Outbound Lane An Unspoken Truth Novella (Unspoken Truth Series) (5 page)

“Okay, how about I pour some wine and you can just keep m
e company?” he says, laughing at my comment.

“That sounds a lot better. I’ll just watc
h you work your magic from here.” I sit on the stool along the kitchen island. He grabs a remote and plays some music softly, and pours us both a glass of Moscato wine. “Mmm, that is good,” I say after sipping on the wine.

A song called
Stay
by
Rihanna
is on and I hum to the words. The words seem so fitting for Cole and me.

I watch as Cole moves around the kitchen, and he goes straight to work on the fish, skinning it and deboning it.
He points with a knife. “You’ll like it; I promise.”

“A
re you close with your parents?”

“
I am. My parents are real chill; they would like you. Maybe one day you can meet them. Since I didn’t have any siblings, my cousin Chase and I are pretty close. But Chase dresses more richly than I do. His parents are kind of stuffy, too. It’s hard to even believe we are related. His dad and my dad are brothers.”

“It’s good you have each other, and I know you only transferred here to be closer if he needed you,” I tell him, taking another sip of my wine. “You must get your cooking skills from working in your Dad’s diner.”

“I do. And maybe if you’re good, I’ll be cooking some more around here.”

“Ha, ha,” I mock. I continue to watch Cole
cook and plate the food and places the plates in front of us. I dig my fork into the fish and plop it in my mouth. “This. Is. So. Good,” I tell him in between chewing the fish.

“See, I told you. You need to listen to me more often,” he says
, smiling at me.

“Fish this good
hell, I might work up the courage to hug you later.” I laugh at such a silly comment, and he must think I’m some crazy child. I laugh nervously.

“You
can hug me anytime you like.” He winks.

I swear he is going to grab onto my heart and never let go of it, and there won’t be a damn thing I can do about it, because it will be too late when I realize it. “In all seriousness, I really appreciate everything you have and are doing for me. It means more than I could even say,” I tell him.

“I always here for you, Lexi. And stop thanking me. We’re friends right now. I hope we become something more, but only when you are ready and if you even feel the same way about me as I do you.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. I barely feel his touch.

“I do. And I hope we become something more than just friends. It just might take me longer to come around than most girls.”

“I know, and it’s okay.
Are you done?” he asks about the food. I nearly cleared my whole plate.

“Ye
s, thank you; it was delicious,” I tell him, as I help load the dishes in the dishwasher. Once it’s loaded, he flips the switch to turn it on. “I should probably grab a shower and get to bed, so I can do a few things in the morning.

“Didn’t you say something about a hug a little bit ago?” He cocks his head to the side, and shows off his wicked smile, as he holds his arms out.

“That might have been the wine talking. I’m just kidding.” I lean into his arms and let him wrap them around me. And I don’t feel totally grossed out by it. I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his shoulder. I can feel his chin resting on my head and I take this rare moment in and burn it into my brain. I’m the first one to break the embrace.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“It was nice,” I say, flashing him a smile as I walk to my room.

~
~ ~ ~ ~

I wake to the blaring sound of my alarm. I blink my eyes a few times to adjust to the light beaming in the room. I groan loudly as I swing my legs over the side of the bed. Running my fingers through my hair, I move toward the dresser
to change into a pair of capris and a tank top, and I slide my feet into flat sandals.

I pass Cole’s room and his door is still shut, so I make my way to the coffee
pot for my caffeine fix. Thank goodness Cole set the coffee up and it’s already done. I quickly fill up a mug and grab my keys and head out the door. I desperately need advice from my counselor and how I can overcome my fear of being touched, although I have made a slight improvement with Cole. I make my way to campus and find my counselor’s room, and I knock before entering.

“Come in,” she shouts.

“Alexis, it’s so nice to see you. Please, sit.” She motions toward the chair, while she sits at her desk.

“I really hate to bother you when it’s not group time,” I say nervously, placing my bag on the floor next to my chair.

“You can come anytime. And obviously something is on your mind. So why don’t you start?” She smiles, assuring me.

“Well,
you know my story, all of it, and the fact that being touched totally freaks me out and I really want to get over that fear. There is this guy…”

“A
guy, huh?” She smiles brightly. “Any guy would be lucky to have you, Alexis. We know this condition stems from your childhood and your abuser. If you concentrate more on the person you’re with and not think about the past, it would be a start. Just focus on what is in front of you in that moment,” she says with a soothing voice.

“His name is Cole, and we’ve been friends for a while, and our feelings are growing for each other and he is being really patient with me. We did hug twice and it felt nice, but there is always that fear in the back of my mind. I want to move forward and be all in love and experience all that. I’m just scared
,” I tell her in a rushed tone.

“Being in love is scary enough
you wonder if they’ll break your heart, be too vulnerable and all that comes with it. Plus, with some added baggage, it is scary. Just take things slow, and just take some deep breaths and focus on who is in front of you,” she tells me.

“I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me. I fee
l a lot better about things now.”

I stand to leave.

“My door is always open, Alexis. Come in any time.”

“Thank you,” I offer a smile as I exit her office.

Leaving her office, I have a smile plastered on my face, and I know I am not crazy after all. It just takes time to let my fears go. My next stop is the police station to file a restraining order on my abuser, so he can’t come near me ever again.

~
~ ~ ~ ~

I make my way back to Cole’s after having a productive day.
I walk inside and plop on the couch.

“Rough day?” Cole asks, plopping next to me on the couch.

“I just went to talk to my counselor and I went to the police station to file a restraining order.” I give a weak smile.

“You should have told me;
I could have went with you,” he says, stretching his arms out.

“I’m a big girl
; it was fine.”
Why do people constantly think I need my hand held, like I’m not capable of doing anything myself?

“I know you are, but I could have been there to support you,” he says,
as his eyes crinkle.

You were still asleep when I left and I didn’t want to wake you. Besides, I went to see my counselor first thing. I go to a support for my eating disorder and Leah, my counselor
, is really helpful with everything.”

“That is good. It’s
like you have your own safe place makes sense,” he says. “Would it be totally weird if I told you I wanted to kiss you right now?”

I bite my lower lip and smile shyly. “No, it’s not weird.” I look at his luscious lips and imagine
if they will feel like they did the other day. And he slides closer to me, and watches my reaction. I wait with anticipation. Normally at this point the couple would be having sex; isn’t there like a three date rule or something? But I’m just slower at doing this.

His lips are within an inch of mine, and I slam mine onto his. He slips his tongue into my mouth and I’m not grossed out at all. He pulls me closer, our bodies pressing against each other.
His chest feels hard against mine and he doesn’t move any farther than just holding me and kissing me, and it feels amazing.

I pull away so I can
catch my breath because the air evaporated from my lungs. I take a deep breath and just look into his eyes.

“God, that was amazing,” he says, as his chests ri
ses. “I only have one complaint.” He smirks.

“Oh
my god, do I have bad breath?” I cover my mouth.

“No;
now I won’t be able to stop kissing you.”

H
e pulls me close again and his lips find mine as I let out a giggle. Our tongues entwine and tangle and I feel ballsy enough to straddle his lap because I don’t feel close enough, so I swing my leg over him and position myself on top of him. My heart is beating so fast that it feels like it might burst out of my chest and explode. He wraps his arms around my waist and rubs his hands up and down my back. I rest both my arms on his shoulders. Could this get any better? I can’t imagine it being better than this.

Chapter Six

COLE PULLS AWAY
and looks into my eyes. “I feel drunk just from kissing you.”

“I feel like my hea
rt might burst out of my chest.” I swing my leg back and sit next to him. “You were my first kiss; the first kiss that actually meant something,” I tell him, resting my hand on his thigh. I can’t get enough of touching him, his lips, his chest, and his thigh.

“I hope it’s the first of many things
, Lexi.”

“How did someone just not scoop you up
; you are so nice and gentle. And I can’t imagine why someone hasn’t yet. It just doesn’t make sense,” I tell him. Cole would be an awesome catch for anyone.

“I’
ll be honest sometimes nice guys finish last. It seems girls are attracted to the bad boy types, who are rough and rugged. And that’s just not me. I just like to take my time with someone, and it’s hindered me a lot. I don’t rush into things. But with you my mind goes crazy, like I want to do everything at once,” he says.

“I think those are all great qualities and if someone can’t see that, than there is some
thing seriously wrong with them. And it’s my gain,” I tell him. “And while we are talking, I’m only trying to get better because of you, and because I think we are worth it, and I’d be stupid to pass up such an opportunity. So, nice guys don’t always finish last.”

“You’re
getting better because of me?” he asks in disbelief. 

“Yes. H
aven’t you been listening to anything I’ve said?” I laugh.

“I’ve
listened to you. It’s just… I didn’t know it was because of me.”

“It’s only because of you, because I know we can be more than this. And you can’t keep living in the past if you want to move forward,” I tell him.

“You have a point.

“What are you doing today? Any plans?”

“You mean besides kissing you?” He smirks, causing me to laugh. “I need to eat. What do say to me treating you out for lunch and maybe a movie or something?”

“Sounds good to me
. I’m actually hungry,” I tell him.

“Yes, I worked up an appetite.” His grin tells me all I need to hear.

Just as we are about to leave, Cole opens the door and I see a blonde standing on the other side of the doorway getting ready to knock. “Oh hey,” she says, smiling and showing off her bright teeth and a space in between her two front teeth.

“What are you doing here
, Charlotte?” Cole asks, and I see his jaw clenching.

“I was wondering if we could talk
.” She looks from me to Cole.

She looks like one of those small town beauty queens. Ugh, I hate her already. I can already tell they have a history.
One I know nothing about.

“How about I let you two talk, and I can catch you later, if you want?”
I look over to Cole and give him an obvious fake smile. I don’t wait for an answer; I just walk past him and make it to my car. Before I enter my car, Cole is on my heels. “You don’t have to leave.” He shoves one hand in his jeans pocket and one hand is on my car door as we are standing face to face.

“It’s kind of
obvious you two have history, and you need to get it sorted out. Call me later, if you can,” I tell him.

“She and I have been done for a while and I have no plans to get back with her,” he tells me while
she
watches us.

“You should hear her out and call me later,” I say, patting his chest. “I should go,” I tell him, sitting in the driver’s seat of my car.

“Don’t leave,” he whispers.

“Call me later, okay?
” I start the car and pull out of his driveway and I have a sick feeling in my stomach. I try to not think about
her
with him and how they are alone and who knows what the hell is going on. So I drive into town and find myself at a quaint little restaurant. I wander inside and sit in a booth, by myself. An older lady approaches me, as even her eyes smile.