“I’d love to go,” Lauren murmurs.
The minivan rolls to a stop, and we return all the equipment. I don’t want our time together to be over yet, so after we say our goodbyes and thanks, and make our way to my truck, I say with a casual glance at my watch, “I’m in the mood for something to eat. You hungry?”
There’s only a slight pause, like she’s weighing what to do. Before frustration can settle into my chest, or I can say something like “It’s only food, Lauren, don’t second-guess everything,” she says, “That would be great. I’m starving.”
The sincerity in her words, and the fact that she wants to be around me too, makes me feel like I walk on air.
Lauren
I take a bite of my cheeseburger and groan with pleasure, closing my eyes and chewing as slowly as I can to taste all the flavors. “This is the best burger I’ve ever had in my life.” I’m ravenous, probably from my nerves being on edge for like three hours straight while we ziplined. “I feel like I could eat an entire cow.”
I hear Cole chuckle, and I open my eyes to find him watching me, a smirk on his face. “I’ll have our server pass your compliments to the chef.”
I finish chewing and swallow, then take a sip of soda, mulling over our experience today. “So, is that how you felt when—” I pause and shake my head. No, that’s a super stupid question.
“What? What were you going to ask?” Cole tilts his head.
“It was dumb, sorry.” I wave my hand and dig into another bite. I don’t want to see his face get shadowed again, or feel him pull away from me like he did the last time we talked about his service.
“No, it wasn’t quite like that,” Cole says in a gentle voice, clearly guessing at what I was going to ask. My cheeks burn. “The fear over there was almost overwhelming at times, though we all did our best to push that aside and focus on our jobs. But when we got through a dangerous situation and it all came out okay in the end, that’s when that high would kick in, like ‘I did it—I made it through something that would have broken most everyone else.’ At that point, I felt like I could do anything. Climb a mountain and jump off the top. Or eat an entire cow.” The last words are said in a teasing tone.
“Sorry. I have foot-in-mouthitis,” I say. “It was an insensitive thing to ask you. Of course the situations aren’t the same at all. I just… I don’t live in a world where I experience adrenaline rushes like that. Probably a good thing.”
Cole reaches over and strokes my finger, one long, leisurely touch that sets my skin alight in goosebumps. I swallow and try to pretend like I don’t want him to kiss my face off. “You don’t have to be afraid to ask me anything. I’ll tell you everything you want to know. No question is dumb, kitten.”
How do you feel about me? The question is right on the end of my tongue, and I struggle to not ask. Despite the courage I bolstered on the zipline, I’m still afraid. I know I don’t want to just be friends with him. I’m attracted to him. And I’m feeling something else too, that I can’t quite define yet. This…sweet, painful punch in my heart that makes me unable to stop thinking about Cole.
Since he’s moved back, I’ve seen him in a whole new light. And I’m developing feelings for him. And I’m scared to death that all he wants is sex, and I’ll look like a total idiot asking him to explore dating.
Maybe I need to go back on the zipline and ask after rushing along one of the ropes, right when I’m feeling my most courageous.
“I can see you thinking hard,” he murmurs, the corner of his mouth crooking into a curl.
“I’m just remembering about how much fun I had,” I say, a partial lie, partial truth.
We eat our burgers and fries mostly in silence, a companionable space that comes from knowing someone over half your life. The questions won’t stop battering my brain, though.
What would it be like to date Cole? Would he be open to the idea, or does he just want a friends-with-benefits situation? How does he feel about me? When will I find my nerve to ask him?
I peek up at him through my lashes, watch the way his finger strokes the lip of his glass. How his gaze darts around the room, always aware, alert for danger. He’s definitely changed from the quiet, shy boy he used to be.
This Cole is all sexy predator. A hunter.
And damn if I don’t want him to hunt me.