"Good morning."

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Colt's breathless voice behind me. I spun around to find him shirtless and sweating in my kitchen, obviously just returning from a run. "Hi."

Colt pulled a towel from around his neck and mopped away the perspiration from his face and chest. That butterfly tattoo taunted me, just begging me to ask questions. He noticed my eyes drifting to his left pec so his hand absently moved that way too. He rubbed over it, sighing a little as our eyes made contact.

"Everyone told me not to get it."

"Oh?" I hummed, feigning disinterest as I glanced down at the skillet of scrambled eggs on the stove.

"My friend told me it was worse than getting your name permanently etched on my body."

I could feel the tingles spread throughout my body when Colt sidled up beside me. I tried not to shudder when he wrapped one of my blonde curls around his finger. "I guess they didn't realize that Colt Anderson does what he wants, huh?" I murmured softly.

I finally turned and gazed up at him, his body close and my hair still in his hand. He dropped it quickly, as if he had only just then realized he had been touching me. "I don't always do what I want, Corri."

His tone was wistful and sad. It made me want to push him around the kitchen and demand those answers I needed.

Like we couldn't we ever make it work?

Like why did he keep pushing me away when it felt like he wanted me just as badly?

Like why did I still feel all the old sparks even after everything he put me through?

"You made eggs?"

I nodded and began plating some up for him. He looked them over and smiled. "With cheese and salsa? You remembered."

I shrugged nervously and turned my back on him. "I guess I did. I hadn't thought about it. It was just…"

"Instinct?"

I poured myself a cup of hot tea and leaned against the counter as Colt tucked into his meal. Being with him in this house felt so natural. But being this close to him made me crazy. My mind had barely shut off last night when he left me. There were so many times I was sure about how he felt.

The night of his 18th birthday was just the first of many disappointments. He walked me to my door and thanked me for a fun night. But I never got that kiss I wanted. And as time went on, I got more resentful. The way I saw it, Colt and I were perfect for each other. I just couldn't figure out how to make him see that.

"Thanks for breakfast," Colt grinned as he cleared his plate and washed up his dish. He mirrored me, leaning against the opposite counter with a mug of coffee in his hand. "So what's your plans for the day?"

"I need to go see my dad. He wanted to talk to me about the gym. And then I don't know what. I'll probably stop by there and see how it's going."

"I've told Charlie a hundred times not to worry about it," Colt scoffed, his voice laced with irritation. "He knows me and Big Mike are handling everything."

I shrugged and crossed the room to dump my mug in the sink. Colt didn't move aside and I was suddenly flustered by the closeness. "You believe me, right? You know I can handle things?" he pleaded earnestly.

I barely registered his words when I felt his hand on my hip. "I know you can handle it," I murmured, peering up at his mossy green eyes and trying not to get sucked in.

I scurried from the kitchen and felt Colt trailing behind me. "So how long are you staying?" His tone was gentle, but it struck me wrong.

I yanked a basket of clean laundry off the couch and started folding it. "I'm not planning on going back to Seattle after this. I don't...there isn't anything for me."

Colt sunk into the couch and peered up at me. "But what about your job...and the boyfriend." 

I scoffed dramatically. "I'm in between jobs and there is no boyfriend."

"But your dad said…"

"We broke up, Colt. It's been over forever now."

Colt scooted forward and began folding the towels absently. I could see he was struggling with what to say next. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I chuckled. "You would've hated him. You always hated my boyfriends."

"Well there was a reason for that."

I turned away from him when I felt my face flush. Shit. It was just like in high school, when it felt like he could read all my thoughts. I shifted slightly when he held up a pair of panties and I saw him rub the material between his forefinger and thumb. 

I pulled them from his grasp as I spun around and faced him. A slow smile began to creep across his face when he growled, "Remember your 16th birthday party...that dare?"

I shook my head, but not because I didn't remember…

"Come on, you guys, let's liven up this party...please!" Ally urged, waving her arms for dramatic purposes.

Our basement had been converted into party central with the help of my friends, some rope lights and the music playing from Jason's iPod. There were ten of us in attendance. Jason, Colt, Trent and the twins from next door; Josh and Joey. Colt had made friends with them when they needed help working on their dirt bikes. I had invited Ally of course, as well as two of our friends from art class, Becca and Ari. 

And Jason had asked if his cousin could come and I stupidly assumed it was a boy, but no. He brought Katrina, his older cousin with jet black hair that landed past her butt in perfect waves and a figure that had the rest of us girls gaping. And unfortunately she had set her sights on Colt. She had barely moved away from him in the hour she had been here.

I watched as the girls debated over what game we should play before Trent suggested we play truth or dare. He shot me a little wink before we settled into the oversized sectional and began taking turns calling out each other's names and asking if they wanted a truth or dare.

Ari asked Josh a truth, to declare which girl in the room he liked. He replied, no one, much to Ari's dismay. Ally dared Trent to do a handstand, which he executed perfectly. Becca asked Joey a truth, the name of the first girl he had ever kissed, which was Andie, a girl he met at summer camp when he was 12.

But when Jason dared me to trade underwear with Colt, I thought I was going to die on the spot. "Oh come on, dude. No way!" Colt argued, his eyes darting nervously between me and Jason. 

"It's a dare, bro. You gotta do it!" Jason cackled as he pulled me up by my hand and Colt by his arm, guiding us to the large hallway storage closet. He pushed us both inside and grinned wildly before adding, "Now you kids have fun!"

He closed the door and left us surrounded by darkness. I reached forward and found my hands pressed to Colt's hard chest. His heart was pounding furiously under his tight fitting Henley shirt. Colt covered my hands with one of his and then he whispered, "Just hold on." His minty breath brushed my forehead before he reached up to pull the string above us.

I glanced up to catch a glimpse of his throat and elongated neck before he lowered his head and caught me staring. "Of all the weird dares, huh?" Colt chuckled, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets.

"Well...he's your friend," I reminded him, earning me a bright smile that shone through the shadows.

"Yeah," Colt nodded. "It could've been worse…"

Or better. If only he had dared us to kiss…

But I didn't say that. Instead I peered around the small space and figured I should get to taking off my panties before everyone started to wonder what was going on. Colt heel-toed his high tops off, before his hands drifted to his button-fly.

"I should…" I jerked my thumb over my shoulder, indicating my need to turn away from him. Seeing him in his wet shorts the night of his birthday was bad enough, but the sight of him naked would surely be the end of me!

Colt nodded in agreement, each of us turning our backs. I had on one my flirty skirts, this one was a deep purple, so I reached up underneath to pull down my new pair of lavender hi-cuts with three thin bands on each hip. I really had no occasion to wear fancy underwear until I caught Colt removing my clothes from the dryer and when I saw him holding my plain white cotton briefs, I was mortified. 

When I thrusted my panties behind me without looking, I inadvertently touched Colt's backside, forgetting he had his jeans to remove first, therefore taking much longer to change than I had. "Sorry," I cringed, yanking my hand back like it was on fire. 

"Here," Colt laughed a few minutes later, reaching back and finding my hand. We exchanged undergarments, fighting back the giggles over the entire situation. 

I slid a bright red pair of boxer briefs up my legs and willing the blush on my cheeks to disappear before I had to face him again. "Done," he announced a short time later. I faced him once more, catching him buttoning up his fly and seeing the little trail of dark hair leading down below the scalloped edge of my lavender panties.

"How do they feel?" I gasped through my laughter. 

Colt openly adjusted his crotch with a grimace. "I don't like 'em. Maybe they'd be cute on you, but...I don't care for the permanent wedgie."

I covered my face with both hands, held back a howl. "Sorry I wasn't wearing my white cotton briefs," I offered.

Colt shrugged, reaching inside his faded jeans to pull the skinny elastic bands stretched over his trim hips. "These probably look better on you." 

I blinked up at him, noticing we were nearly pressed together in the tight space. "Well yours are comfortable," I countered, flipping up the edge of my skirt to reveal my boxer briefs covered thighs. 

Colt tipped his head to the side in interest, raising his eyebrows in approval. "Very nice. Red is a good color on you."

I shoved him playfully in the stomach, gasping when he gripped my shoulders and lowered his mouth to my ear. "Happy birthday, butterfly."

He brushed his lips against my cheek and I held my breath in anticipation of more. "Time's up, lovebirds!" Jason called from the other side of the door.

Colt stared at me for a moment before letting his hand slide down my arm, his fingers finding mine. We walked out together, the whoops and hollers of our friends filling the basement as we discreetly proved the exchange. Colt tugged down the side of his jeans to reveal a sexy hip bone wrapped in the elastic straps of my new fancy panties.  

"Whoo! Sexy!" Jason howled.

Ally and Ari teased me too. Once the group had settled down, Katrina spoke up. "Colt...truth or dare?"

He sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm down from all the laughing. "Dare, I guess."

Katrina tapped one finger against her overly inflated lips before uttering, "I dare you...to kiss someone in this room."

"Anyone?" he replied softly, those green eyes sliding over to me before they returned to her.

"Yes. Anyone you want?" she confirmed with a confident gleam in her eye.

Ally was about to explode with nervous energy as she yanked on my arm, so certain I would be the one he chose. Colt lowered his head and shook it a little before releasing my hand and striding across the room. Time seemed to stand still as he leaned down and pressed his lips to Katrina's. Dread swirled deep in my gut at the realization that he could've chosen me. Me! But I didn't register on his kissing radar.

Colt pulled back quickly, disappointing the raven haired vixen I couldn't stop glaring at. "For fuck's sake," Jason muttered under his breath, suddenly appearing by my side. 

I stood there frozen as all eyes swiveled in my direction. Except Colt's. His eyes were firmly planted on the floor. "Cake," I announced with a shaky voice. "I'll… go get it."

"Corri," Jason called as he trailed up the stairs behind me and into the kitchen. 

I darted up the steps in a desperate attempt not to cry in front of all my party guests. Jason found hiding in the pantry, pretending to look for napkins. "I'll be down in a minute," I sighed when I felt his hand on my back.

"My best friend is a dumbass," he replied. "I love the guy, but...he really screwed up just now."

"I'm fine," I insisted, shrugging him off and moving around him to grab the cupcakes from the counter. 

"Corri…"

I didn't want his pity and I sure as hell didn't want anyone to know how affected I was. "I'm fine," I repeated as he took the napkins and plates from me.

We returned to the basement together in silence, with me forcing myself not to look in Colt's direction, knowing that if I saw him kiss her again, it would kill me. I set about opening the cupcake container, allowing Jason to assist me. My eyes darted to my friends as they wished me a happy birthday and I insisted that no one sing to me. 

I felt Jason's hand on my back, pulling me from my thoughts of Colt. I was caught totally off guard when he gathered me into a warm hug. "Happy birthday," he murmured into my hair. 

When I pulled away, I caught Jason glancing at Colt before dipping his head and catching my lips in a quick kiss. "You deserve a birthday kiss," he sighed happily, running his fingers through my blonde waves.

It wasn't the kiss I wanted, but I liked it, enjoying the attention until I caught Colt's glare from across the room. He was furious.

"That was my first kiss," I announced as soon as our reminiscing was completed. 

Colt blinked hard. "I...I didn't know that."

I shrugged in an attempt to cover how much it bothered me. "Well it's in the past now."

Colt watched me fold my t-shirts before adding, "Well I hope he enjoyed it since it earned him a fat black eye."

"I knew that was you!" I accused. "He always said he got it from football practice."

Colt sneered. "He got what was coming to him."

I huffed in annoyance, gathering all my folded clothes and placing everything in my basket. "Anyway…"

"You forgot these."

I found Colt seated on the couch with another pair of panties hanging precariously off the tip of his pointer finger. I growled as I approached him, clocking his precocious smirk as he held them just out of my reach. Colt wrestled me into his lap against my will.

"You know...we really need to talk about things more substantial than laundry and how I like my eggs."

"Like what?" I shrugged, trying to hide how uncomfortable I was with his hands on me.

"Like what happened with the boyfriend?"

I sunk into the spot beside Colt, allowing him to hold my bare legs as they laid draped over his thighs. "We broke up." Colt cocked his head, prompting me for more information. "He just...loved his baseball career more than me."

"Oh."

"Yeah...and it was never that serious so, when he got the call to play for Arizona, I didn't stand in his way. And he never asked me to join him so it was definitely time to end it."

"Your dad liked him."

I rolled my eyes. "Chase was a charmer. So of course dad liked him. Everyone liked him. But...he just wasn't…"

"What?"

I swallowed thickly, suddenly overwhelmed at sharing something so intimate with Colt. We hadn't told each other our secrets in so long. "He wasn't my person," I finally replied. 

"Your person?" Colt echoed. 

"You know? Like when you have good news or bad news or just something amazing happens and there's just one person you want to tell. It's the first person you think of when that happens."

"Your person."

I nodded slowly, not able to tear my eyes away from Colt's kind face. "He wasn't mine. I never felt like I couldn't live without him."

"Corri," he sighed, lifting his hand to cup my cheek. My eyes fell closed as his thumb brushed my skin softly. In that moment, I wanted to go back and do it all differently, choose better, change my decisions and find myself right back here. 

But with Colt as mine.

"Go out with me."

"What?" I gasped, opening my eyes and finding Colt's staring intently at me. 

"Tonight. Have dinner with me."

"I don't…"

"I know you need to go see your dad, but later. After the gym closes, let me take you somewhere nice. We have a lot to talk about."

The butterflies were working overtime in my stomach, nearly knocking me down with their strength. I hadn't counted on this, having him so close and my feelings still being so strong. My heart was screaming at me to keep my distance and protect it from him. Colt was the only one who could do this to me. He could bring me up so high with one expectant look and then tear me down with the disappointment of never showing me how he felt. 

It had been 9 years since that party in the basement and the way I felt when Colt chose Katrina was still so fresh in my mind that it still hurt to recall it. 

"Please? Let's just catch up."

Colt's request was so earnest and raw that I found it nearly impossible to say no. When I finally nodded in agreement, he gathered me in his arms and held me close. I nestled in tightly, relishing the feel of his arms around me. His nose was buried deeply in my neck and I couldn't help the way my heart leapt when I heard the way he inhaled the scent of skin.

"I've missed you so much," he whispered.

And the butterflies went into overdrive when I realized that I had never gotten over Colt Anderson. No matter how much time had passed or how much distance there was between us, he would always be my person.

......

A/N: wow I just love how much you guys are enjoying this story! Thanks so much for the great comments and sharing it on Instagram. I appreciate  all of you!