Our Song (16 page)

Chapter 24

Once I’d splashed some water onto my face, I stepped out of the bedroom and nearly collided with Colton, whose blue eyes were full of concern. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine.” I darted my eyes away from his, not wanting to face him. I hadn’t expected him to follow me to the bathroom and question my actions.

When I looked back at him, his eyes were staring back at mine knowingly. “You’re lying.”

Something inside of me snapped then. For some reason, I got really ballsy. “Okay, you know what? Fine. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I
am
lying. Maybe everything’s not okay. So what?”

“So, if you’re lying, we need to talk about what’s on your mind.”

“Maybe I don’t
want
to talk about it.” I folded my arms over my chest and stared at him with narrowed eyes.

“Maybe. But I don’t think you’d be confessing to lying if you didn’t want to talk about it,” he said matter-of-factly.

Damn. He was good…
really
good. Whether I wanted to admit it to myself or not, all I really wanted to do was pour my heart out to him.

“Fine. We can talk about it.” I glanced around, noting the people who stood downstairs, laughing and chatting away. I didn’t want any of them to overhear me—not just because I didn’t want what I was going to say to get released to the press but also because I was a private person when it came to my feelings. I wasn’t about to announce them for the whole world to hear. “But let’s go somewhere quiet.”

“Fine.” He turned on his heel and led me down the hallway. We walked across a second living room and then he pulled me inside a room, closing the door behind us. “What is it?”

Trying to gather my thoughts, I glanced around. Judging from the light blue paint and the posters of rock bands that hung from the walls, I was pretty sure it was his old bedroom.   

“It’s just…” I took a deep breath, trying to put my words into thoughts without making myself sound completely crazy, even though I was pretty sure that I
was
completely crazy.

“It’s just what?” He stared at me intently.  

“It’s just that I thought we were… friends.” I shook my head, trying to conceal my anger.

Even though I made a concentrated effort to avoid his gaze, I could still feel his blue eyes pouring over me. “We
are
friends. What would make you think we’re not?”

“Well, I know our situation has been complicated from the get-go, but friends don’t have drunken one night stands with each other and then call their friends’ roommates hot.”

There. I’d said it. If he hadn’t known I was jealous of him calling Skylar hot already, he knew now, but I didn’t even care. He needed to know how I felt.

“Wait, hold up. Is that
what you think happened between us? You think we had a one night stand?” Colton asked sharply.  

I glanced up at him, shocked by his tone of voice. “Well, yeah, considering that
is
what happened.”

He shook his head. “No. You’ve got it all wrong, Viola. We’ve never had sex.”

“Then why did we wake up in bed naked together?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

He just stared back at me with a dumbfounded look. “You really don’t remember
anything
about that night, do you?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“I probably should have figured as much.” He sighed. “We were both at the club and you were
really
drunk. You already told your security guard to go home for the night earlier, so he wasn’t even there to keep an eye on you. You were dancing on tables and it was just… it was bad.” He shook his head at the memory. “A few photographers got pictures, but I paid them off to get rid of them.”

“Really? You did that for
me
?” I whispered. Prior to that night, the two of us had never even really spoken. I wasn’t sure why he would’ve done something so generous for someone he barely knew—unless it was to get in her pants. That would’ve been the most expensive sex ever.

“Of course I did. A picture lasts forever. It has the potential to destroy an entire career,” he replied, as though what he’d done should’ve been obvious. “So, after that, I just knew I couldn’t leave you alone at the club without security.  We left together and went to the hotel—”

I cut him off. “Why didn’t you just take me back to my apartment?”

“I was afraid of what might happen to you if I left you there. You were
so
drunk. The last thing I wanted was for you to drown in your own vomit or something. So, I figured if we got a room… if we spent the night together… I could at least keep an eye on you. I chose the hotel that I knew I was going to have a meeting at with the label the next morning.”

So, it wasn’t by fate or coincidence that I’d woken up at the Luxe; it had been planned, premeditated, by someone who’d apparently actually read
his
email about the last-minute meeting. “Did you know I was going to be at the meeting, too?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I didn’t know any of the details.”

I stared at him for a few moments, allowing myself to absorb everything he was saying. “Even if all of that were true, it still doesn’t explain why we were both naked when I woke up,” I pointed out.

“You told me you were hot and wanted to sleep naked. I told you to go for it, but you insisted that I take my clothes off, too, so you wouldn’t feel weird about it.” Colton stared into my eyes with the most genuine look ever. “I know that probably sounds really shady, but it’s the honest truth, Viola. I never would have taken advantage of you while you were drunk. I’m not that type of person.”

“I see.” I swallowed hard, unsure how to feel. On the one hand, it was a good thing that he hadn’t taken advantage of me while I was drunk. It meant he was a decent guy
and
let’s face it—it also meant that I could stop wanting to kick myself in the ass over not remembering the details of that night.

But then there was another part of me that was bothered by the fact that I’d been wrong about the way things had played out. I just felt…empty.

Colton seemed to pick up on that empty feeling. “You seem disappointed.”

“Why would I be disappointed? Because I didn’t have sex with you? That’s crazy.” I forced a laugh, which didn’t sound convincing even to
me
. I guess that was because, when it came down to it, for some crazy reason, I actually
was
disappointed about not having sex with him. Something about knowing that Colton King wanted to have sex with
me
made me feel awesome. And I needed that, after what had happened with Jake.

“Are you sure it’s crazy?” He studied my face. “Because you seem pretty upset.”

“Of course I’m sure.” I rolled my eyes. “Come on, we should probably go back to the party.” I headed for the door when I felt his hand come down around my elbow.

“You’re lying. I can see right through you.” Colton stared down into my eyes and swallowed hard. “You should know that I
wanted
to be with you that night, Viola. I still want to be with you. The more time that I spend with you, the more that feeling just seems to intensify.”

I just stared up at him, completely shocked by what he was saying. I hadn’t expected him to say it—any of it. And it didn’t even make sense. “If you feel that way about me, then why did you call Skylar hot?”

“Oh, yeah, about that... I mean, yeah, she’s a pretty girl and all, but she’s not really my type. I just wanted to get a reaction out of you,” Colton explained, his lips curving up into a smile. “I just wanted to see if it would make you jealous. I didn’t think you’d go to this extreme.”

I smacked him on the shoulder playfully. “I can’t believe you would trick me like that!”

He grinned. “I can’t believe you would fall for it. In case you haven’t noticed, there are over a hundred women here at this party, and it’s
your
ass that I’ve been staring at all night.”

“Okay, doofus. How would I know if you were staring at my ass all night? That would mean you’d be behind me, so I wouldn’t actually see you.” As I said the words, the full realization of what he’d just admitted to hit me. Colton freaking King had been staring at
my
ass all night.
Score
.

“Good point,” he replied with a laugh. “Do you want to head back to the party now?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. The last thing I would’ve wanted his family to think was that the two of us had snuck off somewhere to do the dirty. The idea didn’t sound half-bad, but come on… I wasn’t
that
disrespectful. I had morals and values and all that good shit.

I could get through the rest of the party tonight, just as long as it meant taking my clothes off with Colton later on. And that was
exactly
what I intended to do.

Chapter 25

“Oh, look, there’s my mom,” Colton said once we’d gone back outside, pointing his chin at a woman who wore a long, navy blue gown. Her dark hair was pulled back into an eloquent bun, and even though she was talking to an elderly couple, she was gazing in our direction. There was a cold look in her golden brown eyes.

Deciding I was probably just being paranoid, I tried to push the thought away as Colton led me over to her. Why would she have been giving me a dirty look? We’d never even met.  

The couple had just walked off in the other direction as we approached her.

She smiled warmly at her son, but didn’t even look at me. “Colton! There you are. I’ve been looking for you all evening.”

“Yeah, I’ve been…around.” He shrugged. “I wanted to introduce you to Viola Pierce. Viola, this is my mom, Elizabeth.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Viola,” she said, her lips remaining in a tight line. When her eyes fell on mine, I
knew I wasn’t just imagining it—there was definitely a look of coldness behind her stare. What the fuck?

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” I shifted in my shoes nervously. I hated when people hated me for no damn reason.

At that moment, Colton’s cell phone rang from inside his pocket. He pulled it out and looked down at his caller ID.

“Shit, I gotta take this. It’s my manager. I’ll be right back, okay?” He glanced over at me for my approval.

“Okay,” I agreed with a nod, even though it
wasn’t
okay. The idea of being left alone with his mother made me uncomfortable… like,
really
uncomfortable. It felt like the equivalent of being left in a room with a pack of hungry wolves while wearing Lady Gaga’s meat dress. Nothing good could possibly come of it.

Once he’d walked away from us, Elizabeth turned to me. “So, I’ve noticed that you and my son have been spending a lot of time together lately.”

I couldn’t help but note the almost accusing tone in her voice. Was she one of those overprotective mama bears who felt threatened any time their son had a new girl in his life? I realized I didn’t know all that much about Colton’s relationship with his mom.

“Yeah, well, it takes a lot of time to write songs,” I explained. “It’s such a long process.”

“I understand that. I just hope your intentions with my son are genuine.” She stared at me from behind her gold eyes, which were framed heavily with makeup. “The last thing I would want to see happen is another Rosalynn situation.”

I blinked. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“Oh, I’m sure you read the tabloids.” Elizabeth waved a hand at me.

“No, I actually make a point of
not
reading them.” I decided not to tell her the reason I didn’t read them. I didn’t want her to get the idea to go digging up dirt on me, assuming she hadn’t already.

“Hmm.” She stared back at me, seemingly unconvinced. “I suppose if Colton hasn’t said anything to you about Rosalynn, he must not want you to know. But, as his mother, I can tell you my son’s had his heart yanked around enough. Please don’t do the same.”

Without saying another word, Elizabeth walked away from me, her heels clicking against the patio as she went.

I stood there alone, wondering if this Rosalynn person was Mystery Girl…and what she had done to hurt him so bad.

*

When Colton slid his car into the parking lot at my apartment complex, he got out and walked around to the other side of the car. He opened my door for me.

“Is this weird for you? Coming back here with me after an event where there was alcohol and me
not
being drunk for once?” I joked as I climbed out of the car.

He laughed. “A little bit. At least you won’t puke on my new shoes this time.”

“I still feel bad about that,” I told him sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t like them that much anyway.” He shrugged it off as he fell into place alongside me as we walked toward my apartment building.

I glanced around. Unless they got wind of the fact that something was going on with me, the Paparazzi usually left me alone when I was at home. But you could never be too sure.

Then again, I wasn’t even sure why I’d bothered to look. There was a time when I didn’t want any pictures of Colton and me to be released to the public, but it didn’t matter now. And it wasn’t just because I wanted to make Jake jealous, like some might’ve believed. It was because I really didn’t care. We were friends… or maybe even
more
than friends. I honestly wasn’t sure what we were after his confession earlier tonight.

Once we went inside the building, we slipped into the elevator, which was already open and waiting for us.

As we stepped inside, the doors closed. Colton glanced over at me. “I had a great time tonight.”

“Me too.” I swallowed hard, nervous to say what I knew was about to fly out of my mouth next. “The night doesn’t have to be over yet.”

“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?” He stared into my eyes with a knowing look.

“Do you want to stay the night?”

He pulled me to him, his hands encircling my waist as he brought his lips down on mine, kissing me deeply.  

I took that as a yes.