Paint The Ice

Chapter 32

ASHER

RILEY LEAVES, COLE AND I WAIT.

He doesn't shut the car off. The music flows and it happens to be Chase Atlantic. The beat takes me back to Riley's bed, in her room.I remember my heart racing. Kissing her. Loving her. Being with her. Her smell, her taste, how pleasing she is to my eyes. Chase Atlantic isn't a group I listen to religiously but after that night, the songs have a whole new meaning to me. Just hearing the familiar sound drafts up a flashback in my brain.

"What the hell are you smiling about dude?" Cole asks, causing the flashback to evaporate.

I didn't realize I was smiling until he pointed it out. He won't want to hear the details about his sister and I wouldn't tell him either. "Nothing."It doesn't mean I stop smiling though. I physically can't.

"It's my sister."He concludes, giving me a look that he knows. "You're in love, man. She got you. In your head. In your heart. There's no other reason to be grinning at thin air right now. I should fucking kill you for liking her, I knew this would happen,"He says but he doesn't sound angry. "When you asked for her number that night, you talked to her for what felt like hours, man.Wasn't she supposed to be babysitting? We were in the bar getting fucked up and you were outside chatting it up with my sister I didn't forget."

I wave him off. "Yeah, yeah."

It's silent for a moment, then he says, "It's weird seeing her in your clothes but whatever. I'll pretend I didn't see,"He looks at me out of the corner of his eyes. "I'll let you guys live."

"Thanks man. Now why aren't you smiling huh? Come on, when was the last time you've been in love?"

Cole shakes his head, slouching in his seat. "Nah man, I don't do love. Don't turn this around on me."

I chuckle, nodding at his words. "That's right. What about that girl from the bar that wanted to come home with you? The one from a few weeks ago?"

I haven't seen her back at the house or hanging around the front yard waiting for Cole so I guess I should assume that he's never going to see her again. And honestly, I don't even remember what she looks like. If I saw her again, I probably wouldn't have recognized her. What was her name again?

Normally, Cole wheels girls in so much that they get addicted. Sometimes, it's not entirely his fault, they just don't want to let go. They never want to agree with his one and done rule. All the years I've known him, I've never seen him in love before. Never saw his eyes lit up for another girl. He's completely closed himself off.

"Nothing happened. I mean, she was pretty fucking wasted. I know you didn't realize but she was way too drunk and I only noticed when we were going upstairs."He admits, which I believe for obvious reasons. My friends are assholes but they also have good qualities. Cole's a decent guy. "So, I just gave her a place to stay for the night."

I pat his shoulder. "You're a gentleman."

"When she wakes up, she goes... can I tell my friends that we slept together? I already spent the night and they're going to give me so much shit if I don't have stories to tell."

"Woah."

"Yeah, dude and I was like... uhhh, knock yourself out. Make it believable all while on the floor."

"So you slept on the floor and gave her the bed? You'll be a good boyfriend one day."

"Stop looking at me. Shut up."

Cole and I  talk some more, laughing here and there. We're on the topic of our upcoming game when Riley returns. She slips inside the car on the backseat, closing the door. "What are you guys talking about?"