WHAT IF! cole walter

CHAPTER FOURTEEN, truth or dare with a twist

Cole had been cutting some wood for the fire when he noticed Hollyn stumbling towards him. He stops and raises his eyebrows with surprise. He never seen her like this. She was giggling, holding a red plastic cup in her hand. "Hollyn, are you drunk?"

Hollyn blinks at him, surprised by his question. "What? No, I'm not." She says, although her words are slurred. "I'm...Fine." She giggled again, her balance swaying.

"Uh-huh. Clearly." Cole deadpans as he set the axe down and reaches out to steady her before she tripped over a log. "Easy there. I think you've had enough for one night." He murmurs, taking the cup from her which earned a pout from her. "What even is this?" He asked, looking down at the dark liquid inside.

"I dunno. But it tastes really good." Hollyn grins, her eyes slightly glassy. "I've had lots of them. I forgot what Erin said it was called," She admits. "I tried a strawberry daiquiri earlier, that's my favorite so far. Erin made it."

Cole furrows his brows at her words. Erin made this? Since when did she and Erin become friends again? That was news to him. He couldn't believe that they were hanging out. He couldn't wrap his head around it. "Since when are you and Erin friends?"

"Oh, well, she apologized for being mean to me. And we talked it out. So we're gonna try and be friends again." Hollyn explains, a slight grin on her face. She looks back at the cup in his hands with a frown. "Hey, gimme that back. I wasn't finished." She pouted and tried to reach for it, but Cole holds it out of her reach.

"I don't think so." He shakes his head and downs the rest of the drink before tossing the empty cup. He didn't know what was in it, but it was strong. "Let's get you inside and get some water into you."

"But I don't want water." Hollyn whines, her lower lip jutting out in a childish manner. "I want more of that yummy drink." She grins as she thought of another drink. "Or maybe another strawberry daiquiri..."

Cole sighs and gently grabs her arm, tugging her towards the house. "Come on, short stuff. Let's go."

"But weren't you making wood for the fire or something?" She questions, looking back over at the axe in the stump. "You were really hot when you were chopping the wood, by the way." She added, grinning at him.

Cole feels his face flush at her words. He wasn't expecting her to say something like that. He clears his throat, trying to ignore the way his heart was hammering in his chest. Why was he acting like this when she said something like that? She was clearly drunk, she never would've said something like that when she was sober. "I can finish the wood later. You're more important." He muttered, leading her towards the house.

"Awe, so sweet." Hollyn smiles, leaning her head against his shoulder. "You're the best, Cole."

Cole couldn't help but smile, feeling his heart flutter at her words. Despite her drunken state, he appreciated the sentiment. "Thanks, short stuff." Hollyn giggled as they made their way inside, Cole gently guiding her through the door and towards the kitchen. Once there, he helped her sit down at the table before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and handing it to her.

She pouts at it, not looking pleased. "I don't want this."

"I don't care." He tells her as he opens the bottle and gives it to her. "Drink up. You need it. Don't make me force you." He warned.

Hollyn sighs and reluctantly takes a sip. She wrinkles her nose, not a fan of the taste. "Ugh, this is gross. It has no flavor." She whined, setting the bottle down.

"It's water, it's not supposed to have flavor." Cole retorts, giving her a pointed look. "Now drink up. I'm not kidding, I will force you to drink it if I have to."