Darkness Before Dawn

between us to massage my clit, making me pulsate around him again as we both reach our climax. Our cries of pleasure get drowned out in the music.
    "I love you," he whispers against my shoulder, our bodies heaving in exhaustion.
    "I love you too," I respond, closing my eyes against him.
    Cole helps me clean up and dress before dressing himself and handing me a handful of Kleenex to dab my face with. I open up the mirror in my clutch and fix my eyeliner and lip gloss before touching up my hair as best I can…and pray that nobody knows what we did on our way to the event.
    "I told you I was going to fuck you in that dress," he says, taking a seat beside me and holding my hand in his.
    "You did," I reply before taking a deep shaky breath. "I didn't realize you meant before the event though."
    "Neither did I...until I remembered we had a limo," he says with a chuckle. "I'll be sure to thank Colleen for that later."
    My eyes widen and my mouth pops open when I turn my face to his. "Oh my God! It just hit me that I'm going to meet your mother tonight!" I shriek in disbelief. "I can't believe we just did that!"
    Cole laughs, his shoulder shaking me along with him. "You lived with my mother, Blake. Colleen-"
    "Is your birth mother, Cole. And she's trying. Aimee says so all the time. Don't rule her out," I reply quietly before placing a peck on his cheek.

 

    I spot a lot of familiar faces as we walk around the gala and look down at Blake to find her smiling as she looks around the room. The walls have photos of smiling children playing sports, reading books, watching movies, running around and doing what kids do. Noticing her smile broaden, my eyes follow her line of sight and see Aubry walking toward us holding Aimee's hand.
    "You took for-fucking-ever to get here, dude," Aubry greets us as he gives me a quick hug and pat on the back before moving to say hi to Blake. He and Aimee switch places for me to kiss her on the cheek.
    "My mom's been asking for you, she thought you weren't coming," Aimee adds with a smile.
    I look at my watch. "We're only thirty minutes late," I reply.
    "Yeah, but you're never late!" Aubry retorts.
    Blake laughs and tugs my hand. "He's not very happy that I made him late," she says, looking up at me, her huge gray eyes sparkling in amusement.
    I smile at her and dip my head to kiss her. "Oh yes he is," I reply against her lips.
    "You two are sickening," Aubry says in faux disgust before taking Aimee's hand and placing a kiss on it.
    I roll my eyes and let them lead the way to where Colleen is standing with a group of people. We wait until she's finished talking and she turns her attention to us, smiling brightly when she sees me, which I return. Now that I'm here in front of her again, my heart feels lighter, and I want to kick myself for not wanting to see her again. Her eyes move from mine to Blake and her smile disappears. She stares at Blake with an open mouth, and as she steps forward, she extends her hand and brushes Blake's face with it, her eyes swelling with unshed tears. She takes her hand back and covers her mouth, blinking a couple of times, unable to stop tears from trickling down her face which she wipes away quickly.
    "It's so nice to meet you," Colleen whispers. "I'm sorry. It's just...you look exactly like your mother. I knew you would, but seeing you..."
    Blake lets go of my hand and takes Colleen's hand in hers and placing a kiss on her cheek. "It's okay. It's nice to meet you, Colleen. Did you know her well?" she asks quietly.
    Colleen nods her head. "Very," she whispers back. "We were great friends for a long time."
    They smile sadly at each other before Blake drops her hands and steps back to my side. Colleen turns her attention to me.
    "Thank you for coming, Na...Cole. It means so much to me," Colleen says quietly as she leans up to greet me with a kiss, which I return.
    "Thank you for inviting me. It's a good cause," I reply.
    "It is," she says with a bright smile before looking at Blake again. "I hope we can all catch up and get to know each other."
    "We'd love that," Blake responds cheerfully.
    I look at her and she looks at me with pleading eyes that I can't argue with, so I let out a breath and nod in agreement. Then we follow Colleen around so she can awkwardly introduce me as her son and tell Blake's story.
    After talking to what seems like two hundred people in the room, Blake and I find our seats next to Aubry and Aimee's and see Connor's name on the table with us.