Cole frowned for a second. I could tell that he didn’t want to do anything else, well, not with them anyway. Ben must have noticed it too because he nodded once and turned to Kerry, telling her he wanted her all to himself for the rest of the evening. She seemed happy with that and they quickly said their goodbyes.
Cole let out a sigh of relief. “I know they’re my friends, but I just want you,” he whined. I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not. He had that cheeky half-smile on his face. “Ice cream, Miss Farrell?” Grinning, I fell against his side, pushing him towards the car.
It was too late for the café, so we went to McDonalds again, and sat in his car eating our McFlurries.
“You okay? We can go somewhere else if you’re bored.” I shook my head.
He suddenly chuckled at something, pulling a heaped spoonful of ice cream out of the tub. He wouldn’t, would he? I watched his smile become more pronounced, more mischievous, and I knew what he was about to do.
My eyes widened, and I held my hands up in surrender. I really didn’t want to be all sticky and gross on my first date with the guy I was utterly crazy about. Before I could blink, he flicked the spoon, sending the ice cream flying at me. It landed on my top with a soft thud and fell onto my lap. Gasping, I swung the car door open and hopped out of the car. Oh, you’re going down, Benson!
Cole’s laughter blocked out the sound of a group of teens shouting and messing around outside McDonalds and the couple arguing in a car nearby. After brushing the remains of the freezing cold ice cream from my top and jeans, I scooped up some ice cream and flicked it at him through the door. Surprisingly, despite my rubbish aim, it landed on his chest. He stopped laughing immediately and looked down at the ice cream and chocolate sauce that was running down his t-shirt.
“You need to run,” he warned, slowly putting his ice cream down on the dashboard. I sprinted off, not in any particular direction, just away from him. His footsteps and heavy breathing became louder. My heart danced knowing he had almost caught me and adrenaline pumped through my body. Faster! Pushing my legs harder, I managed to increase my speed. It wasn’t enough though. Cole’s arm wound around my waist, and we both stumbled and fell to the floor.
“Too slow!” he exclaimed, rolling me over and pinning me to the ground. I couldn’t move at all. I wanted to struggle, but at the same time, I didn’t. He didn’t seem to notice my internal freak out, and I was grateful for that.
“What you gonna do now, huh?” Gulping, I tried to work that out for myself. I didn’t like being held down, but I didn’t completely hate it with Cole. It was different with him – playful. But it still felt too close to something else, something that wasn’t playful. Not playful at all.
“You okay?” He let go of my wrists and sat up. Relief flooded my system as I was freed. I’m not ready for that yet.
Sitting up next to him, I smiled reassuringly. Technically he hadn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t know why I hated being held down. I couldn’t be mad at him. He smiled and slowly lowered his head towards mine. His eyes danced with excitement as his lips pressed so gently against mine.
I pulled away when I couldn’t take all of the conflicting feelings and crazy hormones anymore. Kissing him felt good, way too good. But as usual the time had got away from us, and we had to get back. The end of the night always left me feeling a little down, but I would see him again in the morning.
Dad was sitting in the lounge watching television when I walked in, waiting up for me again no doubt. I always wondered if he waited up because he was worried about me, or worried that I would have said something to someone, after all this time.
“Did you have a good time?” he asked, switching the TV off with the remote. I nodded and yawned, the day’s activities catching up with me.
“Good. Come one, bedtime.”
He didn’t look me in the eye once. Something was wrong. I felt uneasy, even more than usual when I was alone with him. I followed Dad upstairs and he kissed my forehead before going into his bedroom. Something’s definitely wrong.
Cole’s text arrived just as I got into bed, momentarily taking my mind off Dad.
Chapter Seven
Oakley
In the morning, I woke up feeling happier than I had in a very long time. Things were looking up and I was, for the first time, feeling hopeful for the future. My date with Cole yesterday had put me in a good mood, and we had another date tonight! I felt like nothing could pop my happy little bubble.