Page 237 of Summer Heat
“It doesn’t matter, baby,” he says against my lips. “That’s in the past.”
He lifts me up and walks us over to the shower, holding me tightly against his body. I lean my head on his shoulder and smile contently. As scared as I am to get involved with him again, I know I can’t continue to live my life with him as just a friend. I can’t keep letting him date other women and act like I’m okay with it, because I’m not. As he slides me down his body, I smile at him and let myself feel happy. I just need to figure out how to keep him in my life. Safely.
Chapter Nine
Past
I was waiting for Cole to pick me up for our anniversary date. I knew he had planned something special because Becky made sure I pampered more than usual. She asked me about a hundred times if I remembered to shave my legs. She even checked my underarms. That girl was something else. She gave me the “birds and the bees” talk—in her own strange way—which was hilarious.
“You’re still on the pill, right?” Becky asked anxiously.
“Jesus, Becky, yes!” I replied, rolling my eyes.
She let out a breath. “Chill out, Blake. I just want this to be perfect for you. I don’t want you to worry about anything later.”
Cole and I hadn’t gone past second base—mainly because we were interrupted every.single.time we were about to do more. I had no idea how Becky and Greg found a way to have sex in our house when they stayed here on weekends.
When I heard the doorbell ring, I smiled and sprinted to the door. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered when I saw Cole leaning against the doorframe. The backward baseball cap he was wearing hid his messy brown hair and made his green eyes look bigger and brighter. He was wearing his dark-wash jeans, black boots, and a black cable sweater that hugged his defined body. He licked his lips slowly as his eyes wandered over my body. He took every inch of me in, making me feel exposed in a way that only he could. I smiled and threw my arms around his neck, as he chuckled and pulled me close to him, lifting me and snuggling his face in the crook of my neck.
“I love how you smell,” he whispered. “You look beautiful as always.”
“So do you...as always,” I replied with a smile.
I inhaled his scent, a mix of his favorite Jean Paul Gaultier cologne and the pine-and-clove body wash he used. He smelled like a masculine Christmas tree. My favorite smell in the world was Cole. He closed the door behind us and walked me to his car. I still had no idea where he was taking me but that was what usually happened when Cole took me out. He insisted that everything be a surprise, and even though I hated surprises, I always loved his. When we got into the car, he took out a blindfold and showed it to me.
My eyes widened. “No. Hell. No!”
He bit down on his lip to keep from laughing at the expression on my face. “Please? It’s only until we get there. I want this to be a surprise,” he pouted. Damn it. I hated when he pouted, he looked so cute.
My shoulders slumped. “Fine, but if I start freaking out you’ll take it off, right?”
His smile was replaced by a frown. “Of course, baby. Why would you freak out?”
The truth was, I didn’t know, but as soon as I saw the blindfold, my heart went into overdrive. I took a deep breath and let him blindfold me. I was with Cole, I was safe.
We drove for what seemed like hours, even though Cole assured me it had only been ten minutes. When the car stopped, I heard him take a deep breath and shift in his seat.
“I’m going to take it off now, okay?” I faced the window so that he could untie it.
I blinked a couple of times before my face broke into a smile. I stared at the Bed and Breakfast in awe; I couldn’t believe he remembered. We’d gotten a flat tire in front of that place before we started dating. I remembered telling Cole something about it looking romantic and hoping my future boyfriend would take me there someday. I remembered him choking on the water he was drinking at the mention of a future boyfriend taking me to a bed-and-breakfast but never thought anything of it.
“I hope you didn’t make plans for tomorrow morning,” he said snapping me out of the memory. I looked over to him and smiled so wide my face hurt.
“I can’t believe you remembered,” I said, shaking my head.
“How could I not remember? I would never forget anything my favorite girl tells me,” he replied before giving me a soft peck on the lips.
After checking us in, Cole led me to our room. The rooms were close together, and I wondered if Cole was out of his mind booking this place for our first time—because this had to be our first time. The rooms were closer together here than they were at Maggie’s. When he opened the door to our room, we stepped into a spacious Victorian style mini palace. It had a large white four post king-size bed, an adorable vanity, and a bathroom bigger than the one we had at Maggie’s.
“This place is beautiful,” I said in awe as I looked around. I heard voices in the hallway and gave him a panicked look. “Oh my God, the walls are so thin,” I whispered as I buried my face in my hands.
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Cole chuckled and made his way to me, wrapping me in his arms and kissing the top of my head. “I know baby, but we can never be alone at Maggie’s. We have the worst luck in the world,” he pouted. “Besides, you said you wanted your boyfriend to bring you here, and since you’re never going to have another boyfriend, it was bestowed upon me,” he said as he winked.
I tilted my head and pressed my chin on his chest to look at him. “You’re right.” I smiled.
“I brought you clothes. I had Becky pack your stuff, so if there’s anything you don’t approve of, blame her.”
