It’s cold out, and I press myself closer into Cole’s side as we stroll past familiar shops and cafes; whatever the past may be, nothing feels better than being home for the holidays. I remind myself to go home and Skype with Sarah and Cami, both of whom are on campus for the break.
“Do you want to get a hot chocolate?” Cole nuzzles his face into my neck.
“Hmm, maybe.”
“We could go back to your place later and then…”
His fingers press into my sides; they trail lower, lower until…
“Watch some movies, eat popcorn, catch up on some homework.” He whispers all this so sexily that I almost, almost resist shoving him away from me, but in the end, I do. Laughing, I then fold myself back into his side; it’s too cold not to snuggle.
“That was mean.”
“And leaving me high and dry to hang out with my mother wasn’t?”
“Let’s call a truce, drink some hot chocolate, and then see where the night takes us. Shall we, Mr. Stone?”
“Such a dork.” He kisses the top of my head.
***
We make it to our favorite little cafe and Cole gets us our drinks. I rummage through my bag to find my lipstick and nearly jump out of my skin when someone slides into the seat across from mine.
When I look up and see the last person I’d ever expected to meet while I’m home, I don’t pretend to be anything but shocked.
“Close your mouth, Tessa; I think you’re drooling,” Nicole says in that half-bored way of hers that’s not meant to sound snarky or cruel but in the end always does.
“Nicole.” I’m a little dumbfounded. I haven’t seen her since before graduation, back when we had a talk, and I was finally able to put her behind me. The way she’d put it, I didn’t think she’d come back to this town once she got out.
But here she is, and I think she’s trying to be nice to me; maybe she really is bored. You can’t ever tell with Nicole.
“Tessa,” she cocks her head to the side, “you look good, a little on the paler side, but you look good.”
“Blame my Irish genetics, not me. So…” there’s an awkward pause, “Home for Thanksgiving, huh?”
“It was either that or slumming it with my roommate and her boyfriend. You know how those things get.”
“Actually, I have a great roommate, she’s….”
“So,” she cuts me off, “how are things with your soulmate?” She looks to where Cole must be standing in line placing our orders. Despite the fact that she’s made it clear that she’s no longer actively pursuing my boyfriend, I still bristle. Maybe it’s too soon after the attack of the obsessed sorority cyborgs.
“They’re great, how about you? Met someone?”
She’s still looking at Cole; I would much rather she didn’t.
“Not really, I haven’t come across someone who gets me, you know?”
“Have you considered working things out with Jay again?”
Never thought that sentence would be coming from my mouth but, oh well.
She gives me a long, withering stare. “That relationship was the most monotonous, soul-sucking thing I’ve ever been a part of. Why would I even consider that?”
“Oh.”
“So, how’s school?” She leans back in the booth. “I bet it’s hard keeping girls away from him.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“I had a hunch. But he’s always going to be that guy that every girl wants for herself. There’s no surprise there.”
“But what do you do if you have him and want to keep him?”
There’s a second in which she looks concerned, like she cares, but it disappears instantaneously. “I suggest you hold on tight and remind yourself that he’s with you for a reason.”
I look over my shoulder to see Cole staring in our direction. His eyebrows shoot up as he looks from Nicole to me, and I get that he’s silently asking me if I’m okay. I reassure him with a smile and go back to Nicole.
“I guess I’m just really surprised to see you here. You could’ve gone anywhere you wanted; I know you’re not into spending time with your parents. Why didn’t you stay with your sister?”
“We had a fight, I called her a bitch, and she slammed the door in my face.”
“Ouch, what happened?”
“Her boyfriend came onto me, and she thought I was throwing myself at him. Same old shit, I guess.”
If it wouldn’t make the situation a thousand times worse, I’d hug her just because she seems so sad and alone. But I don’t. Instead I sit in my seat and watch her thrum her fingers on the table; it’s a nervous habit I’m very familiar with.
“How…how are things at home?”
I meant to ask if her father’s still got anger management problems, if he’s tried to physically hurt her, but I bite my tongue.
“I just go there to sleep, haven’t seen much of either of my mom or dad. It’s kind of nice knowing that they don’t have control over me any longer.”
I nod.
Cole places steaming cups of hot chocolate in front of us, and it’s just proof of how good a person he really is that he puts one in front of Nicole as well.
“Hey,” he acknowledges her with a nod, and she smiles, just a little painfully.
I know how she feels; it’s exactly how she made me feel time and time again when she was with Jay. It’s difficult to understand why anybody would be happy making someone else that miserable; I haven’t even done anything, yet I feel guilty seeing the pain in her eyes.
“Well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone. Nice seeing you, Tessa.” She gives me a pinched smile and begins to leave.
The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. “Why don’t you join my family for Thanksgiving?”
Cole’s head whips toward me at the same time as Nicole says, “What?”
What the heck am I doing? Whatever it is, I continue doing it.
“Come to my house; my dad’s hired some fancy caterers who’re making a crap ton of food. Trust me; it’s no big deal.”
“Uh, you don’t have to…”
“It’ll be great!” I’m smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. “Plenty of food and wine to go around for everyone. Right, Cole?”
He’s looking at me like anyone who’s genuinely concerned for my well-being would look, like he’s worried I may have brain damage.
“Yes, why not, we’ll just have to keep the sharp objects away from Beth,” he says in a low voice and then turns on the charm.
“But you’re most welcome to join us. I’m sure it won’t be that awkward; at least your ex won’t be at the table, just a little overprotective best friend who sometimes needs to be physically restrained.”
Nicole gulps. “I’m not scared of her.”
Well, she should be.
And then I remember something my dad mentioned the other day and laugh a little nervously. “Speaking of exes, my dad did invite Jay. Well, actually, he invited your whole family, so there’s that.”
I quickly reach for my mug and gulp down the scalding liquid, burning my tongue. Cole’s glaring in my direction, and Nicole stands there considering my invite.
“Look, if it saves me from listening to my parents tell me how I ruined their lives, then I’ll be there. Thanks for the invite.”
She gives us a strained smile and leaves while Cole and I sit there figuring out what just happened.
“Did you just do that?”
“I think I did.”
“Huh, this will be interesting.”
“I don’t think she’ll make it out alive but hey, at least I did the right thing.”
Cole places his hand on mine, patting it. “When Beth attacks her with the butter knife, remind yourself that.”
Chapter Twenty-One: Nana Stone Is Going on About the Merits of Early Motherhood
“You keep an eye on Cole; I’ve got Beth,” Travis whispers conspiratorially in my ear, and my eyes dart around the room to look for our significant others.
<
br /> It’s Thanksgiving Day and it hasn’t gotten off to the best start, especially considering the fact that Beth’s locked herself in my room, and Cole is destroying the flowers my father placed a special order for by mushing them in his hands. It wasn’t my best idea to let him set the table.
“I don’t get it; why are they so mad?”
“Gee, well, I don’t know!” He slaps his hand on the kitchen counter. “Maybe it’s because you invited someone whose face was pinned onto Beth’s dartboard for a solid six months.”
“Beth has a dartboard?”
“Why do you think she asked for our family photos before slamming the door on your face?”
“Huh.”
“And then, because this family’s idiocy doesn’t stop there, Dad thought it was a brilliant idea to invite the guy you were obsessed with for a decade? And sit him next to the guy you’re currently dating and the two just happen to be stepbrothers? You literally couldn’t make this shit up.”
“I can’t tell Nicole not to come now; that’ll be horrible!” I’m being trampled by my conscience, which surely isn’t the size of a cricket, much more an elephant at this point.
“And Jay the giant Va-jay-jay?”
I imagine spitting out the drink in my mouth, were I drinking one.
“Make that Jay the unwaxed vajayjay,” Cole grumbles, entering the kitchen, dragging his feet behind him. It’s very cute, actually, to see him acting like a petulant child, as much as I hate seeing him like this. I’d tell Dad to call off his plans, but apparently there’s going to be some press present later, and they want to do a piece on the mayor and his family being close with the sheriff’s, thus painting the perfect picture of a tightknit community.
If only they knew…
Cole’s still grumbling under his breath as he rests his forehead on my shoulder, coming up from behind me. “I feel your pain, man. Beth and I ran into my ex, Jenny, the other day, and I literally had to stop Beth from emptying a frying pan full of boiling hot oil onto her face.”
Cole’s chuckling into my shoulder and I gasp. “How did that even happen?”
“Beth’s tight with the crew from Rusty’s, she just waltzed into the back of the kitchen, and, the next thing I know, I’m throwing myself in front of Jenny to prevent a lawsuit.”
I whistle lowly. “She must’ve been pissed.”
“Let’s just say I’m glad you’re on the dartboard now.”
“It’s really nice to know my older brother’s got my back.” I scowl at him and Cole lifts his head.
“Don’t worry, Tessie, I’ve got you.”
“Kids! The rest of the Stones are here and look, they brought Nana Stone!” my dad shouts from the living room.
I whirl around to face Cole. “You did not tell me she was coming!”
He shrugs. “You didn’t tell me Jay would be here, and you invited Nicole.”
Travis scratches the back of his neck. “I thought you loved Nana Stone.”
My face is quickly turning an alarming shade of red. “I do, but…”
Cole slings his arm across my shoulder. “Tessie adores my grandma; what she doesn’t adore is the number of hints she drops about the next generation of Stones.”
Travis bursts out laughing and I smack his shoulder. “Don’t! She might be old. but the woman’s got the hearing of a bat.”
He continues laughing and soon Cole joins him. I leave them to be and go and greet the sheriff, Cassandra, and Jay, who surprisingly has brought a date. After an awkward introduction to both of them, we go sit at the table, and I excuse myself to go get my homicidal best friend.
A glance at my watch tells me that it’s still quite a while to go before Megan and Alex get here after eating with their own families. I really need Megan on my side to go and confront Beth, but I also can’t let her sit in my room and sulk all day. It’s her first Thanksgiving without her mom and not in her old home; I don’t want it to have bad memories for her.
I knock on the door.
“Go away, Brutus.”
“What?”
“I’m reading Julius Caesar for one of my online classes. Now go away; I’m not having dinner with that soul-sucking succubus.”
“Impressive use of alliteration there, now unlock the door, this is stupid.”
“Oh, I’m stupid now? And what planet were you on when you asked the backstabbing bitch to share our pie?”
“If it makes things any better, Nicole doesn’t eat carbs.”
I hear her growling from the other side before the door flies open.
“She’s bad news, whether in another state or not, any kind of interaction with that girl isn’t good for you. How are you ever going to know any different from being bullied if you’re hanging out with the one person who made your life miserable for years!”
I take a deep, calming breath; this is quickly getting out of control. If I don’t get downstairs soon, they’ll be sending up a search party. We have reporters coming soon, Jay’s there with a date, and Nicole could arrive any moment.
Plus, I’m pretty sure Nana Stone is going on about the merits of early motherhood.
“Listen,” something about my defeated voice makes her expression soften, “I really need you to come with me and be my best friend right now. This isn’t going according to plan, and I’ve had a really shitty week. All I wanted was to come home and just have some peace of mind, but, clearly, that isn’t happening. So, I’d really appreciate it if I have one person downstairs who is on my side.”
She blinks a couple of times, and I’m more than prepared to give up, but Beth surprises me by throwing her arms around me and hugging me close.
“You’re an idiot.”
“Yup, that’d be me.”
“But since I’m stuck with you,” she sniffs, “let’s go do this.”
***
Nicole shows up sometime later, and, between the two of us, there’s enough awkwardness and cringeworthy moments to last a lifetime. I’m sure it’s not any more pleasant for her to be back in my house than it is for me to see her. There are a lot of memories for us that have been lived here, as is the case with best friends who literally used to live at each other’s houses like Nicole used to live at mine.
“Hey,” she says in a shaky voice, her eyes darting nervously around the room like she’s waiting for something out of our past to come and attack her.
“How long did you sit in your car and think about going back home?”
She laughs nervously. “About an hour.”
“Well, you’re here now, so you might as well join us for dinner. My dad can’t stop talking about his gourmet turkey.”
“Isn’t it weird?” she suddenly asks, and I wince at the thought of her bringing up the past. “This is your first Thanksgiving without your mom?”
Right, my mom’s not here, and I hadn’t given it a second thought until she brought it up.
“Not really, I think it’s all about perspective. On one hand, you have someone like Beth, who can never have that with her mom again, and then there’s me. I’m not going to feel sorry for myself; if anything, it’s my mom’s loss for giving up on her family.”
“Wow, that sounded oddly mature coming from you.”
“I’ve grown up, Nicole. You wouldn’t be here if that weren’t the case.”
We’re about to enter the dining room when I stop Nicole by placing a hand on her tanned arm. “Just a warning, Jay’s here, and he’s brought a date.”
A perfectly shaped eyebrow goes up. “And I should care why?”
“Precisely.” I grin.
Everyone goes deathly silent when we enter the room, well, everyone except Nana Stone, who’s hitting Travis with her spoon and asking him to pass the gravy.
Nicole raises her hand and gives the room a meek wave. “Hey.”
No one responds; in fact, the unreturned greeting makes things even more awkward. But then, god bless him, Cole gets up and pulls out a seat for her.
“Hey.�
�� He smiles and winks at me, but I swear Nicole blushes under his attention.
Control the bitch face, Tessa, control it.
As Nicole sits down, I feel a lot of eyes boring a hole into the side of my head, and when I look around the table, I notice Jay’s date scowling at me. Oops? Maybe she knows Nicole’s Jay’s ex.
Things just keep getting better and better today.
“So, Tessa, Cole tells me you still haven’t gotten off the pill. What did I tell you about the side effects?” Nana Stone cries out, and I almost contemplate face-planting into my plate of food.
On either side of me, Beth and Cole shake in silent laughter, and my dad starts coughing. Cassandra bites her lip to keep herself from laughing, and the sheriff clears his throat repeatedly.
“They’re kids, Mother; I don’t think now’s the time to discuss these things,” the sheriff chides her, and Nana Stone waves her fork in the air.
“I want to see my great-grandbabies before I go and that’s it, damn it!”
My face continues to burn. “Well, there’s time for both of those things to happen yet, so let’s be patient.”
She continues to mutter under her breath as we eat and keeps shooting me suggestive looks. I love Nana Stone, Nana Stone rocks my world, but right now I just really wish she’d choke on her turkey.
“Nicole,” Cassandra says after some time, and Nicole’s head shoots up so fast, it’s almost funny. These two haven’t had the best relationship in the past, so it’s strange to see them interact. “You look well,” she smiles gently, “I see New York’s been good to you.”
“It has; new beginnings always are.” The corner of Nicole’s mouth lifts in a small smile. “You were right.”
There’s a lull in conversation after that, and even though this dinner hasn’t gone as smoothly as planned, I’m happy to be with the people I care about. Nana Stone continues to crack jokes about things that should definitely not be mentioned while my dad and brother are eating, Jay’s date, Rose, continues scowling and twitching her nose at everything, and Cole’s right there next to me, constantly telling me that everything will be okay.
***
After dinner, I take a few photographs with my family and Cole’s. Later the adults go to the back of the house for coffee and drinks, leaving the rest of us in the living room watching mindless television after stuffing our stomachs.
The Bad Boy’s Heart Page 25
