41. Cole
COLE
There are way too many people here.
Aurora told me the showcase was a big deal, but I still wasn’t expecting this many people crammed into one room.
The gallery is on the second floor of the arts building, tucked behind two sets of glass doors and a hallway that smells like paint and coffee. It’s bright as hell, too, with white walls, pale wood floors, and huge windows letting in enough sunlight to hit the paintings.
There’s a ton of beautiful art in here, but I haven’t really looked at any of it properly.
The only thing I’ve been staring at since I got here is my girlfriend.
Aurora’s across the room with her art teacher and two girls from her class, but every time somebody stops in front of her painting, her eyes flick over there.
It’s cute as hell.
Her blonde hair drapes down her back when she looks back at her teacher, and my gaze drifts down the fitted black dress on her body, down to the heels that make her already long legs look endless.
I fucking love that she doesn’t give a shit about being the tallest woman in the room anymore.
She owns that shit and stands tall and proud.
She turns her head, and even from here I can see the nerves she’s trying to hide. But they’re tangled up with pride too, with excitement, with a little bit of disbelief, like some part of her can’t believe this is real.
It’s like she can feel me staring at her because she turns, and her eyes catch mine, and everything else around me falls away. It’s like there’s a spotlight on her and only her, everything else falling away into the dark.
I don’t even realize how long I’ve been standing there like that until Austin comes up beside me and scoffs. “You know you’re allowed to blink, right?”
I shoot him a glare. “Fuck off, Rhodes.”
He just laughs. “Kidding, man. I love seeing you all happy and in love and shit.” He slides an arm around Maisie, and she immediately blushes and tucks herself into his side. “It’s fucking great, huh?”
I swallow instead of replying.
Yeah. Yeah, it really is.
I glance up when the door opens and Ryan and Isabella walk in, Logan and Nathan right behind them, Nathan’s hand linked with Logan’s as they both look around the room.
Nathan will probably actually enjoy this, especially now that he’s got that internship working with a comic book designer.
The rest of them, though, are only here to show support for Aurora.
Ryan stops beside me and follows my gaze across the room to where Aurora’s standing. “Is that one hers?”
I nod toward the far wall. “Yeah.”
He looks at the painting for a second. So does Isabella. So do the others when they finally make it over. And for once, none of them say anything right away.
Austin is the first one to speak, because of course he is. “Holy shit,” he says, staring at the canvas. “That’s really good.”
Maisie smiles, her eyes still on the painting. “It’s beautiful.”
Isabella glances from the wall to Aurora and smiles too. “She looks really happy.”
Yeah.
She does.
And that’s all I want, really. To make her happy.
I look back at Aurora just as she glances over, catching all of us standing there staring in her direction. She smiles when she sees us, quick and bright, then turns back to the woman in front of her.
I turn back just in time to see Logan wince and roll his neck.
Austin notices first. “What’s wrong with you?”
Logan rubs at the side of his neck. “Nothing. Slept weird.”
Ryan scoffs. “Maybe if you didn’t use Nathan’s chest as a pillow every night, you wouldn’t wake up with a kink in your neck.”
Logan shoots him a look. “I’d rather die than stop sleeping on his chest.”
Nathan scoffs, but his hand is already lifting to the side of Logan’s neck, fingers pressing into the tight spot. Logan’s mouth shuts immediately, his head tipping back and his eyes falling closed.
Austin lets out a laugh. “Oh, so that’s all it takes? Hayes gets his hands on your neck and suddenly you’re healed?”
Logan cracks one eye open, a smirk pulling at his mouth. “What can I say? Love those big goalie hands.”
Nathan gives him a look. “Behave.”
“Never.”
Maisie tilts her head, watching Nathan work at the knot in Logan’s neck. “You should get one of those massage guns. My brother has one and swears by it.”
Nathan drops his hand, shaking his head. “Yeah, whatever you do, don’t borrow Ryan’s.”
Ryan goes weirdly still beside me, and so does Isabella. Her eyes go wide, a flush climbing up her neck as she avoids her brother’s gaze.
Nathan’s face drops and he looks horrified. “No.”
Logan looks between them, completely lost. “What?”
Nathan’s eyes flick from Ryan to his sister and back again, horror spreading across his face. “No,” he repeats.
Austin looks between all of them. “Wait. What happened?”
Ryan clears his throat. “Nothing.”
Nathan drags a hand down his face. “Jesus. I need to go home and bleach my brain.”
I have no clue what the hell happened with the massage gun, but before anyone can say more, I hear my name and turn toward the door.
Sophie’s walking in with a smile on her face, Coach Hayes and his wife right behind her.
She’s wearing jeans, Chucks, and one of those dark blue overshirts layered over a white long-sleeve shirt, her hair curled loose around her shoulders, and for a second all I can do is stare because she looks older somehow. She actually looks her age.
A smile starts pulling at my mouth when she heads toward me, but then her eyes land on Aurora and, just like that, I’m fucking invisible.
I turn and see Aurora already moving toward us, smiling as she opens her arms, and Sophie goes right into them without hesitation. The sight of it hits me so hard in the chest I actually have to swallow down the rock lodged in my throat.
I should’ve known my sister would love Aurora.
The first time they met, I’d been nervous as hell, but they clicked almost instantly like they’d known each other forever. I’d never seen Sophie get that comfortable with someone that fast before.
Aurora took her shopping for new clothes after that, because Sophie desperately needed them, and then got their nails done together because Sophie had never had hers done before.
I had no fucking clue about how expensive girls’ stuff was until I saw the total, but I paid it without a second thought, obviously, because I take care of my girls.
And when Aurora sent me a picture after, I just sat there staring at my phone with my heart stuck in my throat.
Her nails were this deep red and Sophie’s were black with tiny silver stars on them.
It was such a small thing, but all I could think when I looked at it was that my sister finally got to do normal shit like every other teenager.
I’d have paid any amount in the world for that.
Coach steps up beside me while Aurora and Sophie drift toward the painting, his wife following after them with a smile on her face. He watches them for a minute before he glances over at me.
“Looks like your sister prefers your girlfriend over you.”
I let out a quiet huff, but my throat tightens anyway. “She looks really happy,” I say, watching Sophie smile at Aurora while they talk.
He keeps his eyes on her. “A happy environment will do that.”
I nod and bite down on the inside of my cheek.
Coach told me he’d help. Told me from the start he’d do whatever he could. But never, not once did I think he’d step in the way he did and foster her himself.
The night he told me he and his wife had applied and wanted Sophie with them, I almost lost it right there in his office. I held it together long enough to get to my car, then just sat there and broke apart.
I hadn’t cried in years.
Couldn’t stop that night.
She was safe. She wasn’t going back to my dad. He couldn’t hurt her again. Couldn’t hurt either of us.
Coach clears his throat, and I glance over.
“We do have one issue, though.”
My brows pull together. “What?”
He sighs. “She has a boyfriend.”
My brows shoot up in shock for a second, but then I let out a laugh, which makes him frown.
“I’m serious.”
“I know.” I shake my head, still grinning a little. “I just thought you were about to tell me something bad.”
His brows lift. “I’ve got to say,” he says, “I figured you’d tell me to shut that shit down immediately.”
“No.” I look back at Sophie. “She deserves to be happy. As long as this guy isn’t some asshole who hurts her, she can date whoever she wants.”
His mouth twitches, and he turns back toward Sophie.
“Thank you,” I say.
He glances back at me. “You don’t have to thank me every time you see her.”
“Yeah.” I swallow hard. “I do.”
Because he got her out of that house when I couldn’t. He took her in when he didn’t have to. He gave her something safe and steady and normal when her whole life had been anything but. I’m never going to stop being grateful for that. Never.
Coach’s jaw shifts, and when he looks back at Sophie, his expression goes softer than usual. “She’s a good kid.”
“Yeah,” I say, watching her laugh again. “She is.”
Aurora glances back at me then, like she can feel me looking at her, and when our eyes meet, she says something to Sophie before heading my way.
I push off from where I’m standing and meet her halfway, my hands settling on her hips the second she reaches me because I can’t seem to help myself when it comes to her.
“You having fun?” I ask.
Her face lights up immediately. “Yeah. It’s amazing.” She lets out this little breathless laugh and glances back toward the painting. “So many people love it. It’s kind of crazy.”
“Not crazy at all,” I tell her. “You’re talented as hell, Prescott.” My mouth lifts as I look down at her. “I should know. I was the first one lucky enough to walk around with an Aurora original on his body.”
That gets me one of her soft smiles that wrecks me in the best way. God, she’s so beautiful and I’m so in love with her, and she’s all fucking mine.
She wraps her arms around my neck and leans into me. “So,” she says, searching my face, “I got a text today. From Professor Williams.”
She doesn’t bring him up much, and when she does, she never calls him her dad.
Every muscle in me tightens. “What’d he say?”
Her brows lift. “That he was an idiot for letting me walk out of his office that day.”
I nod. “True.”
She lets out a chuckle, but then tilts her head. “He also said my friend was very convincing in making him see how what he said hurt me.”
I do my best to keep my face neutral. “Sounds like you have great friends.”
She just stares at me. “None who would go talk to him.”
I lift a shoulder. “Maybe you underestimate them.”
“Cole,” she says with a warning in her tone.
I sigh, because apparently, I’m dating a woman who reads my face way too damn well now.
“He deserved to know what an idiot he was for letting you walk out of that office,” I tell her.
“And yeah, I know it wasn’t my place. I know you can handle your own shit.
Believe me, I’m very aware of that. But he got one chance to have you in his life, and he blew it. ”
My hand settles at her waist, my thumb brushing slowly against the side of her dress. “Anybody who gets the chance to have you in their life should fight like hell to keep you there, Aurora.”
She swallows and her eyes go shiny, but she holds my gaze. “You really couldn’t leave it alone, could you?” she says, shaking her head a little.
“I didn’t hit him,” I point out. “I think that shows real growth.”
She rolls her eyes. “Wow. The bar is in hell.” But then she leans in and kisses me, pulling back a second later, resting her fingers over the button of my shirt. “Thank you.”
I brush my thumb over her cheek. “I told you I’d do anything for you, Prescott, and I meant it.”
Her chin dips a little before she looks back at me. “He asked if I’d meet him for coffee.”
Every muscle in my body locks.
I don’t say anything right away. Don’t trust my face, either. I just make my hand loosen on her waist.
“I haven’t said yes,” she adds.
I let out a breath through my nose. “Do you want to?”
“I don’t know.” She glances toward the window, her mouth tightening. “Part of me does, but the other part of me wants to tell him to shove his coffee up his ass.”
I huff out a laugh. “Both valid.”
She smiles but fades just as quickly, her gaze dropping to my shirt as her fingers twist one of the buttons.
“I just keep thinking…” She trails off, her teeth catching her bottom lip before she lets it go.
“I wanted that for so long. For years. I wanted him to want to know me.” Her eyes lift to mine then, and there’s so much old hurt in them it punches straight through me.
“And now that he might, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with that. ”
“You don’t have to decide tonight,” I say.
Her eyes flick back to mine.
“You don’t owe him an answer just because he finally decided that he wants to be in your life.” My hands slide to her face. “If you want to go, go. If you want to tell him to fuck off, I’ll support that too.”
She smiles, keeping her eyes on mine.
“I’m serious,” I say. “Whatever you do, do it because it’s what you want. Not because he suddenly decided he’s ready.”
Her face softens a little at that, some of the tension easing out of her shoulders. “And if I don’t know what I want yet?” she asks.
I lean down and press my lips to her forehead. “Then take your time. Be selfish, baby. You waited twenty years for him. He can wait a little longer for you.”
Her blue eyes soften, a little wet, and her fingers curl into the front of my shirt as she pulls me down to her and kisses me. “I love you, Cole Ellis,” she whispers against my lips.
My hand slides to her jaw, and I smile against her mouth. I’ll never get tired of hearing that. “I love you, Aurora Prescott.”
I kiss her again because I can’t seem to help myself. Because she’s here, pressed against me, and some part of me still can’t believe I get to have this.
I spent years telling myself I hated this girl. Little did I know I’d spend the rest of my life loving her.
I finally turn around, pausing when I see Sophie standing with all of the guys as they look at Aurora’s painting.
Coach and his wife are standing a few feet away with their eyes locked on my sister and smiles on their face, and it hits me all over again how different my life is now.
Everything is good, for the first time in… fuck. Maybe ever.
I’ve got teammates, who, somewhere along the way, turned into family.
My sister is safe and close enough that I can see her whenever I want.
I have the love of my life standing by my side.
And I don’t wake up every morning with my chest tight anymore, waiting for the next thing to go wrong.
For once in my life, I can just be happy.