Crazy For You Alexander, S.B. (ebook reader 8 inch .TXT) 📖

a damn thing, not after that pulse-racing moment.

31

A couple of hours later, Colton carried me into Grady’s house. Bass pounded from the speakers in the ceiling as kids drank, mingled, and danced in all corners of the open floor plan.

“I can walk. It’s only a scrape.” Apparently I was rusty, and I’d skated like it had been my first time.

“Move,” Colton snapped at a group of girls who looked as if they’d seen a ghost. I did have blood running down my leg.

As I bounced in his arms, I spotted Georgia talking to a guy with curly red hair. I’d never seen him before. They seemed to be into each other, and Georgia waved her hands in the air as she often did when she talked excitedly.

I locked my hands around Colton’s neck. “Seriously, I can walk.”

He grunted. “You’re not.”

“I’m fine,” I assured him. I really was. I’d fallen many times on my skateboard, and I’d relayed that to him when he sped through the streets to get to Grady’s. At first, he’d wanted to take me to the emergency room. He’d thought I’d broken some bones.

“I’m not,” he said, a little breathily. After his brother’s fatal drowning accident, I imagined Colton would always be on edge with people he cared for.

I rubbed his neck while kids opened a swath to let us by. Colton didn’t even stop to say anything to Grady, who was playing beer pong at the long kitchen island. All he did was shake his head at Grady, who seemed to get the silent message that Colton didn’t need any help.

When Colton banked around a corner to climb the stairs, a mass of auburn hair came into my peripheral vision.

Amanda Gelling glided down toward us. “Colton, there you are.”

I growled, narrowing my eyes at her.

“Not now, Amanda,” he said as he continued to climb the stairs.

“My mom has been trying to get a hold of yours,” she said. “She needs to get her signature on the documents.”

Colton stopped on the landing. “I’ll let my mom know.” Then he rounded the corner, heading toward one of the bedrooms.

“What’s going on?” Since Mrs. Gelling was in real estate, it wasn’t hard to connect the dots. “Are you selling the house?” If so, that meant he was moving. My stomach hollowed.

He carried me into the same bedroom I’d woken up in the last time Grady had a party. “I think so. My mom likes South Carolina, and she feels like she and my old man need a fresh start.”

I didn’t know what to say as he nudged open the door to the en suite bathroom and set me down on the marble counter. Then he flicked on the light.

“Are you leaving, then?” Please say no. Please, please, please.

He blinked, shaking his head. “No. No way. I’m sorry, baby. I’m still reeling from your near plummet to death.”

I held back a laugh. He was really shaken up. I guessed I couldn’t blame him. That vertical had been as steep as it always was. I gave him a few minutes to process my banged-up knee, which was clotting and fine.

He grabbed a washcloth from behind me, wetted it, and gently wiped the dirt and blood away. When he was finished, he sighed.

“See, I’m good.”

His snarl didn’t match the smile in his eyes.

“So, if you’re not going with your mom, will you stay with Grady?”

“When the house sells, yeah. Grady’s dad gave me the thumbs-up. I’ll finish school here. I’m not leaving you, Skyler.”

I couldn’t contain my smile. I did a silent fist pump in the air.

“I should find a bandage.” He ducked into the linen closet and came out with a first-aid kit.

“I’m okay, Colton.”

He searched my face. “You scared the crap out of me.”

I reached up and touched his scruffy jaw. “Falling is part of the sport.” I’d said the same thing to my dad not long before he passed. Skyler Lawson, don’t you dare shed any tears. Your dad loved seeing you on your skateboard.

“What is it? Does it hurt?”

I stared at a cracked button on his shirt. “Just thinking of Dad.”

With the pads of his fingers, he guided me to look at him. “Anything I can do?”

“Hold me.”

He was making quick work of bandaging my knee when Georgia’s voice trickled into the huge bathroom that I’d only just started to take in.

A walk-in shower built for six was surrounded by glass, adorned with brushed stainless fixtures and brown-and-tan tile, with a separate sunken tub and a skylight above.

“Sky-ler.” Georgia slurred my name as she stumbled in.

Colton and I exchanged a surprised look. I probably had more shock on my face than he did. I’d never seen Georgia tipsy, and if she had been the night I’d gotten drunk, I didn’t remember.

She swung her arm toward the wall, her green eyes glossy. “What happened? You went sk-ating, didn’t you?” Yep, she’d had one too many.

“I was dropping into the bowl and lost my balance. It’s Colton’s fault.” My tone was playful, although I chalked up my fall to the fact that he had taken my mind hostage.

Colton arched his brow. “My fault?”

I gave him a coy smile, but it went unnoticed when Georgia slid down the wall.

Colton’s reflexes were quick as he caught her. “Let’s get you to a room.” He lifted her into his arms. “Skyler, don’t move.” He gave me the evil eye before he left with Georgia.

“Bye, bestie!” Georgia shouted as she rested her head on Colton’s shoulder.

If she remembered anything in the morning, I was sure she would be babbling about how strong Colton was.

Smiling, I hopped off the counter, and my knee buckled. “Ow.” I walked around, working out the kinks. A dull pain finally started to set in. I was examining my elbow in the mirror when Colton returned. “That was quick.”

“There’s another guest room down the hall.” He came up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and nuzzled his nose into my neck. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I turned