by Keary Taylor
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The day seemed to be confused on what type of weather it wanted to have. One would never know there had been ice on the roads this morning through all the beautiful sunshine and rising temperatures. As I got on the freeway I actually turned the heater completely off. Strange weather for February.
I gently eased the truck into the garage and walked back out to the road to check the mailbox. I softly hummed to myself as I sorted through the Wrights mail and walked back to the house, wondering what you were supposed to do with it all when the intended recipients were deceased. Well, that was up to Alex now I supposed.
“Hey.”
I jumped nearly a foot into the air, dropping several envelopes, when I heard the voice just a few feet in front of me.
Cole had seated himself on the bottom step leading up to the doorway. Had he not said anything, I would have walked right into him. He had his arms crossed over his knees, looking up at me with that too perfect smile.
“I thought since you were busy tonight we could go for a little excursion,” he said with hopeful eyes that no one could have said no to.
My mouth opened and closed more than once before I could make any sound come out. “Uh…yeah. I guess.”
“Great,” he said as he stood. I then noticed that he had already changed into a pair of jeans and a light sweater. He was also the only male I had ever seen wear a scarf and not look in the least bit gay.
“I’ll, uh…just go in and change,” I said as I opened the door slightly.
“Mind if I come in?”
My vocal chords were still unwilling to work so I only shook my head and let him come in behind me. I set the mail on the dining room table before turning to the fridge.
“Would you like something to drink?” I called. “There’s milk, orange juice, or water.” I did feel a little guilty for looking through Alex’s food but I didn’t want to be rude.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Cole said, making himself comfortable on one of the couches. “So this Alex guy isn’t going to storm in here any second and shoot me for entering his house is he?”
I struggled for a second to answer, not sure how I felt about his comment. “No,” I finally replied. “Alex had to go to California. He’ll be gone till, well, for a while.”
Cole only nodded as he looked around the house, taking his surroundings in.
“I hope you don’t mind waiting for a little bit. I’d kind of like to shower.”
“Of course,” he said with a nod and a grin.
I didn’t wait to look any more like an idiot and ran downstairs, trying hard to not trip over myself.
The water hadn’t even completely gotten hot before I shut it off, hoping I had managed to get all the shampoo out. I threw on the first sweater and pair of jeans I came across and yanked a brush through my hair before resurfacing; a whole ten minutes had maybe passed.
“Ok,” I huffed as I came back into the main room. “So, where are we going?”
Cole’s eyes wandered very non-subtly from my head to foot, not bothering to cover up the grin that tugged in one corner of his lips. I could feel the blood rush into my cheeks and couldn’t help but feel flattered and embarrassed at the same time.
“I noticed the canoe tucked under the deck and thought maybe we could go out in that, if that would be okay with Alex?”
The fleeting moment of flattery passed as slight irritation filled me. I didn’t really understand why it flustered me so to have him talk about Alex. “Alex won’t mind,” I said as I walked out onto the deck and led Cole down the stairs to the lower deck of my apartment.
It only took us a moment to pull the large canoe out, maneuver it down to the dock, and roll it off the side into the water. I accepted the hand Cole offered as I stepped shakily into the canoe.
We each took a paddle and slowly started making our way out into the water. A sudden rush of embarrassment washed over me, realizing we were definitely going to be the only ones out on the water. No one went out in the middle of February. I felt embarrassingly on display and too obviously in everyone’s view.
“Is this good?” I asked as we got about a third of the way across.
“Sure,” Cole said from behind me. I slid my paddle into the bottom. Carefully bracing my hands on either side I turned around to face Cole.
“Are you alright?” he said, his expression both amused and anxious at the same time. “You look a bit flushed.”
“I’m fine,” I said with a huff, glad I had not fallen into the water. I couldn’t help but return the playful grin Cole shined at me.
I felt momentarily uncomfortable as I wondered if his plan was to simply sit out here on the lake and float around for an unknown amount of time. Luckily I was saved from wondering in silence for too long.
“There don’t seem to be a whole lot of people living here. What do you do for fun around here?” he asked, waiting as though my answer would be the most interesting thing he would ever hear.
“Um…” I struggled to answer, not exactly willing to divulge to this glorious being how pathetic I truly was. “Yeah, it’s pretty quiet until around Memorial Day. Believe me, there will be plenty of people here after then. As for fun around here… let’s just say I don’t get around or out much. I’m kind of pathetic like that I guess.” There, I told the truth.
A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “We will have to try our best to change that now that I am here. I will do some checking around and find us something very entertaining to do next week.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at Cole’s enthusiasm. There were other feelings going on at the same time though. Cole almost seemed to be sending electric currents through his intense gaze as his eyes locked with mine. Strange emotions ran though me as I couldn’t help but stare back into the perfection of his face. There was a sense of familiarity about Cole and yet at the same time, I knew he was like no one I had ever met before.
Conversation seemed to come naturally for Cole as he kept up a constant flow of it. It wasn’t easy diverting attention away from myself, telling about my past was difficult without letting on that something was very wrong with me. Cole brushed lightly on his childhood in England. He had grown up in a fairly small town but from the sound of it, the population was made up of fairly wealthy people and apparently, the Emerson’s were no exception.
“So how old are you, Jessica?” he asked as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
“Twenty,” I answered, meeting his intense eyes, daring him to make a comment back about me being young. “How old are you?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow.
Cole chuckled. “I just turned twenty-six.” I almost missed how he seemed to have to think about his answer.
“Aren’t you a too old, you know, for this?” I teased as I made a circle with my fingers, indicating us and the situation we were in.
“Come on!” he joked back. “Don’t be like that!”
We both laughed, moving on to mundane questions about favorite books, colors, foods.
Perhaps I had been overly sensitive before. Cole had come off as judgmental and almost possessive at first. Maybe I was wrong. Cole was the perfect gentleman and I was beginning to feel perfectly at ease in his presence.
Two hours must have passed as I noticed the sun had already left the highest position in the sky and was heading west. We had slowly drifted back toward the shore and were not too far from the house. A slight lull in conversation settled and my mind reeled for something to fill the silence. I was, however, coming up blank.
“Can I be perfectly honest with you, Jessica?” I was momentarily relieved when he finally broke the silence, but once I registered his question, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly uneasy.
“Of course,” I stammered, twisting my hands together in my lap.
“I really enjoy spending time with
you,” he said, his eyes glowing with intensity. He sat forward, reaching for my hand, which I hesitantly gave him. “I’m not going to pretend otherwise. I like you very much, Jessica. I feel like I have a very strong connection to you.”
My heart hammered in my chest and had my brain been functioning correctly, I would have been embarrassed by the possibility that he might be able to hear it. My mouth opened once but with no words for them to say I unconsciously closed it.
It was difficult to tell if Cole was waiting for me to say something. His expression seemed sincere as he continued his unwavering gaze. He leaned forward ever so slowly until his face was less than a foot from mine.
As his smell drifted into my space I had a hard time remembering why I wasn’t jumping headlong into the arms Cole seemed to have opened for me. It seemed the perfect male specimen had just walked into my life. Not only was his face and body absolutely perfect and flawless, he seemed to be flattering and considerate. Why was I been holding back again?
As these thoughts raced through my head, I had hardly noticed Cole had continued to move closer until something automatic within turned my head just as his lips were about to meet mine.
I heard him give a frustrated sounding chuckle before he planted a very soft and gentle kiss on my cheek. I very nearly shuddered as an unexpected cold current raced down my spine.
When he sat back there was no evidence of the frustration I’d heard or any signs of rejection. His face was simply calm and serene.
“Shall we head back?” he said smoothly.
I could only nod before I stiffly returned to my seat at the front of the canoe.
Cole said nothing as we cleaned up from our afternoon, for which I was glad, despite the awkwardness that hung in the air. I simply didn’t know what to say. He didn’t seem dejected in any way as most men probably would. He still held that air of absolute confidence about him, teetering on the edge of arrogance without being irritating. There was a certain look in his eyes as well, almost as if he knew he would eventually get his way. With everything.
“I will see you later then,” he said with that smile. He gently tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, sending another tingling shiver rippling through my body as his skin brushed mine. He then turned and walked back up the hill to the road.
Despite the beautiful sunshine I was suddenly freezing. Another uncontrollable shiver shook me and I hurried inside and cranked the heater up past eighty degrees.
X
I sat with my arms wrapped around my legs, my chin resting on my knees, teetering on the edge of my tiny couch. I couldn’t shake the cold that seemed to have seeped into my skin.
There was something strange about Cole. From the outside he seemed fine, more than fine. Perfect. He could be a perfect gentleman when he wanted to be but those glimpses I caught of underlying emotions frightened me. Like Mr. Hyde was waiting just under the surface, waiting for that weak moment in Dr. Jekyll to break loose.
While these feelings were strong, I could not deny that I felt something toward Cole. He had called it a connection. Maybe that was what it was. There was something that was strangely familiar about him, as if I should already know him and had known him for a long time. Or perhaps it was more just physical attraction than connection. Hormones reacting to a flawless face and body.
I rubbed my arms vigorously, trying to shake the cold and rising, festering feelings. I suddenly didn’t want to think about Cole and longed for something comforting and secure feeling.
Before I even realized fully what I was doing, I had the phone in my hand and dialed the number I had memorized.
Oddly, I felt perfectly calm and steady as I listened to the phone ring. I did, however, feel a crushing disappointment when after three rings the voicemail kicked in. And even more disappointed when it was the standard female’s voice telling me to leave a message, not the one I longed to hear.
I didn’t leave a message as I was unsure of what to even say. He would know it was me who called anyway when he saw the number under his missed calls.
Not five seconds after I hung up the phone rang, sending my heart leaping up into my throat.
“Hello?” I answered, too much excitement in my voice.
“Hi Jessica, it’s Emily!”
“Oh,” I couldn’t help but sound a little disappointed.
“Not who you were expecting?” she half laughed.
“Oh no, sorry,” I tried to quickly recover. “I just hung up, he didn’t answer.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she rushed on and I was grateful I didn’t have to keep trying to scramble. “I looked at the movie times and there’s one at noon and another at two. I was kind of thinking the two. That would give us some time to get lunch and walk around the mall before.”
“Yeah, that sounds great,” I said and meant it.
“Okay, I’ll just meet you at the food court in the mall around noon then?”
“I’ll see you then.”
Emily said a quick good-bye and hung up.
