He meant fresh, as in the way the grass smelled after a spring storm.
So why was everyone giving him a hard time?
“Nachos are on me,” he said, indicating the platter with a wave of his glass. “Actually, the whole tab’s on me.”
“What’s up with you?” Angus, a friend and rival bull rider from Billings, asked. “You worried you’re going to lose in the ring this weekend and feel like making good on our bet early?”
“Naw,” Colton said. “This is the last nice thing I do before I kick your scrawny ass this weekend.”
A combination of laughter and groans followed by five hungry guys, demolishing a plate of chips, cheese, salsa and hot peppers. “But I’m cutting you off in a half hour. I don’t need a bunch of sorry-assed, hung-over rodeo clowns blaming your shitty rides on me tomorrow.”
“You talk big. Too bad it’s all coming out of your ass.”
Colton grabbed the last bunch of chips off the plate just before Rider, a calf roper from Butte, had a chance. “Sorry,” Colton said with a smile. “Too slow. Hope that’s not shades of things to come.”
“Ahem.”
He shoved the whole handful in his mouth and chomped.
“Um...excuse me.”
The guys around him grew quiet, their knowing smiles making him turn. Ashley was standing behind him, a very serious expression on her face.
“Can I talk to you for a sec?”
He removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “Sure.”
Her eyes roved from his face to the faces of the men behind him. “Not here.” Angling her head toward the back exit, she said, “Outside. If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind one bit, darlin’.” Draping his arm across her shoulders, which caused her to stiffen, he maneuvered them through the crowd to the back door, opening it so she could pass through first. On the other side of the door was a couple groups of smokers, leaning up against the side of the building, looking up as they passed, but not paying much attention to them.
“Over here.” Tugging on his sleeve, she pulled him toward the alley and the quiet side of the building, out of earshot.
“You angling for another kiss?” he asked once she’d stopped and turned to face him.
She scowled. “No.”
He stepped closer. “You want something else?” She was tiny, seemed even smaller looking up at him in the dark. “Something more?”
She shook her head hard. “Of course not.”
He took another step, moving her until she was backed right up against the brick of the building. Colton didn’t know why he did it, exactly. Probably because he was enjoying making her mad. “Then what are we doing here, sweetheart?”
If making her mad was his reason for lording his size over her, his action had the desired effect. She threw her head back in exasperation and gave him a shove. “Oh, my God. You’ve got to stop calling me that.”
“Sweetheart?”
“Yes. I’m not your sweetheart.”
He propped a hand on the wall above her head and leaned. “But I thought you wanted to be my sweetheart. Just for tonight.”
She wet her lips and his gaze dropped. While she may not be a beauty queen, Ashley sure as hell had nice lips. Particularly in the dim light where her tongue had left a bit of a sheen after licking.
“About that...”
“Uh-huh?” He forced his gaze up from her mouth.
“Um...”
Except then she started chewing on her lip and his gaze dropped right back down.
“C’mon. Spill.”
“You know how I asked for just tonight?”
“Yep.” God, he wanted to touch her lips. Why? He couldn’t say.
“Well...”
Now those little lips parted, and she was breathing through them. He could feel her little pants against his cheek.
“See, I’m around all weekend. And, you’re around all weekend.”
“Let me guess,” he said, propping his other hand on the wall, leaning in. “And your friend’s around all weekend. That about sum it up?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“So...you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend for the whole weekend, is that it?”
She blinked rapidly a few times. “Maybe.”
Colton smiled. He couldn’t help it. The woman was a weird combination of pissed off, turned on and a little scared all at the same time. The confusion flitted right across her ordinary features. Which was satisfying in a degenerate sort of way.
As much as he was enjoying himself, he wasn’t a complete jackass. He eased back a smidge. “So, you want to hire me? Is that it? Like a cowboy gigolo?”
“Yes...no,” she quickly corrected. “I’m just asking if you’ll do it.” She paused to swallow. “You know. Pretend we’re together. That’s all.”
“So, pretend, huh? What exactly does that mean?”
“Well, I’ll be at the rodeo and fairgrounds tomorrow, taking pictures. So, if I run into you, you act like my boyfriend.”
“Uh-huh.”
She waved a flustered hand between them. “And we don’t have to do any more kissing, if you don’t want.”
Colton rubbed his jaw. “Seems like the kissing part is one of the perks.”
“Okay, well...” She shrugged. “A little, then.” She cleared her throat. “And then tomorrow night, I’ll be here again, so if you happen to be here, same thing.”
“Right. And then?”
She downright gnawed on her lip. “And then...there’s the formal on Saturday night. I’m supposed to be there taking pictures. I assume you’ll be there, too.”
The truth was, he hadn’t planned on going. He’d never gone to Half Moon High because his parents had moved after his and Dillon’s oldest brother died. But Colton wasn’t about to tell Ashley that. He had a warped need to hear where this was heading.
“Yeah, I’m going,” he said.
“So...we go together. That’s it. That’ll be the end of it, I promise. We could even have a big blowup and break up by the end of the night.” Her eyes lit up with a bit of fire and not of the angry kind. Like the thought of breaking up with him gave her pleasure.
Huh.
“So, you get what you want—a boyfriend. What do I get out of this?”
“I’ll cover your pub tab for the weekend.” A cringe flashed across her face...and then it was gone. Interesting. Colton considered her offer, but there was obviously something about it that bothered her. That was fine, he had other ideas, too. “I think the payment needs to suit the job, don’t you?”
She got a cute little wrinkle in between her brows. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, the tab’s fine for tonight. But what about tomorrow?”
“Umm...more beer?”
“I