Chapter 9 Cole
COLE
Oakley walks into the apartment, tossing his gym bag onto the ground and heading straight for the kitchen. He guzzles down a bottle of water before ripping open a banana and shoving it deep into his mouth. He barely takes a bite before the whole thing is down his throat. Damn.
“I talked to our moms today,” I tell him, getting up off the couch and walking toward him. “They were out to lunch but had no issue with FaceTiming me in the middle of the restaurant. They were loud as hell, and I felt sorry for all those around them, but you know how they are.”
Our moms have been best friends almost as long as Oak and I have.
After setting up so many playdates when we were younger, they realized it would be easier if they started hanging out with one another.
And what do you know? They became best friends, too.
Our dads are different; they see each other when the families get together, but they don’t go out of their way to hang out with one another.
They’re both more reserved and introverted than our moms, that’s for sure.
“Ah, and what did Julie and Sue have to say today?” He snickers, opening the fridge and coming back up with a vanilla yogurt.
My eyes stay on him as he rips off the foil top, then starts scooping out the yogurt with his tongue.
I’m fixated as I watch his tongue move in and out of the plastic container, taking the white liquid on his tongue.
His tongue stops moving, and I shake my head, trying to remember what I was going to say.
“They were bugging me about when we’re going to visit again. I told them we were just home for Christmas, but they quickly reminded me that it was three months ago and not an excuse to not see them.”
“Three months?” His eyes widen when he realizes how long it’s been since we’ve seen them. “How have we gone three months without going back home? And how have they let us go that long? I’m surprised they haven’t shown up at our front door.”
“Oh, don’t worry. They threatened that more than once. I told them we would make a weekend trip to visit them soon. That was after they threatened to come down this weekend if I didn’t tell them when we were planning to visit.”
Our families live about three hours north of us.
It’s not too far away, but enough of a distance that it allows us to live separately and know that our moms won’t just show up on our doorstep.
Usually. There have been a couple of times when they’ve popped in, so I’m glad to know I turned them away this one time at least. Our families have spent almost every holiday together for at least the last fifteen years.
I have one sister, and Oakley has one sister and one brother.
We’re both the oldest in our families, so our moms have a harder time letting us go than they did the rest. It also doesn’t help that all our siblings decided to stay closer to home, but still.
I know they love us, but sometimes they’re a bit overwhelming.
“Ugh, when did you say we’ll go? Please, not this weekend.” He pouts, sticking his lower lip out.
“No, not this weekend. But I said within the next few weeks.”
Oak nods his head, knowing that if we don’t agree, they’ll never leave us alone. “Okay, I can deal with that. You’re driving this time, though. I drove the last two times.”
“You know how much I love being a passenger princess,” I smile, batting my eyelashes.
Which is true. I don’t mind driving, but it’s not something I like to do.
Especially when the destination is farther.
I get easily distracted by what’s going on outside, or I start to get too tired and want to nap for the whole ride.
“What if I want to be a passenger princess one time?”
“I mean, if you don’t mind my stopping to take pictures of the side of the road,” I shrug. “Or my eyes drifting closed when the roads get too boring.”
“Ugh,” Oak groans, squinting his eyes glaringly. “Fine. I’ll drive. Once again. But you’d better make it a good trip.”
“Yes, yes, we can stop and get Slurpees on the way,” I say, knowing that Oak can’t do a road trip without a Slurpee.
Does he realize it makes him have to pee thirty minutes later?
Yep. Does he care? Nope. “How was your workout with Jensen? Did you lift a lot of weight?” I don’t know much about working out; I usually just lift whatever Oak hands me, so I’m glad he’s able to go to the gym with someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
“It was good. It’s nice to have someone to spot me.
I hate going by myself.” I roll my eyes, and he quickly adds, “Not that it sucked going with you or that I hate that you don’t come anymore, but those times when my arms are jelly, it’s nice to have someone there who actually helps lift the bar and not leaves me stranded because they’re chatting so much. ”
“Oh my god, that was one time.” I huff, rolling my eyes again. “You don’t grab the bar one time… you’ve never let me live it down.”
“Well, it’s kind of life or death, well maybe, but what I said still stands.”
Blowing a raspberry, I stick out my tongue. “Anywayyyy,” I drag out, “what did you guys talk about?”
“Normal stuff. We came up with a new workout plan for next week. We’re both going to try to bulk up, so we added some new workout activities that we want to try.
Which means we’re also both going on a specific diet, which will be harder, but I’m going to try it.
We’re going to keep each other accountable. ”
“That’s nice,” I tell him, and it is. The number of times he’s tried to get me to go on a diet with him, only for me to sneak away to McDonald’s or Burger King, is out of this world.
He knows I can’t handle diets, so I’m glad he’s found someone to do it with.
“Wait, does that mean we can’t do popcorn and candy on movie nights? ”
“Probably not.”
“Stupid fucking diets. I’m not going to eat a stick of celery while we’re watching a movie, and you can’t make me.”
Oak wraps his arm around my shoulder, guiding us over to the couch. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you do the diet with me. There will be no celery sticks in your future.”
We sit in silence for a couple of minutes before Oak speaks again. “Jensen thought we were boyfriends. Why does everyone always think we’re dating?” His hand finds mine, interlocking our fingers.
“Ya know, I just had this conversation with Bash. He was questioning me as well. Asking why we weren’t dating.”
“What did you say?” He asks, turning to face me.
“That we’re best friends. He didn’t like my answer. Told me we should try to kiss and see what happens?”
“We kiss all the time,” Oak deadpans, planting another kiss on my nose.
“Not best friend kisses. Like an actual kiss on the lips.”
“Okay, let’s try it.”
My mind goes blank as I try to process what he said. “Right now?”
“Why not?” he asks, scooting closer to me, resting his knee against mine. “Let’s try it.”
“All right.” I shrug my shoulders, my stomach tightening. “How do we do this?” Fuck, why am I nervous? It’s just Oakley. And yeah, kissing Oakley. Yeah, it’s a different type of kiss, but it’s still the same.
“Well, you see, when two people kiss on the lips, it typically involves their lips touching, so maybe we can start with that.” Oakley jokes, my body instantly relaxing. Of course he knows exactly what to say to calm me down.
Using my other hand, I slap his chest. “Jeez, why didn’t I think of that?”
“Here, let’s stand up and try it that way.” Oak and I each stand up, staring at one another. I’m no longer nervous per se; I’m more worried about what to do. “Relax.”
“You relax,” I retort, stepping closer to him. “All right, let’s do this. Kiss me. On the lips.”
Oakley chuckles, placing his hand on my waist. I put one hand on his chest, taking one inch step closer.
I close my eyes, my heart beating when I feel the breath of his mouth closer to mine.
He doesn’t leave me waiting for long when I feel the soft touch of his lips against mine.
It’s soft and gentle and so familiar, even though I’ve never felt it this way before.
We slowly pull away, my eyes blinking open.
Once my vision clears, I see Oak staring intently at me.
“Can we do that again?” He rasps, his fingers digging into the side of my waist. His other hand finds its way around my back as he pulls me closer.
Nodding my head, I place my arms around his neck, bringing him toward me again.
Our mouths meet, his lips separating as I slide my tongue out to mingle with his.
A moan flies out of my mouth, and I pause, pulling away to stare at him.
Holy shit, I don’t think I’ve ever moaned before.
Definitely not from kissing. My heart is beating wildly, butterflies appear in my stomach, and I don’t want the feeling to end.
Not giving him more than a second to catch his breath, I attack his mouth again.
His hands tighten on my shirt as he pulls me closer to him.
We stand in place, our mouths fused together as we kiss in a way we never have before.
Fuck, this is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before and I don’t want it to end.
“Wow,” I whisper when we finally pull apart, my chest rising and falling rapidly. “Why haven’t we been kissing that way this whole time?”
“I have no idea,” Oak breathes, placing another kiss on my lips before pulling away. “We’ll start now, though. That’s for damn sure.”
We step away from each other, my breathing not calming down. “I have to get ready for work. Are you going to come tonight?” I gasp, trying to catch my breath.
“Of course,” his voice squeaks. Oak clears his throat, smiling, “I wouldn’t miss it at all. I’m going to shower, and I’ll be ready soon.”
A few hours later, I’m on the stage at Peaches, trying to concentrate on making sure I don’t fall on my ass again.
Bash skips my way, drifting his arm down my leg as I wrap it around the pole.
I spin around the rod and lock my knee to avoid sliding down.
As I’m spinning, my eyes lock on Oak’s, who’s gazing at me intently.
My skin prickles when I remember the kiss from earlier.
I did not expect to actually enjoy it, and I’ve spent the last two hours wondering if it’s going to happen again. And hoping like hell it does.
“Do you want to be in the chair or me?” Bash whispers, as we pass each other to switch sides of the stage.
I point to myself, knowing I’m too in my head to try to remember the chair choreography we made up earlier.
Bash nods, and when the music dies down, I head toward the chair at center stage, sitting down and letting Bash take the lead.
He uses me as a prop to grind down on, his weight easily fitting in my lap.
My vision drifts to Oak, who’s watching us intently with a smile on his face.
“Slap my ass,” Bash tells me before he leans over me. I playfully slap his ass, smiling to the crowd when there’s a collection of groans, moans, and wolf whistles. “I knew they’d like that,” he jokes, climbing off my lap.
We finish strong, striking a seductive pose when the music ends.
We each head down from the stage, walking around collecting all the tips.
Once we’re in the safety of the dressing room, Bash squeals excitedly, jumping up and down.
“Fuck, I’m so glad I get to dance with you.
I’ve never made as many tips as I do with you.
You’re not allowed to partner with anyone else. Got it?”
I laugh, nodding my head. “Got it. Tonight was a fucking amazing night. I’m gonna go grab some water from Preston.”
Moving down the darkened hallway, I make my way over to the bar, grabbing Preston’s attention. “Water, please,” I say when he reaches my part of the counter.
“You got it,” he reaches down into the small cooler at the bottom, grabbing me a bottle of water. “You and Bash were amazing, as always. I saw Oakley going crazy from here. Honestly, I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to jump up on that stage and dance himself.”
“You know what?” Oak replies, appearing at my back. “I’ve thought about it so many times, but I see him up there on the stage, and I know there’s no way in hell I can do that. Not just because of the nerves, but I can’t dance for shit.”
“I can attest to that; he can’t dance for shit.”
“Neither can I, so I guess Oakley and I are in the ‘stay off the stage’ crew,” Preston laughs, sliding the water bottle across the counter.
“I like being part of that crew.” Oakley and Preston do some awkward fist-bump thing because it seems as though Preston has never done a fist bump in his life. Preston chuckles, his cheeks turning red even in the dark lightning of the room. “Was that your last dance of the night?”
“Yep,” I tell him, hopping off my stool. “I just need to change, and then we can head out.”
Oakley waits for me outside the club next to the back door. It isn’t long before we’re tiredly making our way into the apartment, my eyes falling shut from exhaustion. He follows me down the hallway, stopping outside my door.
“You did great tonight.” He says, taking a step forward, then quickly taking one step back.
“Thank you.” I preen, never tire of hearing Oak say how amazing I did on the stage.
“I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Of course.”
We stare at one another, neither of us knowing what to do next.
Oak leans forward, placing a soft kiss on my forehead.
Not what I was hoping for, but okay. I’m about to spin around and walk into my room when Oak suddenly shoves me against my bedroom door, shoving my lips apart with his tongue.
God, yes. This was what I wanted. My toes curl as his tongue battles mine.
There’s a hint of Coke on him, but everything else is Oak.
One of his hands finds my waist, while the other sifts through my hair, pulling slightly on the strands.
The subtle pain from his pulling has me moaning loudly and arching my back, our chests touching one another.
We’re like that for a few seconds, losing time while we continue kissing.
Oak pulls away before I’m ready, his chest rising and falling just as fast as mine.
“Good night, Cole.”
“Good night, Oak.”