In Another Life

101

I wondered if Colby and Denise had heard any of that...the walls in this place were pretty thin so probably. Ugh, whatever. I wasn't going to let this ruin my night with Colby...even if I knew that what Justin said was true. There wasn't any way around it. The universe wasn't entitled to allow me to have what I wanted, what I needed, so I knew that nothing was coming out of this. Just a visit. A dive into my happiness, another bout of memories that I could hold on too, to last me through the lonely nights. The thing is that Justin would be perfect for me. He really would. He listened to me, backed off when I asked him too, even remembered little details, like the fact that I love mint chocolate. I had mentioned it one time at the movies, when we had all went as a friend group. I got Junior Mints and wished out loud that they had Andes instead. Two weeks later, when everyone was hanging out at his and Derek's place for movie night, he laid out the snacks and tossed me a box of Andes mint chocolates. Little things like that made me realize how much he actually paid attention and cared for me. I don't even think that Colby knows that I like mint chocolates. Maybe he did though. He had asked me a million questions in Florida, and I couldn't even remember half of them. I waited until I couldn't hear Justin's footsteps anymore, then plastered a fake smile on my face and walked back inside of my apartment. Colby and Denise were on the couch, talking quietly, but looked up when I came inside. I could tell by their faces that they had hear at least some of what had just happened. "Hey, you okay?" Colby asked, looking a little apprehensive, glancing at Denise then back to me. What had she said to him? I nodded, and sat back down. "Yeah, I'm good. Just a little misunderstanding between friends. It's all good though." I knew my face had to be a little red from when I was trying not to cry but I was hoping that the make up covered it. My eyes were probably glassy and red too, but there was nothing I could do about that. "You sure? Is it okay that I'm here? Maybe I should've told you first. I just thought it would be fun to sur-" I cut him off. "Colby, it's amazing that you're here! You can drop by anytime you want, without telling me, and it would be perfectly okay. Honestly, this has nothing to do with you," I lied. And he knew that I was lying. I could see it in his face, but he closed his mouth and nodded, pasting a small smile onto his face. "Okay, well what about this club? Are we still going?" "Hell yea we are! I've been waiting all week and I'm already dressed," Denise exclaimed, wiggling her body on the couch a bit. "I'm ready to dance, damn it!" I laughed at her enthusiasm and felt a little of my excitement for the night coming back. I had thought that I would mainly be dancing with Justin and my girls but now Colby was here. My mind flashed back to us dancing at the club in Florida and in the hotel room, when I tried my best to teach him some dance moves. "You ready to dance?" I asked Colby, nudging my leg against his. He gave me a soft smile. "As long as it's with you," he replied. Damn it, there goes my heart again. I felt my face flush, as I smiled back at him. "Alright love birds, let's go," Denise replied, standing up. Colby stood and held his hand out to me. I placed my palm in his and felt that familiar click, like it was just supposed to be there. "Did I tell you that you look amazing tonight? I really like that skirt," he murmured, keeping my hand in his as we followed Denise to the door. I blushed again and looked down at my little school girl plaid skirt. "Thank you. I just bought it. Thought this would be the perfect time to wear it." "Lucky me," he said, his eyes roaming up my stocking clad legs. How in the fuck did he make it feel like his actual fingertips tracing my skin, instead of just his eyes?? I shivered a little when his gaze finally met mine again, feeling my heartbeat pound in my chest. I had been away from him for far too long, and through a phone just didn't hit the same way. This man was so much more powerful in person, and he completely oozed with sex appeal. I took a deep breath, broke his gaze, and grabbed my purse from the counter. We locked the door, and headed downstairs to Colby's rental car. He walked ahead of us a little, leading us to the right car. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Denise asked, laughter evident in her voice. I knew why instantly. It was a fucking Corolla. I put my hand over my mouth to hide the smile there, as he glared at Denise. "You can choose what car you get and you chose a Corolla? I understand why you have an attachment to yours, but a rental?? what the fuck Colby?" He looked a little embarrassed. "They are very dependable cars, Denise. We're going to be traveling a lot, while we're here, and I didn't want any problems. I can trust a Corolla." She busted out laughing and nodded. "Okay, sure, lets go with that." "Oh shut up and get in the damn car before I leave you here," he growled, opening my door for me. I giggled and settled myself into the dark blue car. It was newer than Colby's but you could still see the similarities. I thought it was so cute that he had chose this car but I wasn't going to crack on him about it. I'm sure Denise would do that enough. He closed Denise's door, then walked around and climbed in on the driver's side. I watched him move the chains on his pants before sitting down, and smiled. He was so out of place in this little town, and I think I loved him more for it.