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Almost instantly I yank my eyes from his before feeling his fingers slide gently under my chin, lifting it until I’m once again meeting that intensely direct stare of his.  And yeah… that’s sexy as well.  I take a big gulp of air as he pins my gaze with his scorching hot one.

“I’m not saying I don’t like it,” he says softly, “I just want you to know that it affects me.”  His fingers stroke softly under my chin before sliding up to cradle my cheek.

Feeling nervous, I tug my gaze from his as I glance around the overly packed room searching for a new topic of conversation. “I can’t believe how many people are here.” I have to clear my throat when it unexpectedly cracks.

With a knowing smile lighting up his face, he thankfully lets our previous conversation drop as he too takes a look around before nodding.  “There’s a band playing in the backyard.  Let’s grab something to drink and we can head back there for a while.  Do you want a beer?”

I shake my head.  I’m not against drinking, it’s just not something I do anymore.  I like to be clearheaded.  Especially around Cole.  He scrambles my brain more than alcohol does.  Which is seriously saying something. 

“How about a water or soda instead?”

Already my throat feels dry.  “I’ll take a water, please.”  I turn around to ask if Brooklyn wants anything but she’s no longer behind me.  I blink at the space where she’d just been standing only a few moments ago. So much for sticking together…  “I guess it’s just me.”

Cole grins.  “Well, I’m happy to see
just
you.”  His fingers weave their way through mine.  Watching me for a moment, it’s almost as if he’s gaging my reaction.

I release a little sigh of relief when nothing happens.  Okay, maybe that’s not exactly true.  Because there is definitely a little shiver of pleasure snaking its way through me.  And because Cole is usually so smooth with his lines, I can’t resist teasing, “Just so you know- that was incredibly cheesy.”

He laughs as if pleased by my comment.  “But absolutely true.”  Then he jerks his head toward the back of the house, “I’ll bet that’s where Austin and Brooklyn disappeared to.”

With that he pulls me through the thick crowd of people standing inside the living room.  As we slowly weave our way around clumps of students, I can’t help but notice how Cole catches the attention of several girls we walk past.  It still boggles my mind that he chose me when he could have any girl he wanted.

As we pass through the kitchen, Cole snags two bottles of water before handing one to me.

“Thanks.” Twisting off the cap, I take a long drink.

“No problem.”  With my hand in his, he continues towing me behind him as we leave the house through the backdoor.  Surprisingly there seems to be just as many people jammed into the large fenced in yard but there’s a ton more room to spread out.  I honestly can’t believe how many people are here tonight.  The band is in one corner of the yard tuning their instruments.

“Dude, there are so many hot girls here!”

I turn in the direction of that booming voice until my eyes slam into a barrel-like chest before moving slowly upward until I’m finally able to latch onto his face.

It’s one I unfortunately recognize.  The corners of my mouth slide down as I stare at Alex.  I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing him again since the night he and I got into it.  Equally silent, he stares right back at me as if trying to place where he knows me from.  It’s only a matter of moments before he makes the connection.

“Hey,” his eyes flare wide before narrowing, “I remember you!”  His gaze slides accusingly to Cole who is next to me.  “That’s the girl who got all those crazy chicks mad at me.”  Gone is all his jovial happiness.  In its place is irritation.  “Do you know that they yelled at me for like forty minutes?  It was a total buzzkill.  And they wouldn’t stop following me around for the rest of the night either.  There wasn’t one single girl who would talk to me after that.”  He has that whole sullen toddler face going on again.  It’s actually hard to take him seriously when he’s pouting and glaring like that.

Instead of laughing like I’m tempted to do, I merely smile sweetly. “Hi Alex, good to see you again.”

His face becomes even more pinched.  Apparently not in the mood to return my greeting, he asks rather rudely, “Why are you here?”

Before I can utter a single word in response- because trust me, there’s one right on the tip of my tongue and it wasn’t going to be very nice- Cole cuts me off. “She’s with me.” Which is then followed by- “Do you have a problem with that?”  I almost blink in surprise because I’ve never seen Cole get all hard assed before.

God… how could that possibly be so sexy?

I want to throw my hands up in disgust because everything the guy does is sexy.

Alex’s deep brown eyes bounce slowly from Cole to me and then back again before he finally holds up one hand as if surrendering.  “There’s no problem, Cole.”

Still sounding all hot and hard assed, Cole adds, “Maybe you shouldn’t go around ass grabbing if you don’t want to have a pack of angry chicks bitching you out all night.”

Alex’s eyes narrow as his lips thin. “Maybe.” Giving me one last glowering look, he stalks off towards the house.

With an apology on the tip of my tongue, I turn to Cole but he beats me to the punch.  “I’m sorry about Alex.  Believe it or not, he really is a nice guy.”

“Oh, clearly,” I agree with a laugh.  Yeah, well, the jury is still out on that one.  Because now that’s two lousy interactions I’ve had with the guy.

The corner of his mouth lifts in humor as well.  “I’m serious, he really is.  He can just be a little dense sometimes.  He’ll come around.”  Then he mutters, “Eventually.”

“Can’t wait.”   But I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen. 

For the rest of the evening we listen to the band.  They’re a local group who play at a lot of bars around town but since one of the hockey guys knows the lead singer, they play exclusively at their parties which make the hockey parties really popular which explains the huge crowd.  Before I know it, I’m dancing with Cole, Austin, and Brooklyn.  And after a while, even Alex joins in.  He turns out to be quite smooth on his feet.  Which, yeah… is totally shocking.  A few drinks later, he sidles up to me looking sort of like a dog with his tail tucked between his legs and apologizes for grabbing me three weeks ago.  Even though it’s a nice surprise, I can’t help but wonder if Cole put him up to it.

After a few hours, exhausted from dancing, we just stand near the front of the makeshift stage listening as the band finishes their last set.  The crowd has finally thinned and the atmosphere is mellower.  Stifling a yawn, it definitely feels like it’s time to head home.  Tonight has been an awesome night.  One of the best I’ve had in a long time.  And I know that has a lot to do with Cole and the way he makes me feel when I’m with him.

Searching the crowd, I don’t see Brooklyn or Austin anywhere.

Cole leans down, whispering in my ear, “I think they disappeared upstairs about twenty minutes ago.  Do you want me to see if she’s staying over?”

I shake my head knowing that I’ll probably be heading back to the dorms alone tonight.  “No.”  She’s been spending quite a few nights here with Austin.  I assume it’s a pattern that will only increase in frequency if they stay together.  Brooklyn is way past her usual expiration date when it comes to dating a guy.

Cole is quiet for a few moments before he finally says, “I can drive you home or, if you want,” he looks adorably unsure as he continues, “you can just crash here tonight...”

Huge gulp.

Before I can even begin to protest, he pushes out the rest of the words. “We’d just sleep, I swear.  Or you could stay in my room and I’ll bunk somewhere else.  Whatever you want.”  Stepping towards me, he draws me slowly into the warm circle of his arms until I’m able to feel the heat of his body through my clothing.  “I know you need to take this slow and I don’t want to push you into doing something that makes you uncomfortable.  So, if it does, I’ll grab my keys and take you home right now.”

Surprised by his offer, I chew my lower lip thoughtfully.

Do I want to sleep here?

With Cole
.

All of the saliva in my mouth instantly dries as that thought rolls through my head.  Because sleeping is definitely all we would be doing.  There is no way I’m ready for more than that.  Even though Cole kind of makes me want to do more than that...

Cautiously I ask, “And you would be okay with that?”  Because the last thing I want is to put myself in another bad situation.  I’ve done that way too many times already. 

“Absolutely.”

The look on his face is so sincere.  I can’t help but believe him.  Searching his whiskey colored eyes, I realize that I want to spend the night with Cole.  I want to experience that closeness with him. “Okay.”

Before I can rethink my decision, Cole has my hand secured firmly within his own and is towing me through the small clusters of people who are still going strong even though it’s well after two in the morning.  Feeling nervous with each step that brings us closer to his bedroom, Cole leads me up the wooden staircase and then down a long hall until we stop at a locked door.  Pulling out a key, he opens the door before ushering me inside.

Feeling jacked up on nerves, I stand in the middle of his room, slowly taking everything in.  A large queen bed is centered against the back wall. There’s a navy bed spread covering it.  A desk is situated near the door where I’ve come to a complete stand still.  A neat stack of books are piled on top of it.  The backpack I always see him carrying around campus lies on the floor next to it.  Right now, Cole is rifling through a large dark wood dresser that matches the desk.  An overstuffed chair sits in the far corner.  Not that I’m totally surprised, but his room is actually quite neat.  Yes, there’s a pile of clothing stacked on the dresser along with some hockey gear lying around, but that’s about it.

My eyes fly back to his as he pulls out a light gray t-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts before handing them to me.  Feeling suddenly off balance because I’ve never actually spent the night in a guy’s room before, I hesitantly point towards the hallway.  “I’m, ah, just going to use the bathroom.”  With butterflies fluttering madly around in my belly, I take a hasty step towards the door.

“But don’t change in there, okay?”  Smiling slightly, his gaze holds mine.  “Wait until you get back here to do that.”

His words have my eyes flaring wide.  Gently, almost as if the shorts and shirt are a bomb, I carefully lay them on the bed before fleeing to the bathroom down the hall.  Shutting the door, I quickly lock it before leaning against it.  My heart jackhammers almost to the point of painfulness.

What have I gotten myself into?

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. 

Gnawing on my bottom lip, I squeeze my eyes tightly shut before doing a quick self-check.  Inhaling a deep steady breath, I slowly blow it out.  Nope, I’m not having any breathing issues.  My chest isn’t tight.  My stomach isn’t nauseous.  Well, other than the hundreds of butterflies that have suddenly winged their way to life within me.

I’m okay. 

I am not going to freak out.

I take a few more deep breaths trying to calm my rampaging nerves.

When I finally return from the bathroom, Cole is sitting in the comfy armchair tucked into the corner.  He’s leaning over, his elbows resting on his knees.  His long muscular legs sprawled out in front of him.   Hearing me, he quickly glances up.  Already he’s changed into a faded t-shirt and athletic shorts very similar to the ones he gave me.  My shirt and shorts are still sitting neatly folded on the end of the bed.

Which now seems to dominate the bedroom…

His eyes hold mine steadily as he comes to his feet.  “I’ll turn so you can change.”

Releasing a quick nervous breath, I watch as he crosses his arms over his chest before turning his broad back to me.  For just a moment or two, I stand there feeling strangely paralyzed before I finally pick up the soft t-shirt and unfold it. 
Timber Wolves Hockey
.  My fingers trail slowly over the navy embossed letters of the shirt.  Glancing at him quickly to make sure his back is still turned, I bring the shirt to my nose before inhaling.

Cole.

It smells just like him.  The ocean and something that’s just plain masculine.  For some reason, the mere thought of wearing his clothing, being cocooned in his scent, has my belly hollowing out.

Even though his back is to me, I still turn away before stripping out of my shirt and bra. With trembling fingers, I slide my jeans down my hips and legs before whipping on Cole’s faded gray t-shirt and athletic shorts.  I yank the shorts up to my waist but they’re a few sizes too big, so they keep slipping down my hips.

I’m trying to tighten the draw string when his fingers suddenly brush mine aside before pulling the string tight and tying it in a gentle knot just below my belly button.  His knuckles brush ever so gently over the soft skin of my stomach.  His touch has me sucking in a deep shuddering breath just as his eyes slice to mine.

Clearing his throat, he backs away slowly until there is once again distance between us.  “Better?”

“Yes.”  Those butterflies have become frenzied at his slightest caress.  I’m not sure just how much of this I can handle.  There is a small part of me that wants to do more than just sleep in his bed.  But the other part, the smarter part, knows I’m not emotionally ready for that yet.  In actuality, I’m probably pushing the boundaries of what I can handle without having a small (or God forbid-
huge
) freak out.  And I don’t want Cole to see me like that.  He’s already seen enough.