Page 24 of Colin (The Doherty Mafia)
“We’re married now, so I guess we have no choice but to get comfortable,” I joked.
I wasn’t sure why I said that because that comment hurt. It took me back to that dark place in my childhood when my parents didn’t get along. They were far from ever getting along. They hated each other.
Simply being married didn’t automatically equate to being compatible.
Colin ate the strawberry in his hand which smeared some chocolate around his lips. With a smile on his face he reached for me, grabbing me by my ankles and yanked me towards him by dragging me down the bed.
I giggled when he wrapped me in his arms, kissing my face and chin and neck. He smelled of chocolates, even tasted like them and this was beginning to feel a little bit like heaven.
I hadn’t been this happy and carefree in a very long time, and I wished it was real.
“Tell me something about yourself. Anything. I want to know a little bit about the girl I married,” he said, after he was done kissing me to his satisfaction.
I tried not to look guilty. There was so much I was purposely hiding from him. I could barely look him in the eye.
“My last name is Price,” I replied.
“Marley Price.” He said my name aloud, rolling it around his mouth like he could taste it.
I knew telling him my name was treading dangerous territory. It wouldn’t take him any time to find out who I was and what I did for a living if he looked into it using my name.
But I wasn’t going to be able to keep it hidden for very long either way. We had a legal document I had signed with my name already.
All he had to do was look at it.
Fourteen
Colin
Even though we had spent approximately one day together, I woke up the next morning expecting to find Marley beside me in bed. It was like my mind and body both expected her there.
And she was right there, snuggled into me, with her hair strewn all over the pillows and her body supple and warm under the sheets. That same familiar perfume she wore was all around me, filling my senses.
I opened my eyes and realized I was smiling.
The lack of a hangover felt good. I was feeling significantly better today and more like myself. The fogginess of my mind had disappeared and I hoped I’d be able to think more clearly.
Marley moaned in her sleep softly when I pulled away from her. I sat up in bed and stared at the shape of her body. How comfortable she looked lying there in my bed.
Usually, I didn’t have the time or the interest to notice something like this. I rarely woke up with a girl beside me. Not since Tina. But I couldn’t look away from Marley.
We had fun last night. We talked about everything under the sun other than personal stuff. Movies, music, sport, places we had traveled to, food we enjoyed eating. This was the most ‘regular’ conversation I ever had with a girl. She was easy to talk to, easy to connect with.
Or maybe I had just allowed myself to be open and easy with her.
Either way, I woke up in the morning feeling a hundred pounds lighter. Like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders and I was able to finally be myself around someone other than my brothers.
I never had close friends. I didn’t know what it felt like to be honest with someone about your opinions, and have them accept you for it.
I got out of bed and Marley continued to sleep. I didn’t want to wake her.
But who was I kidding? This wasn’t going to last. It was a new day and the end of the weekend. No matter which way I looked at it, it was going to come to an end.
I didn’t expect to grow fond of a girl I accidentally and drunkenly married.
I realized she was my weakness. Liking her, waking up beside her, wanting her—were all failings on my part. This wasn’t me. I didn’t allow myself to get weak in the knees for some chick.
I grabbed the phone on the nightstand and called down to reception for coffee and eggs.
That woke her up. It was exactly what I wanted.
It was time for her to leave so we could move on with our lives.
Marley sat up with a start, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands.
“Hi. What time is it?” she asked, smiling at me.
Her groggy smile was all it took for me to melt into madness. I thought I would have been able to keep a lid on it, but no…all I wanted to do was jump back in bed and take possession of her beautiful body again.
“Time for breakfast,” I remarked and started putting on clothes.
