Caufield's girl

Chapter Thirteen

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I find my way back to the dorm, and as soon as I open the door, Maddie greets me with her arms crossed. "Where the hell have you been?! Girl, I don't even know you anymore, but damn, I like it! You're telling me everything; I wanna know the details." She raises her eyebrows. "Oh God, please have mercy!" I sigh as I close the door behind me. I have no other choice but to tell the truth, and after a solid hour, I am finally freed from her interrogation. "Alright, I have a lecture in an hour. I have to get ready." I state this as I get up from Maddie's comfy bed and change into another outfit. When I'm ready, we say goodbye, and I head out. Before the lecture, I stop for a coffee at Celestine's.

The rest of the day is mediocre, lectures are bearable, and when four strikes, I'm headed back to the dorm, which reminds me of tonight's dinner. Dear Lord, what did I get myself into this time? I begin to wonder. I think I actually like him, and I'm scared because I can't. Too bad I already do. When I get to the dorm, Maddie's not there. It takes me about two hours to get ready. I take an hour-long shower and pick the dress I'll wear. In the end, I went for the simple black satin ones, my favorite. Sophisticated, but elegant, is just my style. After I do my hair and attempt to do my makeup as well, I realize that I don't have much time left. Thankfully, I managed to be all done by 8. My phone rings suddenly, and I know what it means. He's here.

I go downstairs, and when I open the main door, he's waiting for me in his dark suit and infamous smirk. But I can see his expression change the moment I come closer. "You...you look stunning." He pays me a compliment, as he already has a gulp in his throat. "Thanks." I smile a little. "Shall we?" he asks as he opens up the passenger door for me. "Yeah." I reply as I'm getting into his car. The ride is quite comfortable, and we don't talk much, surprisingly. After about ten minutes, he parks in front of a luxurious restaurant downtown, which is kind of out of my price range.

When we walk in, the waiter leads us to our table. When we're already seated, we receive the menus, and I can't decide what I'll have. But honestly, when I look at the prices, I almost faint, and my wide-eyed expression says it all. "Don't worry about that. You can have anything you like," he reassures me, and when the waiter comes back, I order Fettucine Alfredo, and he sticks to a medium-rare steak with protein that these athletes can't get enough of.

When our dishes appear in front of us, it doesn't take us long until we start to enjoy their pleasant taste. "So why journalism? I guess you've never told me the whole story," he inquires. "I don't know. I guess I thought that it's something that my dad would've wanted or at least liked, since he was so passionate about sports in general. But honestly, now I'm not sure if I made the right decision." I admit as I stare at my empty glass in front of me, "I'm sure you'll be a great reporter one day. Trust me, I've seen a lot of them, and judging by your skills and also your ability to irritate people, I'm certain you'll do just fine." he says in an attempt to reassure me. "Thanks, I've never received a better compliment." I shake my head at his partly amusing remark before I take another bite of my ridiculously delicious pasta.

But neither of us has a chance to say anything else before my phone starts vibrating. I look at the screen, and I let out a loud sigh, and when Cole sees that I'm not too keen on picking up, he inquires. "You're not gonna answer?" he says, raising his eyebrows. "No, I'm not." I respond as I turn my phone off for good and place it in my bag. "Why? Who was it?" he adds. "My mother." I say this as I take a sip of water to drown out that bitter feeling I get every time she tries to talk to me. "So, I guess you're not on good terms then." He assumes. "Indeed. Good guess of yours. It's complicated." I say it uncomfortably as I try to avoid any sort of eye contact with him.

"Right." is the only thing he manages to say in response, but I don't blame him. I'm too much, and everything about me is complicated. But maybe it's actually quite the opposite; it's simple. I'm just too broken and ruined; that's it. At this point, I wouldn't blame him if he got completely tired of it; I wouldn't, even in the slightest. "Sorry, I interrupted you." I apologise. "Nah, it's all good." he says this as we change the topic of our conversation. We go on till our plates become empty. "Thanks for the dinner. It was truly a gastronomical experience." I say gratefully. "No problem. Glad you liked it, and I hope that I was able to make up the reputation of dinner dates... sorry, dinners with men." he laughs as he immediately corrects himself. "You certainly were." I give him the credit as I nod simultaneously.

"But now I have a very important question for you. Did it beat my grilled cheese?" he asks curiously. "Well, after a very thorough consideration, I came to the conclusion that your grilled cheese is always gonna have a special place in my heart. I appreciate home-made food, must be it." I shrug. "Wow, since then, are you this kind? No, I'm joking, it's a real pleasure." He jokes again, and I just manage to smile because he gives me an indication that he's still intrigued. Maybe he really means all of this. Maybe all my dark sides didn't deter him or scare him off. My gut is telling me that this is good. Maybe he's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

But maybe this is all too good. Maybe it's too good to be true—too good to be real. It's too good to be anything. Anything at all. But right now, my endless train of thought is interrupted by his intrigued gaze as we sit there in silence after he pays the bill and leaves a generous tip to the waiter. We're both there, but also somewhere else, far away in our own minds, drowning in our own thoughts, wondering what can be, what could've been, and what is right now. "Why are you looking at me like that?!" I ask after a while, completely unaware of the response that comes out of his mouth right after. "Just can't get over how beautiful you are." He catches me completely off guard. It's cheesy as hell, but it hits differently when no one ever said it to me and really meant it. I felt Cole was different, but I couldn't admit it. At least not this soon. "Shut up. Stop it." I roll my eyes, but at the same time, my cheeks are flustered as well.

"Man, you really know how to take a compliment." He shakes his head. "Sophia Spencer, you're gonna be the death of me." He sighs. "You're the one who asked me out, remember?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "True." He sighs. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just that... no one has ever said it to me and really meant it. That's all." I confess truthfully, and he lifts his gaze back at me. "What makes you think I mean it?" he asks, raising his eyebrows in order to tease me. "You're different, Cole." I admit. "And I like it." I add hesitantly as he takes in a deep breath. "Sophia, anyone who tells you otherwise or with misleading intentions is a fucking idiot, remember that." he says this with his husky voice while staring at me with his hazel eyes.

I only manage to give him a small nod in response, as his words cut through me like the sharpest knife. It feels nice to be treated with respect and admiration, something I've never really known, especially at home. "You good?" he asks when I stay silent for a good minute. "You tired or something?" he asks in concern. "Hell no, tired is the last thing I am right now." I respond. "So, you wanna come over to mine?" he suggests. "I'd be happy to." I respond with a slight smirk. "I was hoping you'd say that." I can see the corner of his mouth twitch. "So, shall we?" he asks before I get up from the table and put on my coat. After a few minutes, we're already on our way to his apartment.