Country Music Imagines

Too Late ~ Cole Swindell

Requested by Brittney_Hook

I stared at Cole. He did everything in his power to avoid my eyes as he wrung his hands together. The silence felt heavy and I tried desperately to process what he had said. My voice was quiet, "Why?"

Cole sighed, but refused to look up from the floor, "It's just not working out." He squirmed in his seat, fiddling even more with his hands.

"Liar." Cole's head whipped up and I knew that he had heard my whisper.

"What?"

My eyes hardened as they landed on his shocked face, "Why don't you tell me the truth?" Cole opened his mouth and I knew he was going to insist that that was the truth, so I cut him off, "Tell the truth."

He sighed and looked down once again, "My parents had some concerns and I know that I shouldn't let other people dictate my relationships, but I can't be with someone that won't get along with my family."

Heat was rising to my face, "Get out."

Cole stayed in his spot, his voice soft, "Please try to understand."

Pointing the door, I lowered my voice as best I could, "I said get out." Cole stared at me for a second before sighing and getting to his feet. With one last glance he walked out the door and I was left alone.

~

It had been a little over two months since that night and I hadn't seen Cole since he walked out of my apartment. The first couple of weeks had been tough, but I had been able to get through it. My friends had been there for me, but no one more than Kip. He had been there for me through the late night crying sessions and the romantic comedy binge watching nights. We had always been good friends, but we seemed to have grown closer in the past month. Which is why I had asked him if he wanted to go on a date with me.

He had been hesitant at first, afraid that he had pushed me into something that I wasn't ready for. After some reassurance from me though, he happily agreed.

There was a knock on the door just as I was putting the finishing touches on my makeup, "Perfect timing." I skipped out of the bathroom and straight to the front door. Without checking who was on the other side, I pulled open the door, a wide grin stretching across my lips. When I locked eyes with the person stood outside of my apartment, my smile dropped, "What are you doing here?"

Cole smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Can we talk?" He shifted on his feet, clearly uncomfortable, but trying to seem confident.

"Now is actually not such a great time." I tried to close the door, hoping that he would get the hint and leave quickly.

He stepped forward, "Please, it'll only take a minute." Before I could answer though, the elevator doors opened and Kip stepped out. A grin spread across my face as we locked eyes and he smiled back before his attention moved to Cole. Cole looked between us, confusion clear on his face.

Kip moved next to me, "Everything alright?" I nodded at the same time Cole did.

Cole looked back at me, "Baby, I came here because I made a mistake. I should have never left you." He grabbed my hand, "Let's give this another chance." He smiled as I stared at him, not expecting all this. Kip stared at me, searching for something. I looked between both men, completely frozen. Cole was smiling hopefully while Kip tried to look happy for me, but I could tell that this was eating him up. He took my silence as an answer and turned to walk away.

I didn't want him to leave, so I found my voice, "Wait." He stopped and turned back to me and Cole, who looked confused. Turning my attention back to Cole, I pulled my hand from his, "You're too late." I reached back into my apartment and grabbed my keys before shutting the door and moving over to Kip, "I'm sorry, but Kip and I are happy together and we're going on our first date tonight." Looking back at Cole, I saw him nod solemnly, his apology dying on his lips as he moved to the stairwell. The door closed behind Cole, leaving me and Kip alone in the hallway.

Kip held his arm out to me, "Ready to go?" Nodding, I took his arm and let him lead me to the elevator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So sorry about the wait. Hope you enjoy this one. I've decided to close requests indefinitely. I'm going to finish the 4 or 5 that I have and then I have one more of my own creation and then this book will be marked as complete and will no longer be updated. Thanks for reading!