Dare to Dream (Truth or Dare #2) (6 page)

Colby

I’m trying to remind myself that Lea’s fine, she’s simply enjoying a day
, and now evening, with Rebecca, but with every passing hour, it gets harder for me to stay calm. She was still closed off tight this morning and I’m hoping she’ll be relaxed enough to talk about whatever’s bothering her tonight. I don’t remember a time in the past four years when I wasn’t her go-to person when she had too much shit on her mind. Even worse, I don’t know what I did to make it so that I’m not that person now. It really hurts me knowing that.

The faint sound of giggles breaks the silence in the hotel moments before I hear the distinct click of the suite door opening. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or pissed off to see Lea and Rebecca half-stumbling into the room. Lea doesn’t get drunk. Even before the party this summer, she wasn’t a big drinker,
and I can count on one hand the number of times she has touched alcohol since then. Or can I? Fuck, I’m not there for her now, so who knows.

“Hey
, baby,” Lea slurs, draping her arms over my shoulders. When she kisses me, my taste buds are overwhelmed with the syrupy sweet taste of whatever fruity concoctions she was drinking tonight. “Can you give Rebecca a ride home?”

“Seems like you two had a good time tonight,” I bite out, trying to hold back the irritation coursing through my veins. “Let me grab my keys.”

“Colby, I swear we didn’t have that much. We didn’t eat dinner and I think that’s what did her in.” Rebecca’s eyes are fixed toward the floor, like she’s upset with herself. Even if drinking was her idea, Lea knows her limits, so it’s not Rebecca’s fault.

“I swear I didn’t drink too many, baby.” Lea’s still hanging on me. She’s not three sheets to the wind yet, but definitely two and a half. “I haven’t had more than one in a night since…”

She glances at Rebecca, not wanting to finish the sentence. Lea still struggles with the fact that she was drugged at a party last summer, no matter how much all of us try to tell her it wasn’t her fault. The asshole that did it has been dealt with at this point, and the drink wasn’t even meant for her. The fucked up thing is Levi did it as a prank, not expecting one of his buddies to set down the drink and forget about it. I doubt the stupid fucker will ever think that putting paralytics in someone’s drink is a hilarious joke again.

“Okay, I believe you.” I tilt her chin up so she’s looking into my eyes. She looks like she’s about ready to cry. We’ve had enough heaviness on this mini-vacation to last a lifetime. I need to get Rebecca home, and then I need to show Lea that I’m not upset with her. I was, but seeing the way she’s waiting for me to explode, on top of the fact that I meant it when I said I trust her, dissolved the disappointment that was creeping in. “
Let’s get you into something more comfortable. Then, I’m going to run Rebecca home and pick up some food. When I get back, we’re going to talk.”

Rebecca’s slumped over the arm of the couch when I finish helping Lea into bed. She was definitely bubbly when the girls got to the room, but I doubt this is a case of a passed out drunk. From what Aaron has told me about how much she does on a daily basis, I’d lay money that she needed a break from being a mom and wife, not to mention having a demanding career, and this is her passing out from sheer exhaustion. It’s tempting to call Aaron, tell him to deal with the kids in the morning and let her sleep, but I’m not sure how that would go over. Plus, my plans for the night don’t include company.
I compromise with myself, letting Rebecca sleep until she gets uncomfortable enough to wake up, then I’ll figure out if she needs a ride home.

She asks for a cup of coffee when she wakes up, insisting that she’ll be fine to drive once she’s more alert. Given what happened to her
first husband, I have no doubt she’s telling the truth. I brew a cup of the strongest offering in the carousel of single serve K-cups and sit with her while she sips the steaming brew.

It takes her a while to open up to me, but eventually, she shares a bit of what Lea divulged to her earlier in the day. I’m grateful for the information and love her for the fact that she seemed conflicted. She’s not a busybody, sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong
— she is simply a concerned friend who doesn’t want to see a relationship fall apart when it doesn’t need to.

Eventually, she leaves me sitting alone in the living area, debating whether I want to work for a while or wake up Lea
so we can talk now. In the end, I pull out my lyric journal and start polishing up the lines to some of my older songs. Tomorrow morning, I’m hoping to be able to meet with Pete to tell him that I’m interested in the deal he put on the table. The attorney Aaron had me meet with explained the parts of the contract that were like reading a foreign language and assured me that I’m not getting screwed in the deal. It’s not going to make me wealthy overnight, but it’s fair. He also assured me that once my contract with Pete is signed, Pete will go to bat for me to make sure that any deal I sign is legitimate.

I would have called him this afternoon, but I needed to talk to Lea. Now that Rebecca has indicated that
her problem has nothing to do with my career, I feel confident in moving forward. It’s a longshot, but I’m hoping Pete that will be able to at least get me a little face time with Cameron so we can discuss the recording aspect. I want to show both of them that I’m not expecting them to do all of the legwork for me when it comes to the songs I record. I know my original songs will need a professional’s ear to make them into something usable, but I’d like to think it’s something I can excel at with a bit of mentoring.

**

Hours later, Lea stumbles out of the bedroom, massaging her temples. It’s cute to see her suffering this morning for last night’s fun. The clock on the wall says it’s almost five in the morning. I look at the stack of freshly edited songs next to me on the desk and allow myself a sense of accomplishment to keep me from feeling guilty for staying up all night.

“Hey
, baby, rough morning?” I ask, unable to keep from chuckling when Lea glares at me. Her hair is all over the place and she has mascara smudges under her eyes, but she’s still the most beautiful woman in my mind.

She mutters something that sounds a bit like ‘fuck off’ as she fumbles with the coffee maker. I pretend to ignore her, figuring that the only thing worse than Lea before coffee is a hung
over Lea before she has coffee coursing through her veins. After organizing my papers yet again, I move to the couch, hoping she’ll curl up next to me.

The sun will soon be peeking over the horizon and it’d be nice to enjoy something so simple that we take for granted any other day of the week. If I
were smart, I would insist that we go back to bed, but the anticipation of what’s to come later today has my entire body humming. I’m sure I would wind up tossing and turning until eight o’clock, when I have every intention of calling Pete to give him the good news.

Shit. That means I have just over three hours to talk to Lea. I guess sleep isn’t going to happen, even if I want to do the intelligent thing for once in my life.

“Babe, once you’re awake, can we talk?” I ask, figuring there’s no better way to ease myself into this conversation. I know what Rebecca said before leaving last night, but I want to hear it straight from Lea. At the very least, I need confirmation that she’s on board with all of this because as Aaron reminded me yesterday afternoon, once I hand over this contract, my life is no longer my own. He didn’t mean it in a bad way, but he’s right that I will have people to answer to and there won’t be a way to throw my hands in the air and say I don’t want to do this anymore.

“Yeah, but only if you order some food while I jump in the shower. I really shouldn’t have skipped dinner last night.”
She pushes me away when I reach for her hand. After the way she’s been acting, I would be concerned, but being someone’s roommate for years before being
with
them gives a person insight into the other’s character. In this case, Lea feels like crap and isn’t going to let me give her a good morning kiss until she feels a bit more human.

On the other hand, she should know me well enough by this point to know that I don’t give a shit. I want to kiss my girlfriend and I intend to do just that. Pushing myself off the couch, I follow her into the bathroom. She shrieks when I pull her naked body to mine, clasping my hands around my own arms to keep her from wiggling away from me.

“Colby, knock it off! I look and feel like ass,” she grumbles, eventually giving in to the amusement of her predicament. She hits and kicks playfully, hoping I’ll give up, but I’m not the one suffering from the effects of too many martinis. I could do this all morning if necessary.

“And just like your ass, the rest of you is beautiful,” I whisper in her ear as I begin trailing kisses along her neck and shoulder. “I’ll make you a deal, give me a good morning kiss and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, I can sit here and torture both of us for a while.”

She moans when my lips land on a particularly sensitive spot. Every cell in my body says there’s only one right thing to do in this situation: throw her over my shoulder and toss her down on the bed. My grip around her stomach loosens enough that I’m able to reach up to her peaked nipples, gently tugging, eliciting more noises that seem to go straight to my groin. Lea leans forward, turning off the water and leads me into the dark bedroom. I bite my lip when I manage to step on one of the heeled shoes that somehow wound up on the hotel room floor.

“You mentioned something about torture?” Lea asks, her voice still slightly raspy from sleep. I strip out of my jeans as she slides back on the bed, coming to rest with her back against the pillows, legs spread in invitation.
This
is the Lea I was worried had somehow skipped town during my meeting.

I position myself between her legs, kissing my way from her belly button up to the hollow of her neck, allowing my chest to keep in constant contact with her already sensitive mound. By the time my lips reach hers, I can’t remember who I’m supposed to be torturing. The ache in my balls says I’m a masochist, intent on causing myself as much pain as possible before reaching for pleasure.
I kiss my way back up her body, adjusting myself so our bodies are perfectly aligned. Her hips buck off the bed as the head of my cock glides through her wet folds, tapping against her swollen clit.

When I finally
bury myself inside her body with one quick thrust, the sound of Lea begging me for more is music to my ears. Not wanting to disappoint, I prop myself over her body, pounding deep, feeling her muscles clench as each long stroke hits her in the perfect spot. My mouth crashes to hers in a devastating kiss that conveys the desperation she drives me to whenever she turns into this wanton vixen who will never tire of what we have. Our tongues seem to fight for purchase, a hungry back and forth battle as our bodies fall into a synchronized rhythm. Her body tenses beneath and around mine as she screams her love for me when I drive her to orgasm and I pull back, not yet ready for this moment to end.

She whimpers at the loss of my body filling hers and I feather kisses along her jawline. “We’re just getting started,” I promise her. Once I’m no longer on the brink of my own release, I push into her slowly, short strokes that cause her to groan in frustration. Slowly, we climb to the edge together, whispering promises of what the future holds, of how we want to hold onto this feeling for as long as possible. My need for her consumes me and I quicken my pace, reaching between our bodies to ensure that she comes apart again when I do. With her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, we free fall
to our climax. This is how sex is for us, a perfect cadence leading to immeasurable ecstasy.

I roll off her body, holding her to my chest as we struggle to catch our breath. “I love you, Colby,” she sighs, placing a single kiss over my heart. “I’m sorry I was a bitch yesterday and the day before.”

“You weren’t,” I assure her. Bitchy Lea I can handle. It’s when she pulls away from me that I have an issue with. It happens so infrequently that I feel helpless, and that’s something I hate feeling. “But I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t keep shutting me out. If we want to have any chance at forever, we can’t keep things from each other. Even when it’s hard to talk.” I force her eyes to meet mine so she’ll see that I’m not angry with her, kissing the tip of her nose.

“I know that now. And we will talk about it, but I really meant it when I said I needed something to eat and a shower.” She groans as she gets out of bed and I wonder if it’s from the hangover or the way I just abused her body. I shrug and slide out the other side of the bed. Hopefully this fancy hotel can whip up a hangover special
, two eggs over easy, bacon, and hash browns with a bagel slathered in cream cheese. She’ll bitch about me pushing so much food on her, but later in the day, she’ll thank me.

**

It’s hard to stay awake while I wait for Lea to get done in the shower. Breakfast has been ordered and there’s another cup of coffee brewed, sitting on the dresser for her. I could keep writing, but I don’t want to be in the middle of something when she’s ready to talk.

By the time she walks out of the bedroom,
the mug of coffee cupped between her hands, I’m damn-near asleep in my chair. It’s tempting to ask her if we can head back to bed and talk later, but that would be the easy way out. If we sleep now, I’ll likely be out like a light until it’s time for me to meet with Pete, and then we’ll be right back where we are now.