Page 99 of Stay
Really serious.
“What happened?”
“Never mind. I shouldn’t have mentioned anything.” She pulls her long blonde hair up into a high ponytail. “If you have questions, you should talk to Cole. I just wanted you to know that he hasn’t dated anyone seriously since Jackie, and he really seems into you. After that bitch put him through the wringer last year, he deserves a nice girl.” Her lips quirk at the corners as if to soften the heaviness that permeates the air. “And I think that girl is you.”
My insides twist painfully as I nod.
She hauls her bag onto her shoulder before asking, “Are you ready to head out? Do you need a ride home?”
The thought of getting into the deathtrap that Sammy calls a car is enough to unsettle my stomach even more than it already is. “No, Cole is picking me up.”
I can’t stop thinking about what she just revealed.
I guess we both have our secrets.
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, a smile spreads across her face. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”
As we push out of the locker room door and into the ice arena, my gaze goes to the bleachers. Air gets trapped in my lungs as I scanthem. Another team is warming up and skating through drills. A few people dot the stands, but there’s no sign of Luke.
Once we push through another set of doors into the lobby, tension leaks from my muscles. When there’s still no sign of Luke, I begin to wonder if it was just a figment of my imagination. Instead of dwelling on my paranoia, I shake it off and head to the parking lot with Sammy where we find Cole’s Mustang idling at the curb.
He pops open the trunk so I can throw my bag inside before closing it. I give Sammy a wave and slide onto the front seat. As soon as my ass hits the leather, Cole pulls me to him before greeting me with a kiss.
After a heated moment, he whispers, “I missed you.”
Not giving me a chance to respond, his mouth crashes onto mine again. As much as I want to lose myself in him, I can’t. It feels like my past and future are on a collision course. I need to get everything out before this goes any further.
My palms settle on his chest as I push against him. It takes a moment for Cole to pull back and meet my gaze.
“We need to talk,” I say.
“All right, what do you want to talk about?” His attention falls to my mouth as his tongue darts out to lick at his bottom lip.
I glance around the semi-crowded parking lot. “Is there somewhere more private we can go?”
His gaze snaps to mine before he searches my eyes with more care as if only now realizing that what I need to tell him is important.
“Sure.” He reaches over and slides the seatbelt across my chest. “This sounds kind of serious.”
I draw a deep breath as the familiar feelings of anxiety prickle along my skin, and a thick ball of tension settles in my belly. “I promised to tell you what happened last year and that’s what I’m going to do.”
The heat filling his eyes moments ago dissipates as he pulls my hand onto his lap and holds it there. A heavy silence falls over us as we drive. By the time he pulls into a gravel parking lot that faces a small lake, I’m so tightly strung with nerves that my stomach isqueasy. He cuts the engine before releasing his seatbelt and then doing the same to mine. Silvery moonlight filters in through the windshield, illuminating his eyes as they settle on mine.
My heart riots painfully as if it’ll beat right out of my chest.
I need to get this over with.
Cole tightens his grip on my fingers like he will never let me go, as the other hand slides across my cheek until he can cradle it in his palm. Not wanting to see the questions that flood his eyes, I squeeze mine shut.
“Cassidy.”
It’s only when I open them to meet his steady gaze that he says, “Whatever you have to tell me doesn’t matter. All right?” There’s a pause. “It doesn’t matter at all.”
“It does.” He needs to understand how the past has shaped me into the person I am today.
“I’ve already told you that I’m falling for you. Whatever you have to tell me won’t change that. I promise.”
“Just let me get this out, okay? I want you to understand what happened last year and then you can decide if it matters.”
