by Blair Holden
I turn on my heels to walk away but Cole catches me and dips me at the waist, bending down to kiss me breathless. I register the sound of someone letting out a wolf whistle, probably Lan, which is followed by the sound of applause. Cole and I break away to the sound of everyone cheering for us, and I hide my face in his chest.
“They so totally know why we were late.” My hands clutch fistfuls of Cole’s shirt. He simply laughs, the bastard.
***
“I can’t believe how empty this room looks.” My bedroom looks a little different since I’ve taken a lot of the things to our apartment back in Providence.
I’m exhausted yet deliciously sated. The party was a success, a memorable last hurrah for quite the eventful summer. Cole and I snuck away early, though, since Cole is as insatiable as my craving for refined sugar.
Cole’s wrapped around my back, his arm pulling me against his chest, his legs tangled with mine. “I’m glad you kept the bedspread here. It reminds me of when you were trying so hard to resist me.” His chest vibrates from his laughter.
“You never let me resist, Cole, I couldn’t have done that if I’d fortified myself with steel walls, and you would’ve still managed to Hulk your way in.”
“True,” he nods seriously, “you couldn’t have kept me away even if you’d tried, which we both know you didn’t.”
“Yes, I loved you so much when you were dumping dyed water all over me, or when you hijacked my family, or when I realized you had more fangirls than all of the One Direction members combined. That really sealed the deal for me, baby.”
He laughs. “Please, I think I’ve got at least a couple hundred thousand more than those pretty boys.”
I elbow him. “If I see one more girl trying to get suspiciously close to your package, your dad might have to pull some serious strings to get me out of jail for manslaughter.”
“Speaking of, I saw Cassandra talking to you tonight. Anything I should be worried about?” His hands slip under my pajama top as he caresses my bare skin.
“She apologized, again.” I’m pretty surprised by it, actually. “She said she was being overprotective and that it was unfair on me to have been put on the spot like that. She…uh…she said she wants to try going back to how things were before with us.”
“It’s up to you, whatever you want, Tessie.”
“We’re not going to see each other often, but I’d like to try. Life’s too short to be mad at the people who care about you.”
“It is too short, isn’t it? When you’re sure about something, you should just go for it, right? What’s the point in waiting?”
He sounds oddly cryptic, like he’s saying this more to himself than he is to me.
“Yeah, absolutely. Why wait for something you truly want when you have the opportunity to go for it that very moment?”
I turn around so that I can see him, and even though the lights are off and the moonlight’s the only thing illuminating his face, I see the determination on Cole’s face. He reaches toward the dresser on his side of the bed, opens the drawer that I’ve officially given to him, and grabs something out of it. Now fully awake, I sit upright and try to calm my heart that’s thrashing wildly in my chest.
“Turn around, Tessie?”
“What?” My voice is breathy, anxious but in a wonderful way.
“Please, just turn around.”
I move so that I’m resting on my knees on the bed, with my back toward Cole. The mattress dips under his weight as he moves closer. One hand sweeps my hair off my neck, and I help him out by pulling it into a quick ponytail.
And then something cool settles against my chest and I gasp. Because around my neck is a delicate silver chain, and resting in the middle of my chest is a ring. Through the darkness, I see the princess-cut diamond sparkling at me as it catches the light.
A diamond ring.
“Cole.” I can’t breathe, I’ve lost the ability to speak. I can’t even move because the shock has rendered me immobile. His arms come around me and I realize I’m half shaking, half crying.
“The ring is yours, it always has been. Nana reminded me today to give it to you whenever I feel the time is right. But I’ve always been sure, always been ready for this moment and for us. I promised your dad that I’d wait at least until we’re twenty-one before taking this step, but I want you to know that this ring isn’t mine, it’s yours to keep, and whenever you feel the time is right, I’ll put it on your finger.”
I whirl around and launch myself at him, his mouth unrelenting under mine. Every ounce of love that I feel for him, I pour into that one kiss, and as I push his shoulders back to rest on the bed, I touch the ring resting near my heart.
“Every day I fall for you a little bit harder,” I tell him as I kiss every visible plane of his face. “Every single day with you is better than the one before. You’re strong, your heart is bigger and more forgiving than anyone I’ve ever met, you love me in a way I’ve never been loved before.” My hand rests on his heart as I kiss down his chest, loving the way it rapidly rises and falls beneath my touch. “You’re my hero, the love of my life, a caveman down to your very bones.” He laughs at that one. “And if I’ve ever been sure of anything in my life, it’s that I belong with you.”
I straddle him and cup his face in my hands. “I’m a sure thing. Cole Stone, you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life and this,” I touch the ring that simultaneously feels like it weighs a ton and has me floating on air, I’m that giddy, “is everything I could ever ask for. So I promise you, even if we have to wait two more years, when you want to ask me that question, whenever you think we’re ready for it, do it. and my answer will always be yes.”
The night slowly turns into day, the light of dawn surrounding us as we celebrate another first for us, and as Cole draws out every little bit of pleasure from my body, I don’t even pinch myself because this is my reality and I’m no longer afraid or holding on to it for dear life, because this year I’ve learned and I’ve lived. I’ve grown up and so has Cole. We live freer, we love harder, and most importantly, we trust each other enough to know that if there’s one certainty in our lives, it’s that the kind of love we’ve been lucky enough to find, it’s the kind that’s so strong, so powerful, that it survives apocalypses.
PART TWO
Blurb
Tessa O’Connell is a girl with an unbreakable spirit and a strength that will get her through anything. Her goal for her first year as a college graduate is to be fearless and make the best of all the opportunities that come her way. That includes adjusting to her life in New York all alone and an unexpected new job, all while missing her boyfriend as he gets through law school. But with Cole’s unwavering love on her side, she’s ready to conquer the world and build a life together with the man she’s going to marry, even if sometimes she’s got to do it all by herself. The insecurities and fears that plagued their relationship have now evolved into a love so strong, it can weather anything—even a long-distance relationship. After five wonderful years together, there’s nothing that’s going to get in the way of their happily ever after, or is there? On their own for the first time in a long time, Cole and Tessa struggle to make sense of their changed reality, which threatens to pull the two away from each other. The one thing they know is that they’re meant to be and they’ll do whatever it takes to stay together, despite the curveballs thrown their way. With old friends and new, one crazy Nana, stepbrothers, and snarky coworkers, Cole and Tessa are ready to make the transition into their real life as a couple, and this is the story of how two people fight the odds to create their forever.
Warning: This story comes with a delectable Cole Stone as you’ve never seen him before. Suited up, a lawyer in the making, still a little reckless at heart and rough around the edges, he’s the bad boy you fell in love with, but aging like the finest wine, all the more in love with his Shortcake.
Chapter One: My Goal for The Year; to Not End up in a Body Bag
“Wher
e do you see yourself in five years?”
It’s a question we’ve all heard and it’s a question we all hate, or maybe you would hate if you’re anything like me. I guess there are people out there who have their entire life planned, and they nearly trip all over themselves when asked to elaborate upon their five-year plan. It boggles my mind, honestly, how you can be so sure of life, of where it’ll lead you in five years from today. I’m not trying to set up a deep philosophical debate here, but for a girl who’s not quite sure what she’ll have for dinner that evening, to be expected to know where life will lead that far ahead is enough to give me a full-blown panic attack.
Because at eighteen, when I was graduating high school, I would never have guessed that at twenty-two, I would spend Halloween in sweatpants and moving heavy boxes up four flights of stairs to my new apartment.
My apartment.
Where I live, by myself.
“What do you even have in this one?” my brother asks, sweat beading on his forehead. The fact that he’s facing this level of exertion carrying up one of my three big boxes of shoes despite being a gym fanatic is testament to my level of shoe crazy. It’s a compulsion I developed during my junior year of college and it’s gotten increasingly out of control over the past two years.
“Just be careful with my babies, Trav, stop moaning. Remember you told me to not hire a moving company.”
I huff and I puff as we move up the last staircase. It’s just my luck that the elevators are out of order today but hey, at least I got my cardio in for the day.
“That’s because you’re new to the city, and I’d rather not have my baby sister bludgeoned to death before her first day at a new job.”
I roll my eyes. It doesn’t matter how old I get, Travis’s protective instincts will never go away or even decrease in intensity. I think he’s trying to make up for all the years he wasn’t there, and although I don’t want him to live the rest of his life with that kind of guilt hanging over his head, it’s still nice to know that my older brother’s always got my back.
Even if he can’t handle one measly box of shoes.
“You’re such a ray of sunshine, Travis. Is that really the kind of welcome you want to give her?” His girlfriend and one of my best friends, Beth Romano, adds dryly as she walks ahead of us. She’s been such a trooper today, helping out as much as she can, even if it meant taking a day off work. She’s got a paid internship at a popular recording label, her absolute dream job, but I know that they’re working her to the ground. The fact that she still managed to commute to the city despite the Halloween craziness really does warm my heart.
“I’m not scared,” I chime in, “with the amount of security checks you, Dad, and my boyfriend have run on this place, all of the Guantanamo Bay residents could bust out and I’d still be safe in my little lead box.” The men in my life haven’t really adjusted well to the fact that I’ll be living on my own for the very first time in a new city. But when I’d gotten the confirmation about my new job, I didn’t really think twice about it. If I would have to live on my own, I would. Besides, my choice of roommates is pretty limited. Beth and Travis have lived together for the past five years and continue to do so, my other best friend, Megan, lives with her boyfriend as well as she goes to medical school in Maryland. I’d briefly considered asking the last of my closest friends, Cami, but since she’d gotten accepted into a psychiatry program, her own boyfriend, Lan, had swooped in and gotten them an apartment together. He’d already been in the city, working at an investment firm, and the moment he got the go-ahead about his girlfriend being in the city for the next four years at least? Yeah, I stood no chance.
I know they all felt guilty about how things had turned out in the end. Because ever since high school, we’d talked about sharing a space together once we’d left our hometown. But it never happened during college and it’s still not on the cards, but to be honest, I’m actually thrilled with the independence. It’s terrifying, I’ll admit, and I’ve read enough online and watched enough crime documentaries to know all the ways in which a single female in New York City can become serial killer bait; however, I think I can make it on my own without getting killed.
That’s my goal for the year, to not end up in a body bag.
Besides, I know for sure that there’s one person out there who’ll always make sure I’m okay. That one guy who’s more worried about me than me, who won’t sleep at night until I check in with him and won’t start his morning without a text from me. I miss him with everything inside of me, and it kills me to be apart. But as long as I know he’s there, I’m not too worried about what the future holds. Because if there’s one constant I need in my life, it’s Cole Grayson Stone, and I know in the very depths of my soul that he’ll never leave me.
We manage to carry up the last of the boxes and that’s it, I’ve officially moved from Cole’s and my student apartment in Providence to NYC. Beth whistles as she takes a tour, and I admit, I’m feeling really grateful for all of my father’s property investments in the past couple of years because, let’s put it this way, were I to even attempt to rent this place, I would have to sell several organs.
And that would only pay a month’s worth of it. It’s a beautifully gut-renovated one bedroom, two bath in a pre-war doorman building. The apartment has high-beamed ceilings, stunning hardwood floors, an abundance of closet space for all my shoe hoarding needs, and great natural light. The living room space is expansive and includes a dining table that can easily seat six. The spacious windowed kitchen has quartz countertops with brand-new stainless-steel appliances, which are more for Cole than for me, but there is tons of cabinet space were I to rob a KitKat store. It’s way too much for one person, and I’m actually getting overwhelmed by the sheer size of it. But given the other apartments I saw that fell in my price range, I know this is the best deal I could get.
I’m immensely grateful to have my dad looking out for me, and I would never take it for granted. I think the only thing that’s put him at ease with my living on my own is the fact that I’m in a building that he has a share in. Much like my brother, I think my dad feels his share of guilt for how uninvolved he’d been in my life up to a point and how his political aspirations at times had pretty rough consequences for me. There’s no bad blood between us now, as a family, we’ve come a long way. As for my mother, well, we talk, and over the past year or so, we’ve been trying to make more of an effort to see each other more often. I don’t think my dad and she could ever be in the same room again, but hey, we’re never really going to be the Brady Bunch.
“Are you guys sure you don’t want to stay here tonight? I’ve got plenty of room and lots of menus for nearby Chinese takeout.”
I admit, I’m feeling a little lonely.
Beth and Travis exchange glances and I swear they communicate telepathically because they both look like they’re trying hard not to laugh and are very obviously hiding something.
“What?”
“We would love to stay but...” Beth starts and something akin to a wicked grin comes across her face. Travis groans.
“You are terrible with secrets.”
“What secrets? What’s going on?”
Travis throws his hands up. “We’ve already given it away, so we might as well make it obvious.”
“Shut up, drama queen, she doesn’t have a clue. All I’ve done is make sure she tries to shave her legs and has a decent outfit ready after we leave. If you know your sister, you realize she’s just going to collapse on that fancy four-poster bed and stuff herself with KitKats.”
Some things never change, obviously.
Travis nods. “I could’ve done without hearing the part about leg shaving, but I guess you’re right.”
“So...care to tell me what’s going on?”
“Not really, we actually have a Halloween party to get to. I’m going as a dominatrix, and it’ll take me ages to get into my costume, even if he helps.” She gestures toward my brother. “Or especi
ally if he helps.” She winks at him and I make a gagging motion.
Travis grins, looking absolutely lovesick even after five years together. “We’d invite you to come along, little sis, but I’m guessing you’d like a night in after the day you’ve had and well...for whatever’s to come.”
Okay then.
“You’re right, I am exhausted.” Beyond it, actually. I’d driven here and got up at the crack of dawn to make sure I’d get here in reasonable time to move in. Right now, I’m fighting to keep my eyes open, and even though the neurotic part of me is dying to unpack, I’d do anything for a hot shower and sleep.
But apparently, I need to shave my legs?
“Well, we’ll leave you to it. Remember, we’re meeting bright and early tomorrow for breakfast.” Beth raises a perfectly shaped brow, as if warning me of the dire consequence if I dared to cancel on her.
“Of course, I remember. I’ll see you there.”
“And you’re not going to bail on us, no matter what.”
“Right.” I stretch out the word, looking at the two of them for signs of substance abuse. They have got to be on something, given the way they’re acting right now.
“Okay, Captain Obvious, let’s get you home. Remember that latex costume of yours.”
Travis half drags, half pulls Beth outside, and she leaves, but only after giving me a pretty salacious grin.
What on earth...
Travis comes back after a few minutes, though, and makes sure I have all the emergency contact numbers I need, he double-checks all the locks in the place and makes sure I have enough food in the fridge to last at least three zombie apocalypses. He kisses the top of my head and tells me to stay safe before leaving again.
The protectiveness might get a little claustrophobic, but I know it’s coming from a good place. Which is why I resist the urge to tell the doorman to restrict his entry to only once a day.