And when Cole lifts his head from my lap and sits down next to me, gripping the back of my neck and kissing me with every ounce of love he has for me, I know I’ve made the right decision.
“I’m not ashamed of you or embarrassed. I love you, I’m in awe of you, you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, Shortcake.” He looks me in the eye as he says this. “But I can’t be the reason you’re always doubting yourself or why other people look at you in a way that makes me want to become someone I haven’t been in a long time. If this helps me make you happier, then I’ll do it.”
“And how you’ll react when you won’t be able to hold my hand in public or when someone tries to hit on me.” I shouldn’t be this short with him but I’m a girl; we tend to lack the male sort of tunnel vision. I’m preparing myself for the times when Cole’s going to go apeshit and demand that I lock myself up in a room.
On cue, his eyes turn cold and he kisses me once more, a deep and admittedly dirty kiss that tells me that he’s got no intentions of ever letting a guy get close enough to attempt anything of the sort.
“We’ll still be friends, I’ll just be that asshole guy friend that has no qualms about beating anyone who looks at you to pulp.”
“Oh boy, you know you’re going to regret this, right?”
“I already am, but if this means you’ll still be around me when I’m eighty, then what’s a few attempted murder charges here and there?”
“To be honest, I don’t think you’d be able to pull off the orange.”
He raises his brow sexily, and his hands began to roam over my sweater, which just happens to be a burnt orange, and when his fingers slip underneath it, he kisses the side of my neck and whispers in my ear. “You were saying?”
“I think you misunderstood me.” My breathing picks up.
“Oh, I think I understood you perfectly.” Cole gives me a wicked grin, but just as he’s about to wander into seriously inappropriate territory, I have the good sense to think about Sarah.
“Oh no, you don’t.” I slip away from him. “I’m still mad at you.”
His face drops comically and I know we’re both trying to hang on to the last few moments of normalcy before we dive headfirst into something I know is a bad idea.
Because, Cole Stone? Yeah, if there’s one thing I really, really know about my boyfriend, it’s that his possessiveness is as uncontrollable as Kanye West. It tends to get the best of him at times, and I only have to count the number of times Jay’s been punched in the face to cement that judgement.
He thinks he can handle the repercussions of letting people think we’re not together because of some high and mighty ideals about making me feel happy?
Well, I think this is going to be something he learns the hard way.
About the Author:
Blair Holden (@jessgirl93 on Wattpad) is a twenty-three-year-old college student by day and Wattpad author by night. Her hobbies include and are limited to obsessively scouring Goodreads and reading romance novels, with a preference for all things new adult. Her own work usually contains lots of romance, humor, angst, and brooding bad-boy heroes. Caffeine and late-night Gilmore Girls marathons help her find a balance between completing her degree and writing. She writes for herself and also to make readers swoon, laugh, and occasionally cry. Her book, The Bad Boy’s Girl, has amassed nearly 170 million reads, which absolutely baffles her. Her dream is to see her readers holding a published copy of her books and remembering how far they’ve come together! Find her on Twitter as @blairholdenx and on Facebook and Instagram as @jessgirl93
The Bad Boy’s Heart Page 30