Returning to Rockport: A Brother's Best Friend Romance

by Kelsey Clayton

  “Still, we shouldn’t be doing this. What if that was Maverick?”

  Hearing my own words, everything changes. The nightmare I had the other day replays in my mind in a way that feels alarmingly real and absolutely terrifying. What if that had been Maverick? Would Colton have ended everything with me to please my brother? I mean, he’s done it before and without Maverick even knowing about us. Who’s to say he wouldn’t do it again when the stakes are so much higher?

  “Mac, relax. Rome isn’t going to say anything.” He reaches to grab my hand but I yank it away.

  “That’s not the point!” I take a deep breath and lower my voice. “At any moment, my brother could walk through that door. We shouldn’t have risked it. It’s too reckless.”

  Before he can stop me, I back away and walk out his bedroom door. The sound of him calling my name faintly echoes through the house as I make my way down the stairs and outside. No matter how bad I want him to hold me after the potentially life changing scare we just had, I can’t let him. We’ve gotten too close lately and I’ve let my guard down way too much. If I don’t protect myself and things go wrong, there’s only one way this could end – with me broken and in pieces on my bedroom floor. I can’t let that happen again.

  I step up next to Ivy and Tatum and plaster on the best smile I can manage. If either of them realize it’s fake, they thankfully don’t mention it. A few minutes later, I hear the door open and glance over to see Colton stepping outside. Our eyes meet and we hold the gaze for a minute before he looks away and shakes his head. I do my best to ignore the pang in my chest. I need to be more careful.

  18

  MCKENNA

  It’s been a week since the party at Maverick’s and I can’t get the thought of Roman walking in on us out of my head. If Colton didn’t trust him so much, I’d be terrified he’s going to say something to Maverick. They’ve all been friends for the same amount of time, so it’s not like he holds any more loyalty to Colton than he does Mav, other than maybe the fact that Colton is his boss. Ugh, it’s just all so frustrating.

  I’m sitting at the nail salon with Ivy on one side of me and Tatum on the other. The foot bath feels amazing as the chair massages into my back. A day out with two of my favorite girls is exactly what I need.

  “Oh Mac, before I forget, the bakery called to confirm your appointment for next Saturday. Parker is going with you, correct?”

  My brows furrow as I try to figure out what she’s talking about, then it hits me. “The cake tasting! Right, yeah he’ll be there.”

  Ivy snorts and rolls her eyes. “You’re going through a lot of trouble for a wedding that won’t end up happening anyway.” Mine and Tatum’s jaws drop as we both turn to look at her and all she does is shrug. “What? I’m just saying what no one else will. It’s Colton.”

  “Exactly. It’s Colton. It’s my brother’s best friend. It’s the guy who made it so I felt like physically ripping my heart out of my chest would hurt less than the pain I was in. It’s dangerous, and reckless, and almost guaranteed to ruin me.”

  “Mac…” Ivy sighs.

  “Don’t.” I cut her off. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just trying to keep my distance for a bit. I let my guard down too much, and I need to make sure I’m protected. I can’t afford not to be.”

  “Oh because avoiding him has done so well for you in the past.”

  I glare at my best friend until I can’t help but smile. “I’m not avoiding him, per se. I still answer his texts. I just make excuses as to why I can’t hang out. I don’t even think he realizes anything is wrong.”

  Tatum chuckles, not looking up from her phone. “I live with the guy. Trust me, he realizes.”

  Okay, maybe a girls’ day wasn’t such a great idea after all. I grab the earbuds from my bag and slip them in place. The best way to not listen to their opinions on my hot mess of a love life, is to drown them out. As the beat blasts into my ears, I close my eyes and lay my head back. Now this is what I needed.

  MY LEGS BURN AS they move at a faster pace than usual. I do my best to control my breathing but it’s hard. Running has always been an outlet for me. It’s a way to clear my head and allow me to focus on what’s important. The harder I push myself, the better I feel.

  I arrive at the docks a full three minutes quicker than I usually do, making me smile at the accomplishment. If I keep this up, I’ll reach a five minute mile in no time. I pull the earbuds out and walk over to take a drink from the water fountain. Being in the end of June, it’s really starting to heat up outside. The breeze coming off the bay feels good against my skin. I walk over to the railing and lean against it to take in the view.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” A familiar voice says from behind me. I don’t need to turn around to know who’s standing there.

  “Gorgeous.”

  As Colton steps up next to me, I can feel the way my heart yearns for him. After spending a week and a half apart, I don’t know how I’ve made it this long. Every inch of my body craves him all of the time. There hasn’t been one day that’s passed where I didn’t consider throwing caution to the wind and risk getting hurt to be with him.

  “How’d you find me?” I ask, still focused on the water in front of me.

  “I was already down here. I just happened to see you when I was about to leave.”

  I turn to face him and lean against the railing while I cross my arms over my chest. “Do you ever go to work?”

  He smirks and points to himself with one finger. “Boss.”

  “Mhm. That excuse can only get you so far, ya know.”

  The urge to be closer to him is strong. I can practically feel his strong arms wrapped around my body, holding me tightly as he presses light kisses to my neck. My sexual frustration has reached an all time high, and I’m almost positive being near him when I’m like this is really dangerous.

  He looks away from the view and catches me staring. I watch as he inhales a deep breath then lets it out. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I didn’t go anywhere.”

  “Mmm, but you did.” He tilts his head slightly to the side. “We spent just about every day together and then all of a sudden you’re too busy to see me? You can’t tell me you didn’t spend half this past week watching Netflix on your couch.”

  I chuckle at how well he knows me. “Fair enough. So why didn’t you come over and force me to see you?”

  He shrugs. “Because I figured if you were avoiding me, it was for a reason and something you had to work out on your own. I was just giving you the time and space to do that.” I go to speak but he puts one finger up to stop me. “But, it’s been a week and a half and I’m losing my mind, so I need to know. Are things over between us? Do you not want to be with me anymore?”

  The thought alone of losing Colton has me shaking my head before he’s even done asking the question. “No. That’s not at all what I want.” I gesture over to a bench and he follows me, sitting closer than necessary before I continue. “When Roman walked in on us, it freaked me out. If that had been Maverick, everything would’ve gone from calm to chaos in under a minute. To be honest, I got scared.”

  “Scared of what though?” He reaches over to hold my hand.

  “Of this, of us. You’ve picked Maverick over me before when there wasn’t even a choice to be made yet. Even the idea of that happening again makes my chest physically hurt.”

  Colton gets off the bench and kneels in front of me, forcing me to look at him. “McKenna, you have to believe that isn’t going to happen again. It shouldn’t have happened the first time, but it sure as hell won’t happen now. I’ve spent the last four years away from you, and I’ll be damned if I let Maverick cause me to go through that again.”

  His words overwhelm me. He’s been saying every single thing I’ve wanted to hear, and he’s doing it again now. Without another thought, I lunge forward and press our lips together. He sighs into the kiss, showing just how relieved he is. His hands are on my back, pull
ing me impossibly closer as my tongue dances with his. It’s probably way too racy for such a public place, but his mouth on my own makes everything else disappear.

  “I want to show you something.” He murmurs, pulling his head back to look into my eyes.

  I’m a little confused, but I nod anyway. He stands up and interlaces our fingers as he leads me down onto the docks. I let him pull me along until we reach one boat in particular. It’s a massive sailboat – the kind my dad would have killed for while I was growing up. Hell, it’s one I would have killed for. It’s breathtaking, with a wood finish and looking like it’s in mint condition.

  Colton wraps his arms around me from behind as I admire the vessel. The places I would go in that thing are endless. I can just picture sunbathing on it as it soars across the water. I hadn’t realized how much I missed being on a boat until being placed in front of this one.

  “It’s really pretty.” I whisper, afraid I’ll ruin it with too loud of a tone.

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  He chuckles and moves my chin so I’m looking at the back of the boat. McKenna. I gasp and cover my mouth.

  “Why is my name on there?!” My voice is muffled by my hand but I know he can hear me.

  “Because it’s mine.” He says as if it’s obvious. “Well, ours, if you’ll have it with me. I bought it.”

  “I’m sorry, you did what?”

  He turns me in his arms to face him and gives me one of his panty-dropping smiles. “I bought it for us. You’re afraid of getting caught. Well…” He gestures to the boat. “No one knows about this. Just you and I.”

  “Colton, this boat costs a small fortune! You can’t spend that much money just so we have a place to be alone together.”

  He presses a soft kiss to my forehead and holds me close. “I can, and I did.”

  It’s an obnoxiously sweet gesture and shows me how much he cares, no matter how extreme I think it may be. He took a problem I had and he found a way to solve it. I mean, a hotel room every now and then would have sufficed but I’m not about to complain. I’m completely enamored by the way he’s trying so hard to make us work. To earn my trust back. To make me happy.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  He grins. “Say you’ll spend the day with me.”

  Making a face and pretending to consider it, I squeal when Colton starts tickling my sides. “Okay, okay. You win, but only because the boat is just so pretty.”

  “Is that the only reason?”

  I smirk. “If it’s not, I’ll never admit it.”

  AFTER COLTON DRIVES ME home so I can change, we head back down to the boat and climb on board. It’s gorgeous. I take in the whole thing, from the sails to the antique looking ship wheel. Stepping down into the cabin, it has a kitchenette on one side and a small couch with table on the other. The door to the bathroom is right before a door leading to a small bedroom, where a queen size bed is perfect fit into the shape of the bow of the boat. The closeness of it all provides a cozy feeling.

  “Do you like it?” Colton whispers with his lips against the shell of my ear.

  “Mmm, it’ll do.” I tease.

  Messing with him is definitely one of my favorite things. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into him. Within seconds, my entire body is practically on fire. Want and need course through me at an uncontrollable rate. My head lulls back as his lips press light kisses against my neck.

  “Colton.” I moan his name like it’s the only thing I can think of right now. Truthfully, it is. He’s infiltrated my every thought with just a simple touch.

  I can feel him grin where his mouth is on my skin. “What is it, baby? What do you need?”

  An involuntary whimper slips out and I can almost picture what this is all doing to his ego. He’s already cocky. Seeing how he can get me all worked up with such minimal effort on his part is only going to make that worse. Despite the huge part of me that doesn’t seem to care at the moment, an even bigger part wants to knock him down a few pegs.

  “I want…”

  “Yeah?”

  “To feel…”

  “Mhm?”

  I can’t help but smile as the next words come out. “The way this thing can glide across the water.”

  He releases me with a pout and I instantly miss his warmth. The burning desire in his eyes almost has me dropping this façade, but I hold my ground and plaster a sickeningly sweet grin across my face. As if he can read me like an open book, he narrows his eyes.

  “You’re fucking with me.”

  Chuckling softly, I slip past him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Once I reach the stairs to climb back out, I turn around and wink at him. He groans, showing his disapproval, but follows behind anyway. Just as I lean against the railing to look over the side of the boat, he presses himself up against the back of me. I can feel his hardened length pushing against my lower back. Fuck.

  “I can play if that’s what you want, but just know – you’re going to lose.”

  Biting my lip to suppress my moan, I take a deep breath before answering. “So you think, but I can hold my own. I’m not the same virgin you once knew.”

  “No, baby.” He slides his hand from my shoulder, down my side to my hip. “You most definitely are not.”

  Seconds later, Colton releases me and steps back, going over to the console and starting up the boat. I follow as I wonder what exactly the plan is for today. When I see him starting to untie everything, I’m sure I have a pretty good guess. Still, I ask anyway.

  “What are you doing?”

  He looks up at me and smiles brightly. “You said you want to feel the way this thing can glide across the water.”

  My eyes widen. “We’re taking it out? Now?”

  He nods, then his expression turns to one that has me swallowing hard. “Out in the ocean where there is no where for you to run.”

  The rest of the morning and half of the afternoon passes by quickly. Colton and I spend the day on the boat as he teaches me how to sail. The little game we started when we first got on continues, and it’s hard to say who’s winning. I drive him wild by bending over in front of him, under the pretenses of needing to grab something or wanting to look down at the water. However, he gets me back by faking sea legs and falling into me, causing my body to be pinned up against the nearest wall. Every time he touches me, my drive to beat him at this becomes a little weaker.

  BY THE TIME THE sun sets, neither one of us are yet to cave. It hasn’t been easy, believe me. Once the sun was at its peak, Colton took his shirt off – leaving me to gawk at his perfectly toned body. I instantly cursed myself for not wearing a bikini under my clothes.

  My phone dings with a message from Parker. I know I should feel guilty, being with Colton behind his back, but to be honest – today has been the best day I’ve had in a while. I mean, Colton bought a boat simply so that we could be alone together. That has to be the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.

  I grab my phone and swipe it open to read the text.

  Parker: Going to be late, love. My study group moved to tonight. Don’t wait up.

  The second I read the words, I grin. Getting wrapped up in studying isn’t something new for Parker. He used to do it all the time while he was at Columbia. Academics are very important, not only to him, but to his parents. Their very strict rules were that if he got anything under a B while at university, they would force him to transfer back to a school in England. Needless to say, he constantly thrives for the A. So, while he stays and studies at med school, I’ll stay with Colton and learn a much different version of anatomy.

  “What are you all smiley about?” He asks as he comes out from the cabin with two beers for him and I.

  “Parker is going to be in Boston until late tonight.”

  His one eyebrow raises. “So, I don’t just get you for the day, I get you for tonight, too?”

  I tilt my head to the side. “I don�
�t know. I was thinking I should go see my other boyfriend.”

  He puts the bottles in the cup holders before lunging at me, tickling my sides and causing me to thrash around in his arms. No matter how much I move, I can’t seem to get out of his grasp. It isn’t until I arch my hips up to grind into him that his demeanor changes. He growls lowly before lunging, covering my mouth with his own. It’s hot, and passionate, and makes me feel like my heart is going to burst right out of my chest.

  “I want you so bad.” He pants, licking over my bottom lip. “You’ve been such a fucking tease, all day.”

  I smile into the kiss, knowing I succeeded in my plan to drive him wild. It was fun to spend hours rubbing up against him and then playing it off as innocence. I could see how much he was struggling to teach me as I wriggled my ass into his crotch. The way he kept tensing up told me everything I needed to know. Now, our every move has lead to this, neither one of us being able to control ourselves any longer.

  A moan flows from my mouth as he grinds down into me. His lips attach to my neck and suck, hard. A part of me wants to chastise him for potentially leaving a mark, but it feels too good to make him stop. With very little effort, he picks me up and carries me down into the cabin. He slams the bedroom door shut with his foot and tosses me down onto the bed.

  “You are something else, McKenna.” His eyes rake down my entire body before going back up to my eyes. “Something else entirely.”

  I’M LAYING ON THE floor of the boat, staring up at the stars, while Colton sits in the chair beside me. The glass of wine in my hand rests on my stomach. The two of us take turns asking each other questions – each one ranging anywhere from meaningful to stupid.

  “Okay, my turn.” He smiles. “What’s your favorite memory from NYU?”