Back to the Drawing Board (21 page)

“God, it sounds
so
romantic,” Bailey sighed. “I want a Carter.”

“Me too,” Jennie said.

“Just be careful,” Tracey said. “You know I don’t want you to get hurt.”

The girls nodded in agreement. “I know. I
think
I know what I’m doing. We’ll see after tonight.”

“Hey Jules!” We all turned to see Colby behind us with his brother Isaac. What were the odds?

“Colby! Hi! You remember Tracey, Bailey, and Jennie, right?”

Colby slid in next to me, and Isaac next to Tracey. Isaac was a few years older than us and just as good looking as Colby. He looked like he had his eye on Tracey.

“Yes! You guys remember my brother, Isaac? He’s the ugly one.” We all laughed, and Colby slung his arm across my shoulders. Isaac was far from ugly.

“How did it go? You guys make good progress? I didn’t get back there after lunch.”

“Yes, I finished the Master, and Carter finished Garrett’s room except for the decals. Another day of painting and it should be done.”

“Super. Can I get you a drink?”

“Sure! I’ll have a margarita.”

Colby signaled the waitress and ordered a round for our table. “You guys don’t mind us crashing with you, do you? It’s busy in here tonight.” The lights dimmed, and the music was turned up, making it harder for us to hear. Some people headed to the small dance floor, their bodies moving to the thumping beat.

“Not at all!” I shouted. “The more, the merrier. The guys are over there playing pool.”

Colby turned and looked across the room, his face changing into a look I didn’t recognize.

“You okay?”

“Great,” he said, tightening his arm on my shoulders. He put his lips close to my ear so I could hear. “You look wonderful tonight, Julia. Well, that’s every day. Even with paint all over you.”

I smiled, not sure how to answer him. Colby had always been flirtatious with me, but that’s as far as it went. I kind of saw him as a brother, even if he was hot. “Thank you, Colby.”

“Will you go out with me tomorrow night? Let me take you to dinner.” Before I could respond, I felt a tug at my hand. Turning my head, I saw Carter standing next to the table, his hand on mine. He looked . . . angry.

“Let’s dance,” Carter said, looking over me at Colby. He removed his arm from around my shoulders and I stood up, looking back at the girls. They were all laughing, but I wasn’t sure what had just happened.

We reached the makeshift dance floor and Carter wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close as the song changed to something slower.

“I thought you were playing pool,” I said. My hands rested on his biceps as we swayed, and I loved feeling them flex as he held onto me.

“Not anymore.”

“I learned something new about you tonight. Well, two new things.”

“What’s that?”

“One, you’re good at pool. Two, that you like to dance.”

“I don’t like to dance,” he admitted.

“Then what are we doing out here?”

“I wanted to dance with
you
.”

Well, I couldn’t argue with that.

“I like this song.” Carter pulled me closer. I tried not to read too much into the fact that we were dancing to a love song, and he said he liked it. “Is it bad that Ethan is here and I shouldn’t be touching you, but I want to kiss you something fierce right now?”

I looked over my shoulder at Ethan, still playing pool with the guys. “He’s busy. Plus, Ethan is cool. He wouldn’t cause any trouble.”

“Does he want you, too?”

I laughed. “Not everyone wants me, Carter.”

“Yes, they do. I’m a man. I know how we think.”

“Do you? Well, the only one I want is you. So there.”

“Colby wants you.”

Realization dawned on me.
That’s
what this was about. I stepped back, forcing his arms to drop. It was all falling into place; the way Carter had acted at the Williamson’s house and now. “What’s wrong?”

“Is that what this is, Carter? Some sort of pissing contest between you and Colby? You didn’t come get me because you wanted to dance with me. You wanted to get me away from
him!
Right?” When he didn’t answer, I turned and walked away. On one hand, it was hot that he was jealous of Colby. But on the other hand, it was ridiculous. I fought for him to admit he had feelings for me for weeks, and
this
was what made him act this way? Colby?

I bypassed our table, where Tracey eyed me warily as I kept walking towards the restroom. I just needed a minute. Today had been amazing, and we’d made so much progress. But it seemed like the whole reason behind that was jealousy. That had probably been the reason Colby asked me out tonight too, because he’d never crossed that line before, either.

I shut the door to the one stall bathroom and leaned against it, willing my heart to stop racing. What was I doing? Carter was obviously not in any place to be in a relationship with me, but my stupid heart didn’t seem to care what his reason was for wanting to be with me now. Colby. That figured.

After calming my racing heart and shaking hands, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror. What was it that made Carter so much more appealing than Colby? Or Ethan? Or anyone? I’d thought I’d loved Scott back in the day, but even he never made me feel like this.

I reapplied my lip gloss and fluffed my hair. I needed a game plan. Colby was still here, and Carter now knew I was angry. What did I want to happen? Did I want to leave, or did I want to pat the egos of these two men?

Sighing, I opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out, my eyes trying to adjust to the dimness of the lights. I took another step when I found myself being pulled farther into the hallway. I fought to push the person off, but it didn’t work. Just when I was about to scream, I felt him against me.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into my ear. The beat of the music pulsed inside me, and his words made me feel drunk. “I’m crazy over you. This is a new feeling for me. I didn’t like the way he looked at you today. You aren’t a prize to be won, Julia. I know that. But to me, you’re the
ultimate
prize. I can’t promise I won’t hurt your feelings along this path, or that I know what I’m doing here.”

Tears flooded my eyes, and I was glad it was dark and he couldn’t see me. Carter had just said the exact words Johnny had told me, and he’d had no way of knowing. “Carter,” I said, my throat thick. I reached up and touched his face, my eyes adjusting to the darkness.

“God,” he moaned. “I made you cry? I’m an asshole.” Carter stepped back and ran his hands through his hair. “You deserve so much more than me, Julia. You’re the real deal; the whole package. I’m nothing but a mess.”

It was my turn now. “Carter. Stop. I’ll explain everything later about why I was crying, but not now.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my face against his broad chest. I loved the way he smelled.

He lifted me and pressed me against the wall so our faces were level. Just as he was about to crush his lips to mine, I took the initiative and closed the space between us. I poured every bit of anger, frustration and lust I had for this man into my kiss. He responded immediately, opening his mouth and entwining his tongue with mine. His fingers traced the inside of my thighs, sending electric shocks through my body. Just when I was about to beg for him to touch me, I heard a whistle from behind us.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” It was Tracey. “I come to look for you and
this
is what I see. Why don’t you guys head home? I’m going to hang out with the group for awhile, but it kinda looks like you want to be alone.” She giggled, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I rested my head on Carter’s chest. We were acting like teenagers.

“No,” I said, stepping back and smoothing my clothes down. “Come on, Carter. Let’s go enjoy the group. You said yourself you wanted to meet new people.”

“Right now, all I want is to meet you,” Carter said under his breath, and I was pretty sure I knew what he meant by ‘meet.’

“It was a great night.” I hugged my friends goodbye. It was late, but Carter’s fingers were laced with mine, a promise that we weren’t over. After we’d gone back to the table, I’d politely turned down Colby, and it had been obvious since then that Carter and I were seeing each other.
Wait . . . were we seeing each other?
We hadn’t said so, but it sure felt like it.

I didn’t want to think about work tonight, or my parents, or the obstacles we had to overcome. I just wanted to explore this new and amazing feeling of being transparent with Carter.

“It was great to finally meet you,” Tracey said, hugging Carter. She looked over at me. “Take care of her. I’ve been her best friend our whole lives, and I will kick some ass.”

Carter laughed. “I’m glad she has such great friends. It was great being with all of you tonight. We’ll have to do it again soon.” With that, he pulled me across the street to his car, a definite quickness in his step. His eyes followed my legs as I slid into the seat, but he didn’t say a word.

He got in quickly and revved the engine, putting his hand on my bare thigh. “Someday,” he said, “I have something I want to do in this car.”

He didn’t have to tell me what he was thinking. It was all over his face. I loved this new side of him.

“Let’s play the game again,” he said. “I need a distraction until we get to your place.”

“Three more questions?”

“Sure,” he said. “You start.”

“What do you want to do to me in this car?”

He laughed, slamming his hand on the steering wheel. “You are
something
else, girl! Okay, okay. I want to pull you over onto my lap, lift that skirt, and show you just how hot it can be to have sex in this car.”

I squirmed, wanting nothing more than to let him live out his fantasy. Hey, I’d asked. I was glad it was dark because I knew I was as red as his car.

“Next one is, have you ever had a serious girlfriend?”

“No,” he said immediately. “I’ve always been a serious student. When I was in high school, I wanted nothing to do with the drama girls caused. Then when I went away to college, I got in the car accident, and my life kind of fell apart for awhile, so I’ve just never had any interest.”

“But you aren’t . . . a virgin?” I practically whispered it. This time he roared with laughter.

“Julia,” he coughed. “You have
no problem
with the hard questions, do you? No. Not at all. I said I haven’t had a
girlfriend
. I didn’t say I’d been celibate or anything. I am a man, after all.”

I was relieved. Not that it would’ve changed how much I wanted him, but it might’ve freaked me out just a little. “Your turn,” I said. I was afraid now what he would ask.

I directed him to a parking space at my apartment building, and we both stepped out into the cool Denver air. He slung his arm around my shoulders as we headed to the door. I hit the button for the elevator, and he surprised me by kissing me gently, his tongue just touching mine before he pulled away. Desire crackled between us like static electricity. I’d never wanted anyone more in my life.

“You didn’t ask a question,” I whispered.

“Where do you want me to touch you first?” Carter asked against my lips, just as the elevator dinged open. He stepped us through the doors and I hit the third floor.

“Everywhere,” I answered honestly.

“Cheater,” he teased.

“What do you like best in a lover?”

It was my turn to cough, and he laughed. “Hey, I learned from the best. This was
your
idea.”

“I’ve never had a lover like you, so I’m not sure,” I admitted.

“What does that mean?”

“I just have the feeling you’re going to be unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

Carter smirked. “Is that so?”

I nodded. “I think I’d like you to be whatever kind of lover you’d like. I enjoy seeing the sweet side of you, but the raw, edgy part of you is a complete turn on, too.”

“One more question,” he said, backing me into the corner as the elevator settled at the third floor and the doors opened. “How important is sleep to you?”

“Tonight? Not at all. On a regular basis, very important.”

“I like that answer,” he said, following me the short distance to my door. “These games are fun. Do you have any other ones?”

“I’m full of games,” I opened the door and he breezed past me. “But no more games tonight, Carter.” I walked into the kitchen so I could put my purse down, leaving him in the living room.

I braced my hands on the kitchen counter, steeling my frazzled nerves at what it seemed was about to happen. When I finally felt calm enough to go out and face this man that I so boldly invited to my home tonight, I saw Carter was holding a framed photo of Johnny and me.
Shit.

“Who is this?”