His smile widened. "I guess I did."
I glanced down shyly, feeling oddly vulnerable and off my game with this guy. "I like that accent," I said.
"My brother's better at it. He's hilarious—he sounds just like the old guys."
"Am I right in assuming it's a French accent?" I asked, thinking it seemed right for New Orleans.
He nodded. "Cajun French. Maybe more similar to Canadian French than France French, but yeah, it's French." He smiled and gestured for me to sit down in the car. "Come on, we'll talk on the road."
Chapter 7
"I wasn't kidding about getting a burger," Cole said as we made our way to the highway.
The statement made me laugh a little, and I looked over the console toward him. He kept his eyes on the road, but I could see his smiling profile. He made me feel warm and fuzzy, like I just wanted to jump right into the role of being his girlfriend.
"There's an In and Out Burger about a mile up the street."
"Perfect," he said.
"Do you have In and Out's in Louisiana?" I asked, still staring at him even though he was busy driving.
He knew I was looking at him, so rather than answer out loud, he just shook his head. I was starting to see that Cole Martin wasn't a man who used unnecessary words.
"Have you tried In and Out?"
He shook his head again. "Nope."
"How do you know it's perfect?"
"It's got burger right in the name," he said.
I laughed a little at his logic. "You'll like it," I said, since I had a feeling he would.
"So what's your story, Olivia Torres?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.
I had to take a second to think about how to respond. Everything had been weighing so heavily on my mind that I was tempted to unload on him. I took a deep breath, as I decided what to say. "I, uh, run a travel blog with my sister and we make videos for YouTube."
I was inexplicably nervous in front of him, making it impossible to choose what to say next.
"I saw that," he said, since I didn't continue right away. "I saw some of it, at least."
He glanced at me when we came to a stop at a light. He wore a gorgeous half-smile while his eyes roamed over my face. His dark eyes carried hints of both sweetness and mystery. I felt like I could come to pieces under his gaze.
"You're famous," he said, looking a little amused.
"Not really. I just hang out with famous people," I said.
"I don't think that's true," he said as he turned into the In and Out parking lot.
"Yes it is, believe me." I said, trying not to sound disappointed about it.
"I think you've got your own thing going," he said.
I let out a long sigh, since I didn't want to air all of my discouragements right off the bat. There were three other cars ahead of us in the drive through, so he glanced at me once he came to a stop behind them.
"Do you hate being famous or something?" he asked.
I gave him a little smile. "It's probably a bad day to ask me that because I just got home, and I really don't feel like leaving again in two weeks."
He glanced at me as he slowly pulled forward in the drive through.
"I know how lucky I am," I said, thinking he probably thought I was a spoiled brat for complaining.
"My mom would get onto you for saying that."
"Why?" I asked. "I'm admitting I'm lucky."
"She'd tell you there's no such thing as luck," he said. "Every good and perfect gift…" he added, trailing off.
"Every good and perfect gift, what?" I asked.
"Is from God," he said, like that was the only obvious answer. The statement was cute coming from him, and I smiled at him. He was really big and tough looking for someone who was saying things about God, and the contrast was adorable.
"What would your mama want me to say?" I asked.
"That you're blessed, not lucky."
I smiled. "Well, whatever you want to call it, I know I'm that. I'm living the dream as they say."
"It's just not your dream," he said, reading my mind.
My head whipped around as I faced him. "How'd you know?" I asked.
My amazement made him laugh.
"You were the one who said you were living the dream, as they say," he said, quoting me. "I just assumed by the way you said it that it wasn't your dream."
"I guess I'm sort of wearing my heart on my sleeve about it right now. I don't mean to come across as ungrateful."
He stared at me as if searching for some truth. "Just for a second, stop worrying about sounding ungrateful," he said. "Pretend I'm not going to judge you, and go ahead and say what you feel."
The car in front of us moved, and Cole pulled forward slowly, glancing at the menu. I leaned over him so I could get closer to the speaker. "A double-double with grilled onions, and an order of fries, please," I said when the cashier asked what we wanted.
"Would you like anything to drink with that?" she asked. I looked at Cole as if to make sure that sounded like a good order and if he wanted anything to drink.
"Is that for you?" he whispered.
His question made me laugh. "It's for you," I said.
"Oh, then that's good." He turned to the speaker. "No thank you on the drink; that'll be all." He looked at me before pulling forward. "You sure you don't want anything?"
I smiled and shook my head.
Cole finished his burger before we got onto the highway, and he stopped at a gas station to throw the bag away. He went inside to get something to drink, and I went with him just because I wanted to. I put on my horn-rimmed glassed before we got out of the car, and I loved the way he smiled and shook his head at me. I usually went out in public with Estela, and people often recognized and approached us. I wasn't so sure anyone would notice me at a gas station without my sister, but I put on the glasses anyway.
I stayed right next to Cole the whole time we were in there. He made me feel safe. He must have noticed how close I was because when we were standing there staring at the drink cooler, he put his hand on my back. His touch was so distracting, that I forgot I should have been making a selection until he reached in front of me to grab a vitamin drink.
"I'll take one of those," I said, which caused him to grab a second bottle. He took his hand off of my back to hold the drinks, and I missed having it there. My back felt cold and empty. I smiled at him in the most unaffected way possible as we walked toward the register. I reached out and grabbed a roll of SweetTarts as we walked past them.
"I guess I'll be having a few of those," he said when he noticed what I picked up.
"You have to get your own," I said, holding them to my chest like they were really special to me.
Cole stopped walking and turned like he was going to head the other way, and I giggled and reached out to stop him by putting my hand on his shoulder.
"I'm just playing," I said. "I'll share with you."
It was a silly joke, but that's just how nervous I was with him. Plus, as middle school as it may have been, I wanted the excuse to make physical contact with him. Cole took the candy from me as we approached the cashier, putting everything on the counter. I stood beside him, spacing out at all of the impulse buy items like phone chargers and caffeine tablets.
"You're one of those sisters aren't you?" the cashier asked.
I glanced at her with a smile, knowing she was talking to me.
"Can I get a pic?" she asked, even as she pointed her phone at me. I smiled and tilted my head to the side since I knew she was clicking away regardless of whether or not I wanted her to. Cole put his arm around me, and reached in front of me like he was curious about something that was on the counter. His movement conveniently blocked me (at least partially) from the phone that was aimed at me. The cashier put down her phone and made change for the twenty-dollar bill Cole had laid on the counter.
"I'm sorry about that," Cole said once we stepped outside.
"It's no big deal," I said. "I just hope
you don't mind showing up on all of my social media again. She'll probably tag me if she posts any of those."
"I don't care about me," Cole said. "I'm just sorry you can't buy some SweetTarts without everybody taking your picture."
"At least she didn’t come around the counter and start hugging on me," I said as he opened the car door. "People can get a little pushy." I turned to face him before sitting down.
"Nobody's gonna come up and start hugging on you when I'm around."
My heart started racing at the hint of jealousy I detected in his tone. I smiled at him before sitting in the car, and he closed the door for me.
Cole had already plugged our intended route up the coastal highway into the GPS, so he didn't need to ask me for directions when we pulled out of the gas station. I opened my drink and took a sip of it as he merged into traffic. Without asking if he wanted me to do so, I twisted the cap to his drink and handed it to him.
"Thank you," he said with a quick smile aimed at me. He took a swig of it and stashed it in the cup holder next to mine. The candy had shifted when I took his bottle out, and I had to move it so his drink would fit. "Thank you," he said again, since he wasn't able to take his eyes off the road in the heavy traffic.
I loosened the end of the candy wrapper before tearing it a little to release the first one. I absentmindedly noticed it was green before popping it into my mouth. I tore the paper some more to release a second sugary disk.
"I'll take one of those," Cole said.
"What color?" I asked.
"Whatever's next," he said.
I smiled as I reached out to hand him the candy. I started to put it in his hand, but quickly changed my mind, opting to put it straight into his mouth. Shameless, I know, but what else was I supposed to do? He opened his mouth as soon as he realized what I was doing, and I fed the candy to him as gracefully as I could. He sucked it in and chewed it the instant I put it into his mouth, which caused me to giggle for some reason. I tore another candy from the roll and did it one more time just for fun, laughing when he snagged it from me and chewed it again. He was so cute that I wanted to lean over the console and kiss him right on the cheek.
"I asked you to be candid with me about your job, and you never had the chance to do that," Cole said.
I knew I hadn't had the chance to tell him the truth about my feelings, but I thought the moment had passed, and I didn't plan on bringing it up again. I was relieved that he was interested.
"The truth is I'm probably a little better suited for a normal life. I think it's just the personality I was born with. I'm not like my sister. I get nervous about being in the spotlight. I can't breathe right when I'm trying to talk in front of more than like five people at a time."
"You must be a good actress," he said. "From the outside, it looks like you're having fun."
He glanced at me, and I smiled at him. "I'm not trying to say I have a hard life or anything," I said.
Cole let out a laugh and shook his head. "You need to stop worrying about making that disclaimer," he said. "I get it that you're grateful. I'm grateful for my life, too. I was born into a family business situation, and my path was sort of laid out in front of me, too."
"Do you wish you were doing something else with your life?" I asked.
"No," he said. He reached out and pinched my arm in a teasing way. "But if I did, I wouldn't feel bad about admitting it."
I contemplated that. "I want to do something else with my life," I said. It came out more timidly than I hoped, but at least I said it. It felt easier to admit than I anticipated.
"Really?" he asked with a quick glance in my direction.
"I think so," I said. "I love my sister, but I think I have to make some changes." I paused and sighed. "I guess I just feel like I'm missing something—like there's a purpose for me somewhere out there, and I'm not finding it."
"If you're not feeling committed to what you're doing, then you should probably make some changes," he agreed.
"At this point, I'm not," I said, shaking my head dazedly. "It's been coming, I just need to make it official."
"Don't go do something big because of my advice," he said. "I don't really know what I'm talking about."
I popped another sour candy in my mouth. "Just a second ago, you told me I should make some changes if I'm not feeling committed."
"Yeah, but then I thought better of stirring the pot like that. I'm not really qualified for giving advice to someone like you. I'll just tell you to climb into my luggage and come with me to Louisiana." He delivered that last part in a light-hearted almost joking way that had me not knowing what to say next.
I had to clear my throat before I spoke. "You're not stirring the pot. You're not telling me anything I didn't already know. That's why I was at Dad's office today… I was trying to get him to tell Estela I had to stay home. All this conversation is doing is making me realize I need to go ahead and tell her myself."
Chapter 8
I spent the entire afternoon with Cole. We drove north for about an hour-and-a-half (to no place in particular) before turning around to head back.
He enjoyed driving the BMW on those curvy roads, and I got a kick out of watching him. We talked about our families. I told him about my siblings and parents and gave him a summary of what my life had been like up to that point. He asked poignant questions that had me digging up old memories and feelings.
We laughed a lot. He told me about his parents, brother, cousins, and other family. He described them so well that I felt like I knew them by the time he was done. I looked at some of the photos on his phone, and he did his best to glance at them so he could explain who they were and what was going on in the picture. I couldn’t believe he let me just dig in his phone the way he did. I would never let anyone look through my photos like that—there were way too many embarrassing selfies and dumb things in my phone. I admired his openness and was attracted to it.
He got a few texts when I was looking at his pictures, and every time he did, I'd shield my eyes and looked away for fear of invading his privacy. We were on the outskirts of Calabasas, and I was still holding on to his phone when a call came in from his dad. I knew because "Dad" flashed across the screen.
I held it out for him. "It's your dad, I said."
Cole took the phone from me. "I better take this," he said before pushing the button and putting the phone to his ear.
I listened to his one-sided conversation.
"Hey."
(pause)
"Yes, sir."
(pause)
"It went well. He was a good guy. We talked some numbers, and I think it'll work out for all of us."
Cole paused and glanced at me with an apologetic smile since he was obviously being asked to talk about the meeting with my father.
"Because I went for a drive. I left right after we had lunch, and I haven't even looked at my phone."
(a pause, and then a little laugh)
"Dad, can I call you once I get back to my hotel?"
(pause)
"I'm not by myself right now, and it'll be better if I can have my laptop in front of me, anyway."
(a pause, followed by another apologetic glance aimed at me)
"Mr. Torres's daughter, actually."
(pause)
"Okay. I'll call you when I get back to the hotel. Bye."
Cole pressed the button to hang up his phone.
I had the strangest unsettled feeling when he said he'd call his dad back from his hotel, since that led me to believe he'd do it when he was alone again, which he thought would be soon.
"I guess I better get you home," Cole said, confirming my fear. He glanced at me, and I smiled like nothing was bothering me.
"Yep," I said, feeling heartbroken despite knowing how silly it was.
We drove for what must have been a full minute in silence after that—so long that I contemplated asking him if I could turn on the radio for the first time on our trip. Or maybe it was just because I was feel
ing bummed out, which made the silence a little awkward for me.
My phone had been blowing up even more than Cole's, and I used the moment of frustration to answer a few of my texts. My brother's wife's name was Mia. I had one text from her asking if I remembered the name of a certain yogurt shop we went to in San Diego one time. I text her back saying I didn't remember, and I heard from her within seconds saying she remembered by herself, but thanks anyway. She also included that the name of it was Prince Puckler's in case I was curious. I sent her back a smiley-face emoji before calling my sister. She had text me five times, and I didn't even read all of them before calling her back.
"What are you doing?" she asked right when she picked up the phone.
"Nothing."
"Why aren't you here?" she asked. "I thought you were going to lunch with Dad. He said you left with that guy."
"I did," I said unapologetically.
"I know, because somebody posted a photo of him hugging you in what looks like a gas station. You were wearing those ridiculous glasses."
"He wasn't doing that," I said, ignoring her comment about the glasses.
"I'm looking at it right now, and that looks like what he's doing."
"Well, it's not," I said, wanting her to drop it without me having to say too much in front of him.
"It doesn't matter," she said. "He's hot, and everybody's commenting wondering who this mystery guy is."
I glanced at Cole, trying to gage whether or not he was able to hear what my sister was saying. I hadn't heard what his dad was saying on the other end, but it seemed like Estela was speaking loudly. Cole just stared at the road, so I figured he wasn't paying attention.
"Okay, so I'll talk to you later," I said.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I don't know."
"When will you be home?"
"I don't know."
"We're gonna go over to Justin's tonight."
"You can," I said.
She let out a huff. "Why are you being so weird?" she asked.
"I'm not."
"Is he sitting right there?" she asked.
"Yep."
"Is he hot?" she asked, teasing me.
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