Chapter 26 Samir
Just when I’d lost all hope, his message came through. And for the next day and a half, my stomach was an aching mess simply because I couldn’t wait to go away with Cole, to be with him for more than a couple of hours at a time.
To be with him.
Gosh. Stop it, Samir.
Just because he was going away with me didn’t mean he wanted to share the night with me. No matter what Zay and Alina had said, this getaway was more than a “sexcapade.” It was a chance to spend some time with Cole outside the confines of Mayberry and our responsibilities there.
Besides, I didn’t even know how to have sex with a man, let alone a sexcapade. What would that even entail?
No. Our weekend away was not for sex. It was for us. It was the opportunity to spend more than a couple of hours together here and there and to figure out if we could work together, or if stolen moments were all we were good for.
Then again, it wasn’t as if we’d discussed the trip in detail, so for all I knew, Cole’s intention might be more carnal anyway.
By Friday morning, everything had been taken care of on my end. Zainab and Alina would stay the night at my house so Chibiusa and Cosmo—and the rest of the cats, but those two especially—didn’t feel all stressed and insecure due to my absence.
“And remember, someone’s coming at eight tomorrow morning to meet Milk, Beanie, and Cutiepie,” I said to Zay and Alina when I heard a honk.
We all turned to look out the window of the bookstore, and Cole waved at me from inside his car.
My stomach turned into a bundle of nerves again. Not that it had ever stopped.
“They’re interested in all three?” Zainab asked.
“Yeah. They don’t want to separate them if they’re bonded, especially after what they’ve been through. Guy’s name is Cooper Garcia.”
“Got it,” she replied and made a note of it before both her and Alina walked me out.
“I didn’t need the royal escort,” I told them.
“We want to make sure you leave, honeybun,” Alina said and waved at me.
I rolled my eyes and jumped in the car.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi,” I answered and went in for a kiss but paused midway. “Um… is this ok—” I started.
Cole grabbed me by the back of my neck and pulled me in for a short but passionate kiss.
“I… um… I guess it is,” I muttered, and Cole smirked.
“Have fun, you two!” Zainab waved at us.
“Like so, so much fun,” Alina added before getting jabbed on her ribs by her girlfriend.
I rolled my window up and turned to Cole.
“Just drive. Drive before I kill them.”
And he did.
Once we’d put enough distance between the store and me Cole lifted a box from the center console and offered it to me.
“Truffles? Lilian said we might need a snack on our way.”
I stared at the box for a second before I put it on my lap and opened it up.
There were a number of chocolate truffles inside and I wasted no time in trying one.
“Ooh that’s gorgeous,” I said.
“What is it?” Cole asked and instead of answering him, I put one in his mouth, catching a little of his lips and his saliva on my finger but I resisted licking it off even though it set my body on fire.
I took another bite before I turned to him.
“Salted caramel,” I said.
Cole nodded.
“But it’s a little spicy,” he added, then his eyes went wide. “Oh gosh! Put them down. Put them down now.”
“What? Why?” I picked up the box and held it away from me as if it was infected. “Is it not halal?”
“That’s not it,” Cole said and mumbled something under his breath. “It’s spicy.”
“Yeah, and?” I asked, staring at him.
“It’s spicy and salted caramel. Knowing Lilian it’s probably a fucking aphrodisiac or something.”
I grimaced, staring at him.
Would that be so bad?
“I’m sure it’s not.”
Cole shook his head.
“Trust me. That woman is a sneaky witch.”
I shrugged and closed the box, but not before I ate another one for Cole’s benefit and I didn’t miss the way he glanced at me or the way he pressed his together.
Oh this trip was going to be fun.
He didn’t say anything more about the truffles and focused on getting us to our destination.
Fifteen minutes later, we made it to the ferry and ditched the car in the loading bay in favor of the boat’s cafeteria. By lunch time, we’d made it to our hotel in Boston, and we opted for a meal at the hotel restaurant so we didn’t have to wander the streets on an empty stomach.
After lunch, we dropped off our stuff in our rooms and went out to explore the city. Only a block or two away, we stumbled upon a winter festival inside an old warehouse.
“Should we check it out?” I asked, offering Cole my hand.
“Sure. Let’s go,” he answered and took my hand in his, and we walked inside.
It should have been weird, surreal, or awkward, navigating the rows of stalls and vendors holding hands and being all… couple-y, but it didn’t feel like any of those things. If anything, it was as if we’d been doing it for years.
The festival was quite the production with over a hundred stalls, a dedicated food market, and even two bars that were chock-full of people waiting for booze. We opted for the hot cocoa stand instead and caved in on a few eggnog and red velvet donuts.
“We should start making our way to the bookstore,” Cole said after a while.
When I checked the time, I realized it was almost four in the afternoon.
“How? Where did the time go?” I asked.
Cole laughed. “I guess time flies by when you’re with good company.”
“Indeed,” I said and offered him my hand again.
He glanced at it for a moment and then, without hesitation, grabbed it so we could get out of there.
Taxis ended up being a nightmare, and even when we managed to get one, it was stuck in Friday traffic after five minutes.
“Map says if we go through the park we can be there in twenty minutes,” Cole said.
I checked the road ahead. There was no chance we’d be moving in the foreseeable future.
“Let’s do it,” I said, then paid the driver and got out.
We crossed the street and entered Boston Common following the trail in Cole’s phone.
“So… how does it feel to be out of Mayberry Holm for the first time in your life?”
Cole took in a deep breath and looked around him as if studying his surroundings.
“It’s nice. It’s… different.”
“Yeah. You don’t get that kind of traffic in Mayberry.” I chuckled.
“No. Definitely not. But the winter festival was nice. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Really? I didn’t think it was that much better than Mayberry’s Winterberry festival,” I said. “I don’t think our island’s festival has anything to envy.”
Cole stopped and stared at me, and his gray eyes reflected the fairy lights all around us, making them look shiny, wet almost.
“You said our island.” He smiled.
“Oh. You noticed that?” I said.
“You think of Mayberry as yours then. Your home?”
I squeezed his hand and brought it to my lips to kiss it.
“I always felt at home in Mayberry since we set foot on the island four years ago. It’s the place where I feel like myself the most. Where I belong. Even more so now.”
Cole’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he nodded very slowly as if digesting what I’d said.
“Even more so now?” he whispered after a few moments.
“Yeah. That’s where… that’s where my heart is now.”
Cole narrowed his eyes and licked his lips, but he seemed confused.
“You, Cole,” I said. “You’re my heart.”
“Oh.” He blinked. “Oh. I… wow. Yeah. Okay.”
I tilted my head and studied him for a moment, and then we both laughed.
“God, I’m so weird, aren’t I?” Cole laughed, hiding his face in my chest, and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close.
I nodded.
“I like your weird,” I said.
He gasped and shoved my chest with a chuckle.
“You’re supposed to say I’m not weird.”
“You’re not weird,” I said robotically. That earned me another shove.
“Come on. We’re going to be late,” Cole said, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward.
I stared at the back of his hand and laughed to myself.
Did he really think he was weird? Because in my eyes, he was anything but.
Even if he was, he’d come so far since we first met, since everything he’d been through with Ella’s mom.
Anyone would be weird going back into dating after such a traumatic event.
“Oh, look.” I spotted something in the distance. “An ice rink.”
Cole glared back at me.
“And?” He rolled his eyes.
I chuckled. He was cute when he was like that, playful, fake-upset, and flustered all at the same time. I’d caught glimpses of that back home, but it was more obvious out here, away from everything and everyone. As if he was more himself.
“I thought maybe we could visit after the signing—”
“I’d rather not embarrass myself on this trip, thank you very much.”
I laughed.
“Okay then. No ring-ring for you.”
Cole looked at me as if he wanted to kill me. But he still melted into my arms when I pulled him into my embrace and planted a kiss on his lips.
I was happy.
So happy and in love.
Was it possible I’d found my guy on the first try?
“Come on, dude. Let’s go. Unless you want to miss the signing!” he said when he pulled away, and I followed him.
At this point, I didn’t know if there was anywhere I wouldn’t follow him to.
We got to the bookstore just as Hudson Bell started reading from his brand-new book, and we found a couple of seats in the back. Soon after the Q and A, we joined the line to get our copies signed.
“You mean to tell me he writes books for a living?” Cole whispered.
“Yeah. Why not?”
He shrugged.
“He’s too pretty. I don’t trust him.”
I chuckled.
“Do you trust me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Cole turned to me and bit his lip.
“Yeah, but you’re the cute and sexy pretty. He’s the hot pretty. He’s got something about him I don’t trust. He’s like the kind of guys that would bully us in high school.”
I stared at Cole and my jaw dropped.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “But you’re right on the money.”
“Huh?”
“Hudson. He’s got a sordid history. Before he came out, he was a bully. And believe it or not, he’s now married to his high school best friend who was also one of the guys he bullied.”
Cole gasped.
“I knew it.”
“But he’s really done a one-eighty. He’s got a wonderful queer family. And he writes fantastic books.”
Cole didn’t say anything. He seemed unconvinced. That was until we got in front of the man—a mountain of a man—and he turned into a mumbling mess.
“Oh, Cedarwood Beach? I’ve never been. Sounds nice though.” He giggled like I’d never seen him do so before, and the blond man smiled.
Cole glanced at me and then turned to look at the floor, his cheeks turning red. I bit back a laugh and handed Hudson a card.
“If you ever come by Mayberry Holm, I’d love to have you at my store. You have more than a few fans on the island.”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard of it. Let’s arrange something. I’ll be in touch,” Hudson said and signed our books.
“I thought he was too pretty to be trusted,” I said to Cole when we left the bookstore.
“What? He is.”
“You looked smitten,” I said.
Cole’s face turned serious and grabbed my hands.
“I wasn’t.”
“You giggled, Cole. You giggled!”
Cole bit his lip and grimaced.
“I did not.”
“You did so.”
“Did not. I swear. You have nothing to be jealous—”
“Relax, Cole. I’m just kidding. Besides, I can’t blame you. The man is handsome. Unreal handsome.”
Cole shrugged.
“You’re much more handsome. And cute,” he said.
I stopped in my tracks and looked into his eyes.
“I’m not.”
“I think you are and that’s what matters here. Okay?” He jabbed a finger to my chest a couple of times for emphasis, and then he smiled, pressing his body against mine.
His eyes darted back and forth between my gaze and something above me, and I looked up.
As if on purpose, we’d happened to stand under a bunch of mistletoe, surrounded by shoppers smirking at us because of the happy accident.
So I kissed him. Of course I kissed him as tradition dictated.
Besides, it was the only thing I could do when he looked at me full of need and desire. When he looked at me, it was as if he was begging to be held forever in my arms, forever to be kissed, forever to be cherished.
His taste sparked something inside me. It always did, but it felt bigger and more significant this time.
It was a fire. A fire that had been building little by little since we met until it became something more. Something great. A wildfire that threatened to scorch every part of my body and mind, leaving me with nothing but my charred remains. And yet the only one who could put out the fire was him.
He was a firefighter after all.