The tour continued with Colby showing us the immaculate kitchen, with it's stainless steel appliances and huge island (with a produce sink) in the middle of the room. I had to physically stop myself from running to the refrigerator to see what I could cook up. From there, we saw the extra living room, almost as large as the first one, where they had a couple of game systems hooked up, the two downstairs bathroom that were both larger than the one bathroom I had at home, and the massive open area that led to the block style staircase.
The inside of the house was more homey than it looked like on the outside, but the smooth angles were still very present. Sam came downstairs, jumped over the block railing, onto a ramp style ledge that went over our heads, then jumped down behind us. "He's a fucking monkey," Denise mused, with her eyes wide.
"Stop showing off, dude," Colby laughed. "What?" Sam shrugged. "We always climb on the house. Don't act like we don't." He waved and smiled, then walked towards the kitchen, like everything he had just done was normal.
"Am I high?" I giggled, shaking my head. "Or did I just see a grown man climbing the walls, like Spider-Man?" Colby laughed and shrugged. "He's not wrong. We do it all the time. I don't know though. Are you high? You tell me."
I rolled my eyes and pushed him up the stairs a little. My anxiety was all, but gone now, thank God. The longer I was around Colby, the more at ease I became. "Please, you know I can't smoke anymore. Can't afford it, for one, and can't find a strain that doesn't send me into an all out panic attack."
"What about when you smoked with me a couple of years ago? You did alright with that, right? And I sent you some. Did you have a panic attack with that?" he asked, as he stepped up onto the second story landing of the house.
"Oh, I remember the shit you sent," Denise said, stepping up beside me. "It was amazing, and haven't been able to enjoy weed since then, so thanks. I am now a bougee smoker, without the bougee income." She sighed heavily, letting her shoulders sag in mock disappointment.
Colby got a slightly confused look on his face and smiled. "Am I supposed to apologize or say 'you're welcome'?" Denise crossed her arms, defiantly, and looked at him with a stern expression. "You should apologize for sending Cal primo product, because I will never be satisfied with the regular shit now. Or you can just continue to send said product and we'll call it even."
"Denise!" I exclaimed, slapping her arm. "OW! What?!" she asked, as she rubbed her arm, where I had smacked her. "I'm just saying!" She leaned closer to me, and pretended to whisper. "Shut UP, Cal! I really liked that weed. I gotta make him feel bad, so that he'll send you more."
Colby chuckled, a deep reverberating sound that came from his chest, and ran his ring clad hand through his thick, chestnut hair. I watched the light catch the silver of his rings, and the way his hair fell silkily through his fingers. It made me itch to run my own fingers through his hair.
"I told Callie that I would send her more. She told me not too. I thought she didn't like it, or that she had an adverse reaction to it," he said, shrugging. "Oh, you bitch!" Denise exclaimed, turning to smack me, just like I had smacked her. "OW!" I yelped, flinching back from her. "I could've been smoking the best weed I've ever had, for the past two years, and you told him NOT to send it! Oh, you suck."
"You're such a drama queen," I replied, wryly, smirking at her. She knew good and well why I had told him not to send anymore. This was all an act, because I had told her everything. I didn't want to be dependent on Colby, his money, or his weed.
Usually, when people did nice things for you, they expected something in return. Not that I would ever expect Colby to be that way, but why risk it? Plus, I just didn't want to rely on anyone anymore. I had been free from Will, making my own decisions and relying on my damn self for a few years now. I rather liked being independent.
"AH!" She gasped, dramatically, and placed her hand on her neck. "I would clutch my pearls, if I had any. The AUDACITY you have, ma'am!" I laughed and rolled my eyes. "You're such a dork." She twirled her hair on her finger, then propped her elbow on my shoulder. Since I was a few inches taller than her, it was a little off balance, but she made it work. "Yeah, but you love me," she said, sweetly, before kissing my cheek.
"You guys are so cute," Colby cooed, as he smiled and brought both of his hands up to frame his face, under his chin. "Just adorable." "Shut up," I giggled. "You're a dork, too." "Yeah, but you love me," he mimicked Denise. I blushed and looked down. "Yeah, I love you both," I sighed, then looked back up, meeting his gaze. "Now, let's get on with this tour."
He had a soft expression on his face now, his gaze gentle on mine, his full lips only slightly curved. The kind of look that made me want to fall into his arms and feel them go around me, keeping me safe. I was such a sucker for him, and that made him dangerous for me.
"Right this way," he said, throwing his arm out towards the next room. "This is one of the guest rooms where one of you will be sleeping, IF you decide to stay with us." He flung the door open, then stepped back for us to enter first. Denise went in before me and did a full circle in the middle of the room.
"This is beautiful," she sighed. I had to agree. It was so large, that two, possibly three, of my own bedroom would have fit inside of it. The motif of the large room was simple, gray and white, like downstairs, only softer somehow. The gray walls were lighter, almost silver, like a quarter, trimmed with the pristine white that I was now getting used too.
Downstairs, there were areas where the white was almost too much, too bright, but not in here. It was subtle, emphasizing the soft gray. The dresser and end tables matched the trim, but the white was offset with the dolphin lamp and photos that were on the wall. It the room were smaller, I don't think it would have worked. It would've made it seem to small, but instead, it just made it cozy.
Wait, was there glitter in the paint? I walked closer to the wall and traced my finger along it. There were pale, very pale, gold lines looping and swirling inside the paint.
"That's one of my favorite things," Colby said, his quiet voice coming from right beside me. I didn't jump this time though. I looked up at him and realized just how close he was. His shoulder was pressed softly against mine, his face only inches from my own. I smiled, with my finger still on the golden loop. "It's amazing. You almost wouldn't notice it, but it somehow adds so much to the room.," I murmured.
His lips were so close to mine. So close that I could feel his gentle breath on my cheek. I was locked in his clear blue gaze again. I felt like I was watching an ocean. They were so blue, with the foamy waves holding me hostage in their beauty. His lips dropped, just an inch, closer to mine, causing me to drop my gaze to his mouth.
So full, so inviting. I remembered how soft his lips were, how they felt molded against my own, how they were gentle, but dominate when challenged. My body trembled with the shivers that the memory caused.
Closer still he moved, moving so slowly. Why wouldn't he just hurry up and kiss me?! I needed to feel his lips on mine again. Just to see if it felt the same as it did before. Almost there. I held my breath, just before those magical lips barely brushed my own.
"This is my room. I claim it," Denise said, jerking me back to reality. What the fuck was I doing?! I took a few steps back from Colby, breathing hard, trying to steady myself. That was nothing. Barely anything. Not even a real kiss. I mean, I don't know what would've happened if Denise hadn't said something, but it was nothing now.
Damn you, D.
No, not damn you. Thank you. That didn't need to happen. It shouldn't happen.
Colby and I stared at each other, standing a couple of feet apart now. The room was silent now, and I knew that Denise was finally realizing that something had happened.
"Um, did I interrupt something?" she asked, timidly. I tore my gaze from Colby, to look at Denise. "No," I replied, with my voice shaking. "No. Nothing. So, you want this room?"
I needed the subject to change, away from Colby and I, and to forget that we kissed. Or we almost kissed? Did that count as a kiss? It was so fast and barely there...but it was so sweet and heart stopping at the same time.
No. It was nothing. It didn't count. Just a slip up. It wouldn't happen again.
I felt Colby's eyes on me, but I refused to look at him. The way I was feeling, in that moment, I didn't know what I would do. I could fall apart and start crying, like a little bitch. I could be overcome with my insane attraction to him, and fall into his arms.
Or, I could choose the only real option and ignore it. Pretend like it never happened. That's what I was best at, right? Just pretending that some things never happened. I had plenty of practice in that area, after being with Will for so long.
So, that's what I did.
"Yep," Denise exclaimed, smiling at me, with a questioning look. I just barely shook my head and smiled back. "You gonna fight me for it?" she asked. I laughed and glanced at Colby. His expression wasn't easy to read, but he still sent me a small smile. "Nope, I think I'll let you have it, if you want it that bad. Besides, maybe the next room is even better," I replied.
"They're almost the same. Just a small difference," Colby said quietly, as he lead the way out of the room. We passed two more doors on our way down the hallway, so of course Denise had to ask. "What's in here?" Colby stopped and looked back. "Oh, that's Sam's room, and this is my room. The other guest room is past my room, at the end of the hall," he answered. "Kat sleeps in here with Sam, but she has a room of her own on the main floor."
"Oh. I'm guessing those rooms aren't on the tour, huh?" she laughed. It sounds a little forced, like she was just trying to ease the tension that was now between Colby and I. I felt it. I just chose not to acknowledge it.
He shrugged and smiled, almost knocking me to my knees again. "You can see my room, if you want. It's nothing special, but sure." He walked the few steps back to his door and flung it open. I caught his eye, as I walked past him, behind Denise, into his bedroom.
Thankfully, his gaze was just as sweet and soft as before. I was afraid that I had maybe made him angry or upset, with how I was acting. I didn't want him to be mad at me. I just didn't know how to handle whatever this was between us. We were friends.
I returned his smile, with a tiny one of my own, then looked around the room. It was even larger than the other room, with caused my mouth to drop. He had a queen sized bed, black satin sheets, in the middle of the room. The head of the bed was pushed up against one wall, directly in front of a fireplace. A dark gray couch sat a few feet back from the fireplace, with a large flatscreen TV placed on the wall above it.
He had a whole ass living room inside his bedroom.
I continued looked around and took in the artwork that was on his walls. From the printed skull, with words inside of it, to the little black birds that were articulately placed on the cream paint job, to the line of photos that made up the moon's phases. He had two black panthers, one on either side of what I assumed was a giant window, covered by a long, thick, burgundy curtain that hung to the floor.
His dresser aligned with his bed, black, just like the couple of end tables he had placed. One beside the bed, one beside the couch. A glass coffee table sat in front of the couch. I noticed that his room was was more black, white, and red, than gray and white. The only gray thing in here was the couch.
"Check this out," he said, with a wicked little smirk and turned out the lights. It wasn't dark yet, so there was some light leaking in behind the thick burgundy curtain, but not much. Then, the room lit up with red LED strips. The light came from under his bed, almost like it was nestled into the glow of a fire.
There was an archway leading to another room, probably a bathroom, that was also outline with the red lights. My mind flashed back to when I had read 50 Shades of Grey and I was suddenly very thankful that the lights were out. I knew that my face was probably flaming up.
"It's cool, right?" he asked, smiling like a little kid. I nodded and smiled. "Very cool. Is that the bathroom?" I asked, pointing at the other door, to try and take my mind out of the gutter. "Yeah, it's pretty sweet. Come on," he replied, as he flicked the lights back on.
He led us through the door, into a large bathroom, with black and white tiles on the walls. It had a double sink, a standing shower, and a huge oval bathtub. "Oh my God," I sighed, as I sat on the edge of the tub. I could imagine myself just relaxing in it, with a good book, maybe some candles. It would've been a little slice of Heaven on Earth.
"Yeah, I pretty much just take showers, but it's nice to use after I workout too much, or something," he said, shrugging. Denise and I made a few more remarks about how nice everything was, and how he had a knack for decorating.
He just smiled and shook his head. "Not really. I had some help from a couple of friends. I just know what I like. Oh, I didn't show you the best part." He led us out of the bathroom, back into his bedroom. We stood back, as he walked over to the large burgundy curtain.
When he pulled back the first half, I gasped. What I had thought was just a large window, was in fact an opening to a balcony. A very nice sized balcony. He finished pulling up the curtain and tying it off, then slid the door open.