Love Drunk

Chapter 16

(Cole ^)

Cole

I bring my phone up to my ear, eagerly awaiting to hear Shale's voice. After the fourth ring, she finally picks up.

I swallow my nervousness and open my mouth to speak, but she beats me to it.

"I thought we agreed to go slow. It's been less than twelve hours since we last talked," she says with a sigh.

"I am taking it slow. Come and have coffee with me?" I ask hopefully, biting my lower lip in anticipation.

I hear a muffled voice on the other end of the phone and instantly know it's Olivia. I wait patiently while also panicking.

"When?" she answers finally with a sigh, causing my heart to leap with excitement.

"In an hour, I'll pick you up," I respond staring up at the ceiling in my bedroom.

"I'll be waiting," she says before hanging up on me.

I can't fight the smile that appears on my face as I think of Shale. My happiness slowly dims, though, as I remember how she's been acting lately. She's holding back, keeping her feelings in check and I hate how she's stopping herself from getting close to me again.

I know what I did was wrong, but she's killing me here. I love her and I just want her to feel even the smallest bit like me. I just want to be with her, but she's making it very difficult.

I let out a sigh and roll of my bed to get ready to leave.

I may not like how she's acting, but I meant it when I said I would wait for her. I will wait for her until she's ready to be with me again, and then I'll never let her go again.

Shale

"Are you sure you are okay with this?" I ask Olivia nervously as I sit beside her on the couch, playing with the hem of my shirt.

"Yes, I promise it's okay," Olivia assures me, removing my hand from the bottom of my shirt.

"It's just that...you're leaving and I might not see you again and I want to spend as much time with you as possible and..." I get out in a rush.

"Shale, calm down. Your life and happiness is important to me. I need to know that you are happy while I'm gone, okay? If Cole makes you happy, then you need to fix that gap between you two. I know he cheated on you...sort of...and I will forever hold him accountable for that, but he's trying so hard to get you back. You two are miserable without each other, so at least promise me you will try to fix your relationships. He can't do all the work, you have to meet him hallway though," Olivia says, willing me to understand.

She wants to make sure that I'm happy and taken care of when she's gone! She's leaving in three days to go back to war and she's worrying about me!

"I promise," I say pulling her into a tight hug.

The sound of a doorbell ringing pulls us apart. I look at Olivia nervously with a small smile on my face.

"Go," she ushers me off the couch and towards the front door.

I open it and find Cole standing there with a bouquet of roses in his hands. My heart stutters as I look at his smiling face. How can I keep my love at bay when he does things like that!

"For you," he says with a knowing smile, handing me the flowers.

I take them from him, our fingers touching briefly, sending sparks through my body. I open the door a little wider, allowing him to come in, before I move over to put them in a glass vase.

I turn back around to find Olivia watching us with an amused look over the top of the couch, her arms folded under her.

"Why are you two still here and not talking?" she asks, interrupting the awkward silence.

I let out a breathy laugh before waving goodbye and grabbing Cole's arm, pulling him out of my apartment. I realize what I did and move to release his arm, but he moves his hand, intertwining our fingers together.

I look up and meet his cool blue gaze, enjoying the shiver that passes down my spine. I missed his touch. I shake the thought away and move towards the elevator, unable to keep the smile off my face.

As soon as the elevator doors close behind us, I look over at Cole to find him already staring at me.

"Why do you keep watching me like a creepy stalker?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you're beautiful. I nearly lost you and I'm afraid you don't want to be with me anymore," he says, voicing his fears, while finally looking down at the ground.

"It's quite the opposite actually," I sigh, pulling my hand out of his.

"Huh?"

"I'm afraid you don't want to be with me anymore, you did cheat on me so..."

"No, Shale, that isn't true. Don't think that, ever. I want to be with you more than anything. You have no idea how much it hurt to lose you, even for the few days that we weren't together. I'll never let anything like that happen again, I promise," he says, cupping my face in his hands, forcing me to see the truth in his eyes.

With those few words, I can feel myself giving in to my heart. I love him and I can't just keep pushing him away.

He leans in slowly, giving me a chance to pull away from the kiss. My brain screams at me to pull back, but my heart doesn't let me. I meet him halfway, just as Olivia said, and our lips meet.

This kiss is unlike the other's we shared. This one is full of passion, portraying our love and fear of losing each other again. I can feel his love through the kiss, stronger than anything else, making it that much better.

I don't know if this fixes the rift between us, but it is definitely a large step, or multiple.

As the elevator doors open, we pull apart, breathless and smiling like fools. Cole grabs my hand and tugs me out of the elevator and out of the building, towards his car.

I get into the passenger side, loving the familiar feel of the cool leather. I close my eyes and inhale the new car smell as Cole climbs into the driver's side.

I feel his warm hand placed on my knee, an old habit, before he drives off. I make no move to remove his hand, instead, I place my own over his, looking the feel of his arm skin against my own.

I missed being with him, in the most simple ways. I missed his kisses and being with him physically, but I also missed hanging out with my best friend, I missed doing random shit, like walking through park in the middle of the night, or just sitting on the couch and watching a movie with him while he played with my hair.

I wanted it all back.