Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“We could have been good together, Blake,” he said quietly. “Still could be, you know.”
I took a step back and laughed lightly. “Nah, you’ll be off in medical school before you know it, and you won’t have time for me anyway,” I joked, trying to make the situation less awkward.
He pushed himself off of the tree he was leaning on and stepped closer to me as I took a step back. He stepped forward again, I stepped back. I felt like we were playing a game of cat and mouse. Maybe trying to get back at Cole this way wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said, stopping close enough for me to hear him, but far enough that we didn’t look like we were having an intimate conversation. “I would never fuck around behind your back like he would.”
I gritted my teeth and tried to reign in my temper—to no avail. “He…” I emphasized by pointing my thumb behind me in the direction to where I thought Cole might have still been standing. “Wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. You don’t know him, so stop making assumptions. And you,” I said, taking a step closer and jabbing his chest with my pointer, “are just mad because you couldn’t have me. The only reason you were trying to get with me in the first place was to show him that you could do it.”
A sly smile spread across Steve’s face. “You’re very smart, Blake. I’ll give you that. I wish you well, and I hope you’re right about Cole.”
He saluted me before he turned around and left me fuming. I clenched my hands in a fist and turned around to stomp toward Cole. God, help me if he was still talking to that little skank. I looked around and finally found him. He was no longer speaking to Sasha. He was standing next to Greg with his arms crossed at his chest, and a pissed off look on his face—which I returned with a raised eyebrow. I sat down next to Becky and lathered myself up with oil and didn’t look up when I saw him plant his feet next to me. After a couple of seconds of burning holes into the top of my head, he sat down.
“What were you talking to Steve about?” he asked in an even tone.
“What were you talking to Sasha about?” I retorted.
I pictured his jaw muscles working, though I didn’t want to look. I focused my eyes on the blue and green lines on the towel below me until he lifted my chin so that I was forced to look at him. “College.” His eyes were flashing with anger.
I snapped my face out of his hold but held his glare. “Was she teaching you how to shower in college?” I spat irritably. “Maybe I should go ask Steve to give me a demonstration. Hold on, I’ll be right back.”
I stood up with no intention of finding Steve. I just needed a breather because I felt like at any moment I might slap the shit out of Cole. He grabbed my arm firmly and pulled me back down.
“If you do that...” he said through gritted teeth before he let out a shaky breath.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “If I do that, what?” I asked a little loudly. “You’re going to break up with me?”
His anger was replaced with distress, and he pulled me into a hug. I tried to squirm away, but his arms held me tighter. Suddenly, I felt like crying—and I did. I buried my face in his chest and cried quietly. Nobody could see or hear me, only Cole. When he loosened his hold, I wiped the tears from my face and took a deep breath.
“I would never break up with you, baby,” he said into my hair. “Never.”
I didn’t respond. I was the one that was going to break up with him, and I had a feeling he knew this. The rest of the afternoon we splashed around, ate pizza, and went for ice cream. We acted like teenagers in love, and that’s what we were. That was the last time we were together as kids. In love, without a care in the world. I was happy that day. I was happy that summer. I was with the people I loved, and they were all happy. They were all safe.
A week before we were all leaving for college, Cole took me on a date. He left me a note on my bed, telling me to dress comfortably and to be ready by six. I threw on a green halter maxi dress and a pair of flip flops. Becky fixed my hair so that it curled widely at the bottom and smoothed out the frizz at the top. She gave my eyes a smoky look, making my gray eyes stand out. My eyes had come alive since I’d been in this house, they were no longer stormy and depressing. I put on lip gloss and went downstairs to wait for Cole. He came up with this idea when we started dating. He said that since we lived together I was missing out on the “fun” part of dates, which was him picking me up and knocking on the door to wait for me. He always asked me to be ready at a certain time so that he had enough time to get ready and leave the house, just to come back to pick me up.