Bound by Duty

Chapter Sixteen

Cole's apartment was a palace in comparison to mine. He lived just a few blocks from the gym and his living room was a wall of windows that faced the ocean. There were worse places to be stuck and I decided I should make the best of it. His dog, Charlie, a Great Dane, met me at the door. Charlie was absolutely a lover, not a fighter — even if he sat over three feet tall and weighed one-hundred and seventy pounds. He nosed his way into my arms, making me drop all of my bags as I laughed and gave him a full-on hug.

I knelt in front of him and loved him up, paying special attention to his ears, which he loved. Once I was covered in dog hair and slobber, I stood and told him to go lay down. Instead, Charlie promptly sat down and cocked his head at me. He was black and white spotted, but his head was all white except for the giant black spot covering his right eye and his big ears stood up in giant triangles. I couldn't help but tell him how pretty of a boy he was as I scratched his head again and took off for the guest bedroom.

By the time Cole got home, I was pretty settled in. I'd talked to Bethany, reassuring her that Charlie was fine, he just needed some shots every day for the next few weeks that Cole didn't have time for. I told her he was paying me to dog-sit and that she was welcome to come hang out. Since Cole had some protective measures in place, apparently an "I owe you" from someone he had met during his travels, he felt like his apartment was the safest place any of us could be right now. I'd caught up on my homework and checked my phone no fewer than forty times to see if I'd missed a message from Aidan. I couldn't bring myself to call or text him. After the way we'd ended things, he needed to be comfortable with telling me he was ready to see me again. If he ever was.

Cole kicked off our arrangement by reiterating all of his rules. Again.

"Do your own dishes. Don't throw towels on the floor. Keep your girly crap in your own space. Don't touch my PlayStation." I couldn't help but roll my eyes as he towered over me, ticking them off each of his fingers as he stood just in front of the couch.

"Really, Cole? I've been here before, and you're the one who wants me here, so chill out, okay?" He harrumphed and went to put in the frozen pizza we were sharing for dinner. I could tell he was trying to act normal, but there was still a definite wariness in him.

I followed him into the kitchen, leaning on the granite island countertop and fiddling with the vase filled with spatulas and other cooking utensils.

"So, are you ever going to tell me about your guy?" I tried to fake disinterest, but Cole saw right through me. "Nope. Sorry, Ame, but you get nothing. This is top secret and I'm not joking when I say that no one can know this guy exists. He's been off the radar for years."

I rolled my eyes. "This is all a little too cloak and dagger, don't you think?"

He stopped, the oven door half open. "I'm serious, Amelia. No one. Not even your little boyfriend, Aidan. Speaking of, what's the deal there? I'm afraid to ask, but I should probably know what he knows about you? I mean, not about you. You know what I mean!" He rushed through that last part, turning an adorable shade of red.

I couldn't help but egg him on. "Oh, you didn't want to know how our first kiss went? I mean, I can tell you exactly how he—"

"NO! BLECH. Just, no." Cole was walking around the kitchen, shaking himself out like he had caught cooties. Reacting to his weird antics, Charlie joined in the game, letting out thunderous woofs and jumping all over Cole.

"Good God. Down! Charlie, get down!" Cole was pushing at Charlie, which of course Charlie only saw as escalating the game. I, on the other hand, doubled over in laughter. Cole seemed so big and strong until his mammoth dog started to play games, too.