Chapter 26
Cole
A few hours after Ellie left, I am lying on the couch staring at the ceiling.
I haven’t moved from the couch since she left.
All I can think about is maybe she is right.
What if I’m not cut out to be a dad? The sound of the elevator arriving breaks me from my thoughts, and I jump up and practically run to meet Ellie.
The doors open, and Jordan is standing there. “Wow, you look worse than I expected.”
“What?” I ask as I turn around and walk back to the couch.
Jordan follows me. “Bri texted me. She said she didn’t have your number but thought you should know Ellie is at her house. What’s going on?”
“Ellie doesn’t think we are ready for a baby.”
“Well, it’s kind of late for that, isn’t it?” he laughs.
“Maybe she’s right.”
“You know that’s not true.”
“Is it though? Ellie obviously believes it.”
“Ellie doesn’t think that, she had a panic attack because she’s pregnant with her first child. She’s going to be a mom, and it’s sudden, and that can be scary. She’s overwhelmed, but she doesn’t actually believe that, and you know you don’t believe it either.”
I’m thinking about what Jordan is saying when he speaks again.
“Want to go to MD’s? Get a beer or two and relax? Ellie is spending the day at Bri’s, Bri said she’s calmed down a lot since this morning.”
“Yeah, sure. Why not?”
“You might want to do something about all that,” Jordan says, waving his hand around my head.
“What do you mean?” I ask, confused.
“Just go look in the mirror.”
I walk to the bathroom and do as he suggested.
I’m immediately grateful that Jordan didn’t let me leave looking like this.
I brush my fingers through my hair that is sticking up from running my hands through it so many times, then I splash some water on my face, trying to freshen up and not look so exhausted.
Once I’m done I go back to meet Jordan, who is standing at the elevator, waiting on me.
“Much better. Come on,” he says, and we walk to MD’s, since it’s right around the corner from my place.
A few minutes later, we arrive at MD’s and find a seat at the bar. Luckily it isn’t very crowded, so we won’t have to deal with a ton of people. We each order a beer and then focus on the football game on the TV in front of us.
I finish my first beer and just get done ordering another when the screech of the stool next to me being moved catches my attention. I turn to see a blonde woman getting comfortable in the stool. We make eye contact, and she smiles at me.
“Hi,” she says.
“Hey,” I reply.
“I’m Amber,” she says as she leans in toward me.
“Cole.”
“Nice to meet you.” She looks me up and down.
“You too,” I say, then I turn back to the game.
“I need a drink, what do you suggest I get?”
I glance at her again, and her eyes are still trailing up and down my body.
“I usually get a beer or whiskey. So, if you are looking for girly drink suggestions, I’m not the one to ask.”
“Hey, maybe she could get what one of the girls would get if they were here with us,” Jordan suggests over my shoulder, putting more emphasis on “girls.”
“The girls?” Amber asks him.
“Yeah, his girlfriend and her best friend,” Jordan says to Amber.
“Oh, you have a girlfriend?” she asks me, faking a frown.
“Maybe. Who knows anymore at this point,” I reply, causing her frown to morph into a slight smile.
“Oh?” she asks, intrigued, as Jordan says, “Yes, he has a girlfriend. A girlfriend who is pregnant with his daughter.”
“Who also apparently thinks that us being together is a mistake,” I say to Jordan.
“Oh, being with you could never be a mistake,” Amber says seductively.
I take a moment to really look at her. She’s pretty, but she doesn’t intrigue me like Ellie does.
Ellie has had my full attention since that first glance while I was sitting at this very bar.
My gaze makes its way up to Amber’s face, and she pushes her cleavage toward me more.
Once my eyes reach her face, she’s smiling at me.
I glance toward the door, where I first saw Ellie just a few short months ago, and I make a decision.
I call the bartender over. “She’ll have a cranberry vodka, put it on our tab, and then I’d like to close it out,” I say, giving him my card. I glance at Amber out of the corner of my eye, and she has a confused look on her face.
A moment later the bartender comes back with her drink and my card and receipt to sign.
I sign it. I drink the last sip of my beer, glance at Jordan, who has already finished his, then I look at Amber.
“It was nice meeting you, thanks for your help. Have a good night,” I say as Jordan and I get up, then we leave.
I hear her say, “Help?” as we walk away from her.
“Thank God you didn’t take the bait on that one,” Jordan says once we get outside and start walking toward my place.
“Yeah,” I agree.
“Seriously, I thought you were about to, and I thought I was going to have to find a new best friend because you fucked up so bad.”
“Can you take me to Bri’s?” I ask him, and he looks at me, confused. “I need to go get Ellie back,” I say.
“I think I should make sure she’s ready for you to come get her,” he says.
“She’s my fucking girlfriend, what do you mean make sure she’s ready?” I say, growing irritated again.
“She had a crazy panic attack this morning, she needs some space to get her thoughts under control.”
“She needs to be with me so that I can show her how wrong she is. That girl only made me realize even more how much Ellie and I are meant to be together.”
“I get it, just let me check with Bri,” he says, pulling out his phone. He texts for a moment, then waits for a reply while we continue walking. We reach the building, and I walk toward the parking garage.
Inside the parking garage, I head for my car.
“Where are you going?” he asks.
“I’ll drive,” I say.
He checks his phone and starts texting again. “All right, Bri said she thinks Ellie is ready.”
“Even if she isn’t, she’s about to be when I reassure her,” I say as we get in my car, and then we leave, Jordan giving me directions to Bri’s house.
Ellie
Bri and I have spent the last few hours watching movies and eating every snack in her house. I’m half asleep on the couch when there’s a knock at her door. I glance at Bri, and she has a huge smile on her face. “What’s going on?” I ask her.
“Hold on.” She gets up and goes to answer the door. I start to sit up, and she walks back into the living room, with Jordan right behind her.
“Oh. Hey, Jordan,” I say.
“Hey Ellie,” he says, and then he moves into the room a bit more, allowing me to see Cole standing behind him.
We are motionless for a moment, staring at each other, before Bri says, “We will give you guys a couple minutes.” Then she nods toward her bedroom to Jordan, and he follows her.
Once they are in the bedroom, Cole walks over and sits beside me. “A girl hit on me at MD’s,” he says, and my gaze swings up to him. He’s staring at me like he is expecting me to say something, but I’m not sure what to say, so I wait. “I obviously turned her down,” he finally adds.
“Oh,” I say, relief coursing through my body.
“Ellie. I love you. I want you, only you. All that girl did was prove to me that it’s you, and it’s only been you since that first glance at MD’s. I want to build this life with you. I want to have this beautiful baby with you.”
“I’d understand if you didn’t,” I say.
“Ellie, I want to be with you. Is this fast? Yes, it is, but this is exactly where I want to be. Nothing is going to change that. I just want you to come back home.”
I can feel the tears that were forming slowly start drifting down my cheeks. Cole reaches up and wipes them. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run away when I panicked,” I say.
“It’s OK, Ellie Girl. Just promise me that next time something gets you worked up, you will talk to me before you just up and run away.”
“I promise,” I say, and he leans in and kisses me.
“I’ve missed you today.”
“I missed you too.”
“Let’s go home,” he says, and I nod.
I walk over to Bri’s door and knock. “Hey, Bri. We’re going to go.” The door opens, and Bri hugs me.
“Finally!” she says, then turns red. “I don’t mean that I want you to leave, just that I’m glad you two actually talked.” Then she turns to Cole. “I can take Jordan home. You two go make up.”
“We can take him so you don’t have to go out of your way,” Cole says.
“Just go,” Bri says to Cole. “Have fun,” Bri says to me and winks. Then, next thing I know, Cole is tossing me over his shoulder and carrying me out of Bri’s house, leaving Jordan and Bri laughing.
“Put me down, I can walk!”
“But where is the fun in that?” he says.
We make it to his car, and he sets me in the passenger seat. Then he kisses me before shutting my door and walking to his side. We make the short drive home, and when we get there, he helps me out of the car. We take the elevator up to our floor, then go to sit on the couch.
Cole sits so he is facing me. “Ellie, I just need you to know that I’m not going anywhere. I choose you and our baby, nothing is going to change that.”
“I’m sorry I panicked and then ran off earlier. I should have stayed and talked to you about how I was feeling.”
“It’s all right, I get it. Everything we’re going through was unexpected, and it’s a big change for both of us, it’s understandable to be worried.” He stands up. “I’m going to go start us a bath.”
A couple of minutes later, he comes into the living room and helps me up. We walk to the bathroom together, and he strips me down and helps me into the bath. Then he undresses himself and climbs in behind me. Once we are situated, he starts washing me with my favorite soap.
Next thing I know, Cole is picking me up and carrying me into bed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just wanted to get you into bed,” he says. Then he lays me down and kisses my forehead before climbing into bed beside me.