Heartstrings

(14) Colson

Colson pulled up into the driveway of the cabin. It was ten o'clock in the evening – an hour stuck in the traffic. He climbed out of the driver's seat and squinted at the figure sitting on the doorstep.

"Allie-bear? What are you doing outside? You might catch cold." The night had been brisk. Summer was coming to an end and so were the warm nights.

He walks up to her and launches herself to his chest. "I wanted to see you."

"You missed me so much?" He chuckled, shrugging off his suit jacket and wrapping her in it.

She was tensed. And he suddenly sensed there was something off. "Is everything okay?" He gently pushes her so he could look at her face.

"I don't know," she murmured.

"What's wrong?" A bile rose in his throat.

She bit on her lip. "Luke broke up with Melissa."

His blood ran cold.

"He talked to me in the dock." She pulled his jacket closer. "He told me he made a mistake for choosing Melissa. That she wasn't the right decision."

His heart laid dangerously on the line. "And then?"

"And then he told me it had felt right when I kissed him."

God, that fucking kiss. He knew it'll always bite his ass.

"He implied that he was wrong for not choosing me. Then he tried to kiss me."

His hands fisted in his sides.

"I backed away and told him I'm dating you. And then he told me you're just trouble and I'm just going to end up with a broken heart."

That son of a bitch. He thought.

"And then, I don't know, I just fumed because I can't stand anyone talking like that about you. Because it'll hurt me if you get hurt." Allison swathed his arms around him and sighed. "I wanted to tell you before the others did. I'm afraid our friends will tell the story differently and I'll lose you."

"Wait, Allie-bear," he says, elated all of a sudden. "Luke wanted you back?"

"I guess," she murmured.

"And you're afraid our friends will tell me and I'd go running off?"

"Yes."

He cups his jaw and tilted her face up to his. "You'll the only person I'd listen to. Your version of the story is the only thing that matters to me. Besides, whatever the situation is, I won't go running off like a headless chicken."

His brown eyes went glassy.

"I'll fight for you because you're not a first choice or a second choice. There's no "choice." Just you."

She sniffles a little. "Why do you have to say the sweetest things?" She relaxed in his arms.

He chuckles, his arms going around her. He kisses the shell of her ear and whispered, "Three words, Allie-bear: I. Love. You."

She froze, stepping back from the hug. "You love me?"

"Look, I know this might be a little—"

Allison threw her arms around his neck, lurching her mouth to his, drowning away his words. "I had the exact three words to say too."

"It'll sound way better if I hear the exact terms." He grazed his nose with hers.

A beautiful smile splayed across her lovely face. "Three words, Colson Gray: I. Love. You."