Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ELLA
Cole
When do I get to see you again?
Outside of the bar, I mean.
It’s been three days since Cole brought me dinner.
Three days since I saw him.
And three days since he kissed me.
A little eager, aren’t we?
I’m not in the habit of wastin’ precious time, El.
“Where the hell does she get all her energy from?” Remi questions me from where she’s sitting on the bench next to me. We’re tucked under a tree, shaded from the hot summer sun as Chloe runs around in the grass. She picks a flower and spins around, her dress twirling around her small body.
I smile, setting my phone down, watching my daughter explore the world with wonderment. “I ask myself the same question daily. I swear, sometimes it’s her bedtime and I’m the one falling asleep during story time.”
Remi laughs softly and I wave Chloe over, calling her name. “I feel safe telling you that has definitely happened to me when she has slept over.”
Shaking my head, I laugh with her and hold my hands out as Chloe comes running. I lift her up, swinging her onto my lap. She holds out a flower, handing it to Remi.
“It’s so pretty, Clo,” Remi tells her as she tucks the flower behind her ear. “Where did you find it?”
“Ova dare,” she says, pointing to a patch of wild flowers. She wiggles on my lap and looks up at me with her bright blue eyes. “Can I get moe, momma?”
I help her onto the ground and I swear her legs are moving before her feet touch the grass. “Of course, baby. We’ll be here watching.”
Remi and I are silent for a breath or two as we watch Chloe sprinting back towards the flowers. “You never did tell me how the other night went with Cole.”
My heart skips a beat as I think back to that night.
Instinctively, I raise my hand, my fingertips lightly touching my lips.
I inhale sharply at the memory, the thought of his mouth claiming mine.
No one has ever kissed me with a reverent passion like he did.
I suppose that’s what it feels like to be properly kissed.
Pulling my hand away from my mouth, I sit up a little straighter and clear my throat. “It was nice. He brought tacos over and we sat out back and ate.”
There’s a pregnant pause.
“That’s it?” Remi probes, clearly unsatisfied with the minimal information I’ve given her.
I shrug with indifference, glancing at her before I look back to Chloe. “I mean, I don’t know what you want to hear, Remi. We’re just friends.”
Apparently friends that kiss now.
“Girl, have you been to the eye doctor?” She squints her eyes at me, leaning closer like she’s inspecting my vision. “You have to be blind if you don’t see the way that man looks at you.”
“I am not blind. My vision is perfectly fine, thank you.”
“So, you see it then?” She leans back against the bench.
I let out a sigh and shake my head as Chloe skips around. “I can assure you that we are only friends. We may have kissed, but that doesn’t change anything between us. I’m not looking for a relationship right now… or ever.”
Remi doesn’t say a word. I wait almost half a minute before I turn my head to look at her. She’s staring at me with her eyes wide, her jaw slightly agape. “What?” I ask her with my eyebrows tugging together. “I am perfectly fine with being single.”
“Um, I’m already up to date on your relationship status, but hold on. Back up.” She stands up and sits back down so she’s now facing me. “He kissed you?”
My eyes widen and I quickly try to remember what I just said to her. I was thinking about the kiss, but surely I didn’t speak it out loud. Unless I did and didn’t realize it while I was rambling.
“No.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me, Ella May Daniels.” Remi gives me an incredulous look, narrowing her eyes at me. “You literally just said you kissed.”
“Did I?” I’ve always been a terrible liar. Considering the fact that I just spoke the truth before lying isn’t helping my case at the moment. “I didn’t mean to say that.”
“Well, you definitely said it.” Remi lets out a laugh as she shakes her head at me.
“Okay, spill. How and when did this happen? He looks like he would be a good kisser. Please tell me he is because that would be so heartbreaking that your first kiss–after all the things you’ve been through–was terrible. ”
I stare at her for a beat before I let out a laugh. “You are by far the most annoying person I’ve ever met.”
She clicks her tongue at me and taps on her wrist with her forefinger. “You’re wasting precious time here.”
“Fine,” I agree with a long, exasperated sigh. “He was not a bad kisser. It was actually quite enjoyable. It happened at my house, after dinner. He went to the bathroom and I found him looking in my art room and it kind of happened…”
Remi smiles the biggest damn smile I've ever seen. “El, this is huge. This is such a big step for you and I want you to know I am insanely proud of you.”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” I argue, trying to downplay the entire situation, but she is right. It is a big deal, considering the fact that I didn’t think I was ready for this again. “Okay, I guess it is a little bit of a deal.”
“Screw that!” She practically yells at me.
I watch her face as she winces and glances at the elderly woman walking past us who is now giving her a disapproving frown.
“Sorry,” she apologizes with a small smile to the lady before she looks at me again.
“This is a big deal. You went from being afraid of asking him to get dinner to letting him kiss you.”
“I know,” I admit, nodding my head even though heat is creeping across my cheeks. Something flutters in my stomach and my heart is currently operating in overdrive. “Honestly, my mind is still reeling over the fact that it happened.”
“Did he kiss you and then leave?”
I shake my head, rolling my lips between my teeth to fight back my grin. “We didn’t make out, make out, but we kind of made out, you know?”
“Yeah, sure,” she says with a shrug. “You guys made out.”
“Not really. We kissed for a couple minutes and then stopped. It was getting late, so I walked him out to his car. He kissed me again and then he left.”
“That was it?” She questions me with a burning curiosity. “He left with nothing else? The two of you didn’t even make plans to see each other again?”
I’m giving her way more information than I intended, but I can’t stop now.
If I’m being honest, it’s nice having her to talk to.
Before Jacob, I was more open than I am now, but Remi is my best friend.
She’s the closest thing I have to a sister.
She’s a safe place for me to confide in.
She has rightfully earned the opportunity to hear all the juicy details.
“He said he wants to make a habit out of kissing me.”
Remi’s jaw falls open and she smiles at me with her eyes shining brightly under the sunlight. “Holy shit, he’s good.”
“He is,” I agree with a soft laugh. These feelings are foreign to me. Feelings I can’t even put into words at this point. My mind is a jumbled mess from this man and I need a moment to straighten out my thoughts. “We’ve texted on and off the past few days.”
“Okay, okay,” Remi nods eagerly in agreement. “I like this plan.” A devious grin pulls on her lips. “I’d be willing to bet it won’t be long before he’s asking when he can see you again.”
I mull over her words, weighing them with my feelings. My heart knocks against my ribcage and there’s a lightness in my chest. Those damn butterflies flutter their wings again.
“Is it bad that I want to see him?”
“Not at all.” Remi’s smile doesn’t falter as Chloe comes running back to us. Remi rises to her feet and lifts Chloe into the air as she turns back to me. “It's a good thing, El. A real good thing.”
“What’s good?” Chloe asks the two of us in her sweet little voice. She pushes her hand into her pocket and pulls out her small pink truck and holds it out to me. It’s the pink truck Cole gave her.
I take it from her, smiling as I spin the wheels with the tip of my index finger.
“Everything is good, baby.”
Everything is good.