The Hearts We Break: A Sweet YA Romance (Young Love Book 4)

by Kylie Key

  "Where are we going Cole?" Hayley asked from the backseat.

  "To my favorite place. Where my Dad used to take me after my soccer games. They do the best Black Forest sundaes."

  My heart lurched. He was taking us somewhere that held special memories for him, sharing it with us, in a time when his father was distant in his life.

  "Will I like it?" Hayley asked.

  "Do you like chocolate and cherries and cream?"

  "Yep, yep and yep." Hayley wasn't fussy about anything involving ice cream—rum and raisin being the exception.

  The ice cream parlor was a little fancier than the one we normally frequented. I felt self conscious in my denim shorts and puppy dog face t-shirt that Ainsley had given me for Christmas. And I wished I had straightened my hair and not thrown it up into a ponytail. And I could have put on mascara and eyeliner. Goodness knows how many times Ainsley had tutored me on eye makeup. Everything about me was childish and immature, especially next to Kaedie and her classmates. But Cole didn't appear to think we were out of place. As we were lead to a table, Hayley was given a kids’ menu with photos of the desserts.

  "Has it all sunk in about the academy program?" I asked. "You must be so proud of getting in. Mom said Millie is just over the moon." At least the power of speech wasn't deserting me today. If anything, I would end up raving like a mad lunatic.

  "Yeah, she..." Cole started to say.

  "You're so lucky you know what you want to do, and you're just out there doing it. That's quite something." I thought about my friends who all had direction, purpose, love in their lives.

  "I am lucky," Cole said evenly, "I'm lucky you came into my life."

  I giggled.

  He didn't.

  His stare was intense. It was the same stare that had me flustered the first day we met.

  I looked down at Hayley's menu, pointing to a picture of a Honeycomb Chocolate sundae. "Ooh, that looks yummy," I said. Why couldn't I use normal, adult words, like delicious or tasty?

  Hayley turned the page. "Ooh, Super Strawberry, that sounds good too," I said. Hayley flipped the next page.

  "Selina," Cole said. I looked up to see he was serious, his mind not on ice cream at all. "Selina, I think it's because of you I got into the program."

  "Me? I don't know anything about soccer. Except that you kick it into a goal. And you can't touch the ball with your hands. Unless you're the goalkeeper." He knew I was rambling.

  "You made me open my eyes to what I was doing with my life. And you gave me focus. And a goal to work to."

  "You mean because of the accident? Yeah, well I'm so sorry about putting Ryan and Charlie in that situation. If I was a better driver-,"

  "No, it was never your fault," he said, "I should never have put you in that position." He reached out and took hold of my good hand. I wished he hadn't. A tingle raced through my body, every nerve ending on high alert. My breathing went funny. "I'm really sorry for putting you through that."

  "It's okay, and my hand is nearly fixed," I said, shuffling my braced hand on the table. He squeezed his fingers more firmly around mine. It was becoming increasingly harder not to look affected.

  "You didn't give up on me," he said with a wry smile. The blabbering rambler went mute. "You invited me to join your friends and do the walk. And that really changed my life." He leaned forward across the table. "It brought me and Mom together." I inwardly congratulated myself. "And it made me focus on fitness training." His thumb, or his finger feathered across the back of my hand. I bit down on my lower lip, stifling the sigh that wanted to escape. "And it brought you and me together."

  I wasn't sure what he meant by that. There were over forty people walking in the team now; it had brought us all together. I frantically tried to get my larynx working again.

  "Oh, hey," I cleared my throat, "and I hear you've done great with fundraising, and getting your girlfriend and classmates involved too." I pulled my hand from his; mentioning his girlfriend made it seem inappropriate. I folded them in my lap. "I heard you've raised over $4000. That's amazing."

  A spark dimmed in his eyes.

  "I like this one!" Hayley said, pointing at a Rocky Road special, laden with chocolate, nuts and marshmallows.

  "That's a good choice," Cole said. The waitress took our orders. I went with the Super Strawberry, because it was the only one I could remember; my mind had gone blank. Cole ordered his beloved Black Forest.

  "Hayley, if you go over to the counter, you can see all the different chocolates. Go and look and choose us all one." He stood up and pointed Hayley in the direction. I was about to protest that Hayley shouldn't go off on her own, but we would be in sight of her the whole time. Cole then slid into Hayley's seat, next to me, squishing me in, his leg against mine. There was nowhere to go, no space to move to.

  "Selina," he said. I had to look at him. His nearness was causing claustrophobia, a condition I'd never suffered from before. "Selina, I don't have a girlfriend."

  I gaped. "Kaedie?" I whispered.

  "We broke up. In the new year." My brain did the math. Six weeks ago, six whole weeks ago.

  "Oh," I stuttered, "I'm sorry."

  "I'm not," he said, a smile creeping onto his face.

  My lips did something funny, they twitched and quivered of their own will.

  "I like you Selina," he said. Maybe my eyes widened, maybe I looked shocked, maybe my eyebrows raised, I don't know; my body was doing things out of my control. "Like, really like you."

  "Oh."

  "I want to ask you out."

  "On a date?" My heartbeat was out of control.

  "Yes. Without your sister."

  "Oh."

  "Will you?"

  Before I could give an answer, Hayley raced back to Cole. She covered her mouth and whispered secretly into his ear. Cole smiled and nodded and Hayley hurried back to the counter.

  "Uh, so where were we?" He reached for my hand again. I foolishly let him hold it, I say foolishly because when he did, my brain ceased to function. "I think I was asking you on a date."

  I nodded. "Yep, you were."

  "So?" He was so close, his lips right there. What would it be like to kiss him?

  I shrugged. "I guess. I'll have to ask Mom and Dad." I didn't have to ask Mom and Dad! What was I saying! I could imagine George laughing hysterically.

  Cole smiled and relaxed back in the seat. "Okay, you ask."

  "Okay, I will."

  Hayley came back, carefully carrying a plate, the waitress guiding her. I think I managed to pull my hand from Cole's before she saw it.

  "She had a hard time making up her mind," the waitress said.

  Cole winked at Hayley, standing up to let her back into her seat. I missed his touch instantly. The plate held the most exquisite looking chocolates. "Here we go, a soccer ball for Cole." It was a 3D chocolate, with all the detail of a real ball. "This llama's for Malachi. He likes llamas. And chocolate." It warmed my heart that my little sister would think about Malachi and choose it for him and not herself. "And a little car for Sleena."

  "A car?" I tried not to sound shocked, but I was. A car was the last thing that would represent me, though it was white chocolate and did look like my hatchback.

  "It's your new car, that you haven't driven yet," she said in an accusing tone.

  "I can't drive," I said defensively, "I have to wait for my brace to come off."

  She looked at me with narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw. "You can swim without the brace now," she said, as if she was reciting something she'd heard Mom and Dad say. "And you can eat properly now, with a knife and fork." Also something they would say. She was right. I wore the brace, not because I needed to, but because I didn't want to drive. I could see that I hadn't fooled anyone.

  The waitress put another plate down. On it was a heart shaped pink chocolate, beautifully decorated with fine white icing. Typical of Hayley to choose something pretty and pink.

  "And this is for me," Hayley said, looking at Cole
a little guiltily. As if she knew I was about to scold her for picking the biggest one, she said, "But I'm going to break it-," and before we could stop her, she snapped the heart into pieces. "Now I can give you a piece of my heart," she said, holding them out to us.

  "That's so cute, Hayley, thank you," I said.

  And then Cole broke the piece he had and held it out to me, an amused smile on his face. "And here's a piece of my heart. For you, Selina."

  "Now you have to give yours to Cole," Hayley directed me, as if she'd invented a new game. "You have to break your heart to share it."

  So, I broke my heart.

  And I gave it to Cole Parsons.

  CHAPTER 16

  Dominique's phone call jolted me.

  Could I do her a favor and pick up Malachi from Mooki's? He was about to finish work and she was at gymnastics training. She would prefer for Malachi not to walk home after working a four hour shift, not with the marathon only a week away.

  I nearly squawked at her. Me? Why me? Couldn't Ainsley, or Ella or Trieste could do it? But she said Ainsley was at dance, Ella at her piano lesson and Trieste wasn't picking up her phone.

  She didn't want to beg, but she would be forever grateful.

  Doris 2 sat in the garage, brand new, unused, gathering dust.

  I had to make a snap decision.

  I thought about Malachi, pushing himself everyday, to do things that required effort and determination and courage.

  It was no more than three miles to Mooki's. There were two stop lights, two lane changes, one left turn. I knew the route with my eyes closed.

  "Okay," I said.

  "I love you!" Dominique squealed. "Thank you so much."

  I grabbed my keys, my heart pounding to deafening levels. What had I agreed to? And where would I park? There were never any parking spots outside the front. And would Malachi wait inside or outside? It was too late to ask now, as I started Doris 2, patted her dashboard, and inched my way down the driveway.

  Doris 2 purred, smelling of vanilla, thanks to the scented car freshener George had hung on the mirror. I was barely breathing as I waited to turn onto the street, but my acceleration was smooth, and my hand automatically knew where the blinker was, and my wrist felt firm on the steering wheel. That had to be a good sign.

  The lights were green the whole way, but my anxiety rose as I turned into Mooki's street and couldn't see Malachi standing outside. That meant I was going to have to park. I cursed Dominique for not having the foresight to tell him to wait on the pavement. I crept down the block, eyes peeled for an empty parking spot. Just as I thought I would have to go around the block a second time, a car signaled it was moving out. It felt like it was the first breath I'd taken for minutes. I found myself parked next to an orange jeep, similar to Ainsley's.

  Not wanting to make Malachi wait too long, I ran along to the cafe, the fresh air relieving the high stress levels I'd incurred.

  Opening the door, I looked around for Malachi, shocked to see Trieste, or at least someone with lavender hair exactly like hers, sitting at the near table. Had she finally answered her phone, I wondered.

  But then, in a sudden flash Felix was next to her, and Domi and Ainsley and Malachi...and Cole. All of them appearing from behind the counter, yelling Surprise!

  Well, they had that right; I was certainly surprised. Not being my birthday, or any other special occasion in my life, I looked behind me to check they weren't shouting at someone else. There was nobody there.

  "What?" Nothing was making sense, and it hadn't escaped my attention that Cole was here with my friends, unless this was a pre-marathon party that I'd missed in the group chat. "What's the surprise?"

  "Did you drive here?" Domi asked.

  "Yes."

  "In your car?"

  "Yes, you asked me to," I said, dumbfounded that she'd seemed to have forgotten this information in such a short amount of time. "I thought you were at gymnastics." Then I glared at Ainsley, "Why aren't you at dance?" Ainsley and Domi laughed. Their arms went around my shoulders, sandwiching me between them. "What's going on?" I didn't try to hide my irritation.

  "Ask your boyfriend," Ainsley said with a giggle.

  My cheeks heated up, not only because Ainsley had referred to Cole as my boyfriend—but because he'd stepped forward and was standing right in front of me. Boyfriend seemed a premature label. We hadn't been on a date yet, though he'd been coming over every day to see me, and the latte and cupcake deliveries had resumed.

  "I'm sorry. I did this," Cole said.

  "Did what?"

  "I know you've been scared to drive again, and that's all my fault." Ainsley and Domi had unwrapped themselves from me, and Cole took hold of my hands. "I needed to come up with a plan to make you drive again."

  "So you tricked me?"

  Trieste put up her hand. "Guilty, Selina. It was actually my idea to use Malachi. And I thought Mooki’s is a nice, easy drive from your house."

  "Sorry, Selina," Malachi said, also putting up his hand, "I was kind of coerced into being a participant. But, hey, I think it worked."

  I thought about being angry, but his smile was contagious.

  "You drove, Selina," Domi said, "you did it."

  "Yeah, Selina, you did it!" Ainsley said.

  There was a collective raising of hands as everyone high fived each other, amidst cries of "Go Selina!" and "You got this!"

  But I was listening to only one voice. Cole bent his head down to my ear.

  "I'm so proud of you," he said softly, his hand resting on the back of my hair, tilting my head back a little. His eyes pierced mine, his smile for me alone. "I don't think I can wait for our first date," he said, one hand slipping around my waist. My reaction time was nil—his lips were on mine before I had a chance to consider Ainsley’s YouTube Kissing Guide checklist—moist lips, minty breath, tilted head, closed eyes.

  Cole Parsons had me floating in his arms, the brush of our lips a sweet caress, his touch tender and gentle. In that kiss, every star in the universe, every sunset and sunrise, every rainbow belonged to us. In that moment, everything in my life was perfect.

  But then reality hit—we weren't in our own private paradise, but a busy cafe. Shuffling feet, scraping chairs, a whistling coffee machine and someone clearing their throat alerted me to the fact that my first kiss had been witnessed by my best friends. With his arms entwined around me, Cole drew back.

  “Sorry,” he said. “But I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”

  “Oh." It was just as well he was holding me because I had gone light headed and my legs had lost all strength. He seemed to know, pulling me closer, the palm of his hand resting on my hair. Who knew that such a touch could dissolve me into a quivering mess?

  Who knew that being in Cole's arms would make me as weak as a lamb?

  There was a round of applause and sighs and giggles from Ainsley, Trieste and Dominique.

  “Way to go, Selina!”

  “Oh, soooo sweet.”

  “Awwww! Beautiful!”

  I raised my head shyly, blushing furiously, but also filled with happiness. I was met by Cole's smile beaming down on me, his sparkling eyes seeing only me.

  His lips rested softly on my forehead. I allowed myself one moment of pure joy, and then I remembered, "I still have to drive home, you know."

  My friends groaned in unison. "Selina!"

  "Well, I do." Even the warmth of Cole's touch couldn't compete with the anxiety. "The traffic will be getting busier. I should go."

  "You'll be fine," Cole said, "remember, you drove here on your own."

  "Yeah, you're a good driver," Trieste chimed in, with a teasing glance to Cole, "you'll be okay." The others nodded in agreement.

  "Yeah, but it's rush hour now."

  Cole took my hand. "Okay, let's go."

  "You're going to drive me? What about my car?"

  "No, I'll follow you. Or you follow me."

  I didn't need to think about it. "You follow me.
" Cars following too close freaked me out.

  "Sure thing," he said, "I'd follow you anywhere, Selina Harris-Brown."

  Cole walked me to my car, leaned me against the driver door and said, "I hope I didn't embarrass you in there."

  "A little," I said.

  "I couldn't help myself," he chuckled. He tucked my hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on my cheek. "No audience here," he said.

  This time I was ready. My arms reached around him, my head tilted, my eyes closed.

  And I knew my heart was in safe hands.

  ❤️❤️❤️

  EPILOGUE

  AINSLEY

  I reach out for my phone, a pinging sound alerting me to a notification.

  Big day today!!! Let's do this!!!!

  The message is from Dominique, to our private group.

  It's 5 o'clock in the morning.

  And it is marathon day.

  Back last year at Thanksgiving, when Malachi had been released from hospital, he'd had an outrageous dream that he might one day walk a marathon. It was outrageous because the boy had been burnt in a car accident, spent eight months in hospital, been through numerous skin graft surgeries and had been told he might not walk normally ever again.

  But my best friend, Dominique had decided that if that’s what her boyfriend dreamed of doing, then she would make it happen. Only, now it wasn’t just about walking a marathon, it had turned into a fundraiser for a burns survivors charity and Dominique had bribed, forced, pressured, twisted arms and used any other method she could to assemble the forty two people who were part of the Burn Bright team.

  And I’m one of them.

  It’s so exciting Trieste messages, Bring it on!

  I’m nervous Selina writes, I hope I can do this!

  Go Burn Bright! Ella texts.

  The others can see I’ve read the messages, they can see I haven’t responded. Three little dots are probably showing on their screens, as I type, delete, type, delete. This is ridiculous, I chide myself, write something!

  My fingers fly across my keys: Good luck everybody!