Page 10 of Send It

Lincoln

I told Reiss I was going out with Jackson because I couldn’t tell him where I was really going. Not without a million questions. So I lied.

“Who are you here to see, doll?” The receptionist asks, chomping her gum so loudly that I could hear it before I ever opened the door.

“Charlotte Raines,” I say.

She jots something down in the book in front of her and takes her pen to point down the hall, “Head on down.”

“Thanks,” I smile, walking in the direction of her room, praying that Colson doesn’t decide to come here tonight. That might be weird to explain.

Like, oh hey Colson, I just came to visit your nana because no one else does and I know she’s important to you .

What the fuck is wrong with me? This woman is about to think I’m certifiably insane.

I softly knock, and then enter after she quietly yells “Come in.”

“Oh, hey dear,” she smiles, the soft wrinkles bunching together. “Where’s Colson? Don’t tell me he made you come out here to see this old bat again.”

I giggle, closing the door behind me, “No ma’am. I just thought you might like some company.” I hold out a bag of goodies. “I brought a puzzle and I thought you might like to put it together with me.”

She raises her brow and hesitantly takes the bag, “Is this one of those things you kids see on the internet to keep my mind sharp? Did Colson put you up to this?”

I laugh, “No, he doesn’t know I’m here. I just enjoyed seeing you the other day and thought you might like some girl time. Plus, I love puzzles. I haven’t put one together in a long time but I thought this one was pretty.”

She pulls the puzzle from the bag and smiles, “It’s perfect. I love the flowers.”

Her hand glides across the box admiring the garden scene, and I smile. I’ve only met her a few times but I remember once going to her house and admiring the flower beds out front.

“You sure you wanna spend your evening here, darling? Don’t you have any big plans?” She asks, and I wave her off.

“Not really,” I sigh. “The one guy I want to have plans with is stubborn as hell.”

She chuckles and shakes her head, “Just like his grandpa.”

“How do you know I’m talking about Colson?” I challenge.

She waves her hand in dismissal, “You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t. So let's save us both from you beating around the bush and get right down to it.”

“Okay,” I sigh. “It is Colson.”

“Oh, I know it is.” She smiles, “You forget that he talks to me, dear.”

I can’t help but blush, trying to hide my smile, “He talks about me?”

“No,” she quips. “He rambles, trying to form his feelings into words.”

I shake my head, “That’s how I feel sometimes. So I get it.”

“Have you told your brother?” She asks, both of us trying our best to separate the puzzle into middle and border pieces, and I pause.

I had never thought about talking to Reiss and telling him how I felt. Selfishly, I always thought that it would come down to conversation between him and Colson.

“I take that as a no,” she says. “Maybe you should run it by him and see how he feels about it.”

I shake my head, “And risk their friendship? No way.”

“Honey, their friendship is stronger than you think. Those boys are like brothers.”

I don’t respond, instead I think about what she said. Would it really be such a bad thing for Reiss? Me and Colson together? Maybe he’d be fine with it. I shake the thought from my head. It would change everything.

After getting the border complete, we both decide that’s enough for the night. Nana has trouble seeing the pieces, I’m dead tired from riding all day, and I really need to sleep because I have the breakfast shift at Lakeside in the morning. We say our goodbyes and I promise to come back next week.

I glance at my phone on the way out the door, having not paid attention to it for the past two hours, and there’s a message from Colson.

Colson

I’m sorry about last night. Please come over.

I contemplate a response the entire way home, but decide that maybe it’s best if we put things on ice for a minute. Especially since neither one of us knows how to act around Reiss.

At Lakeside the next morning, Stassie and I are working and running stacks of pancakes like our lives depend on it when Colson comes barrelling into the kitchen.

His hair is still damp from the shower and his athletic shorts and Bane Racing t-shirt perfectly compliment his tan skin and light hair.

“Baby Bane, you are really gonna have to stop looking at me like I’m your next meal. Especially around your brother.”

I snarl at him, and grab some plates, “I’m working, Colson. What do you want?”

He blocks the door, my hands full of plates, “Why didn’t you text me back last night?”

I push past him, and set the plates down on the table they belong to. Turning back, I grab his wrist and pull him into the break room.

“Because you’re an asshole. You play with my head, and the second my brother walks in the room you act like I’m disgusting.”

He smiles, “You are not disgusting.”

I try to push past him, but he stops me, brushing my hair behind my ear. “Lincoln, don’t make me say it.”

I cross my arms, staring him down with a challenge.

“Fuck me,” he growls, “don’t make me say it out loud. When those words leave my mouth it’s real. It’s fucking real and there’s a good chance it changes everything.”

“I don’t know what words you’re referring to. We…” I move my forefinger between us, “are nothing. You’ve made that clear.”

He pulls me closer to him, whispering into my ear, “I want more, Linc. I’m sorry I’m an ass, but I don’t wanna be nothing.”

I feel the chill bumps radiating down my arms, “What about Reiss?”

He kisses the sensitive spot on my neck and hits me with a wicked grin, “It’ll be our secret.”

Did Colson Raines just admit that he wants more? Yes. Did he just propose that we keep things under wraps because he’s afraid of how my brother will react? Also yes.

Of course in my mind I’m seeing a relationship with Colson, but is Colson the relationship type?

No. No he’s not.