He throws his head back and laughs. “Not a prob, good lookin’. You girls have fun.” He pulls the rope back to let us in, much to the dismay of the people waiting. I smile apologetically as we pass. I’m not actually sorry, but it seems polite to at least pretend to be embarrassed.
“This band is awesome, the last time I saw them they played for an hour longer than scheduled. It was amazing!” Alex yells over the music, linking her arm into mine.
I nod, looking around the venue at all the people swaying and moving to the music. As I scan the large room I spot a gorgeous back on a man standing with some friends. Yummy.
“DRINKS?” Alex yells, being drowned out by the crowd.
I nod my head, not hearing her because I’m a bit too fixated on the guy with the nice back.
“Drinks!!” She yells louder. I look back at her, lifting my arms to shrug, letting her know I’m not understanding what she’s asking.
“DRINKS!” She screams just as the song is changing and noise dies down, causing me to scream back until we both crack up with laughter and turn four shades of red. We walk to the bar, arm in arm. I look over my shoulder once, but lose sight of Mr. Hunky.
After the first set is over, Alex and I move on from drinks to shots. This isn’t what I came out for, but it’s been forever since I’ve let loose and had some fun. It feels good to be buzzed, laughing, and dancing with my best friend.
“One more lemon drop?” she shouts. I respond with a thumbs up as we make our way off the dance floor to the bar.
“Thank you, Alex! I’m honestly having the best night, I love the band and needed this. You are the best!”
“Of course! I know, I’m amazeballs!”
She slides the shot over to me but before I can grab it, a set of long, masculine fingers scoops it up and deposits it into his perfect mouth. Hello, Mr. Hunky… Oh damn. I recognize the shirt on his back from my little lust fest earlier. Good thing I didn’t see his face before, or I might have run away. “Thanks,” he mouths.
“What the hell, dude?” Alex says in an irritated tone.
“Sorry, it just looked so good, I couldn’t help but want to taste it.”
I level my glare at him and roll my eyes. Looking at Alex, I can see his charm has won one of us over. “Alex, this is Cole Parker. You know, my destroyer.”
Cole looks at me with a confused grin, and Alex starts to howl with laughter. “Oh, shit! Oh shit!” She says, doubled over. “It’s nice to meet you, Cole.”
“Likewise,” he says, still staring at me. My insides do a double flip. “Missed you, buttercup,” he says just as the music starts up again.
Alex looks like her eyes are going to bug out of her head. She starts mouthing about the note and pointing at Cole dramatically behind his back. I try to shake my head inconspicuously, and when he turns his attention to me I pretend to nod along with the music.
“I’m surprised you like this music. I didn’t take you for an 80’s kind of girl.”
“Yep! Love it.” Please don’t ask me the name of the cover band. My crazy friend brought me here, ironically to forget about my memory problems. “I’m just a lover of music! What are you doing here? I didn’t take you for someone who hangs out at a bar.”
“I like music and people annndddd fun Mia, let me buy you another drink, okay?”
“Okay, it’s the least you can do since you stole mine.” He smiles and leans on the bar.
“Two lemon drop shots and a scotch, neat. Whatever you have top shelf is fine.”
He turns back and smiles that gorgeous smile that makes him look young and carefree. I’m a goner.
We do our shots and Alex pushes against the bar top to announce with flourishes that she is going to the ladies room. She grabs my hand and jerks me in the same direction. I smile at Cole as I pass him, and laugh, “be back in a minute.”
He smiles and watches us walk away. When we get into the bathroom, Alex spins around, covers her mouth with her hands, and starts jumping up and down.
“Stop! No way! Nothing is happening. We’re just having a couple of drinks, that’s all”
“Come on, Mia! He is smoking hot and you know it. He hasn’t stopped staring at you with those dreamy eyes since he spotted us… and you look like a kid on Christmas morning!”
I wander over to the sinks and start applying lip-gloss. “Look, I am not, I repeat, not going there. The guy has trouble written all over him and I’m already knee deep in regret with Jack!” I haven’t spoken to Jack since our fight, even though he’s left several messages.
“Forget Jack! Who needs Jack when you have a serious McHottie out there waiting for you?!” Alex is toasted and blurts this out. I am also feeling no pain and don’t completely disagree.
I stand for a minute in the ladies’ room, thinking. He is super-hot, and this may be the alcohol talking but I’m not with Jack, so who says I can’t have fun tonight? I’m positive that if I choose anyone to show me a good time, Cole is a solid bet.
I look in the mirror as Alex walks up behind me. “Ooohhh you have that look! He won’t even know what hit him,” she grins. I turn and high five her, and we walk out of the bathroom, straight toward trouble.
“You’re back! I was starting to think you crawled out the bathroom window.”
“Very funny, wanna dance?” Ooohhh I’m bold… Thanks, liquor!
“To this? I think this is more of a stand and nod kind of crowd.”
“Your loss.” I turn on my heel and walk out to the middle. I raise my arms in the air and let out a “Woo” and start shaking my ass to the beat. I’m actually lost in the music and cutting lose when I feel a warm hand slip around my waist to my stomach. We start moving together, in sync. I know it’s him, I don’t have to look. Before turning around, I reach one arm back and up around his neck, pulling him close to my upstretched mouth, and say, “took you long enough.” Cole spins me around and I am greeted by the sexiest smile. “How much have you had to drink, young lady? Because I’m liking my chances tonight.”
“Shut up, you fool. I’m not going to go home with you, but I’m not opposed to dancing with you… unless you need to get back your friends?” Please say no, please say no
“They’ll survive.”
Mental high-five!
We both turn back to the band and applaud.
We dance to two more songs, laughing at how ridiculous we look to the hipsters trying to out-cool each other, and decide to break for water. I’ve been gone longer than a good friend should be, hoping Alex isn’t mad at me for abandoning her. This man is like an industrial strength magnet. I am not myself. As we walk back to the bar, Alex is standing and laughing with the bouncer from the door.
“Hey, lovebirds!” she says as we walk up. I could kill her. “This is Chris, Chris this is Cole and Mia.”
“Hey,” Chris says, nodding his massive neck. I think he may have missed his calling for football. He looks like a linebacker and is probably just as smart, but at least Alex seems happily distracted.
Cole wraps his arms around me from behind and puts his chin on my shoulder. I smile big and squeeze his arms. I like this. We fit. The whole night has been amazing, dancing and laughing and just being with him. I wish I could stop time and stay in this moment. Alex with Chris and me with… Snap back, Mia! I can’t get sucked into this just because he danced with me a few times. I’m not with Cole, I just happen to be in the same place tonight, giving into his charm. I’m sure last night he was with some other woman, and tomorrow night it will be another. Just like Jack, acts like Mr. Loyal Lover and turns up leaving the neighbor’s apartment! I’ve just remembered this and it pisses me off all over again. Not to mention, how about Carter Williams, my own personal repeat attacker. SERIOUSLY? I just want to enjoy this perfect evening, but my mind never fails to go back to everything I’ve been through. I’m a different person now. Putting up walls is the only way to protect myself.
If I keep going down this road, my heart will end up roadkill. I’m su
ddenly keenly aware that my shoulders have tensed. The liquor settles in, making me feel a little queasy.
Cole must feel me tense, because he kisses my cheek and says, “Everything okay?” Hmmm, am I okay? Fuck, I don’t know. Actually, I do know that no, I am not okay. Quite the opposite, I’m a total fucking mess.
“I, can we, um, I need some air.” I break away from his arms and book it toward the door. I can feel the air cutting off from my lungs and the room closing in. I push out the side door of the bar. “Ahhhh,” the air feels like a baptism. I’m okay, I just needed some air, that’s all.
What the fuck, Mia?! Get your head straight! Why do I do this? Panic over having a good time? I need to stop pausing everything good, and fight believing that I don’t deserve joy. Enough with punishing myself, already. There is a beautiful, successful, super-hot man inside, and by some miracle he’s waiting for me. Why can’t that be enough for tonight?
After five minutes of standing and looking up at the sky, I gather myself to walk back in, but as I turn the corner toward the entrance, I hear Alex yelling, angrily.
“What is wrong with you? I told you not to come, but you can’t just listen!”
Who the hell is she laying into? I walk around the potted plants by the front doors to find out exactly what is going on, and there’s Cole. He’s pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair, looking ferociously angry.
“I told you,” Alex yells, “I freaking told you to let me handle it! But noooo you never listen, Parker! Your stupidity could ruin everything! Next time, just keep your ass at home!”
What the ever-loving fuck?!? Why is Alex talking to Cole like they know each other? Why is she telling him to stay home “next time”?! I realize I’m charging in their direction because Cole stops pacing and smacks Alex’s arm.
“Ow! Dick!” She yelps as she turns and sees me. Her eyes grow wide and I sense fear from her, maybe because I look angrier than ever.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but someone better start talking. Actually, let me start. How the hell do you two know each other?!” The last part is more of a scream than I would like it to be.
Cole is frozen in place, all coolness faded, his face still beautiful but his expression, lost. I’ve never experienced lost Cole, but I don’t have time for the distraction of him now.
“Speak!” I yell.
“Look, I know this looks strange, but there really is a very good explanation for this,” he stutters. Alex chimes in, “Calm down, Mia, it’s not that big of a deal,” and waves me off, dismissively.
“Not that big of a deal? I will be the judge of that. How am I supposed to figure out what kind of deal it is when neither of you seem very forthcoming with the truth? How come every time I am getting my bearings again, the very people closest to me seem to be plotting behind my back?! Now, I would like to know WHAT THE FUCK is going on, and I would like to know right this minute. Did you two date once, or something? Because you obviously know each other from before tonight.”
I can’t even look at Cole, because I don’t want to see his face when he answers this question, but their reaction is unexpected. Cole and Alex turn toward each other and burst into laughter! When they finally look back at me, they fall silent again. Maybe because my face is oozing, “fuck you both”.
“Mia,” Alex starts, “we were looking for you after you ran out. I was convinced that Cole acted like a jerk and I was yelling at him for upsetting you. I wanted him to let me handle finding you but he wasn’t listening.” Alex crosses the gap between us and gives me hug. “You okay? Why did you run out?”
“I needed air, it was hot and I wasn’t feeling well,” I say, leaning into her. Something is still not right in Alex’s explanation, and I didn’t see the giant bobcat that came and took Cole’s tongue. I’m confused and angry and woozy from alcohol. Did I overreact? Is my paranoia making me question my best friend and the hottest guy I’ve met in forever?
“I’m sorry I yelled and acted insane. I don’t know what I’m thinking. I saw you guys yelling and Cole looked upset. It seemed pretty familiar and… I don’t know.” God I feel dumb!
“Aww buttercup, you were jealous over me?” Cole finally rejoins the conversation. It’s like he was in a trance and just came back to life.
“You wish!”
“I do.”
“Oh, stop it.”
“Do you really want me to?” He looks into my eyes as he walks toward me, and I’m jello. Alex squeezes my hand and walks back into the bar, shaking her head in amusement at the two of us. She walks toward her Incredible Hulk and I’m left standing there with Cole closing in.
“Sometimes…” I whisper.
“Sometimes?”
“I am nowhere near ready for you, Cole Parker. You scare the hell out of me.”
“Well, to be honest, you scare the hell out of me too. I’ve never been so drawn to a woman in my life. I want you, Mia. I just want you.” He says this in a decidedly serious and deliberate tone, emphasis on the “you”.
I let out a breath I’ve been holding while I literally hang on his words. He takes my hand and I look down, staring at our hands together like that, and then the scenery changes, there’s sand underneath my bare feet, and my hand is sparkly. When I look up into a man’s face he’s smiling, handsome, but everything behind him is bright, making it hard to make out the features of his face. “I love you, Mia,” the man on the beach says to me, and my chest aches, and my face feels slick with tears. “I love you, too.”
Then I snap back to the present. Another memory recovered in shady glimpses, and I know this one is precious. Whoever he is, he loves me. If he’s real, he loves me completely, and I love him back. The feeling washes over me, soaking into every cell of my heart. That man on the beach, he is my soul mate. With him I am the woman I’m supposed to be. I wrap my arms around myself to savor the sensation.
Cole is staring at me, concerned. “What did you say? Are you okay, Mia? You zoned out for a minute.” He tucks his hand under my chin to pull my face up. “Are you crying?”
“No, no! I had a moment, just some Deja vu. I’m fine. Probably a little tired. This is a big night out for me since everything that’s happened. I’m still spooked and pretty messed up from the whole incident, you know, the one where you saved me, Prince Charming.” I end with a wink, hoping to lighten the mood.
Cole smiles down at me and licks his lips. “You know, in the old days, when a prince saved a princess, she would give him a reward… like a kiss.”
“Really, like on the cheek?” I bat my eyelashes in fake innocence.
“Possibly, but I think it should reflect the greatness of the heroism. I mean, sometimes the guy simply handed a lady his handkerchief. Rescue from a violent mugging should be a few steps up from that, don’t you agree?”
“Ahhh, right. Wouldn’t want to seem ungrateful to my Prince.” I start to laugh, but before I finish he puts his hand around the back of my head and closes his mouth over mine. His kiss starts slow, teasing my lips as his other hand comes up to gently hold the other side of my face.
Everything inside of me is on fire! I can feel the heat between us building as we kiss. The embrace deepens and starts to take on a desperate pace, we are going to tear each other apart! I haven’t felt like this maybe ever, but I’m strangely not afraid or worried. No annoying thoughts in my head interrupting the moment. I can’t think of anything other than having his hands all over me. I want his body against mine. I want to give myself to Cole Parker.
“Get a room!” I hear Alex yell as she walks out with Chris.
I pull away and bury my embarrassed face into Cole’s shoulder. “Chris, could you please teach your girl some manners,” Cole says jokingly, wrapping his arms around me like a shield.
“I could, but I think she would kick my ass if I tried,” Chris laughs.
“Shut up, both of you!” Alex yells.
“What’s next for us?” I say, smiling at Alex. She turns to
look at Chris, who says, “I’m beat, babe. Let’s go back to my place tonight.”
Wait a minute, back to his place? When did this happen? I remind myself to quiz Alex when we get back to the room. In the meantime I give her a high eyebrow stare, hoping she isn’t about to leave me alone with Cole!
“Totes, babe!” she says back to Chris, crossing over to me and hugging me close to say in my ear, “Don’t stay out too late, and don’t do anything I would do, or maybe do everything I would do.” She pulls away and winks. I try pinch her arm in protest, but she yanks it back, leaving me to fend for myself with him. “Later, Parker,” she calls over her shoulder. Cole just smiles. I look back and forth between them, again sensing something too familiar for a casual run-in at the club, but decide to stow my irrational crazy chick because I know my friend would never do that to me, and he isn’t really mine anyway. I’ve been telling Jack for two months that I don’t want anything serious, so how come I can’t stop thinking about being serious with Cole Parker? He is so unexpected in every way.
“Soooo,” I look at Cole, feeling nervous and somewhat ridiculous. I mean, we were just making out ten minutes ago, but now my friend has basically set me up to be his one night stand. So awkward! I am going to kill her. “I’m just gonna take a cab home, but thank you for a great night! It was fun.”
“Mia, I have a car,” he says, rolling his eyes. “I’ll take you back to the hotel, if that’s what you want.” I can feel his question hanging in the air…
“Okay,” my voice sounds disappointed. What did I think he was going to say? Did I expect him to sweep me off my feet and declare his undying love? I mentally check myself and follow hand in hand to his car. His driver opens the door, Cole nods at him and leans in the front passenger window to say something I can’t quite make out, then joins me in the back seat of the car.
“All good?” he asks me as he closes the private window.
“Yep.” My goofy grin won’t go away. I know that window closing means delicious, awesome trouble right now. No sooner does it close than Cole grabs my wrist and pulls me into his lap. I squeal as I land firmly in his lap, facing him. He pushes the hair from my face and licks his lips again.
Come Back to Me Page 7
