Addison (The Mitchell/Healy Family #6)(25)

Was this what I wanted to happen? Did I really go in there to make amends? Could we be together without it being a train wreck?

I didn’t have all the answers, but I was certain of one thing. I couldn’t give up on something that made me feel so good again.





Chapter 10


Cole


Women were confusing.

Each day it was getting easier to not see Addison. After she’d dissed me in the car I did my best to walk away. She couldn’t begin to know what it felt like to have another woman I was interested in push me away. All the hurt and agony of my failed relationship came back. It would have been easy to pop a few pills into my mouth and not give a damn, albeit I refrained. The high wasn’t worth the grief it would bring later. There was a price to pay if I made that kind of choice; a guilt I’d never be able to shake. So I ignored the cravings, succumbing to despair. Addison remained in my thoughts. I worked out extra that night, hoping to exhaust myself enough to rest easy. By morning I felt worse. Starting a new job in that condition was difficult. I did my best, managing to snag a client who wanted a full back piece. Since the design was intricate, I made an appointment for him to come by in a couple days to make any changes to what I’d drawn up. I’d just begun working on the guy when Addison came in, rocking my world again.

I tried to do the right thing and push her away. She was right. We shouldn’t be together, but if that was true why couldn’t I stop thinking about her? Why did I go to sleep and wake up imagining the way it felt to touch her? I’d never had trouble getting *, so this wasn’t a piece of ass for me. I felt like I needed her, not to survive, but to strive.

Maybe I was being selfish by kissing her back. Perhaps I was tired of feeling hopeless. Just like a pill would have been able to do, she made it all go away; my fears, my guilt, my past. From the moment our lips touched I knew I wasn’t going to be able to let her go. I craved more, much like an addict would.

Even after she left I was content. I knew I’d see her again, and with that came the rush of what could come. I’d lose her again when and if she found out about my blood connection and the secret I was keeping, yet I was willing to bask in each and every day I got to have with her. Being around Addison made me feel like I was worth something. She’d never be able to understand how much it meant to me.

I had an awaiting message when I was cleaning up from my job. After making sure my station was sanitized, I pulled out my phone to check it.

Let’s have dinner? – A

Realizing I’d made her wait for an answer, I called her instead of messaging back.

“Hey, you.”

“I just got done. Are you still interested in dinner?”

“Would I sound like a stalker if I said I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for you to be done?”

“Yeah, you would.”

“Should I leave and come back?”

I laughed. She and I both knew it wouldn’t make a difference.

“You’re really trying hard to get on my good side.”

“Is it working?”

“That depends.” I waved goodbye to the other artists while walking outside.

“Do I get a kiss this time or are you going to pull away again?”

“Oh, I think I can manage a kiss.”

Addison climbed out of the driver’s seat and met me at the back of her car. She had her phone up to her ear even though I could already see her. We hung up at the same time. Once I was within inches of her I looked around the parking lot. “Aren’t you worried about someone seeing us?”

She shook her head and pulled me close, kissing me full on the mouth, tongue included. I ran my hands up the small of her back, making sure I didn’t let go. I knew we were being a little ridiculous making out in a parking lot, but I didn’t care. I wanted her to be mine, and I didn’t particularly care who saw us.

Finally, out of breath and too turned on for the environment, we parted. “How was that for a hello?”

“Pretty damn good.”

“What are you hungry for?”

I patted my crouch area. “You can’t ask me that right now. I need to settle down.”

She put her hand over her mouth. “Oops.”

“It’s all good. You can choose what we eat. I’m good with anything.”

I had five hundred bucks in my pocket from one tattoo. The guy would return in two weeks for another four hour session. Each visit he’d pay me another four hundred. It was funny how people looked down on my occupation, yet I’d already made eight hundred in only a few days. I didn’t have to slave for eight hours doing something I hated. Drawing was relaxing. It brought me stress relief.

“I’m buying.”

“Really?”

“Yep. It’s my treat.”

She smiled as we both climbed into our seats. When her stare remained, once inside, I couldn’t help but come halfway to meet her lips again. “You missed me didn’t you?”

She left a chaste kiss before replying. “What have you done to me?”

I chuckled. “Nothing you don’t want done.”

“Let’s get some chicken and take it back to my Gram’s house. She’s away and I’m watching the house.”

“Doesn’t she have a house keeper for that big place?”