First Kiss, First Love, First Heartbreak

Chapter 5

"Wait, how did I miss all that? You should've told me you were going to go off on him, I would've come to watch." Lizzy says. I told her how I just told Jere how I felt at the football game. "Did you tell Cole?" I shake my head. She puts her blonde hair into a messy bun. I don't know how she manages a bun with hair as short as hers. She readjusts her pajama top and puts pressure on her face mask that was sliding. The masks smell like citrus, which is my favorite smell next to Cole's cologne. She drops herself on my bed and closes her eyes. She grabs her phone and types something and then places it down. She sits up and rolls her eyes. "Tommy just asked me out through texting. Like who does that?" She says angrily.

"You don't want to give him a chance?" I ask. I take my face mask off and wash my face. The citrus smell stays on my face, even after I wash it.

She shakes her head. "Nope. If he doesn't have the balls to ask me out in person, then he doesn't have the balls to date me." I mean, I never looked at it like that, but I guess she's kind of right.

Cole and Jere both asked me out in person. Cole asked me out after I won a swim meet. It was during summer. I had just gotten first place, and he just walked up to me and asked me. We had been talking since the end of the school year, but I didn't think he would actually ask me out. I was happy when he did, though. I remember jumping in his arms and hugging him. I was happy from winning the competition and winning the boy. I just felt like a winner. I smelled like pool water, and I'm pretty sure I looked horrible, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything except the fact that Cole had asked me out.

"Yeah I guess. You know what, just do what feels right to you." I walk to my closet and pull out a dress. A burgundy long beautiful dress my dad bought me for my sixteenth birthday. Lizzy and I just like fantasizing. We pull out our nicest dresses and wish we had an occasion to wear them for. Half of the dresses in my closet are too nice for me to even wear out. We live in a small town, where nothing big happens. Nothing.

We fall asleep with Clueless on. Best. Movie. Ever! And no one can convince me otherwise.

***

I wake up to Cole in my face. I blink. And blink again. Why is he here? "Liv?" I nod very slowly. "I wanna go for a swim. Wanna come with me?" It's too cold for a swim. What is he talking about? Then I realize. Oh. Indoor pool. He's not dumb enough to go for a swim in this weather. "Your mom let me in. Wake Lizzy up. I mean, only if you want to go for a swim."

"I do. But Lizzy won't get up early for that. How about just you and I go?" He nods and helps me out of bed. Then all of a sudden I become really self-conscious. I know I have bed hair, and morning breath. He leans in for a kiss and I just hug him instead. "I haven't brushed my teeth. You are not going to kiss me."

"I don't mind."

"You say that now." I walk to the bathroom and brush my teeth. I braid my long hair and grab a bathing suit which I quickly get dressed in. I throw loose clothes that will keep me warm, and walk out of the bathroom. I now give Cole a kiss. "I just need a granola bar, then we can go." I grab my Chewy bar and follow Cole out the door. I look at my hand to see which flavor I grabbed. Chocolate chip, score! I get in Cole's truck and open the bar. I enjoy every bite. He turns the radio up and we sing word for word.

We pull into the gym and make our way to the pool. Cole swiftly takes his shirt off and dives into the pool. I follow. We both come up for air around the same time. I smile. His face is so close I can see the droplets of water on his face. I brush them with my hand only to create more. He kisses me. He tastes like chlorine, but I don't mind. I like it actually. Chlorine is a familiar smell/taste. I'm used to it. It feels nice to know, some things never change. I tread on water until my legs hurt. I backstroke to three feet and make my way to the diving board. Before I can make it, Cole grabs me and tosses me in the water. I laugh so hard that I swallow so much pool water. He then jumps into the pool next to where I am.

"You're a dork."

"I know you are, but what am I?" he says as he dunks me under water.

"A little kid."

"Takes one to know one." I roll my eyes.

"No one warned me that I was dating a little kid."

"Yeah sorry, I ripped the warning label off." I laugh and splash him. I know we look ridiculous but that's what makes it so fun.

We get out of the pool and dry off. We change into our clothes and get lunch. He puts his hand on my knee. I smile. Knowing he's here is a form of comfort. I roll the windows down and let the wind dry my tangled hair. The wind doesn't just dry my hair but it dries my eyes out too. But some dried-out eyes and tangled hair won't keep a smile off my face. We pass by trees, which just look like a green blur. The other cars also look like colored blurs.

Cole starts driving down a road I haven't been down. I sit up straight and look at him. "Where are we going?"

He smiles. "Just wait." He knows I'm not very patient, but I sit back, anyways. He moves his hand from my thigh and holds my hand instead. "I promise, there's no reason to be worried." Did he get that from my face or because he knows I'm worried. I don't know where we are. I keep looking around trying to see if I can figure it out. All I see is a road and green everywhere. I don't recognize this place, not one bit. "Here." He hands me a hoodie as he starts slowing down. I hold the yellow hoodie unsure of what to do. "Put it on, it's getting cold." I obey him and put the mustard yellow hoodie on. It feels warm and fuzzy. And it smells like his woodsy smell. I hold the fabric to my nose and realize how weird I must look.

When the car comes to a stop, he gets out and comes to my door and opens it. He gives me his award winning smile. I put my hand to his cheek, not long before I feel the coolness of the air. Feels like it's at least in the forties. I've been waiting for this weather since the last day we had this weather. It feels nice against my face and hands that peak out of the jacket. Cole leads me to a picnic table. It's faded wood. He puts a blanket down, I'm guessing because of the splinters, He sets the food on the blanket. Aw, a picnic.

It's beautiful here. I hear the birds chirping and I hear the wind. But better yet, I smell the pine trees. It smells almost as good as Cole. He sits on the blanket, and I do too. He pulls out coke, my favorite drink. He pours a glass and hands it to me and then pours another glass. We take a sip at the same time. I feel the fizz enter my mouth and slide down my throat. Then I feel the pressure in my nose. It's an odd sensation.

He takes my hand. "Olivia, you're probably wondering what we're doing out here." I nod. I really can't figure it out. "Well there's no better place than where we met." I feel my eyes big. I have been here. I met him here in ninth grade, but at the time I was dating Jeremiah. Jeremiah and I liked running out here because of the scenery. "Livi, I want to say that, I love you." I feel my eyes grow wide. No, not again. He can't love me. We've only been dating for a few months. "You are the only thing that makes me a better person. The only thing capable of making me smile on rainy days. And you don't have to say it back, it's a big step. But I'm ready to take that step, but we both need to be ready, though. Livi, I've known that I love you since the day we met." He looks down. "You were wearing your red glasses and you had your workout clothes on. You would always run with Jeremiah but he wasn't with you that day. Your hair was in two braids. And you just looked upset, maybe because he wasn't there, but it made me happy, that he wasn't there. But I was sad that you were sad." He's right. Every detail is right. But the only reason Jeremiah wasn't there was because he was looking for a tux to rent for his aunt's wedding.

"Cole, I don't know if I'm ready for that." I say truthfully. I make sure to not look at his face. When he's upset my heartbreaks.

"But that's okay. I can wait. I promise." I nod and say okay. I spend the rest of the cool afternoon with the boy who claims he loves me.