𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 • 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤

thirty-eight

! warning: contains sexual contents !

I smiled at Colby and reached behind his neck to weave my fingers through his hair. "Have I told you about how hot you look yet?"

"Pretty sure you have," he grinned, placing his hands on my waist. "And I would like to add you look much better than me."

I bit down onto my bottom lip and smiled. "Don't think that's possible."

He dipped his head down and connected our lips, he kissed me intensely. I felt him back us up until I felt the back of my legs hit the bed, and he pushed me down onto it until I was seated. His hands slipped behind my back, reaching for the zipper of my dress and he pulled it down.

My hands traveled to his chest, and I started working my way down the buttons of his shirt, carefully unbuttoning every single one. Once I was done, I pushed the shirt down his arms to reveal his toned body.

"You are literally perfect," I mumbled through our kiss as my hands roamed his body.

He smiled and helped me get out of my dress, reattaching our lips. He kissed down my neck, and continued his way down my stomach until he reached my thigh. He unclasped my right heel, carefully sliding it off before doing the same with the left one.

He brought his face up again, pushing his lips to the sensitive skin beneath my ear. I threw my hair over to the other side so he had better access to my neck, and he took the hint and started sloppily kissing down my neck.

I let out a soft moan as I softly tugged on his hair, before letting my hands travel down to unbutton his pants. I tugged on the zipper and pushed the fabric down his legs. He kicked off his shoes before also kicking off his pants and gently pushed me down until I was laying down.

He pushed his nose against mine, his breath fanning my face. We were both out of breath. "I'm glad I decided to meet you that day you came to pick up Sam at the airport," he whispered.

I smiled and looked into his eyes. "I'm glad you did, too."

He smiled as well before kissing me again. It was softer than before, his hands sliding down my bare sides. I took his bottom lip between my teeth as his hands reached for my bra clasp, undoing it and throwing the clothing piece onto the floor. I crawled backwards onto the bed until my head laid upon the pillow, my legs now on the bed as well. Colby followed me closely. He kissed down my neck and continued his way down to my collarbone and then in between them, down to the valley of my breasts. He hooked his fingers around my panties and pulled them down, sliding them down my legs until I could kick them off. His boxers followed closely after.

It was different, this time. It was delicate and gentle, less hungry than our first, and I had never experienced sex this way before. Not even with Ethan. I felt loved in the deepest ways love could go, like I could feel it spread throughout my body as Colby's seemed to mingle with mine. Like every part of me existed solely for him, as he did for me. That was the best I could describe it. Suddenly, I understood why people called it 'making love'. As cliché as that sounds.

Right now, we were laying underneath the sheets, just holding each other. We still hadn't dressed ourselves or even made advances to do so. No, we were just enjoying being together in beautiful Venice. I felt like I was living a dream.

"I meant what I said that one night, Elisha," Colby said. He barely used my full name, unless he was serious about something.

"What?" I asked softly, repositioning my head on his chest so I could look up at him.

He brought up his hand so he could comb his fingers through my hair. "That you are the best thing that has happened to me in a long while."

I smiled and lifted myself up, laying down so my face almost touched his. I softly pecked his lips. "You are the best thing happening to me in a long while, too," I repeated him. "And I'm not just saying that because you did. It's true."

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him, his chin resting on the top of my head. "Really?" he said softly.

"My mental health was about to come crashing down when I met you," I replied. "You stopped me from spiraling down. I really am thankful for you."

"As am I for you," he chuckled. "Now look at us. Always the toughest on the outside but we couldn't be softer right now."

I chuckled as well. "It's emo science."

He laughed and sat up, pulling me up with him. He stepped out of bed and wrapped his bathrobe around him before walking over to the doors to our balcony and pulling them wide open.

I also grabbed mine and wrapped myself into the silky material, before following in Colby's footsteps. "You okay?" I asked, bringing one of my hands up to his shoulder.

"Yeah," he replied.

I brought my hand up even further and grazed my fingers over his cheek, just enjoying this moment to the fullest extent that I could. Good things never lasted long. Not for me. He looked at me, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Are you?"

I nodded as I looked at the water in front of us. The moonlight beautifully reflecting off the moving surface. "I know when you're lying, Ellie," he continued.

I hugged his side, holding him as close to me as I could. "I'm not lying," I whispered. "I'm just a little scared, that's all."

"What are you scared of, baby girl?" he asked, his thumb stroking my waist through my robe in a comforting way.

I shrugged. "I'm just scared of losing you."

"Hey," he said softly and engulfed me in a hug. "You're crazy if you think I'll ever let you go."

I inhaled his scent, my face caressed by the soft material he was wearing. "It's not you I'm scared of," I replied. "It's me."

"What do you mean?" he asked softly.

"I have a tendency to fuck up everything that's dear to me," I said.

He hugged me a little tighter. "Don't worry, Ellie. I'm right here right now, and I don't intend on going anywhere."

"Kat thinks I have fear of commitment," I spoke, turning my head so I could look at the water. I could hear his heartbeat as my ear pressed to his chest.

"Well, I'm not a psychologist and Kat isn't either but I think the possibility is there," he replied. "And I wouldn't blame you, knowing the way your last relationship ended."

I didn't know why but hearing him say it moved something in me. A tear slipped down my cheek. "I'm so sorry."

He took a step back. "Ellie, no," he spoke softly, bending down a little so we were at level. He took my hands in his. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I will gladly give you all the time you need to heal. Don't cry, baby."

"Okay," I replied, looking into his soft blue eyes.

"Come on," Colby said. "Let's go to bed."

I nodded and crawled into the bed, I watched as he closed the balcony doors again. He also slipped into the bed.

"Goodnight, Colbs," I said. "I love you so much."

"Goodnight, Ellie," he replied and kissed my forehead. "I love you more."

• • •

[ Author's note ]

Hi, so I had already written a piece to this chapter yesterday and continued today after I had watched a sad movie (and it made me the Softest) so that's why it went from slightly rougher to mellow reaaal quick. That's all I had to say today, thanks for reading. ;) x