Chapter 6
Cole
While I’d managed to take a couple days off work, I had to be in the rest of the week. It meant I hadn’t seen Oakley because she was visiting family in the evenings, having dinner with grandparents and some second cousin I’d never met.
Sarah wanted to catch up with everyone while they were back.
It was understandable, but I wanted to spend that time with her. They’d been back almost a week and we’d barely had chance to really talk. Or rather, we’d been avoiding it.
Now it was Sunday, and I was dropping her off after spending most of the day catching up. We’d covered our lives over the past four years, her telling me about her job and friends and social life. I’d told her all about uni and my job, shown her a couple of the places I was looking at.
It’d been nice but I felt the frustration at us not getting to the point simmering under my skin. But she wasn’t just back for a visit, she was facing her abusers in court, and I didn’t know how to bring up everything I was feeling without adding more to her load.
So, I told myself to push it away and focus on the fact that she was here.
I was driving at a snail’s pace. Oakley probably thought I had turned into an old man driver, but I just wanted to get a little extra time.
As we approached the street, I slowed down more.
“The accelerator is the one on the right,” she teased, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip.
My dick started to thicken in my jeans. I loved it when she did that. I loved it more when I got to do that. It frightened me how easy it would be to pick up right where we left off. We couldn’t be fixed with sex.
“Very funny,” I said. I pulled up outside the house and sighed quietly. “So… I’ll see you on Tuesday? You’ll come view the houses?”
Her eyes sank into mine, and I could see how much she didn’t want to leave. “Yeah, definitely.”
I watched her like a stalker as she got out of the car and bent over to look back in. The small smile she gave me shot straight through my heart. “Will you text me when you get home?”
“I would, but I don’t have your new number. Obviously, I’m not one of the privileged ones.”
I had the old one still programmed into my phone, unable to delete it.
Sometimes I’d read our old messages, particularly that massive one she’d finally sent after she started talking again.
Years of her thoughts and feelings she’d typed to me but was unable to send because she was locked inside a prison of silence.
“Give me your phone,” she said, holding her hand out.
I purposefully brushed her fingers when she took the phone, the addictive need to touch her overwhelming. Her cheeks filled with colour, her lips parting.
She punched her number in and handed it back with a flirtatious smile that I wanted to capture. “Done. Feel special now?”
“You’re going to have to do a lot more than that to make me feel special.”
She raised a brow. “Oh, really?”
I nodded, my eyes lingering over her lips.
“All right.” She pushed away from my car. “I’ll buy the ice cream on Tuesday.”
She didn’t look back at me as she walked into the house, and I knew that was deliberate. She was driving me wild.
Groaning, I shook my head and gripped the steering wheel. What the hell was I doing?
I was falling deeper and knew there was no way to stop it. No matter how angry I still was over her leaving and the way she did it, I was fucking helpless to stop myself diving back into her arms. It was a physical need that I couldn’t control, no matter how hard I tried.
We were both screwed.
I drove back to my house with a smile on my lips and a heavy need in my crotch. She was even sexier now. Older, mature, confident, flirty.
She was going to bring me to my knees, and I already knew I was going to let her.
I pulled into my driveway… next to Chelsea’s car. We didn’t have plans.
Mum and Leona walked out of the door as I started up the path.
“Oh, hi, sweetheart,” Mum said. “Chelsea’s inside. I’m just taking Leona to meet Mia after work. Your dad and I are taking them to dinner. Do you want to come?”
“No, I’m good, thanks,” I replied, ruffling Leona’s hair.
“Okay, see you later.”
I expected Chelsea to be in the lounge or kitchen, but I found her in my room, standing by my desk.
“Chels.”
“Hi,” she said, looking at the picture of Oakley and me that still sitting on my desk.
“What’s up?”
She sat down on my bed and pursed her lips. “You seem happy.”
I nodded slowly, but I wasn’t sure how long it would last.
“It’s good. You haven’t smiled like that since I’ve known you. You know, at one point, I thought I could be the one who made you smile like that, but I get it now. You need her. No one else will come close, I see that now.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “As messed up as it is, I do need her. I’m sorry.”
Chelsea laughed quietly. “Don’t worry about it. You’re not the only good-looking guy in the world.”
I shook my head in mock disbelief. “Liar. Look, we’re okay, right?”
Chelsea was a good friend who’d really been there for me over the last four years, I didn’t want to lose that.
“Yeah, of course we are.” She waved her hand, and I knew that was over. She wasn’t going to hold a grudge, and I hoped we’d be cool. “So, what’s going on, then? You back together?”
“God, what a question. No, we’re not. Not yet. I don’t know if we ever will be. It’s… beyond complicated.”
Chelsea cocked her head to the side like she thought I was full of shit.
“I’m serious, Chels. Say that we got back together and everything was great. As soon as the trial ends, she’s going back to Australia. I don’t think I could go through that again.”
Actually, I knew I couldn’t… but I was still on the edge of being reckless.
“You’re dumb, Cole.”
That took me by surprise. Why did people blame me?
“You could ask her to stay with you, and if she can’t, then go with her.”
Yeah, that worked well the last time.
“If you find someone who makes you this happy, you need to make it work. Life is way too short. Tell her you love her, kiss her, and get her back. You’ll regret it if you don’t.
Anyway, I got to go. I just wanted to clear the air.
Good luck with Oakley. You should invite her and her weird brother along tomorrow. ”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Chelsea skipped out of my room, waving her hand over her shoulder. That was it? She’d made it sound so simple when it was anything but.
I dialled Oakley’s number, wanting to hear her voice, already missing her.
“You made it, then?” she said.
“No hello?”
“Hello, Cole.”
Laying back on my bed, I grinned and gripped the phone tightly in my hand. “You and Jasper are coming out with us tomorrow night.”
I didn’t give her an option. She needed a night out, and I needed to see her.
“If it’s a strip club, I’m walking straight out of there.”
I could hear her smile.
“Prude. No strip club, I promise. We’re just going to a couple of bars.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll pick you up at eight. Wear something short,” I said, hanging up and laughing to myself. I’d bet she was blushing.
Seconds later, I received a text message.
Oakley: What will you do if I wear something short? X
Cole: I can think of many things to do. X
Oakley: I look forward to it. X
I pushed my phone into my jeans pocket, and I closed my eyes.
Yeah, there was no easy way out of this anymore.
I was pretty useless at work all day, my mind drifting to the suggestive texts we’d exchanged the night before. She was flirty and bold.
Something short.
My mouth watered at the thought of seeing those bare legs again. We’d messaged each other most of the day, something my boss would kick my arse for if he knew. I still got everything done, so where was the issue?
The need to be with her had buried any anger I’d felt, but I knew it would resurface. We were glossing over so much, pretending the past didn’t happen. I didn’t want to dwell on that. It could wait.
I took longer getting ready, scrubbing myself in the shower and styling my hair. I stood in front of the mirror and couldn’t miss how much more alive I looked. The excitement of a night out with her, something I’d looked forward to getting to do when we were younger, vibrating through my body.
My phone dinged.
Ben: outside
Cole: coming
Chelsea was working tonight so it was just Ben and Kerry in the Uber. We’d needed a seven-seater because Jasper was coming, too.
“Nervous?” Kerry asked as I got in and closed the door.
“Why would I be nervous?”
It was a bullshit reply because I was. I had been since I walked into my house and saw Oakley standing there.
Ben chuckled and nudged Kerry’s arm. “Give him a break.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
The driver pulled up outside Ali’s, and my stomach clenched. Seconds later, Jasper and Oakley stepped outside.
I inhaled sharply at the sight of her wearing a sexy, emerald green dress. Sitting mid-thigh and clinging to her perfect body, it hugged her waist and cupped her breasts. She didn’t have much cleavage on show, just a hint of what was underneath.
I remembered every inch of her skin, the dip of her hips, and the rosy ring around her nipples. Her body was seared into my brain.
“Put your tongue away, Cole,” Ben joked.
I shot him a dark look, then went back to staring at Oakley just as she and Jasper got in the car.
Jasper sat in the front, and Oakley beside me.
“Want to know what I would do?” I whispered as Jasper and Ben spoke.
Chewing on that lip, she nudged my arm, blushing as if she was picturing exactly what I would do. Her hair was down and curled but she’d pushed it over one shoulder, exposing her neck.
The drive was short but with Oakley beside me, it felt like years until we reached the bar. I pressed my hands to my thighs and tried to stay calm.
“Let’s do this!” Kerry said as we pulled up outside.
I paid the Uber and we went inside.
It was a smaller place, a bar you started at before moving to a club, but there was live music and happy hour was every hour.
Ben ordered two rounds of drinks, and we found a table.
It took one drink for everyone to split up. Kerry and Ben went to dance as the band moved to cover eighties rock, and Jasper… well, he went to chat to every single woman he could find.
Oakley and I stayed at the table. Our chairs were pushed together, my arm over the back, and her body twisted to face me. We were so close, I could smell her skin, and I wanted to sink my teeth into it.
The only time I moved was to get more drinks.
She laughed again, her eyes glazed over and full of lust. I’d learned something new tonight. It only took three drinks and about forty-five minutes to get Oakley drunk.
“You’re such a lightweight,” I muttered, my face dangerously close to hers.
She gasped. “Let’s do shots!”
My eyes widened. “What?”
We’d spent a lot of time apart but she still didn’t seem like a shots person to me.
“I’ve never been this drunk before. I don’t get drunk; I don’t trust people. But I trust you, and I want Sambuca!”
“You want Sambuca?”
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
“You’re going to have a headache in the morning.”
I had work in the morning, but I was nowhere near the point she was. I drank a lot more than she did, a lot more frequently, too.
“I don’t care,” she whispered, her mouth almost brushing mine.
A moan escaped my lips before I could stop it, and the air between us crackled with electricity. “Then, I’ll be back with your Sambuca. Don’t move.”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’m not going anywhere.”
My smile slipped as I realised that wasn’t true. She might not go yet but she would eventually. Don’t dwell on that.
Shoving that thought to the back of my mind where I needed it to stay, I went and grabbed two shots. Sambuca was fucking awful, but I’d drink it for her. Plus, I wanted to see her reaction.
I carried the shots back to the table, spotting Kerry and Ben laughing as they almost fell over in front of the band. Jasper was nowhere to be seen, but the place was packed now, everyone wanting to get drunk cheaply here before moving on.
Oakley took the tiny glass, clinked it against mine and tipped her head back, exposing her neck again.
I was getting so hard just looking at her, it wasn’t even funny.
Swallowing, she tuned up her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. “Ah, that’s bad.”
“Yep,” I agreed, and downed mine, wincing as it burned my throat.
“Shall we get another?”
“You don’t want to do more shots, Oakley.”
“Yes, I do. The next month is going to be really hard. I want to get drunk.”
So, that’s what this is about.
She was drinking her problems away. I’d had first-hand experience on just how much that one didn’t work.
I shook my head. “Not happening. Talk to me.”
As I touched her arm, her eyes filled with tears. Fuck no.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, reaching for her. I pulled her onto my lap, the feel of her body against mine almost driving me insane.
Her lips parted, eyelids fluttering. She wrapped an arm around my back and melted into my embrace.
“I’m scared, Cole,” she whispered, burying her head in my neck. It was only because she was so close that I’d heard her. “I’m really scared.”
I held her tighter and kissed the side of her head, my eyes snapping shut.
I’m scared, too.