Alright, y'all...Cole lost a little bet in the last backstory, and it's time to pay up. Above, I'm Born To Run by American Authors, a perfect fit for poor Cole Galloway :)
Cole and Homer stood buck naked in the entryway of Mark's sprawling house. The only saving grace right then was the fact that it was after eleven pm. Mark's parents had long since gone to bed, and there was no real risk of running into anybody on the road they were intent on streaking down. It was Tyler after all, a small and quiet town with a regular dearth of action.
You had to make your own fun in Tyler. That was, supposedly, what this was, but the means by which Cole and Homer had come to their current circumstances made it little fun for the participants, and great fun for the observers, Mark and Greg.
Greg snickered, donning a vengeful smirk as he stood beside the double doors that led outside. Cole didn't ordinarily resort to violence, but he wanted to pound Greg's smug-ass face in. He was nothing but a loser who took pleasure in other people's discomfort. Cole was pretty certain he could justify a beat down. In truth, Homer would probably happily join him.
"Let's do this, boys!" Greg sneered. "The rules are simple: you run down Wrangler Avenue, and bear left onto Stardust Circle. It'll bring you right back here, all in one humiliating loop." He cackled then, reveling in the moment he considered to be a triumph. He had finally bested Cole at something. Cole was a threat and a pretty big one at that. Though Greg would never admit it, deep down he was profoundly jealous of him.
Cole and Homer eyed one another awkwardly for a moment, before dissolving into a fit of laughter. The whole bet was stupid on so many levels. This was no worse than being in the locker room, really.
"Don't make me look too bad, Padre," Homer said as they moved toward the exit. "We all know you're twice as fast. Hey, maybe you should run two laps!"
"Like hell, Meatloaf," Cole laughed. "C'mon, let's get this over with."
Greg and Mark wrenched the doors open, revealing a crystal clear late summer evening. All at once, Cole realized that his consequences could've been much worse.
This'll be cake, Cole thought as he sprinted out the doorway and into the night.
...
As expected, Cole was blowing poor Meatloaf out of the water—a solid four lot-lengths ahead of the lineman, and counting. Homer was more of a brawny athlete, made for walling off defensemen at the line of scrimmage and protecting his quarterback. Cole, on the other hand, was born to run, to sprint and scramble his way to success both on the field and off.
He could see the finish line, where Greg and Mark observed his skillful dash from the end of the driveway only several hundred yards away. To his knowledge, nobody had yet to spy him silently streaking his way to victory. He'd shown Greg, that's for sure.
A very female giggle echoed through the air, shattering the serenity of the twilight and unnerving the focused runner. Cole scanned his surroundings warily, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. The pathway before him was clear of cars and people, save for Mark and Greg, and he was certain it was too dark for him to be seen from any windows. He was racing dead-center down the street, staying well clear of the streetlights. Even the moon was on his side, just a sliver of a crescent in the inky Texas sky.
Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him.
"C'mon!" chirped the distinctly female voice. "Her house is over there!"
Shit.
The word had barely formed in Cole's mind when no fewer than six girls trickled into the halo of light beneath the lamppost a few dozen yards away. Their arms were loaded down with rolls of toilet paper, and their eyes...
Their eyes were on him.
"Is that...Cole Galloway?" he heard one of them hiss.
Only when he drew nearer was his mortification made complete.
He recognized them. Every one.
...
"Shh! Don't wake my mom," Avalon muttered, escorting the band of delinquents through the back door and around the garden. The girls were overexcited, having been waiting hours for it to be late enough to take on their TP mission. One by one, they fell in line outside the white picket fence lining the yard, awaiting orders from their ringleader, Wynn.
"Lana's house is over on Stardust Circle, like, five minutes from here," Morgan supplied. Wynona nodded, leading her eager posse to their objective. Lana would know they were the culprits responsible, but Wynn didn't care. As far as she was concerned, Lana should've known better than to skip out on the sleepover.
"Just a little further," Wynn whispered. The girls cut their way between the tidy homes, working desperately to keep their nervous laughter under control and failing miserably. Wynona decided they would make for terrible spies—especially Colby who, being spooked by every little nighttime sound, proceeded to cackle like a maniac.
At long last, they spilled out onto Stardust Circle. They had nearly made it.
"C'mon!" Morgan urged. "Her house is over there!" She pointed to a multi-level behemoth of a residence, just up the road.
It was then that they realized they weren't the only ones who had ventured out that evening. The rhythmic beat of hasty steps drew their attention to the center of the road.
"Is that...Cole Galloway?" Avalon rasped.
"Ohh, sweet Moses, he's naked!" Colby chirped, so overcome with secondhand embarrassment that she had to shield her eyes.
"Ow ow!" Morgan hooted, her mouth agape at the sight of the swift boy. "Wow, he's fast."
Indeed, he was, for just as Wynn glanced his way, he was nearly upon them, clad in nothing more than tennis shoes.
"Nice form, Galloway!" she shouted in encouragement, an irrepressible smile gracing her lips.
"Someday you'll say yes, Nono!" Cole returned, a cocky grin upon his beet red face. "Someday I'll make you mine!"
He whizzed past the snickering brood, striding several more yards before abruptly spinning around and blowing a kiss in Wynn's direction. The hotshot didn't even slow his pace! But then again, it was Cole Galloway. There was nothing he wasn't good at.
She watched his retreating form, her belly full of butterflies and her curiosity piqued. How could a boy who has it all be so persistent, so charming?
So patient.
Cole wanted her and pursued her relentlessly. She couldn't help being flattered by it all. And while their circumstances would never permit them to be, she was already his in her heart.
YOU ARE READING
Make You Mine (Book Two)
Teen Fiction**Completed** Cole Galloway has always had just enough of an ego to believe that the women falling at his feet were deserved. With an abundance of charm and looks to die for, who wouldn't want him? Wynona Caldwell. That's who. When Cole sets his s...
