Page 16 of Chasin' Cole

"I didn't want you to get hurt," he explains as he strides over to me and rubs his hands up and down my arms. He’s actin’ strange. He’s never been worried about me before. Not like this.

"I'm fine," I assure him. “I’m fine.”

Instead of respondin' right away, Cole's arms wind their way around my waist, pressin' his body against mine.

"It's scares me how much you mean to me this early on," he admits.

I can't hide the smile that takes over my whole face. "I mean somethin' to you?"

"You mean a whole hell of a lot," he exhales. “More than I expected.”

"Well, you mean a whole heck of a lot to me, too," I repeat. Except for thehellpart. Wouldn't want to upset Jesus. I seem to be doin’ that a lot lately.

"I want to take you out on a real date, Rose. One where we dress up and eat dinner near other people.”

"I think I'd like that. Eatin’ with the fireflies is startin’ to get boring."

Instead of helpin' me into the truck, he captures my lips with his again. He pulls me close, enveloping me with his musky scent and warm embrace. He tips my head back and kisses me like it’s the first time all over again. Well, except I know what I’m doin’ this time. But he kisses me. He kisses me when he knows it could ruin his relationship with Brock. He kisses me when he knows he can’t stay. He kisses me when he knows I’m mean more to him than anyone else probably ever has.

We kiss and kiss and kiss.

And it makes me think Cole Strickland is wisin’ up to the fact that I'm the right woman for him. It's about time.

Chapter 6 – Forbidden Love is Fun

My hand is tucked in Cole's as we drive through Main Street under the cover of darkness. We're headin' to the movie theatre for a midnight showin' of some superhero movie Cole's been dyin' to see. I don't care so much about the movie as I do gettin' to cuddle with Cole.

We park down the street, so no one sees us get out of the truck together. Cole and I put on baseball caps and link our fingers. I'm not sure we're disgusin' ourselves all that well but we're havin' fun tryin'.

"Do we need to change our voices?" I smile up at Cole. "I think you should try soundin' a little more...Southern."

"You want me to talk with a drawl?" Cole shakes his head, laughin'.

"I think you have to," I shrug. "How else are we supposed to keep up our cover?"

Cole tugs gently on my arm, pulling me into him. Carefully, he walks us backward until my back hits the building. He tips his hat up before doin' the same to mine. Then, his lips are on me, silencin' me.

"Cole," I mumble as he keeps kissin' me. "Cole!"

"What?" he smiles.

"What are you doin'?"

"I thought I saw someone we know," he answers. "Had to think fast and hide our faces."

"You're unbelievable, Cole Strickland," I roll my eyes.

"What can I say, Rose? I like kissing you."

He likes kissin' menow. But what about when he leaves? Is he gonna start kissin' other women? No, Rose, don't go there. Enjoy tonight without any expectations. Enjoy him while he's still here.

Cole pays for our tickets before we grab popcorn and a coke to share. Surprisingly, we don't see a single person we know as we walk into the theatre and find our seats. We stick to the back so we can watch who comes and goes.

"There's Georgia Mackey," I whisper to Cole. We lower our baseball caps, making sure the gossip blogger doesn't notice us.

"And there's Ryan," Cole replies as another body enters the theatre. "Lacey's former bestie."

"Did you just say bestie?"

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