Only, Always, and Forever You

17 - Hair Braiding

Amara's POV:

After Cole says that he's taking me somewhere, I accept— a little too soon for my liking but whatever. But now, I feel somewhat panicked.

And you'd think I feel this way because I'm being taken out to spend time with a boy. But no.

I'm panicking over what I'm going to wear.

"Cole, can you please give me a hint so I know what to wear?" I whine, pleading for him to tell me.

I can't go out looking stupid. I need to be able to dress for the occasion, but since I have no idea what the occasion is, I can't dress for it!

"Why do girls care so much about their outfits?" he drawls with an eye roll.

"Because I don't want to look like an idiot- I can't wear heels or jeans if we're going to the beach, and I can't wear a t-shirt if we're going somewhere cold," I explain in a 'duh' tone.

"I'll tell you what," he reasons, "I'll keep it a secret, but I'll pick your outfit out for you so you still wear something appropriate."

"You really want to do that?" my heart weirdly warms at his compromise.

"Amara, you know I wouldn't offer if I didn't," he says, and I smile at how well he remembers the little moments. The little details.

I can't help that the butterflies return.

* * *

It's been about twenty minutes since Cole went into my closet, and I've been patiently waiting for him to pick out an outfit for me ever since. I'm actually surprised he's taking so much time doing this, he must be putting in a lot of thought, which I appreciate.

He walks out of my closet, holding his chosen outfit on display. And I'm thoroughly impressed...

He holds up a black mini-skirt, a red baby-tee, an oversized denim jacket that I thrifted a while back, and my favorite white socks with little embroidered red hearts.

"I thought you could wear this with your Doc Marten's and maybe some tights, but I didn't want to go poking through your drawers to try and find them," He explains, clearly having put a lot of careful consideration into every detail.

"Big fan of red, are we?" I tease, seeing all of the red accents in my outfit, as well as his own.

"It's my favorite color, so I like it when you wear it," he explains and shrugs nonchalantly, but my insides explode at his words, and I start to blush like a madman.

I get dressed and put on some light makeup, only some lipgloss, mascara, and a tiny bit of concealer.

I'm brushing my hair when I feel a hand gently grab my arm. Cole looks at me through the vanity mirror that I'm facing, and he takes the hair brush from my hand, brushing my long, black hair for me.

Then he parts my hair into three sections and begins to braid it, leaving out my curtain bangs.

"Where did you learn to braid?" I ask incredulously, a warm ness filling my heart at his sweet gesture.

"My mom," he states simply, and I stay quiet, hoping he continues, which he does, "She taught me how to braid her hair when I was young, and she told me it was because she couldn't reach behind her head. I knew it was a lie, but I learned nonetheless. I just liked to spend time with her, but now I'm glad I learned the skill; I finally have a use for it."

I smile at him through the mirror, meeting his eyes for a second before they return to my hair.

"What's she like?" I question hesitantly, wanting him to continue but not wanting it to end up like the last time.

He smiles to himself and takes a deep breath before speaking, "She's soft and kind. I get my green eyes, freckles, and brown hair from her. She's paler than I am, but stunning nonetheless."

"She sounds beautiful," I say sweetly.

"She is. Other than you and Luke, she's the only other person in this world that I can tolerate. Not just tolerate though, I admire my mom. She's kind and funny, and she's thoughtful and gentle. She's strong, too. She's gone through a lot, and she basically raised me on her own," he explains, and I can't help but admire his mom with him.

She seems like an amazing woman and a great parent. Probably the better parent, too, based on what I've heard about Cole's father...

Cole finishes braiding my long hair, but doesn't tie it at the end, he just hands me the braid with a defeated look instead.

"What is it?" I ask, concerned.

"I never really understood how to use the hair ties, this is about as far as I go," he admits and I let out a little giggle. I was expecting him to say something worrisome.

"What are you laughing at, Fadel?" He mocks with a small grin, and I can sense the slight humor in his tone.

"Oh, nothing," I sigh, catching my breath from laughter, "I guess I'll have to be the one to teach you how to tie a hair tie."

We both smile at each other fondly through the mirror.

"Then teach me right now," he says, not breaking eye contact through the glass.

He sits down on my bed, which is right next to my vanity, and pays close attention as I demonstrate.

"I find it easiest if you start with the hair tie on your dominant wrist," I explain.

"What if I have two dominant wrists?" He questions playfully.

"Pick whichever dominant whatever you want," I dismiss him, trying to continue with my impromptu tutorial.

"That might be difficult. There's a lot of dominant things about me..." He teases with a large smirk.

I almost choke on my words at this, and I have to turn away to stop him from seeing my flustered cheeks. I hear him chuckle lightly.

I quickly finish the tutorial and get up, leaving my room to go put my shoes on.

When I finally get my Docs on, Cole is standing by the door, waiting for me, and wearing a smirk on his face as usual.

"So, are you still not telling me where we're going?" I whine, trying to forget what he said a few minutes ago.

"I thought we had a deal, princess? I wouldn't tell you where, but I'd help you with your outfit?" He asks, his smirk remaining on his mouth.

"Fine," I drawl, a small grin creeping onto my face at the endearment. It's starting to stick and I love it.

We leave my building and walk over to his car. I hop into the front seat and buckle my seat belt. He gets in the drivers side, but before we can start driving, he turns to me and hands me a blindfold.

"Is this really necessary?" I groan.

"Yes, now put it on and sit tight, it's not a long drive," he responds directly, urging me to take the blindfold.

I inevitably give in and tie the cloth around my eyes before I feel the car start to move.

Wish me luck...