by Blair Holden
“Who the hell is she?” I have come to the realization that Yolanda the leech emphasizes a word in every sentence she says and it is kind of funny. But it’s hard to find the humor in the situation when all I want is to take a chainsaw to her neck.
I feel a hesitant hand placed on the small of my back and feel the warmth of Cole’s body next to mine.
“This is my girlfriend, Tessa, and you better damn respect that, Kimmy.” His voice is hard enough to cut steel and I’d pity the person being on the receiving end of it if it were anyone else but her.
She gives me the basic bitch once-over. I’ve faced it quite a lot so it doesn’t make me as insecure as it used to. She scrutinizes every inch of my body, her lips tilted up into a vicious snarl.
“That’s who you’re dating?” Her face scrunches up in disgust and I feel Cole’s body tense even more, if that’s possible. To save the poor thing from becoming a pummeled mess, I speak up.
“I’m afraid so, but at least you should be glad that he’s upped his standards since you.”
“Meoww.”
I assume that’s Lan but I’m too busy having a stare-down with Yolanda, who looks like she wants to deck me. Cole chuckles next to me and pulls me closer, exhaling in relief. Ha, he thinks he’s off the hook but I am so not done with him. This must be one of his “distractions” from military school and I don’t know what that says about him. It hurts more than I expected and we’ll need to talk about it, but after I put the leech in her place.
“How dare you!” She stomps her foot, actually stomps it and I stifle a laugh. She is such a walking cliché it’s not even funny. “You have no idea what the two of us shared. He’s just using you as a rebound until we get back together,” she hisses and I snort. If I didn’t trust Cole the way I do, I would have believed her but there’s too much history for me to doubt. The girl is clearly delusional and obsessed with Cole in a way that’s nowhere near being something akin to love. She’s a brat who hates the fact that she can’t have what she wants. I’m well acquainted with the type; I was best friends with her for a long time.
“I’m sorry but from where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like he’s in too much pain being away from you. If anything you might have just traumatized him trying to suck his lips off. Does that particular technique work for you?” I ask with a straight face but Lan ruins the effect when he bursts out laughing. Yolanda shoots him a poisonous glare and then closes in on me.
“Back off, Kimmy. You don’t want to do this.” Cole steps in front of me with warning ringing clearly in his voice.
Ah, my Yolanda is actually a Kimmy.
She looks back and forth between me and Cole, as if gauging how much more she needs to work on destroying what we have. I thought people like her only existed in the trashiest of romance novels. The unrelenting, psychotic ex who goes to great pains to come between the hero and the heroine. She’s even doing the crazy eye twitching, which always creeps me out. What the heck did Cole see in her?
Or maybe it wasn’t her sunny personality that attracted him. The thought makes me sick to my stomach. “Come on, Kimmy, don’t make a bigger fool of yourself than you already have. Just go to your room and we’ll forget this ever happened.”
Lan is once again playing mediator and manages to get through to her. With one last withering stare, she huffs and turns around, her circle skirt flashing all of us as she does so. Huh, she wears thongs, why am I not surprised?
Standing in the hallway we hear a door slam and there’s a general sigh of relief. Cole and Lan are having a silent conversation and it’s almost comical how I can almost guess what’s going on. I decide to break the straining silence and do the polite thing, which is to introduce myself to Lan.
I extend my hand to the towering guy. “Hi, I’m Tessa. You must be Landon; Cole has told me so much about you.” I purposely use his full name just to tease him a little and get back at him for introducing Kimmy the leech into my life. He winces but takes my hand nonetheless, surprising me by kissing it instead of shaking. My cheeks heat as Cole’s fingers dig into my spine.
“Lan, please call me Lan. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Tessa. The guy’s talked my ear off about you.” He grins charmingly and I find myself smiling back.
“Nice to meet you too, even though you have questionable taste in houseguests.”
I’m rewarded with an embarrassed laugh from Lan, and Cole tucking me closer. “I’m so sorry about that, Tessie. My soon-to-be-dead friend here told me she wouldn’t be here.” He glares at Lan, who holds up his hands in defense.
“That chick is crazy. I accidentally let it slip that you and the guys were coming up and she managed to talk her mom into letting her out of the nut house.”
To me he explains, “She’s my stepsister. Though I’d rather chew my arm off than be related to her.”
By this point we’ve walked into the huge apartment, obviously decorated by a professional, and take a seat on the massive leather sectional. I turn toward a brooding Cole. “And how do you know her?”
He scratches the back of his neck. It’s his tell and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like what comes out of his mouth next. Preparing myself for the worst, I hold my breath.
“We . . . uh we . . . she went to military school with me. Her dad, he’s a teacher there and we . . . God.” He runs his hand through his hair and tilts his head back, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Remember how I told you I was sort of messed up during the time I spent there? Well she’s a part of that mess.”
“So you two . . .” The insinuation hangs heavy in the air.
He’s made it quite obvious what kind of relationship he shared with “Kimmy” and it’s painful enough without him putting it into words. In spite of myself, my mind conjures up images of him through the years with many other faceless girls. Ouch, that just hurts.
“Yeah, we did.”
I swallow heavily and try my best not to act like a manic, jealous girlfriend. It’s all in the past, well a past where he was supposedly pining away for me, but still. Something inside my chest hurts and I feel lightheaded. He slept with that . . . thing out of all the possible girls he could’ve hooked up with?
Lan twists knife in deeper. “If it’s any consolation, Kimmy has slept her way through the entire school. When you’re with her, you know exactly what you’re getting into. A meaningless, hard and fast f—”
“Dude, shut up! Don’t you think you’ve done enough already?”
Lan looks sheepish but his face softens once he obviously takes in the state I’m in. “Listen, I’m sorry, Tessa. She just showed up out of the blue and I couldn’t kick her out. If it’s any consolation, she’s a lot better than Erica.”
Now who the hell is Erica? My face scrunches up in confusion and Lan bites his tongue like he’s said something he wasn’t supposed to. Cole groans beside me as I turn to him.
“Erica?”
“She’s a family friend.” He stresses the last word. “We stay with her family at their beach house during the summer and Lan hates her because she turned him down.” He scowls at his friend and that’s the end of it.
I nod and try to smile but I’m pretty sure it comes across as a grimace. I’m as comfortable in this situation as someone having a root canal and bikini wax at the same time.
“Right, that’s why I hate her. But Tessa, seriously, if I had any idea Kimmy would do this I’d have kicked her out no questions asked.”
“It’s okay. I understand. I know all about having a dysfunctional family,” I tell him with all honesty.
To Cole I say, “Why her of all people? Is that your type?” I scrunch my nose and he laughs, understanding that I’m letting it go for the time being.
He leans in and kisses the top of my head. “I learned the hard way that she was entirely the wrong shade of blond for me.”
***
We spend some time waiting for two of Cole’s other friends to arrive. Lan is an amazing host, warm,
funny, and charming. I’m horrified at myself for being so judgmental of him before even meeting him. He is nothing like I imagined him to be and if he stopped dropping hints about this Erica, he’d be perfect. I’ll have to get Cole alone to tell me more about the girl.
Kimmy stays in her own room though I do hear the whiniest pop songs blasting through the door so I’m guessing she’s in a mood. Cole’s still pretty embarrassed and he’s showing that by being extra attentive toward me. Yes, imagine how wonderful he usually is and multiply that by like a hundred. I almost get the urge to put the guy out of his misery but then a more vindictive part of me is enjoying this very much. Currently he’s in the kitchen since he’s the resident cook of the group. When the rest of his friends arrive, they’ve planned to just relax at the apartment first and then there’s some college party.
Yes, I’m also perfectly well aware of my history with parties. But then Cole’s asked me about a hundred and one times if I’m “okay” with the plans. It might be his guilt talking but still it’s awfully sweet of him to be so considerate, and the last thing I want is to ruin his plans so I say yes. There’s no Nicole here and things might actually go okay.
“I really am sorry, you know. Kimmy’s always been a pain in the ass but lately it’s like she’s channeling the love child of Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus.”
Lan sits down next to me and I have to laugh at that comparison; it’s so apt and I’m not even the one coming up with it.
“Did he, umm, did Cole date girls like her a lot?”
I use the word date since saying what he actually did with them would be utterly embarrassing.
He understands what I’m trying to say and hesitates a little. “I’m not sure I’m supposed to answer that question.”
“Bro code?”
“Definitely.”
“And Erica? Should I be worried?”
He sighs but tells me anyway, “He’d chop off his right arm before hurting you, I know that for sure. But that girl is something else. Just promise me if you ever come across her, don’t let her play her mind games with you.”
“I don’t understand, I’ve never even heard about her before.”
“Her family and Cole’s are pretty close. I’ve spent summer breaks with him and Erica’s always around. She’s obsessed with Cole, Kimmy times ten, and he doesn’t even see it. I won’t bring her up unnecessarily but she’s been asking about him a lot lately. I keep tabs on her just in case she gets wind of your relationship and decides to act up. I don’t want you to be blindsided by her if you ever meet her.”
***
Lan’s words about the mysterious Erica and Kimmy declaring nuclear war on Cole’s mouth are constantly swarming my head. I shrug and smile it off when Cole asks but in my mind I think that it’s even worse than I imagined. He’s been with so many girls that even his best friend refuses to tell me the extent of his philandering ways. This is one of the classic moments where the girl asks the guy for a list of every woman he’s been with. I can’t do that with Cole.
There’s not enough paper in the universe, apparently.
***
“If you don’t take your hand off my girl, McGinty, I might have to rip it off.”
I’m trying not to laugh at the raging jealousy on Cole’s face but it’s too hard. His friends Seth and Jameson arrived about an hour ago and ever since then Seth’s been making an active effort to get killed. The guy is as smooth as butter and he’s decided to put the moves on me today. If it’s not the hug he engulfed me in the moment he entered then it’s the almost-snuggling on the couch. Cole’s hands have been fisted for a really long time and I think it’s about time we stop torturing him.
“Relax, Stone. I’m just getting to know her after all the time you’ve spent drooling over her. She’s even more beautiful than you described.”
I don’t know if he’s only teasing Cole but that just makes me blush and Cole growls as Jameson and Lan snicker. The boys are playing video games; well, two of them are playing video games while the other two are engaged in some juvenile caveman role play. Seth places an arm around my shoulder, which immediately has me tensing.
“So Tessa, do you have a sister?”
“No, she doesn’t, and your brother is about to become an only child if you don’t stop touching her.”
“Calm your tits, man. You’re so whipped, but I’d be too if she were mine.” He winks at me and while another girl would’ve swooned, I can only laugh since this guy is helping me take sweet, sweet revenge from Casanova over there. I feel so empowered, it’s not even funny.
“Don’t encourage him.” Cole glowers at Seth and almost drags me to his side of the couch.
“He’s just being friendly Cole, relax.”
I’m given the stink eye and he pouts like a petulant child, muttering, “A little too friendly” under his breath.
Seth is more muscular than Cole and Lan, because he’s on the wrestling team. He’s got light blond hair which is cropped close to his head and has the lightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. He’s a total flirt and the womanizer of the group, it seems. But I like him since he does everything in good humor. If anything, he seems a lot like pre-meltdown Travis. Jameson is a bit like me, in the way that he’s quiet and seems a little shy almost. It doesn’t seem like he talks much even on a regular basis but he seems to fit the group perfectly. His looks complement his slightly brooding personality. Tall and lean with messy dark brown hair, gray eyes, and a nose that looks like it’s been broken at some point. I also catch my first glimpse of a tattoo as it peeks out from under the sleeve of his shirt. It’s a foreign script, but I couldn’t gawk at it as much as I would have liked to without appearing like a freak.
“We’re still going to that frat party, right?” Lan asks, switching off the game. There’s a unanimous grunting of yeahs and I sigh inwardly. I’ve read a lot about frat parties and most of them end with someone falling asleep naked in the bathtub. I hope to God it’s not me.
“Sweet, I’ll let my cousin know.”
“I’m not exactly dressed for a party,” I mutter once the rest of the boys are distracted and Cole turns to me.
“You look great. What’s wrong with what you’re already wearing?” He frowns. Ah, sweet, adorable, naïve boy.
“It’s your job to tell me I look good but honey, I need something better than this to wear if we’re going to that party.”
He’s still frowning. “You always look amazing but if you want to we could go shopping.”
My heart melts at his sincere suggestion. He would really ditch his friends to take me shopping and that breaks through all the doubts I’ve been having throughout the day regarding his past. It may or may not be guilt but I shouldn’t be questioning the integrity of his feelings for me, not when he’s shown me so many times.
“We’re going to the mall?” The two of us whip our heads around to where Seth is standing, stuffing his face with a BLT. I grin at how excited he sounds and how Cole immediately gives his caveman grunt.
“The mall? Cool, I hear the arcade got a couple of awesome new games. Hey, Jameson, we’re going to the mall!” Lan calls out to him as he too emerges from the kitchen. Suddenly everyone’s buzzing and making plans. I giggle at the absurdity of it all and laugh even harder at the look on Cole’s face. He’s so not happy about this.
But then suddenly everyone’s up and getting ready to go out. We’re waiting for Seth to finish taking a call when Kimmy crawls out of her lair and walks over to the door, twisting the doorknob and then shooting us all an impatient look.
“What? I thought we were going to the mall, hurry up.”
***
Shopping is fun generally but shopping with four boys is downright hilarious. When I told them that I needed an outfit for the night, being the gentlemen that they were, all of them agreed to accompany me. Hard as I stressed, they wouldn’t go and do their own thing. I realized shortly that they were trying to stop Kimmy from ambushing me.
�
��That’s really pretty.”
“You look great.”
“Damn, girl, you look hot.”
The last one is Seth, obviously. Cole just grunts.
I’m standing outside the dressing room wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a basic red boat-neck top that’s really flattering. I don’t know whether I’m supposed to trust their judgment since they’ve said the same thing about the last three outfits I tried on. Cole’s not being much help with his moody possessiveness. Seriously, how is he even upset when I have slutty Barbie probably plotting a painful death for me?
“Cole?”
He’s still acting like a four-year-old throwing a temper tantrum so I get an idea. He needs to assert his “ownership” and while that is not the healthiest thing in a relationship, I can’t let his immaturity ruin this day.
“Could you come here for a second?” His face softens as he sees the discomfort on my face and together we enter the dressing room. It’s sectioned into two areas, a curtain separating the actual changing room and a sitting area.
He’s staring at his shoes, avoiding eye contact. “I can’t find something good to wear. Would you mind picking something for me?”
If he recognizes what I’m doing he doesn’t show it. Instead he looks pleased. “Yeah, of course.” Bending down to kiss my forehead he leaves the changing room in a much better mood.
***
Once accompanied by shopping bags containing the outfits Cole got me and insisted he pay for, we roam the rest of the mall. The boys go the arcade while I get myself some coffee. Wandering alone without the guys flanking me turns out to be a bad idea. Just as I take a seat at the café, with my drink and blueberry muffin, I’m ambushed almost instantly by Kimmy.
“So you’re still around.” She smirks at me and pulls out the chair opposite to mine.
