Addicted to You (3 page)

Morning-afters. Twenty years on this planet and this was my first one resulting from a one-night stand.

But everyone should have at least one, right? And, really, if I was going to eventually have one, Colby wasn't a bad choice. Problem was, it felt like more. Like we'd made a connection.

It seemed as if sex should be easy to walk away from, but intimacy…that was a whole other story. It's like it found all the little fissures in my protective walls and seeped its way deep down, until it reached my core. And that changed everything. It took the person I wanted to be, tapped at that well-built exterior, then shattered it into a million fragments until all that was left was
me.
The real me was stripped bare of the friendship facade, and left behind was the vulnerable girl in love. And, truthfully, that was what I ran from this morning.

When I slipped out of Colby's bed early this morning, I convinced myself it was to avoid Landon, and, well, to prove to Colby that what happened between us was no big deal. Just two semidrunk friends messing around. We didn't need an awkward goodbye or a fumbling call-you-later. We could just move on. Friends. With a secret. Not benefits. Especially since I had a pretty strong feeling that it was a one-time thing. Chances of it happening again seemed slim. But did I want it to? That was a serious question that I'd have to ponder later, because right now my brain could barely process what
had
happened. Replaying the way he kissed me, and how his hands slid over my body…yeah. Bad idea. My stomach swirled with part excitement, part fear. All I really wanted to do was call Felicity, but it was too early to bother her and I had to start my shift at Eddie's in an hour. Which was probably good for once. Best thing to do was busy myself with work.

“Isla.” Grandma turned in the kitchen, a coffeepot in one hand, a wet rag in the other. “I didn't even hear you come in.”

“I actually got home before you. I was in my room.” I made my way around her and popped open the fridge. Partly to grab breakfast, but mostly to avoid eye contact.

“Oh, well, that must have been early—”

“I work the morning shift. Wanted to get home in plenty of time to shower and grab breakfast.” I held up the yogurt cup. “Didn't want to eat up all of Colby's food.”

“Was everything okay over there?”

My hand hovered above the spoons in the drawer. “Um, yeah.”

“Bien.”
She turned back to the sink and rinsed the coffeepot. “It seems the rain was bad but thankfully the storm didn't cause much damage.”

My shoulders relaxed. “Oh yeah, there was no wind damage or anything like that.”

She glanced back, gaze landing on my yogurt. “Let me make you a real breakfast. Maybe some
papas con huevos
?”

No matter how old I got, Grandma was still Grandma. “Yogurt is fine.” I gave her a peck on the cheek as I passed. “And if I wanted potatoes and eggs, I'm perfectly capable of making them myself.”

“I know,
mijita.
But you won't be living here much longer. Let a grandma spoil her granddaughter while she can.”

“
Gracias, pero no hoy.
How about another day? Sunday? Let's make a big breakfast together.”

“
Ay bueno.
I'd like that.”

I smiled. “Me too. Now I need to finish getting ready.”

“
Si,
but invite Colby to breakfast too,” she called after me. “I need to repay him for his hospitality, and for taking such good care of my beautiful granddaughter.”

I practically stumbled in the hall as heat rose up my chest and seared my face. Oh, he took care of me all right. “Um, yeah. I'll mention it to him.”

That afternoon at work I did everything I could to keep my mind off of Colby, except it was near impossible, partly because business at Eddie's always slowed after the wave of summer tourism stopped, but mostly because thinking about Colby was like breathing. It was just what I did. How I passed my time every day. Whether I wanted to or not, thoughts of him just floated around my head. Add in the fact that I now knew how it felt like to kiss him—short answer: amazing—and there was no way I could
not
think about him.

And once my mind drifted back to his bed, little sparks would tingle in the pit of my stomach, then slowly spread over my body, warming it exactly as he had the night before. I brushed my thumb over my lips, recalling how he'd done the same thing.

“Isla?”

I yanked my hand down and turned to Eddie, convinced he could see the flush on my skin and the guilt in my eyes.

He tossed a towel over his shoulder and leaned against the counter near the hostess stand. “We're kinda slow today, so if you want to take off early, you're welcome to. I think I can manage the hostess stand for the rest of the day.”

Though I'd normally jump at the chance to have a day off, being alone with my thoughts was the last thing I wanted. At least at work I had something to do to help temporarily mute my brain. Not that it had helped much, but there were a few moments Colby wasn't in the forefront. Oh, who was I kidding? I forgot menus when seating one family, and completely botched drink orders at another table.

“Sounds good. Let me finish up what I was doing, then I'll take off.”

He pushed off the counter and called back, “Enjoy your day.”

“Thanks.” I slid the stack of menus back into the holder, finished rolling silverware, then went to the computer to clock out.

The door dinged, and I glanced toward the kitchen but Eddie didn't reappear.

“Hey, Isla.” Landon's voice drew my attention to the entrance but my gaze drifted past him and right to Colby, who stood alongside him.

“Hey.” I fought to keep my voice steady and my smile natural. “Are you eating here or picking something up?”

Colby, who'd been studying me, finally shifted his gaze. “We called in something. Eddie took our order.” He glanced back up. “How's your day been?”

“Um, great.” My forced smile couldn't possibly look natural so I turned away and scrolled through the computer. “I actually just clocked out, but I can check on your order real quick.”

“Well, if you're off, you should come hang out,” Landon said.

I glanced over my shoulder as Colby lifted his baseball cap, then settled it back on his head. “Yeah. It's Matt's birthday tomorrow so we're all hanging out tonight. You should come.”

Was that a pity invite or genuine?

Dammit. This was Colby. Of course I was welcome. And
this
was the problem with hooking up with your friend. At least for me. It shifted the dynamics, and turned me into an insecure mess.

“I'm going to check in with my grandma, but I might stop by.”

“Yeah, for sure. Matt's bringing his new girl and I'm sure she'd appreciate the company.” Landon chuckled.

“He has a girl now?” I shifted back to the guys. “Who's he dating?”

“Brandon's sister Taylor.”

I stared at him, trying to decide if he was serious, then, realizing he was, shook my head. “Oh, that's gonna end well.”

Landon chuckled. “In a wedding or a funeral.”

Colby shrugged. “Brandon seems cool with it. And Taylor and Matt are happy. Even if it doesn't work out, it was worth a shot, right?”

Wait. Was this one of those times I should or shouldn't read more into that comment? Colby
had
always been sort of the mediator in situations like this, so he was probably just doing what he did…but oh, how I really wanted that to be a message to me. Like he was secretly saying maybe we could give things a shot. Maybe I didn't need to be “that friend” he hooked up with one time. Maybe I could be the girl worth dating.

Though right now I was just the girl overthinking everything.

I shook it off. “That's true. Let me go grab your order before it gets cold.”

“Cool, thanks.” Landon sat on the bench and stretched his legs out.

And maybe it was wishful thinking but Colby's gaze seemed to track me as I disappeared around the corner into the kitchen. I bagged the to-go boxes, then took them back to the guys.

“Here you go.”

Colby, who was still standing, reached for the bag and, yeah, we totally had one of those moments where our fingers brushed each other's and all the warm tinglies rushed through me. But the question was: Did it affect him? And by first look the answer was a big fat
no.
Which meant it was as good a time as any to throw out Grandma's invite and extend it to Landon to avoid one giant awkward breakfast.

“Oh, Grandma wanted me to invite you over for breakfast Sunday.”

Colby looked at me and a small smile began to form on his mouth.

“You too, Landon. If you can drag yourself out of bed before lunchtime, come over, okay?”

Colby glanced back at his brother, the smile fading. “Yeah. I'll get him out of bed.” But when his smile reappeared, it didn't look quite as spontaneous.

Landon tilted his head in my direction. “Hey, when it comes to your grandma's cooking, I'll get my own ass out of bed. No problem there.”

I laughed. “She'll be thrilled to hear that.” I gave him a pointed stare. “Don't let her down.”

“Never.” He stood and stretched, his shirt riding up a tiny bit around the waist, and no doubt he had the kind of body most girls would drool over, but I saved all my fantasies for his younger and—in my opinion—much hotter brother.

The two said goodbye, lunch in hand, and I pretended to be really preoccupied restocking menus but really it just gave me a chance to busy my hands while sneaking a peek at Colby as he walked away. And this was one of those moments I really missed my best friend.

I straightened, shaking off my thoughts once again, and untied my apron. Of course, now the question was did I go to Colby's? He did say Taylor would be there, which might help. It wasn't often girls hung out there. And though she was a little younger than me, she'd been around a few times with her brother. I didn't know her well, but she seemed nice. I sighed and shoved my apron into my bag. This was Colby's. I shouldn't need to talk myself into this. But maybe a few days apart was what we needed. A little time to forget about what had happened. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, like that was possible.

“You okay?” Eddie had reappeared and caught me in the middle of my mental argument. Awesome.

“Oh yeah.” I waved my hand like muttering to myself was the most normal thing ever. “Just remembered I have an assignment due for school.”

“Well, now you have the afternoon off to work on it.” He smiled and patted my head as he walked by. Really it must just be a short girl problem, because everyone seemed to feel the need to reassure me like a child.

“That's true.” I smiled. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Get your work done,” he called as I pushed through the doors.

Before the door swung shut, I shouted back, “Yes, sir.” Mostly because I knew Eddie hated being called sir, claiming it made him feel old. Not that he was young, but I guess he hung on to what he could.

I laughed as his expression fell. With a grin, I waved bye, and he shook his head then turned to head back to the kitchen. The problem with Eddie playing hostess was he tended to forget he was actually supposed to stay up front. Oh well, it was his restaurant.

As I walked to my car, I pulled out my phone and called Felicity. Her phone rang several times with no answer. I ended the call and slid the phone in my back pocket just as it chimed. I pulled it back out and read the screen.

Felicity:
Just got to a photo shoot. Can't answer now. What's up?

Unfortunately this wasn't the kind of chat I wanted to have through texts. I knew when she worked shoots they usually lasted several hours, which meant I probably wouldn't get a chance to talk to her before going to Colby's.

Me:
Just call me when you have time to talk.

Felicity:
Everything all right?

Me:
Yep! Just wanted to chat.

Felicity:
Okay. I'll call you later.

For years, I'd been dying for some Colby-action, dreaming about a moment just like this. Now here it was and I was completely lost. No clue how I should be acting, and no one around to help me figure it out. When I couldn't turn to Felicity, my next choice was always him. What now?

Grandma flitted through my mind but that idea was quickly smothered. I couldn't talk to her about this. No way.
Gah.
I needed more friends.

I pulled up to Colby's and stared at his house. It was as familiar as the cars parked in front of it, yet everything felt off. And because of that, I just knew I'd walk in the door and the guys would
know.
Not because I didn't trust Colby to keep quiet, but because I wore my emotions, and subtlety wasn't really my strong point. My expression would basically be like an “ask me about the amazing sex I had with Colby last night” sign. I was so screwed. Maybe I shouldn't even bother? I could just go home, get a little schoolwork done, maybe finally get a chance to talk to Felicity—

My heart leapt from my chest as a hand banged on my window, followed by a deep laugh.

Owen shouted, “You napping in there?”

I rolled my eyes and, with no other choice now, opened my car door.

“I was until you came along.” I playfully swatted his arm. “Need help with those?” I pointed at the two cases of soda he carried.

He raised his arm, intentionally causing his bicep to flex, then winked. “I got it.”

With a laugh, I rolled my eyes. “I'm sure that works wonders on the girls at school.”

“You think?”

But I didn't bother answering because clearly Owen knew the answer. And I couldn't really blame him. He was basically Colby's good looks topped with Landon's charisma. Like the best of both his older brothers wrapped up in one adorably cocky package. Somehow it really worked for him.