by A L Miller
Man, the things this man did to me. Things I didn’t know I could feel. I head for my room and close my eyes as soon as my body hits the mattress. I fall asleep quicker than I thought I would with thoughts of mine and Danny’s kiss going through my mind.
My eyes open the room no longer being dark which tells me it must be the next morning already. I step into the steamy shower letting the warm water soothe my aching muscles from sitting in that open house all day yesterday. Once I’m out of the shower, I enter the kitchen to get my daily dose of caffeine. That first taste of coffee wakes my taste buds sending satisfaction throughout my body. My phone goes off on the counter nearby. I pick it up to see Paul’s name on the screen,
Paul: So how was the first date with your neighbor?
I shake my head knowing that I probably need to stop telling Paul everything, but he was such a nosey bastard.
Me: It went so well that there is going to be another one today.
Paul: Man, you don’t waste no time, do you?
Me: I’ve lived next to the guy for three years; I think it’s safe to say we already wasted plenty of time.
Paul: True, well make sure you get some tonight. In a way it’s kind of like date three, right?
I think about that for a moment. I doubt me running into him at the diner the other day on New Year’s Day counts as a date, but hey, if Danny counted it, I wouldn’t try to argue with him over it. I turn my face back to my text from Paul.
Me: How about you worry about your own sex life, huh?
Paul: Why, when your life is so much more interesting than mine?
Me: Not more interesting than your interest in someone like Melanie
I set my phone back on the counter, wondering if Danny is having breakfast right now or if he even has breakfast. Not everyone is a breakfast person or an early riser like me. I reach for the cream cheese from the fridge and spread it onto my toasted bagel. The first bite reminds me of how hungry I was. I always feel like I haven’t eaten in days in the mornings. I was definitely a breakfast person. I was also a lunch, dinner and snacks in between person whenever I had time to be. I swallow the last bite of bagel before heading to my room to get dressed for our date, I’m going on another date with Danny soon. I doubt I would be able to keep my hands off him for long.
Seventeen
Danny
A knock comes at my door the exact time Cole says he will be over. I’m a nervous wreck and have been ever since our hot as fuck kiss last night. I wonder if there will be a repeat. I was hoping there would be and then some. I open the door, and my knees almost buckle at the sight in front of me. He is wearing a pair of dark jeans paired with a white sweater and leather jacket and man does he look mouthwatering per usual.
“Hey there,” he says with a huge smile on his face.
I return the smile. “Hey yourself, ready to go eat some food? I sure am, I’m starving.”
I wasn’t just starving for food either. In fact, I wouldn’t mind skipping the food if I had the opportunity to have Cole right here and right now.
He rests his hand on the wall outside. “Yeah, I’ve been ready since I finished that tiny bagel for breakfast this morning.”
I chuckle. “Alright, let me grab my jacket, keys and wallet and then we will head out. Should I drive this time?’
He shakes his head. “Nah, I don’t mind. We will be going out into the city for brunch and a movie today.”
I nod before following him to his car. We both slide inside at the same time and he looks at me. “Damn, I was supposed to get your door.”
“You don’t have to do that every time you know or at all. I’m perfectly capable of opening my own door.”
He smiles. “Well, it’s what your character would do in your latest book, Just Between Us.”
My eyes go wide. “Yeah but that book was meant to be super cheesy…Wait....you read my books?”
He nods as he heads onto the main road. “Yes… well I read one book of yours and it was really good. Romance isn’t normally my thing, but it was quite enjoyable.”
I didn’t really like the idea of Cole reading my books. I didn’t like anyone I knew to read them, but especially Cole. Did he really need to know all the dirty thoughts that went through my head? Now I’m glad I didn’t write a story based on that night of the New Year’s Eve party. Guilt sinks into my gut as I remember that I still need to tell Cole about that night and how it was me. I didn’t know if I wanted it to be today though. Maybe I could tell him after today. What if he doesn’t want anything to do with me afterward? I at least one more day with him before that happened.
Cole glances at me as if he can tell I have something on my mind. I force a smile onto my face. “Sorry, I was thinking about the things I needed to do later.”
He smiles before opening the door to get out and sticks his head back into the driver’s seat to say, “Were one of those things on the list me by chance?”
My breath catches in my throat at his words. He closes the door behind him leaving me sitting there alone stunned froze. My car door opening turns my attention to Cole hanging on the passenger door. “You really are beautiful, you know that?”
I blush and my eyes going to the ground before stepping out of the car. “No, I’m not.”
I walk into the direction of the restaurant and he pulls my arm back, making me face him. “Yes, you are.”
I don’t say anything else and neither does he. I know this is a fight I won’t win with him. I just wish I could see myself the way he claims to see me. He was the beautiful one and it was quite obvious when all eyes fell out him anytime we walked past a group of people. He wraps my hand in his and pulls me toward the restaurant. Once seated, his eyes are back on me and there I am getting lost in his again. Our food comes quickly after ordering and Cole reaches for the check once it arrives before I can. “It’s my turn remember?”
I nod before slipping my wallet back into my coat pocket. “Okay, well. since you already have the movie tickets, then I’ll get the candy and popcorn.”
“Sounds good to me, I can always eat my weight in candy and popcorn… even after just having brunch.”
I chuckle. “Sounds like I just met my perfect match,” I say with a wink.
The movie was cute and funny, but my eyes mostly stayed on Cole and on his hand every time it touched mine when we reached for popcorn at the same time. Halfway through the movie, he swings his arm around me and I press my head into his shoulder. He places a kiss into my hair and panic overcomes me. Oh no, can he smell the coconut shampoo in my hair? Why did I not think of that? I mean surely, he won’t piece it together, right? I’m sure other people besides me use that shampoo.
I shake the thought from my mind and relax back into my seat, and Cole moves the popcorn sitting between us and reaches for my hand, fuck there goes those damn flutters in my stomach again. But they hardly ever stop when Cole is around.
Eighteen
Cole
There are times during the movie where Danny seems a bit tense. I just assume it’s from nerves and don’t bother mentioning it. I don’t want to part ways after the movie, so I ask him inside and he doesn’t say no. He nods his head as we reach our floor and that is all I need. I open my door and gesture him inside as I follow in behind him. He makes his way to my couch, and I close the door behind me before joining him. He shuffles closer to me to where our knees are touching.
“The whole deal with me being able to kiss you whenever I feel like it still stands, right?”
His eyes fill with desire. “Yes.”
He is on me fast, pressing his tongue into my mouth as I part my lips gladly welcoming the intrusion. He crawls into my lap, and my hands move to his back pulling him in closer to me. He rocks his hips forward and releases a moan into my mouth sending vibrations throughout my body. Our kisses become desperate and so do our hands as we run them all over one another’s bodies.
He pulls his shirt off while still kissing me and rocking his body into
mine. I undo the button of his pants before slipping my hand inside expecting to be met with another layer of clothing, but no, he had gone commando. My hand meets his bare skin, making my blood run hot. I caress his erection with my hand as he continues to press into me before whispering in my ear, “bedroom.”
My eyes make contact with the pools of desire in his. “Are you sure?”
He nods before pulling his body off mine and heading into my bedroom. I follow closely behind him while tugging off my clothes on the way to my room. His eyes run over my now naked body before pulling off his pants and crawling into bed. I crawl in behind him, crashing my mouth back into his as he pulls my body on top of him. Something about this moment feels so familiar. It’s as if we had shared a similar moment before except we hadn’t. My mouth moves down to his neck working my way down his body until I am pressing kisses into his inner thighs. He throws his head back into the bed while sinking his teeth into his bottom lip with only the bottom of his face visible to me.
Then it hits me, something about this moment seems so familiar because it is. His skin is familiar beneath mine, and his kisses were more desperate once we got in the bedroom and the way he bit his bottom lip. No, it can’t be. There’s no way. He knew who I was, the guy in the mask knew who I was. So, if he was Danny, he would know it was me. His eyes meet mine before he presses himself up on his elbows, turning on the lamp beside him. “What’s wrong? Where did you go? Get back up here.”
That smile, those deep brown eyes, I know those eyes “You. You’re him. It’s been you this whole time hasn’t it?”
He shifts his body until he is now sitting completely up. “What are you talking about? Been who the whole time?”
I’m having a hard time reading his face in the dim light. Did I get it wrong? No, I couldn’t have. “Did you end up going to Paul’s party that night.?”
He lets out a deep breath, “Yeah, I did.”
I climb off the bed with my eyes never leaving him. “What color was your mask that night?”
He scoots down the bed until he is sitting on the edge looking up at me. “Blue and gold.”
My heart sinks into my stomach. “You knew this whole time? You answered my message.”
He nods. “Yeah, Cole I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you that it was me and things were going so good between us that I didn’t want to ruin it. Looks like I did that anyway, huh?”
I nod, “You created a fake account and posted those pictures. Why and who the hell is James Bishop?”
He swallows hard. “It was Vivian who did it, I told her not to, but she was curious about who my mystery guy was, and a part of me was too. Then it was you, and I didn’t know what to do so I thought it was best to just pretend it never happened; James is my middle name and Bishop is my mother’s maiden name.”
My eyes fill with fury and he doesn’t have to see them to know it’s there. I know he can sense the anger rising inside me. “You were just going to keep lying to me about it? I think you should go.”
I move to grab my clothes from the floor, he grabs my arm to stop me. “Please, Cole. I’m sorry. I was an idiot. I didn’t want you to think badly of me before getting to know the real me. How I behaved at the party, that’s not the real me. I didn’t want you to confuse me with someone who wasn’t real.”
I yank my arm from his grasp. “You’re right, he wasn’t real, and neither was this,” I gesture between us. I pull on my boxers and pants as he stands there just watching me. Once my shirt is on, I pick his clothes up from the living room and throw them his way. “You need to leave now.”
He quickly dresses with his eyes never leaving mine and then turns and heads for the door without even turning back to look at me even though a huge part of me wanted him to. He lied to me, I couldn’t trust him anymore. He made me believe our first kisses tonight were just that. They couldn’t have been though, because we kissed before. We did way more than just that, and he made me believe this whole thing was all new. That he was someone new and not someone I’ve shared such an intimate moment with before. He should have told me when I messaged him. Was he right though? Would I have seen him differently? I acted out of character at that party myself, so in a way I would have no room to judge him for doing the exact same thing I did but I might have still done it anyway.
I slam the door to my apartment and head for my room. I throw myself into the bed and bury my face into my covers that still smell of him. I can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out. How could I have not seen it before? I grab my phone and shut it off the moment I see an incoming text with his name on it. I don’t want to see what he had to say right now. I need to think about this with a rational brain and I can’t do that as long as he is around. I needed some time without his presence distracting me from forming coherent thoughts. Whenever he was around, all I thought about was needing to touch him and be close enough to breathe in his comforting coconut scent.
Nineteen
Danny
Panic-stricken, I sink into my bed still fully clothed after leaving Cole’s apartment. I should have told him, and I planned to, but I was waiting for the right moment. But the right moment would have be the moment I first found out. I was just so worried of messing things up between us but looks like I did that anyway. I didn’t know if I would get this far with him. I didn’t think he would want me the way he did tonight, not for who I really am; but he did and I ruined it.
I ran my hand through my hair before throwing my body back on the mattress. I stare up at the ceiling as if it’s going to give me some kind of answers on how to fix this mess I caused between Cole and me. I was just scared. Cole saw me for who I really was and not for the person I pretended to be, and I wanted to keep it that way.
I squeeze my eyes shut while sinking the back of my head into the comfort of my soft sheets. My phone makes a buzzing sound from what sounds like an incoming text message. I press my legs back against the side of the bed as I press my palms into the mattress, bringing myself into a seated position. I grab my phone off the nightstand, instead of seeing Cole’s name on the screen like I had hoped I would, Patrick’s name is there instead. What does he want? I guess ignoring his calls didn’t work like I hoped it would. I open the message and my eyes go wide to the words that appear on the screen.
Patrick: Hey, so I hadn’t heard back from you but I’m in town tonight. I wanted to see if you would be available tomorrow to meet for coffee. My meeting I’m there for doesn’t start until Monday so I have the whole weekend free and I would really like to see you.
Me: Patrick, why are you messaging me after all this time? I don’t know if you remember the last conversation when you drunk called me a year ago, but I don’t live in Sweet Grass anymore, I moved.
Patrick: I just have been doing a lot of thinking lately, and a lot of it has involved you and me.
Me: There is no you and me Patrick, not anymore. There hasn’t been for years, now stop texting me.
Patrick: I know you don’t live in Sweet Grass anymore, I talked to your mom last time I was in town visiting my parents. I went to see you and she told me you moved to Maplehelm. I happened to have clients here, so I saw it as the perfect opportunity to catch up.
Me: Wait, you’re here in Maplehelm? Like right now?
Patrick: Yes, I’m at this small hotel in town.
Me: Fine, we can meet at the coffee shop down the road from my place. I’ll message you the address, but we are just meeting for a quick coffee and that is it. I have moved on Patrick, you should too.
Patrick: Perfect, see you tomorrow. I can’t wait to see you.
I don’t say anything in response other than texting him the address to the coffee shop. I have nothing left to say to him and I doubt he has anything new to say to me. It’s better to just meet with him now and be done with it.
The next morning comes faster than I want it to, and I don’t bother trying to dress nicely for my hang out with Patrick. I make sure to leave every scar and fl
aw visible as a reminder of what had him running away from me years ago. Would he be able to face them now or is he just hoping he can find some way around it?
I park on the side of the street across from the coffee shop spotting Patrick standing in front of the entrance searching around for me. When his eyes land on me getting out of my car, he waves me over to where he is. I pull off my sunglass and fold them over my visor before exiting the car to head his way. His smile is warm and welcoming, more than it was when he walked away from me, when he walked away from us.
He opens the door to let me walk ahead of him, and I move toward the barista to order my usual lemon dream tea latte. He orders a plain black coffee and shoves my card away when I pull it out to hand it to the barista. “It’s on me. Did you have breakfast yet? If not, I spotted a cute little diner further down that we could grab some food at afterward.”
I shake my ahead. “Just a quick coffee, remember? That’s what we agreed on, Patrick. Besides, I have plans.”
I didn’t, but he didn’t need to know that. I did have plans but that all got shot to hell when I managed to run Cole off last night. Cole had the first part of today free before he had to show clients a few houses and I said yes to going to breakfast with him, hoping it would be breakfast shared in bed.
Patrick brings me back to my reality when he shuffles his feet around against the wood floor. “I know, I just hope maybe… you know, never mind. Let’s go grab a table.”
I nod. “How about that one in the back,” I suggest before grabbing my tea. He grabs his coffee and follows me to the small table by the far back window. We both sit at the same time. I bring my tea to my lips and close my eyes as I breathe in the sweet lemon scent, making me forget for a minute why I’m here. Patrick shuffles around in his seat before placing his hand on the table near mine.
I wince at how close it is to touching mine and I’m sure he did that on purpose. I pull my hand back and place it on my lap.