Love Drunk

Chapter 17

(Shale ^)

Cole

I stare at Shale as she takes a sip of her coffee, unaware of my heated gaze. She's looking out at the window, watching as people pass by on the busy New York streets. Her chocolate hair spills over her shoulder in delicate waves, causing me to smile, remembering the silky feel of her hair.

I snap out of my thoughts as she clears her throat, smirking at me with a knowing glint in her eyes. I feel my cheeks heat up, but I quickly hide it by taking a sip of my coffee.

"So how has the restaurant ben going?" she asks, leaning forward, her forearms resting on the table while her coffee mug sits in her hands.

"Really good. We just finished redecorating. I'm thinking about doing a grand opening next week and getting my mother to advertise it," I say, watching as her smile broadens.

"I'm glad it's going well..."

"Would you like to be my date to the opening?" I ask, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

I see her let out a sigh, though a smile fights its way onto her perfect face.

"Of course," she says finally with a bright smile, taking my breath away."So what else is new?" she asks, taking another sip of her coffee.

"Nothing really. I've kept to myself, well except for Zach the other night..."

"So what's the deal with Zach, anyway?" she interrupts, raising an eyebrow and sounding genuinely interested.

I feel a pang of jealousy ignite within me, causing a scowl to appear on my face. Shale chuckles at my expression, shaking her head.

"I'm only wondering for Olivia," she says between snorts, allowing me to breathe again.

"Well, he's a really great guy. He's a massive player though. I told him about you and he was happy for me, but when I briefly mentioned Olivia the other night, he flipped out and demanded me take him with him. I honestly think he cares for though I don't really know what happened between them," I say, a silent question.

"Well, he and Olivia had...an adult sleepover and well, Olivia had one of her night terrors and freaked out and left him. She said he was really nice to her, but she couldn't deal with having another attachment here. I'm honestly worried for her. It seems like she's trying to get everyone to hate her so that when she goes off to war, no one will miss her if she doesn't come back," Shale says, a hint of sadness in her voice that she tries to cover up.

"Hey, I'm sure everything will work itself out. She'll come back, I mean have you met the girl. She's harder to kill than a cockroach," I joke, grabbing her hand.

Shale lets out a loud laugh that turns into a snort, causing me to smile as she slaps her hand over her mouth, her cheeks burning in embarrassment. I honestly thought it was the cutest thing.

"She'll be glad to hear what you think of her," Shale smiles at me.

"Oh no, don't tell her. I won't survive," I gasp, only half joking.

"Nah, it will just be between you and me."

Shale

"Olivia, Cole compared you a cockroach," I shout into the apartment as I flop down on the sofa, a smile on my lips.

"He did what now?" Olivia exclaims, popping out of her room.

"He said you were harder to kill than a cockroach," I chuckle, remembering his slightly panicked expression at the café."

One thing you should know about me is that I tell Olivia everything.

"I'm going to kill that bastard," Olivia snarls, walking into the living room.

"No you're not. Technically, I wasn't supposed to tell you, plus I need him," I shrug, looking up at Olivia's angry expression.

"Fine," she grumbles, disappearing back into her room.

"What're you doing in here," I ask Olivia as I push my way into her bedroom, seeing her packing up a large suitcase, full of military fatigues, and under clothes, along with a few pairs of regular clothing.

"You're packing?" I ask quietly, though it's quiet obvious.

"Well, yeah. I'm not going to show up dressed in nothing," Olivia chuckles, bent over an open dresser drawer.

She must sense my unhappiness, because she stands up and turns around to face me. She lets out a sigh and walks over to me, placing her hands on my shoulders, and staring me right in the eye.

"Shale, you aren't allowed to be sad, it makes it harder for me to go..."

"Then don't go! Say you broke all of your bones! Fake your death, I'll help you!" I exclaim, causing Shale to laugh.

"I can't do that. This is my life, and we both have to accept that," she says with a confident smile.

"Why do you feel the need to fight anyway?" I ask, tilting my head to the side as my voice cracks.

"Because someone has to do it, so why not be me, huh? I'm fully capable and willing to fight for my friends and family, and ready to die if the situation calls for it. I'm not doing this for me, or even the country, I'm doing it for you and the rest of our crazy family. I'm doing it so that one day when you have kids, they'll know that you had an amazing cousin and their world will be prefect," she says, wiping one of my tears away.

"When did you become the optimist," I joke, as I pull her into a hug. "And when did you become so poetic?"

"I'm just telling you the truth," she sighs, squeezing me tightly, before letting me go. "Now tell me all about today," she says, pulling me all the way into her room.

I look around, taking in the dark blue painted walls, covered in movie posters, and not the good kind. There were Saw posters framed along with a bunch of horror and action movie ones, including Star Wars. She was a complete nerd, but not many people knew, due to the fact that Olivia pushed everyone away.

"Well it went really well. He invited me to be his date at his restaurant's opening next week," I start as Olivia works on packing. "It felt really nice to go out with him again," I say with a smile.

"Any kissing?" Olivia ask, straightening with her hands on her hips while giving me a pointed look.

"Only a little," I laugh as my face turns bright red.

"Shale!" Olivia exclaims with a smile, tackling me to the bed, as we laugh.

"Hey I thought you grew out of your abusive habits," I chuckle as Olivia lays beside me on the bed, still shaking from laughter.

"Who told you that?"

"Well, I just assumed that since you don't punch me in the stomach or pinch me anymore that you were mature," I laugh, remembering our childhood and all those moments were Olivia abused me for fun.

"You should never assume anything with me. I am highly unpredictable," she chuckles, sliding off the bed and continuing her packing.

"Yeah, yeah," I wave her off getting up from the bed. "Want some olives," I ask with a smirk.

That one word causes Olivia to snap out of her packing and whirl around to face me with wide eyes. She sprints at me, causing me to let out a startled scream, running out of her way into the kitchen.

"Move bitch!" she yells, bumping me out of her way as she whips open the fridge.

As soon as she gets the olives out and onto the counter, she struggles to open the container. Grunting as she fails to open the jar of olives.

"This thing must be Olivia proof," she mutters, causing me to burst out in a fit of laughter.