to thoroughly possess Zoe. He ran his hands down the length of her back, encouraged by her gentle moans and intense kisses. With little effort, he lifted her off the ground and carried her blindly back to the workbench. Along the way her sandals slid off her feet and plopped onto the ground. Colton swept tools aside and smiled as Zoe gasped against his mouth as he set her down and dragged her to the edge of the table.

  He leaned into her, his hands moving up her legs from her knees and stopping inside her skirt, resting comfortably on her thighs. Her fingers curled in the back of his hair as she held him and consumed him with her mouth. He enjoyed the feeling of her soft skin and the higher his hands crept, the softer she became.

  “Colton,” she gasped finally realizing where his hands were and that putting them there left her more exposed than ever before. He took his hands away and brought them to her face. He held her head still and kissed her until he couldn’t breathe. He dropped her cheeks and put both arms around her, tugging her closer. With one arm still tightly around her back, he let his other hand roam back under her skirt where her skin was warmest. “Colton… you’re making me wet.” She stammered.

  He stopped kissing her and opened his eyes. She pressed her lips together and blinked slowly. He couldn’t help but smile, “I’m making you… what?” She seemed confused at first and then her face flushed with blood and a huge smile spread across her full mouth. “My… my clothes,” she fumbled, “you’re soaking wet…

  you’re making… my clothes….”

  He pressed his forehead against hers as they laughed.

  Zoe buried her face against his neck and wouldn’t look at him, no matter what he did to coax her out of hiding. Finally she lifted her head and looked at him with lovely pink cheeks and shy eyes. He glanced down at her blouse which was now soaked in the front and showed off her white lacy bra. He was suddenly more aroused than he had been before, especially when his eyes dropped lower to and saw her soft bare legs, revealed after he’d pushed her skirt up. Zoe’s arms dropped from around his neck and her hands slowly pushed the material of her skirt down.

  “This isn’t how I expected this conversation to go,” she whispered as he pulled her hands away and inched her skirt back up taking liberties that he may not have had before. Zoe’s blush deepened and she pushed the material back down. Her palms pressed against his shoulders and one light push was all it took for him to step back so they weren’t in such a tempting, heated position. He smiled as she pushed her skirt down as far as it would go and pulled on her damp blouse so it wasn’t sticking to her skin anymore.

  “I didn’t expect it to go this way either,” Colton murmured as he slowly stepped back toward her. The feel of her calves brushing his thighs made his body tighten; he put his arms around her waist, but made no effort to kiss her. “I expected to apologize to you and tell you how unfairly I treated you. How cruel I was to put you through something that I knew was painful. I had no right to do that or to ask you to wait for me.” She looked into his eyes. “I don’t really know why I gave Cara a second chance when my heart wasn’t in it in the first place. I suppose I thought I owed her something. Stupid huh? Owing her something.”

  “You love her,” Zoe whispered. “I understand why you did what you did Colton.”

  “I loved her,” he corrected. “Past tense… I care about her now, but that’s all. And you know what Zoe? I may have never really, truly loved Cara.” Her eyes widened in response.

  “I think about how I feel about you and compare it to how I felt about her and realized that they don’t even match up. I’ve never really felt like this before, so consumed.” Zoe smiled and nodded.

  “I’m glad that she left me at the altar,” he continued. “Even though it was humiliating and hurt, it only brought me joy. It brought me you.”

  “Oh, Colton,” she whispered cupping his cheeks between her palms.

  He stared into her eyes and didn’t look away. “I love you, Zoe.” As she opened her mouth to respond, the sound of a pebble being scraped across the floor drew their attention to their left. Cara stood near the door where she’d entered quietly.

  She lifted her foot and spotted a piece of blue glass from the vase Zoe dropped; her eyes met theirs and she looked mortified.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I… I didn’t want to interrupt, so I was going to slip out. I um… I was just stopping by to talk.” Colton felt Zoe’s arms move around his neck. She pulled his body to her chest and held him as tight as she could. It felt good. It felt fantastic to have her clutch him so tightly. Colton smiled against the softness of her upper arm and kissed her skin. Cara took a step forward and Zoe’s thighs pressed Colton’s hips; he groaned in response and ran his hand up the length of her back. He turned his eyes back to Zoe and smiled when he found her frowning at Cara so hard her brow wrinkled.

  With a strong voice, Zoe said, “He’s mine now.”

  Zoe clutched him tighter as she spoke the words.

  “I… I know,” Cara said after a moment. “I was actually coming to say goodbye—I’m heading back to Paris.”

  “Oh,” Zoe murmured as she released Colton. He smiled and stared at her blouse once against stuck to her skin. He kissed her softly and then stepped back and turned toward Cara. She looked uncomfortable standing before them, and in the past Colton would have gone out of his way to make her feel at ease. That evening he didn’t.

  “I didn’t hear the bells,” Zoe murmured.

  “I had them removed,” Colton said over his shoulder. To Cara he inquired, “So, you’re heading back to Paris?”

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “Business is done here for now,” she crossed
her arms and smiled.

  “I didn’t want to leave the way I did before. Gosh, if I learned anything from those counseling sessions I dragged you to it was that I needed to grow up.” Colton just smiled and leaned back when he felt the soft press of Zoe’s fingers on his back. Her warm hands moved to his sides and as her arms came around his waist, Colton reached back and gently ran his fingers along her soft calves. Zoe breathed in sharply and drew back from him a little.

  Cara pointed behind her and took a step back, “I should go. I’m sorry to interrupt again.” Colton watched her go and turned back to Zoe. He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she stopped him with a frown. “What?”

  “Closure, Colton,” she answered. “Please go get it… and be sure.” He sighed and pressed a quick kiss to her mouth. “I am sure, Zoe, but stay right here.

  Promise me… there’s glass on the floor.” She nodded and folded her hands in her lap.

  Colton headed after Cara, knowing that this would be the last time he ever went after her.

  “Cara,” he called. She stopped by the door to the shop and turned. She wasn’t crying; he’d give her credit for that. She smiled and approached him. They hugged briefly.

  “I really didn’t mean to interrupt—again,” she whispered.

  “It’s fine,” Colton crossed his arms and shivered as cool air rushed out of the vents in the ceiling. “So, Paris?”

  “Yea,” she nodded. “My plane leaves in four hours, so I really need to get going. Colton, I want you to be happy. I’m glad that you’re in love with her. I wish you and Zoe so much happiness—especially you.” She cupped his cheek with her cool hand.

  “Cara… if you ever need anything, you know where to come, right?” She nodded and let her hand fall away from his face. She stepped backward toward the door and gestured to the new etching in the front window. “Great name, Colton, love it.” He smiled and nodded, “Me too. Take care, Cara.”

  “You too,” she smiled. “Oh, and I want an invite to the wedding. We are friends after all.”

  Colton laughed and waved. Cara grabbed an umbrella from the mat near the door and ducked outside with it. She slipped into a waiting cab and disappeared from his life again.

  “Sorry,” Jamie said quietly. Colton turned. “I forgot that Zoe had gone back there—she’s been waiting for like an hour.”

  “It’s fine,” Colton smiled, “Just make sure I’m not interrupted again, okay?” Jamie nodded and returned to work. Colton headed back to his work room, not sure what he’d find. He still felt wound up and excited from Zoe’s touch, but would she feel the same? He was pleased to see that she hadn’t moved from the work table. She sat up a little when she saw him, her smile hesitant. As he approached she crossed her legs, which made him laugh. She blushed and smoothed her skirt over her knee.

  “We won’t be interrupted again,” Colton said softly.

  “I like the new name and sign,” Zoe said as his fingers crawled slowly up her knee. “I-is Jamie still here?”

  Colton nodded, “I can send her home, if you like,” he kissed her softly, his hand moving up the side of her leg.

  “Colton,” she whispered, “I need to tell you something… about Ben.” He growled. “What about him?”

  “I want to be his friend,” Zoe said.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that I want him in my life—he’s amazing, Colton, really,” she smiled, her eyes dancing, “he really helped me out a lot and he makes me laugh and…”

  “Absolutely not,” Colton interrupted. “Sorry, but you can’t be friends, Zoe, now with this guy.”

  “I’m not giving him up,” Zoe said firmly. “I’ll just tell him to stop kissing me.”

  “What!” Colton cried. With a moan he dropped his head into her lap and closed his eyes.

  Her fingers slipped through his hair; the caress was heavenly. Colton didn’t want Ben hanging around Zoe; he didn’t want the guy in the picture at all. But he didn’t have the right to tell her to stay away from him. Colton lifted his head slowly and met her eyes.

  “Look… I don’t like it, but… I understand that he’s important to you. But… I’m never going to like it Zoe.”

  “Would it help to know that I didn’t sleep with him?” She asked. “He did spend the night, but he just held me, like you did. But we didn’t have sex,” She cupped his cheeks. “The robe thing was his idea—to make you jealous.”

  “Oh, I was jealous,” Colton laughed. In fact he’d felt a little broken hearted when she came out of her bedroom in a robe, with mussed hair, and full swollen lips. He’d believed that they’d slept together and why it hurt, he hadn’t been upset. Perhaps he’d never truly let himself believe that anything had gone one. He forced himself not to think about it in anyway.

  “It helps knowing that, thank you. I nearly broke his neck that morning, but I didn’t want to scare you away from me.” Hooking his hands behind her back, he dragged her toward him, forcing her to uncross her legs so they fit comfortably together again. “I don’t care about Ben—I just care about you. I love you very much and I want to make you happy. If that means allowing this asshole into your life, so be it.” Zoe’s fingers touched his chin and her mouth came against his. It didn’t take long for their kiss to reach the steamy potential of their first encounter.

  “I wanted to be so mad at you,” she whispered as he kissed down her jaw and lower to the hollow of her throat. He worked loose a few buttons on her blouse but went no further than that. “I wanted to make you pay, but I couldn’t because I need you too. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Colton, really,” he kissed her forehead.

  “All I need is you, Zoe.”

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  Colton met her eyes and smiled. He didn’t know why, but hearing her say those three words meant so much to him. They made him feel whole. He slipped his hands higher up her legs, grinning when she squirmed.

  “I love you too,” he said. “You know… I didn’t really know what to make of the contract thing—a starter boyfriend? What is that?”

  “Yeah,” Zoe sighed, “that was probably the most embarrassing part of this whole thing.” Colton smiled, “I didn’t want to risk my heart again after what happened with Cara, but now… now I feel like I’m open wide, giving myself to you completely and fully, and I’m not scared. I’m not.”

  “You’re the first man I’ve trusted enough to see the real me,” Zoe whispered tears filling her eyes. “I didn’t have a boyfriend before because I didn’t feel like I was good enough. I didn’t think I was desirable enough. It’s hard to admit that you’ve never really dated and you’re almost thirty—that’s pretty pathetic.”

  “No,” he shook his head, “not pathetic.”

  “It is,” Zoe smiled, “but thanks for saying it isn’t.”

  “I like that I’m the only guy to touch you like this,” he said noticing when her face turned red. “And the only man from here on out to touch you like this—got it?” Zoe wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him, squeezing tighter and tighter until she sat flush to his body. “What’s next Colton? I still don’t know a lot about relationships or men. There are still things I need to learn.”

  “I think I’ve been a good teacher so far,” he whispered against her shoulder. “And let’s face it there are still things that I need to learn. No one gets this stuff perfect, Zoe; we’ll always grow and change. I just know that I want to be the guy to show you the ropes.” He drew back slowly, reluctant to let go of her warm body, and placed his palms on her knees. She leaned toward him, but he kept his distance while trying not to seem standoffish. He didn’t want to rush things; he wanted to take his time with her and savor every moment.

  He rubbed her knees, “So… what do you say?”

  “About what?”

  “Can we nix the ‘ starter’ in my title?” She blushed, which he was starting to absolutely love, and nodded. He stepped toward her, wrapped his arms around her waist
and touched his forehead to hers. “I should ask officially, huh?”

  “As me what?”

  He looked into her eyes, “Zoe Rayne, will you be my steady girlfriend?” She laughed. “It sounds so silly when you say it like that. So junior high.” He shrugged. He knew those words, spoken in such a way, were important to her and he wanted to give her everything she’d always wanted. He wanted to give her a perfect moment. And he didn’t want there to be any mistakes or uncertainty that they were a couple.

  “I don’t want there to be any ‘what ifs’ or questions to our exclusivity. Say yes and we’re a couple,” Colton said, “Say yes and you’re mine.”

  “I am yours,” she nodded. “I’ve always been yours.”

  He grinned as he cupped her cheeks in his palms, “I know we’re new to this relationship and hardly know one another as deeply as we should for what we feel, but, you know that I’m keeping you forever, right?”

  Zoe’s eyes filled with tears, “Promise?”

  Colton did one better, “I swear.”

  And he did.