Pulling away from Cole, I laugh and go to my mother. I snatch a slice of bacon from the plate on the counter and take a bite.
“Everything smells really good,” I hike up onto my tiptoes to kiss her cheek, which she returns with a smile. “Thank you for allowing Cole to come over for breakfast.”
She flips a pancake before turning to face me. “He seemed very eager to see you. We can’t have him sneaking around, can we?” she teases, smiling. “Don’t let the past get in your way. Maggie, your father and I, we are all in the past. I see the way Cole looks at you. Are you happy?” I nod, shoving the bacon in my mouth. “He’s a handsome boy.” She falls silent for a few seconds. I have a feeling she wants to say something so I wait in the silence. “Elise told me what happened between Cole and your father. I’ve never seen you so happy, honey. I know that you and Cole are still young and no one knows what the future holds. You’ll need to fight for Cole. Don’t let him destroy your life like he did mine. Promise me that, honey. Promise me.”
I huff and whisper, making sure my voice doesn’t carry across the room. “I don’t get it. Why don’t you just leave? You said it’s complicated but seriously? I can’t think of anything that would force you to stay.”
She winces and closes her eyes, taking deep breathes. “Just promise me.”
I sigh in frustration, but end up wrapping my hands around her waist. “I promise.”
After breakfast, Cole proposes that he and I head for a swim at the local community swimming pool, which is heated in the months after summer when the temperatures drop.
As soon as he leaves to get his stuff, I pack mine, kiss and hug my sisters and Mom. I head for the door. When I reach the Holloway compound, I see Josh is already on the passenger seat in Cole’s car. Cole told me last evening, after our run that his brother was doing much better. He was discharged from the hospital and will go back to school in a couple of days. Cole arrives a few minutes later and we drive off.
Cole’s head breaks out of the water and he swims toward where am I with smooth strokes of his arms. He turns to glare at a dark-haired boy, who has been swimming close to me on and off since I stepped into the pool. The look on my boyfriend’s face is enough to send the boy wading backwards, his arms raised in surrender. I chuckle under my breath, remembering the other boys Cole has told off when he saw them staring at me.
He is in a protective mood today.
Cole reaches me and cages me in with his arms on both sides of my body before he leans forward to kiss my neck. He pins me with his body, pushing his pelvis against me and I shiver.
God.
It still amazes me that I do this to Cole. Arouse him. Cause his breath to stall in his chest. . .it’s such a powerful feeling.
He removes his hands from the wall behind me. “I love your mouth,” he signs, his eyes on my mouth then dropping lower to my chest, which is hardly visible above the water. “I imagine those lips on my skin, driving me wild.” He mouths the words at the same time as signing them, since I’m still catching up with my lessons.
His fingers wrap around my waist, then skim the edge of my bikini panties with bold, deliberate strokes.
“Oh!” My cheeks are hot, my body on fire and my eyes scanning around me. “What are you doing? We can’t do that here, Cole.”
“Unless you prefer to talk and tell me what is going on with you, I’ll just let my hands do the talking.”
I shake my head and push his chest. “That’s not fair, you big brute.”
He chuckles and shakes his head, and I swim around him while making sure my two piece is still intact before climbing the ladder out of the pool.
I shake the water from my hair, then look over my shoulder when I feel Cole’s eyes on me. His eyebrows are bunched in a frown, his lips pursed.
I force a smile and point to the lounge chairs on the other side of the pool, letting him know I’m heading there.
“You’re hot.”
I twist around, searching for the owner of the voice. I can’t remember the last time anyone said those words to me, which is why I’m curious and want to get a look at the person who said them. Two boys sit on the lounge chairs close to the pool, who earlier had approached me inside the pool—making rude remarks about what they would do to my body. Cole almost got into a fight with them. I guess they got scared when Josh showed up. The guy with blond, straight hair eyes me from head to toe, his gaze lingering a little too long on my chest and wets his lips.
Creep.
I spin around and continue my little journey. My steps falter when I hear the same voice say, “Too bad her arms are ugly. Did Daddy and Mommy not love you enough? Freak.”
I suck in a breath and swivel around to face them, the magnitude of the cruelty in those words causing me to breathe fast. I take a few steps toward them. I’m not even sure what I want to do, which stops me cold in my tracks. I flex my fingers and walk toward them.
“Do we know each other?” I ask.