Cole & Jamie

Chapter 9

As the party dwindled down, Cole and I began a light clean-up. There was an issue involving a broken freezer door handle and a pair of lost keys at the diner so Mom and Harriet had to leave early. Melody and Destiny left to catch a concert in the city, and Julian was in a food coma on a lawn chair by the pool.

Cole and I worked side by side boxing up and putting away leftovers. As we worked, I tried not to dwell on the fact that this would be the last time we would be working together for a long time. The baby shower was over now so there was no reason for him to keep coming by the store every day.

Trish and Joe came into the kitchen both of their arms full of gifts. Even Michelle had a bag in her hand, but from the looks of her heavy eyelids, she wouldn't be able to hold onto it for long. She had worn herself out today. I'm afraid we all had.

"Are you guys leaving?" I asked putting a container of leftover ribs in Cole's fridge. Julian would be happy to see those tomorrow.

Trish yawned, "Yeah, we're going to head home. I'm exhausted."

I walked around the kitchen island to give her a hug. "I'm glad you had fun." We'd spent the last few hours relaxing in the pool.

"It was the best party I've ever been to," she said in my ear. "You're the best friend ever."

I had to let her go before I started crying in the middle of Cole's fancy kitchen. "Text me when you get home."

I moved over to say my goodbyes to Michelle. Her hair was all over the place and she could hardly keep her eyes open. My sweet baby was basically asleep on her feet. I gave her a tight squeeze and a kiss on the forehead."Goodnight, baby, I love you."

"I love you too." She sighed, dreamily resting her head on my shoulder. "Mimi, can we come here again. I loved all the pool and all the fun toys."

"That's up to Cole, Honey. You'll have to ask him."

"Cole, can I come back and play?" She asked from my shoulder.

"You can come back anytime, Michelle," he told her from across the counter. "All of you are welcome back any time."

"I'm coming back for the tour," Trish promised. " I'll bring my tablet and we'll discuss the direction you're planning to take with your decor."

Cole's brows knitted together in confusion. "Okay, I was sort of done decorating, but I would love to give you a tour."

"Oh, Cole you're never done decorating," she said, adjusting the bags in her arms. "We'll talk."

Joe put his hand on his wife's shoulder, saying, "Come on, you can critique Cole's decor choices another time." He shook his head as he guided her towards the door. "Sorry," he mouthed to Cole.

It was apparent that Michelle wasn't going to make it to the car on her own, so I carried her outside. She was passed out before she was even buckled into her car seat. I gave her one final kiss goodnight and I waved goodbye to Trish and Joe before meeting Cole back in the kitchen.

"You don't have to stay, I can clean up by myself." He told me as I began wiping down his counters.

"I know but I want to," I assured him. Spraying more of the Lysol on the marble, I said, "You know if we ever decide to quit our jobs and switch careers we'd be excellent party planners."

He laughed, beginning to throw things away."You think so?"

"I know so. Did you see how much fun everyone had tonight? We'd make a killing." I tossed the dirty paper towels in the trash. If I was being honest with myself I didn't want to leave. I wanted to soak up as much time with him as I could. "I...I'm going to miss working with you. The store won't be the same without you."

He stopped in front of me leaning against the counter. With a smirk, he said, "So I was a good employee then?"

"The best." I smiled, looking up at him. "But don't tell Melody or Destiny, they'd never forgive me." Though I have a feeling they'd agree. Having Cole around definitely made things more interesting around the store not to mention he was great for business.

"Nah, they love you."

With an exhale, I looked down at the marble countertop. "Only because I sign their paychecks."

He shook his head. "No, that's why my employees love me. Yours know you and care about you, and I can see why you're a great boss. I enjoyed working with you all."

I took a step forward angling my body a hair closer. This way I could smell him more. The freshness of his cologne mixed with the smell of chlorine created an intoxicating mix on his skin. If he bottled it up and sold it he would make a fortune. Seeing how easily he fit into my life made it impossible for me to ignore my thoughts from earlier. I want him or I at least want a chance.

He ran a hand through his hair. "I imagine I'm going to be bored now that I can't bother you all day."

"You weren't bothering me." Distracting, yes. Bothering, no. "As I said, I liked having you around. You could still come by if you want. I won't have anything for you to do, but it might be better than sitting home alone."

"I won't distract the girls too much will I?"

I'm more worried about him distracting me than them. "That's inevitable, as long as they still get all their work done a little distraction won't hurt anyone."

We were so close I could smell the spearmint on his breath. My eyes kept drifting down to his lips, they were pink, the bottom one slightly larger than top. I was tempted to run my finger across them to test their softness. It would take nothing to kiss him right now. In my heels I was perfectly aligned with his mouth. All I would have to do is lean forward a little bit more and then...

I did it.

I pressed my lips to Cole's partially open ones and they were just as soft as I imagined except they were still. Cole in fact was completely still forcing me to do all the work. It was awkward to say the least.

After a minute of nothing, I pulled away realizing my mistake. "I'm so sorry," I apologized, shaking my head. "I don't know why I did that."

Except I did know why I did it. I just wasn't expecting such a terrible reaction to it. Cole looked down at me with shocked eyes, the remains of my lip gloss still coating his lips. It made my heart sink.

"Jamie," he muttered. "I—"

I interrupted him before he could finish."I should go." If I didn't I really would start crying in his kitchen. Grabbing my things, I said, "Um, I'll talk to you later," before getting the hell out of there.

Fuck. I pressed the palms of my hands to my eyes. I feel like such an idiot. He gave me nothing. He gave me no indication that he wanted me to kiss or if he even sees me that way. Maybe I can blame it on the sun. Yeah, that's what I'll do, I was out in the sun too long and I wasn't thinking clearly.

Who am I kidding? He's never going to believe that.

Rejection weighed heavy on my shoulders as I wiped a few stray tears from my cheeks. Was it such a stupid idea for me to think that Cole might want me to? It seemed possible, we've known each other for so long and he used to know me better than anyone. I thought that would make a difference but maybe that's the issue. Maybe he knows me so well that he can't help but see me as anything but a friend.

I pulled my lower lip between my teeth remembering the pressure of Cole's lips on mine. This couldn't change things. It was just a silly little kiss after all. You can barely even call it a kiss. It was more of a peck really, and it's not like we slept together. He would laugh, I would laugh, and we'd never speak about this again. Problem solved. 

So what are we thinking? Did Jamie make a huge mistake or did she do the right thing? Tell me your thoughts. I want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading and engaging with this story and the rest of my work. I never thought I would be able to reach the number of people I have and I am incredibly grateful for all of you.