15. Chapter Fifteen
It’s dark when I wake up, the clock showing it’s about ten.
Five-hour nap. Totally what I needed. Now I’ll be up all night.
I head downstairs, and my mouth waters as the smell of dinner still fills the house. I find a note on the fridge saying it’s in the oven, so I open it and pull out a bowl full of roast beef, potatoes, and carrots. I heat it up, and when it’s done, I take it to the table to sit and eat. As I take my first bite, I realize I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.
“Oh, hey,” Cole says, walking into the kitchen. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
I look up, practically choking on my food when I see him in nothing but a pair of red swim trunks that are wet and clinging to his body. I reach for my water and take a sip.
As calmly as I can, I answer, “Nope. My stomach did.”
“I’m out for a swim if you wanna join?”
“Isn’t it like 60 degrees?”
He smirks as he pulls open the fridge door. “The pool is heated.”
“Well, shit. You didn’t tell me that.” I scoop a big bite into my mouth, wanting to finish so I can check out this heated pool. “I still don’t have a swimsuit though.”
“My comment from last time is the same,” he responds, glancing at me over his shoulder. I keep my eyes on him, even though they’re begging to wander south and take in his firm round ass.
Swimming in my underwear in front of Cole? This could end well…
Or really, really badly.
He pulls out a beer. “Want one?”
“Sure.”
He pops it open and places it in front of me before going back to the fridge and grabbing another. He leans against the counter, opens it, and takes a sip. His gaze is on me, but I try to ignore it and not to eat like a pig. But this food is so damn good, and I can’t remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal. Cole has always been an amazing cook, and he never does anything over-the-top either. It’s simple things that taste the best. Like burgers on the grill or fried chicken.
“I used to keep more than beer in the house, but Chris wipes it out. He doesn’t like beer, so now it’s all I drink.”
I look up at him, noting he’s now staring at the floor. I hate how sad he sounds admitting that to me.
I swallow the food in my mouth and say, “It’s that bad?”
He nods. “He goes to work just fine. During the week he isn’t so bad, but on the weekends? He’s like a different person. Someone I don’t recognize.”
“I’ve noticed.” I take a mouthful of beer before finishing my food. Maybe I’m pushing it here, but the longer I get to see Cole Harper wet and in a swimsuit, the better.
“Still don’t wanna talk about it?” he asks.
“Not really.” I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
I bring my dishes to the sink to wash. Cole is just beside me, the scent of chlorine wafting from him. His hair is dripping, the water droplets running down his chest, and all I can think about is licking them up. Licking up chlorine water? Ew.
But it’s been on him…
What the hell is wrong with you, Bryson?
Fuck, I wish I could touch Cole whenever and however I wanted.
Cole finishes his beer, leaving the empty can on the counter by the sink, and goes back to the fridge. He hands me a bunch of cans that I hold in my arms.
“We can keep them in the fridge outside,” he says as he grabs some more, closing the fridge with his hip. “Meant to stock it earlier but forgot.”
I pick up my open one and follow him outside, keeping my gaze on his ass and hips the entire time.
This is so dangerous…
The lights are on outside already, and after the beer is in the fridge, Cole dives into the pool without a word. He comes up, wipes the water from his face, and turns to look at me with a grin. Fuck, he’s gorgeous.
“You coming or what?”
Damn, I sure hope so…
I take off my shirt, and when I unbutton my pants, I realize I’m wearing my boxer briefs that have donuts all over them. Real mature, Bryson.
I take my pants off and leave them on one of the lounge chairs with my shirt. I walk to the edge of the pool, ignoring the way Cole is staring at me. I dive in, and we swim around aimlessly. It feels damn good being in a heated pool with the outside air chilly. I bet the hot tub is even better. I’ve always felt spoiled being here, which is funny because my father’s house had an indoor pool and hot tub. Also had a theater with the newest gaming systems. But I never enjoyed any of that stuff. It didn’t mean anything. They were just useless things filling space. Here? It’s so much different.
“This pool was the best thing I’ve ever done,” he comments.
“The entire house looks great, Cole. All the changes you made? You did good.”
He smiles proudly as we float around.
“Didn’t have much work to do for a while, so I worked on the house to keep busy.”
Cole asks about school and talks a little about work. We take turns braving the cold for fresh beers when we need them. Before I know it, Cole is telling me we’ve got the last ones, and I’m feeling pretty good. Slightly buzzed. We crack them open as we take a seat on the steps, the water up to our shoulders to keep warm.
“How come you didn’t finish the work on my father’s house?” I ask when it falls silent. I’d known that was the plan before I left for college, but it stopped and I never found out why. Not sure why Cole agreed to work on the house in the first place. My father was never nice to him, but I guess that’s Cole. He’s just a good guy.
Cole tenses beside me, taking a sip of his beer.
“It’s probably something I shouldn’t tell you.”
I rear my head back, wondering why the hell that’s something he shouldn’t tell me.
“Why not?”
“A lot of shit’s happened while you were gone, Bryson.” He takes another sip. “A lot of stuff from when you were young too. Hell, even stuff before you were born.”
Whoa.
“What does that mean?”
He shakes his head and mutters, “I thought Chris shared more with you.”
“In just the couple of days I’ve been here, I’ve learned Chris isn’t the person I remember.” Cole nods but doesn’t say anything. “I don’t like saying that to you, but it’s the truth and I don’t have anyone else to talk to about it.”
He nods again, leaning further back against the steps. “Just like I don’t want to cause problems with you and your father.”
“There are already problems with me and my father. Nothing you say could make it worse.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Then you don’t know me or my father.”
He frowns at me. “I like to think I know you pretty well.”
He does. He really does. Sees parts of me I keep hidden.
“I used to think the only way our problems would be fixed was if I went to law school. He made such a big deal about it, and for so long. But that isn’t happening. Not then. Not now. I mean, look at me, Cole. Do I look like a lawyer?” I gesture at myself, widening my eyes.
Cole chuckles. “Actually, no.” His chuckle fades and turns into a frown. He glances toward me and says, “Used to?”
Caught that, did ya?
I sigh, running a hand through my hair.
The honesty that is about to come out of my mouth is evidence enough that I shouldn’t be drinking around Cole.
“I didn’t want to come here,” I say. “I tried so hard to make things work with him, but he’s impossible. There are a lot of things I’ve learned to ignore about my father, and I can handle him most times. But,” I pause, blowing out a breath. “I finally came out to him, and he told me he wished I were never born and that my mother killing herself was my fault. And that—” I snap my jaw shut, fighting the emotion clogging my throat.
“Fucking hell,” Cole mutters under his breath. He puts his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Bryson. You know that’s not true, right? What your mother did had nothing to do with you and everything to do with her mental health.”
I nod, sipping my beer, hoping it’ll go down past the lump in my throat. The cold liquid is enough to have it disappearing, and I clear my throat. “Yeah, I know that. But hearing it?” I huff out a laugh, taking another sip. I bump Cole with my shoulder. “Tell me what he did.”
He drops his hand, looking toward the house. “Why do you think he did something?”
“Because if he hadn’t, you’d have no problem telling me.”
His face turns more serious and explains. “I laid out all the plans for him. He told me everything looked great. We started on the house, get a solid month of work in, and your father tells me he’s firing me because I was mismanaging my employees’ time.”
“Mismanaging their time?” I ask carefully.
“He was trying to say we weren’t doing anything.”
I scoff. “Which is bullshit. You take work seriously. You take everything seriously.”
I smirk, but he doesn’t, proving my point.
“You really don’t know?” he says, causing my smile to fall.
“Know what?”
He shakes his head, looking up at the sky. “Your father—”
“There you are!”
We both turn to see Chris walking toward the pool, and not in a straight line.
Cole slides away from me, which I find odd until I realize how close he’d gotten. When did that happen?
“Why’d you leave Mark’s?” Chris asks, stopping at the edge of the pool. The light behind him makes it impossible to see his features, but he sounds annoyed. He’s also swaying, so alcohol is probably the reason he’s mad.
“Wasn’t feeling it,” I say, finishing my beer and putting the can on the edge of the pool.
“So you’d rather come here and hang out with my dad?” He gestures toward Cole.
“I was actually just heading to bed,” I say, standing to get out of the pool. I shiver the moment I’m out, grab my cans and my clothes, and realize there are no towels out here.
“Seriously? It’s so early,” Chris calls after me when I start toward the house.
“I have to be up early,” I say over my shoulder. “You know, job hunting?”
“I have to be up early too!”
“Thanks, Cole,” I call as I turn the corner.
Before I enter the house, I hear Chris say, “Oh, so you don’t have a problem with him drinking.”
Coming back home is becoming more of an issue than I thought it would be. Maybe I should have stayed in Rhode Island. Hell, maybe I should go back.