Back To You

Chapter 3

"White wine or do you want a beer?" Delilah asked as Cole put the Chinese food down on the counter.

"Beer."
"Of course." She laughed."sorry about dinner... Caroline's maternity shoot took longer than I expected..."
"It's cool." Cole sipped his beer. "So you wanna give me a tour before we eat or after?"
"Ummm... Let's do it now."

She showed him the house and he was impressed by the fact she was doing it on her own. No help from Luke or her parents. This was strictly Delilah's house.

They finished the tour in the kitchen were they started. She dishes out the food and they got comfortable at the counter.

They laughed and joked through the meal like old friends do. He even helped her clean up the kitchen.

She handed him another beer as a loud clap of thunder shook the house. "Wow. I didn't even realize it was raining again."

"Still love the sound of rain?" He asked as he took a pull from the bottle.
"Of course." She grinned.

The lights chose that moment to flicker before the house dropped into complete darkness.

"Cole?"he heard her voice quiver.
"I'm right here." He reached for her hand.

Delilah took a deep breath. No one but family knew her reason for being afraid of the dark. Cole pulled her closer. "You got a flashlight?"

"Third drawer by the sink. There's matches there too."

He pulled his phone from his pocket to find what he was looking for. He found the matches and flashlight right where she said they'd be. The beam lit up the dark room.

"Here." He passed the matches to her. "Let's go sit in the living room."

She lit the candles on the mantel with a shaky hand before joining him on the floor. Cole was leaned against the couch.

"You ok?"
"Yea..." She hesitated."can you stay? I mean I don't wanna be alone in the storm."
"I'm not going anywhere." He answered softly.
"Thank you."

They were silent for a long moment before he spoke again."Lils, are you ever gonna tell me why the dark scares you?"

She swallowed hard."someday... Just not right now."
"Well whenever you're ready to talk about it, I'm here."

She leaned into him and they listened to the rain fall. She must have dozed off because the next thing she knew, he was carrying her into her bedroom.

Cole eased her down on the bed. Her eyes opened and she grabbed his shirt. "Cole?"
"Hmmm?"
"Don't go. Stay."
"I'm not goin anywhere. Just wanna make sure your lights are off if the power comes back on."

She released him."ok."
"Get ready for bed."

She slipped into a gray tank and shorts before sliding between the sheets.

Her eyes were closed as Cole came back into the bedroom. He grabbed a blanket and a pillow before dropping a kiss onto her head ."good night, Lila Bear."

The next morning she woke to the shower running. She slipped from the bed and headed down the stairs. The rain was still falling and the power was still out.

"Damn it." Delilah mumbled. She wanted coffee. She needed coffee.
A few seconds later Cole appeared in the doorway wearing just a towel around his waist.

Her eyes traveled down his well toned chest to his bare feet then back up.

She caught his smile."see something you like?"

She swallowed hard. "Shut up. It's early and I haven't had coffee yet."
"Ahhhh... The dreaded coffee affair is still in affect."
"Yes! And I need coffee." A whine slipped out of her mouth. "Power is still out."

"I tell you what... Go get dressed and I'll take you for breakfast before I head home."
He kissed her head as she moved past him to go up the stairs.

Cole watched her through breakfast. She was stunningly beautiful without an ounce of makeup on. He had loved being there for her last night. Loved being in her house. Just the two of them. It would have been better had he been in the bed with her. "Wait, what?" He thought to himself. "This is my best friends baby sister. I can't be thinking about bein in bed with her." But he was.. It was all he could think about.

He wanted to kiss her breathless. He wanted her to whisper his name and reach across the bed for him at night. He wanted to wake up with her in tangled sheets.

"Cole?" Delilah snapped her fingers in front of his face. He shook his head. "Sorry. What? I was lost in my own head."
"I said this has been fun."
"Oh totally."he downed the last of his orange juice before standing. "You ready?"

When she smiled at him his heart skipped a beat. "Yup I'm in trouble." He told himself.