“Why do you cut your hair so short?”
“I’ve done it like this for a long time.” I told her, thinking of how it all started with my mom’s chemo treatments. “Someone I loved a lot cut her hair this way, so I wanted to do it, too.”
Her motions paused. “Should I cut my hair off?”
“No, Bug,” I said quickly with a laugh. If I returned a bald Ava, I’m pretty sure Ellie would be pissed. “Your hair is beautiful just the way it is.”
I knocked on Colton’s door, but there was no answer so I let myself in.
“Hello?” I called out, but there was no response.
Following a buzzing sound, I made my way to the bathroom. I stopped, taking in the scene before me. Ava was standing on the sink, her face scrunched up in concentration as she ran electric clippers over Colton’s head. Small chunks of hair fell to his shoulders as she made a nonsensical design—some lines were diagonal, some crisscrossed. It even looked like she tried to make some circular, swirly shapes.
Honestly, it looked like shit.
Leaning against the door frame, I watched them. Seeing Ava do this kind of thing with a man—a father figure—wasn’t something I ever thought I would get to experience. Neither of them were aware of me yet, and I took advantage of the opportunity to observe their interaction.
“I think I’m almost done,” Ava told him.
“I bet it looks great,” Colton said, even though I was sure he had to know it was a total hack-job.
“Here you go.” She handed him the clippers and he turned them off.
Running a hand over his head, he looked in the mirror, then to Ava. “You’re a pro. How much do I owe you for that?”
“The first one was free,” she replied, completely serious, and Colton and I both started laughing.
“Mom!” Ava exclaimed, finally noticing me, and she started clamoring down.
“Whoa. Careful, Bug,” Colton lifted her off the sink then set her on the floor.
She ran over to give me a hug and I smirked up at Colton. “Nice haircut.”
“Thanks.” He grinned, running his hand over the uneven mess.
After Colton cleaned up the bathroom, he gave me the summary of the afternoon, including the part where Ava ate an entire sandwich without complaint. I had to admit he was a natural at this. Not that Ava was difficult, but taking care of a kid could be really hard sometimes.
“Can I watch TV for just a few more minutes? Pleeeeaaase,” Ava begged as I put her coat on.
“Okay. Two minutes,” I told her, and she did some sort of happy dance before running over to the couch. Good thing she didn’t realize two minutes wasn’t a long time.
I went to the kitchen and Colton followed.
“Thank you for watching her again.” I turned to him after grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.
“You don’t have to thank me for hanging out with her. I love it.”
“Your hair though…” I started laughing.
With a wicked gleam in his eye, he prowled toward me until I was backed up against the cabinets.
I squeaked as he picked me up and set me on the counter. We both peeked around the wall to make sure Ava was fully occupied. Looking cozy, she was curled up against the arm of the couch, which meant it was a green light for a quick make-out session.
As soon as I turned back to Colton, his mouth came crashing down onto mine. His tongue swept inside and I sucked on it, making him let out a quiet moan. I scraped at his nipples through his gray T-shirt, knowing it was one of his turn-ons, then he did the same to me.
Needless to say, Ava’s TV time went from two minutes to ten. And like I said, it was a good thing little kids had no sense of time or else she might’ve wondered what we were doing for so long.
Breaking the kiss, I pulled back then ran my finger over the scar on Colton’s eyebrow.
“I have to go,” I whispered breathlessly.
He nodded before going in for one more kiss. “You’re working Saturday night, right?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“It’s Travis’s 22nd birthday. I think he wanted all of us to come to Caged since it’s the only club Angel can get into.”
I frowned, thinking about how much I wanted to go with them. Sure, I would be there, but it wouldn’t be the same if I was working.
“I’ll see if I can get off early,” I suggested and Colton smiled, obviously happy with the idea. He gave my ass one last squeeze before helping me down and I grazed his lower lip with my thumb. “By the way… I still love your shy tooth.”
He grinned, showing me the very tooth I adored.
I grunted as I tried to lift the weight of the barbell off my chest.
“Come on. You can do better than that,” Travis goaded from a few feet away. “All this time away from the gym and you’ve gotten soft.”
Letting out another grunt, I completed the last rep on the bench press. Sitting up, I glared at Travis. The asshole was supposed to be making sure I didn’t drop the bar on my esophagus.
“You suck as a spotter. And you can ask my girlfriend—the last thing I am these days is soft.”
He barked out a laugh. “Well, as much as it disturbs me to hear about your never-ending hard-on, I’m happy for you.”
“And speaking of getting soft, all that driving you’ve been doing is going to give you trucker butt.” I stood up to go do some squats and Travis followed.
“Now you’re just making things up,” he said while looking self-consciously in the mirror at his back end.
Chuckling, I shook my head. It’d been a while since we went to the gym together. With both of us juggling work at the shop and the transport deliveries, we didn’t have time. Plus, the fact that we were both in relationships meant things like working out got shoved back on the priority list.
Surprisingly, being a mechanic was pretty good exercise. The physical aspect of the job was great for staying in shape, but it just wasn’t the same as going to the gym with a friend. Travis and I were long overdue for some male bonding time.
“So you and Brielle,” Travis began, raising his eyebrows. “You two really hit it off. One might even say you rushed into things…” he joked with a pointed look.
“About that,” I started, sheepishly glancing down at the blue-speckled linoleum. “I know I gave you some shit back when you and Angel moved so fast with your relationship—”
“Uh-huh.” Travis cut me off, crossing his arms with an expectant expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, okay? I just didn’t understand it then, but I feel like I’m really eating my words now.” I gave him an apologetic look, remembering how I’d given him a hard time, all in good fun of course. He’d taken it all in stride, swearing it would happen to me someday.
I didn’t believe him at the time, but I’d never been happier to admit I was wrong.
“I guess I can let it go.” He pretended to think it over. “As long as drinks are on you tonight.”
“It’s your birthday. Drinks were already gonna be on me tonight.”
“We’re good then.” He clapped me on the back before going over to the chin-up bar. “You know, I like Brielle. It’s great to finally see you tied down.”
Shaking my head, I laughed knowing he was referring to the handcuff debacle.
We continued the rest of the workout in companionable silence and I thought that was the end of it.
But I was wrong.
As we walked out of the gym, the puns continued. “It’ll be nice to see your girl tonight. The good ol’ ball and chain.”
I scoffed and we climbed into Travis’s pickup truck. After fastening my seatbelt, he started it up, then turned to me.
“You up for watching a movie before we go out?”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “I’m okay with whatever.”
“Good. I was thinking we could watch James Bondage.”
“Dude.” Trying not to laugh, I rolled my eyes. “I’m never going to live this down, am I?”
“Absolutely not.” He looked at me like I was crazy. “Brielle went all Fifty Shades of Grey on your ass. That’s burned into my mind forever.”
“You don’t even know what Fifty Shades of Grey is,” I pointed out.
“No, not really,” he admitted as he drove out of the parking lot. “But Angel does.”
“Oh, I forgot. You two are like one person now.”
“Pretty much, yeah.” He shrugged. “You’re getting there, too.”
I couldn’t argue with him, so I just smiled and gazed out the window at all the empty fields we passed on the way back to Tolson.
Once again I had to admit my friend was right, and I couldn’t have been happier about that.
It was Saturday night and I was back in the cage. Country night was hopping. Normally, I just got into the zone and did my thing, but tonight I was distracted. Most likely it had to do with the fact that Colton, Travis, and Angel were here having a great time without me.
Colton was in for a surprise, though. I hadn’t told him yet, but my boss agreed to let me off at 11 tonight. Just the thought of hanging out with friends—doing something so normal for people my age—had me feeling giddy.
And that wasn’t the only surprise I had in store. My parents had agreed to watch Ava the entire night, which meant for the first time, Colton and I were going to get to spend the night together.
When my shift was over, I got down from the cage and went straight to their table. Colton’s face lit up with a huge grin.
“Hey,” he said, standing up. “What’s going on?”
I smiled at him. “I got off early tonight.”
“Mmm,” he nuzzled my neck while palming my ass, which was barely covered in Daisy Dukes. “You look so sexy in those cowboy boots. Why are you such a sexy cowgirl tonight?”
Laughing, I pulled back and noticed his glassy eyes. “Are you drunk?”
He held up his thumb and forefinger, pinching them together. “A little.”
Glancing over at Angel, I realized Travis was probably three sheets to the wind, too. He was leaning his head against her shoulder and sloppily kissing her upper arm. From the entertained expression on her face, I could tell she shared my amusement over their state of inebriation.
“Let me go change really quick, and I’ll come hang out,” I told Colton, who was still openly groping me.
“Can you leave on the boots?” he requested, his hot breath by my ear causing tingles to spread over my skin. “I fucking love those boots.”
“Okay,” I agreed and I was rewarded with a huge lopsided grin.
After changing into skinny jeans and a white lacy top, I found Angel sitting alone in the booth.
“Where are the guys?” I asked, taking the seat next to her.
She motioned toward the dance floor and giggled. “Making asses of themselves.”
She wasn’t kidding about that. Travis and Colton were attempting to line dance to ‘Boot Scootin’ Boogie’ and somehow they had both acquired cowboy hats. Colton hadn’t gotten any better at his moves since our first date. Apparently, he thought he had skills because he was trying to show Travis how to do a jig.
While the guys did their thing, Angel and I got to know each other a little better as she sipped at her kiddie cocktail.
She told me about her job as a health aide, which consisted of caring for the elderly by doing housework, cooking, and grocery shopping. I could tell she loved it. When she talked about her clients, it sounded more like telling me about close friends.
I groaned when she asked about my classes, because nursing school was kicking my ass and I hadn’t even gotten to the hard stuff yet. When I told her Ava would be turning four soon, she listened intently while I talked about her upcoming party.
“Okay, so I know this sentence is going to sound weird,” Angel began, leaning close so I could hear her over the music, “but I know a balloon animal guy.”
“A balloon animal guy?” I repeated, wanting to make sure I heard her right.
She nodded. “Yeah, my friend Ernie. He lives in Tolson. He’s, like, 80 years old and he’s an expert at balloon animals. He even does parties for free because he loves it so much. I could see if he’s available for Ava’s birthday.”
“Seriously?” I asked, touched by her offer. “She would love that so much. Thank you.”
We exchanged numbers and she said she would text me with Ernie’s info.
Angel was one of the most likable people I’d ever met. She was so open and optimistic, which was amazing considering the tough life she’d had. Colton had filled me in on a little bit of her history and how she’d ended up in Tolson. I admired her ability to be so resilient.
And she didn’t even know me yet here she was, offering to hook me up with balloon animals for a little girl she’d never even met.
I put my phone away, and Angel smiled at me. A real, genuine smile. Completely free of judgment, ulterior motives, or cattiness. I had a feeling that, in time, we would become good friends. Maybe even best friends.
Speaking of good friends, I practically screeched when I caught sight of familiar dark curls.
“Chloe!” Waving excitedly, I flagged her down.
“Hey!” She sat down at our table.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised to see her.
“You think you could tell me you were out tonight and I wouldn’t come?” She shook her head. “There was no way I would miss this.”
I did a quick introduction between Chloe and Angel, then Colton sat down in the chair next to me. Looping his arm around my shoulder, he planted a big kiss on my cheek.
“So you’re the reason she’s so perky these days,” Chloe said to him while pointing at me.
“Hey,” I grumped. “I’ve always been perky.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, Cranky Pants. Can I get you a drink? I’m gonna tell Jerry that Tasha told him to give us free drinks, so it’s on him.” She winked.
I snickered.
“Just a water for me. I think I’m going to have to drive drunkie home tonight,” I said, patting Colton on the shoulder.
“You’re coming home with me?” he asked in disbelief.
Unable to keep myself from grinning, I nodded. “I’m staying the night. The whole night.”
“Oh my God,” he exclaimed and his arms went around me in a bear-hug, squeezing the breath from my body. “This is the best birthday present ever.”
“Dude, it’s not your birthday,” Travis reminded him from across the table as he clumsily pulled Angel onto his lap.
“Doesn’t matter,” Colton replied, his voice muffled because his face was buried in my cleavage. “It’s a Christmas miracle.”
Travis barked out a laugh. “It’s not Christmas either.”
“Don’t care,” Colton grunted, running his nose over the skin on my collarbone, sniffing me like he always did before heading back down to my chest.
“Chloe, this is Colton.” I giggled as he waved in her general direction without bothering to look up. I glanced down at him. “Can you even breathe in there?”
He lifted his head enough to talk. “If I had to choose a way to go, being smothered by your boobs is at the top of my list.”
Selena Gomez’s ‘Good For You’ came on, and Chloe started hopping with excitement. “Let’s go dance!”
Colton perked up, obviously happy with the idea, then dragged me out onto the dance floor.
Colton couldn’t line dance to save his life, but this kind of dancing? The grind-on-my-ass, have-sex-with-our-clothes-on kind of dancing? He definitely knew what he was doing. Even completely hammered, his rhythm never faltered. Just like the very first night, I found myself melting into his hard chest.
In fact, he was hard everywhere.
I started to feel hot and tingly as his hands rubbed up my stomach and grazed my nipples through my shirt. My mouth fell open when his lips landed on my neck, and he sucked at the spot he knew made my knees weak.
She took off in the direction of the bar, and I couldn’t blame her for not wanting to watch me get it on.
Laughing, I turned around in Colton’s arms. “You know what I really want?”
“Whatever it is, you can have it,” he replied with a grin.
“I want to go back to your place.” I rubbed my front against his. “Now.”
“Dance one more with me?” he asked as a slow song came on. “I promise not to step on your feet.”
Nodding, I put my arms around his neck and we started to sway to ‘H.O.L.Y’ by Florida Georgia Line.
Colton dropped his forehead to mine and ran his thumb over my chin.
“I love you so much,” he said close to my ear. Maybe it would’ve been more correct to say he slurred it, but it was still sweet.
Rubbing my hand over the short hair on his head, I said it back.
We kissed through most of the song and the world around me fell away.
Drunk-Colton was extremely entertaining. And very affectionate. After we said our goodbyes to everyone, he practically mauled me in the parking lot. It took some convincing but I finally talked him into getting in the car so we could go back to his place.
“Baby, I’m shameless!” he hollered along with the music on the radio, completely off-key, as he serenaded me with the old Garth Brooks song.
I just smiled as I tried to concentrate on the road. The car-karaoke went on for most of the drive and if he didn’t know the words to a song, he would just make them up.
“Hold me closer, Tony Danzaaaa,” he sang and I laughed.
“Colton, this is ‘Tiny Dancer’,” I informed him. “By Elton John.”
“No, no. Listen to the words, Ellie. He says Tony Danza.” He planted a sloppy kiss on the back of my hand.
Amused, I went back to letting him sing it however he wanted, making a mental note to get Colton drunk more often. He was hilarious.
Once we got to his apartment, he tried to convince me to have sex in the car, but I insisted on going inside where no one would see us.
The Good Guys Box Set: TRUCKER, DANCER, DROPOUT, and A Trucker Wedding Page 40