Baby Steps

For Later

Jo's POV:

Colton let me cry for what seemed like forever. All my emotions were just pouring out of me, and I felt awful for subjecting him to this. His shirt was now not only wet from his hair, but also my tears.

"Shh, it's okay," he soothed, rubbing circles on my back. I felt myself start to calm down, feeling at ease in his hold.

My sobs started to grow lighter, and I felt the sadness start to ease away. I pulled myself away from him, embarrassed at my outburst. 

"Sorry about that," I sniffled, wanting to crawl in a hole and die. If he didn't think I was a freak loser already, he definitely did now. 

Gently, he reached his hand out, cupping the side of my face and using his thumb to wipe my cheek. He forced my gaze back to his, and I couldn't help but think of what a mess I must look like right now. He stared into my eyes intently, a look of concern plastered on his face. 

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he said, hesitating - "as long as it isn't something I did?" 

"Oh no, God no," I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "You're perfect, don't worry."

He grinned like the cheshire cat. "Perfect?" he teased. "I can get behind that."

I elbowed his side. "You know what I meant," I grumbled. He laughed, pulling me back into his hold once again.

"You feel better?" he asked. I nodded yes. "Perfect. Let's get some food."

***

We sat on the bed, eating the Chinese food Colton had ordered for us. Colton was telling me about his weekend, how they had won their game by a landslide. Thanks to him, of course.

"We have a tough couple games the next few weeks, so it was good to boost team moral now," Colton explained. "We're gonna need the confidence to beat the Terriers." 

The Terriers were the Boston University team, widely regarded as one of the best in the league. They were Eden's biggest rivals, both on and off the ice.

"I'm sure you guys will beat them," I shrugged. "You've had a great season so far, from what I can tell." 

Colton grinned, and I instantly regretted the ego boost I just gave him. 

Suddenly, his phone started ringing, causing both of us to lose focus. He answered the call.

"Yeah man, what's up?" he greeted. One of his teammates, I presumed. 

Slowly, his smile curled into a frown. "Tonight?" he asked, clearly pissed. "We can't do tonight."

I felt a pang of discomfort in my stomach. Colton had a life, and here I was, stealing him away from his friends. 

"Dammit, man, what time?" he asked, and I took that as my queue to leave. I was clearly not wanted. 

I started gathering my things from the bed, quietly as to not disturb the call. Colton quickly shot a hand out to stop me, shaking his head. 

"Fine, you owe me," he barked, hanging up. He sighed, looking at me with guilt riddled across his face.

"My teammates, they want to throw here tonight," he said, biting his lip. "Is that okay?"

I shook my head, fighting away the sadness growing inside me. "Yeah, totally fine!" I said as enthusiastically as I could. "I'll head out now."

"No," Colton said quickly. "No, that's not what I meant. You can stay, it just won't be quiet, that's all."