Page 48 of Missed Notes (Rixon High 5)

He’d kissed me.

I’d almost kissed him back.

Almost.

I was walking a dangerous path, letting myself fall deeper. But he made it so damn easy. And part of me wanted all those firsts.

God, everything was so confusing.

Suddenly overwhelmed, I slipped out of the booth and made a beeline for the restrooms at the back of the bar. I needed a second to catch my breath and figure out how I was going to let Cole down gently.

He’d done such a nice thing bringing me here and sharing this part of himself with me. But I had suspicions as to why.

“Blowing me off already?” His voice made me pause and I turned slowly, guilt flooding me.

“Sorry, I just needed—”

“Hey, relax.” He closed the distance between us, gently gripping my chin and tilting my face up to his. “What do you need?”

“A girl’s minute.”

“I have a better idea.” He grabbed my hand and said, “Come on.”

Cole led me down the hall and to a door marked ‘private.’

“Are we supposed to be back here?”

“Tony won’t mind. I used to come up here all the time.”

We climbed the metal stairs leading to the roof. Cole gave the door a firm shove and motioned for me to follow. The cool fall air whipped around my face as I took in our surroundings.

“Pretty neat, huh?” Cole smiled.

“This is… did you plan this?”

“I’d like to take the credit, but no. Tony let his girlfriend Gianna decorate up here, and well, this was the result.”

We sat on the pallet sectional underneath the wooden pergola. Fairy lights were strung up above us, creating a soft amber glow. But the real focal point was the view.

“That’s Halston over there.” Cole said. “And over there, in the distance, is Rixon.”

“It’s beautiful.”

But Cole wasn’t looking at the view, his eyes were fixed firmly on me.

“What?” I blushed.

“I was just thinking about where we left things earlier.”

“Look, Cole, I like you. It’s just—”

He let out a low whistle. “What every guy dreads hearing when he’s sitting there, thinking about kissing the girl.”

“There’s just too much going on. I don’t think it would be wise to complicate things.”

“If this is about Aaron, I’ll talk to him and—”

“No, no. Don’t do that. Why would you even suggest that?”

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