Nice Guys Don't Win (The Boys #2) - Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,78

is the twelfth—” I jerk my head back at this news, since Cole hasn’t mentioned his birthday is a few days away. “—and I was thinking we could throw him a surprise party.”

“Oh.” I rub my lips together. “Um … sure. What were you thinking?” I can’t believe he didn’t tell me about his birthday.

“Cree’s down to have it at his place. Cole’s not a big partier so we’ll try to keep it small, but you know how it is once word gets out.”

“Right.”

“Any ideas on something he’d like?”

I think for a moment. “Root beer floats.”

“Ah, of course.” He grins. “Thanks for your help, Zoey. Cree and I will handle everything. Just get the birthday boy to his place by eight.”

“O-Okay,” I stutter, still taken by surprise that it’s Cole’s birthday in just a few days.

“See you later.” Teddy throws his arms around me in a hug I barely have time to return before he’s jogging back to join the guys.

I finally make it to my car and drive home. I’m not going to allow myself to obsess over why he might not have told me, but I sure as hell will be asking him as soon as I see him.

An hour or so later I hear the door open, but I don’t move from where I’m lying in my bed, staring at the last sentence I wrote on my paper that’s due Friday. I haven’t written another word in the last twenty minutes. I’m brain dead.

Cole strolls down the hallway and walks into my bedroom. He moves my laptop off my bed to my desk and then lies on top of me, hugging me.

“Cole,” I giggle, shoving at his muscular shoulder, “you’re squishing me.”

“Needed to hold you,” he murmurs into my chest.

“How’d your meeting go?” I massage the back of his neck.

“Good. I think. There’s no really knowing.” He looks at me, hesitating, before he says, “You didn’t freak out when I called myself your boyfriend.”

My fingers still. “No. I didn’t.”

“Are you okay with that? With being my girlfriend?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Even if I get drafted somewhere like Atlanta?”

I shrug. “I’m not afraid of long distance and after I graduate in another year, I’ll be applying for a DPT program and I don’t have to do that here.” I trace the shape of his lips.

“You’re really okay with this?”

“Do you want me to run away screaming from us?”

“God no.”

“Good, because I don’t plan on going anywhere.” Being with Cole is the most natural thing in the world and I refuse to ruin it with unnecessary overthinking and obsessing. “Now,” I hold his chin, “why didn’t you tell me your birthday is in a few days?”

“It’s just a birthday.”

I shake my head. “It’s not just a birthday. It’s yours. I want to do something for you, get you something special.”

His hold on me tightens and he lays the side of his head on my chest. “All I want is you.”

I close my eyes. It’s not an I love you, it’s too soon for that, but it sounds pretty damn perfect.

“All I want is you, too.”

He places his hands on the bed, holding his weight above me. He kisses me and I sink further into the mattress, a moan rumbling in my throat from the pressure of his body above mine. I tug at his shirt, wanting it gone, and he sits up getting rid of the offending piece of clothing. With it out of the way I trace my fingers over his smooth warm skin as he kisses me.

“I want to make love to you,” he murmurs, into my neck before pressing his lips there.

I gasp at the feel of his erection pressing into my center. I wish I could dissolve my clothes so I could feel him all over right this second.

“Then do it.” I sound breathless as he peppers kisses over my collarbone and between my breasts. I changed into a tank top and shorts when I got to the apartment. We keep it nice and warm, and I hate wearing layers.

He chuckles, the sound vibrating against my skin. “Oh, I’m going to baby. Tonight. Tomorrow. The rest of our lives.”

I gulp at the teasing promise in his voice.

His fingers skate beneath my tank and he hisses when he finds me not wearing a bra. He cups my left breast, playing with the nipple.

“Cole,” I practically beg, writhing beneath him.

His brown eyes sparkle in the light of my room. “Beg,” he challenges. “Beg all you want but I’m taking