"Don't complicate it,
Don't let the past dictate
Yeah,
I have been patient, but slowly I'm losing faith
So please, I know you baby
I know you baby
So please, I know you baby
I know you baby..."
- Skylar Grey "I Know You"
***
The night skyline was a blur as Colton drove to gosh knows where. All I knew at that moment was that Chey was right; this night turned out to be unplanned. However, sitting there in the black leather passenger seat, I knew somehow Chey had planned this all and if she didn't, she saw it coming. I believed, however, that she knew that Colton was going to come to Catch 180. Chey was smart, I had to give her credit.
Glancing over at Cole, I saw him looking at me in the corner of his eyes. He looked away, quickly, and focused back on the road as if he wasn’t just caught red handed. I didn’t say anything to rub it in that I caught him staring over at me.
The silence would normally make me nervous and fiddle. Yet, this time I welcomed the silence like an embrace from a long-lost friend. Breathing in, I got a whiff of lavender and lemons. His car smelled as if it was drenched in his scent. I didn’t mind because it brought a sense of familiarity and comfort.
I watched as Cole moved the gear shift from 3 to 4, while increasing his speed on the deserted highway he was driving on. I noted that the muscles in his toned arms bulge ever so slightly at the action. My front teeth lightly bit my bottom lip as I exhaled through my nose.
Colton’s dark orbs flickered over to me again. “Penny for your thoughts?”
Leaning back in my seat and turning my attention to the road ahead of us, I wondered what was going through my mind. Honestly, my thoughts were all over the place — never sticking to one thought. All I knew was I was beyond confused, about everything. Colton was without a shadow of a doubt right: I was overthinking everything. “What is Belvedere going to think?” The questioned slipped out of my mouth before I could even consider what I was saying.
“Belvedere?” His voice was laced with confusion.
I nodded, knowing it was now or never to bring up one of the many elephants lingering in the car and my thoughts. I figured, now, that this was one of the things I had to get out first. “Yes, the girl from the office. The one you had a date with a few days back. The girl I presume is your girlfriend.”
“What gave you the impression she is my girlfriend?” He questioned as he looked at me with a raised eyebrow before turning his head back to the road.
“Well, her coming to the office in a dress to impress. Then the girl asked if you were still planning to take her out. You, of course, put her question down with a firm ‘I’m still planning to pick you up at eight o’clock’."
Colton laughed for a second as if my words were humorous to him. “Oh, yes, I remember. This was followed by you telling her that you were going to pick up some ointment.”
I tried not to smile at remembering the look on his face when I said that. “So I did.”
“If she has a problem with me going out with another girl then she got the wrong idea about our dinner.”
“Do tell,” I inquired with a raised eyebrow.
“Her father recently passed away. When he did, her brother-in-law ended up forcefully taking over her father’s local drug ring. He changed everything her father built up, and she wants to take him down. She came to me asking that I get rid of her brother-in-law and take over her father's gang. Belvedere wants to set it back to the way it should be. According to her, her dad and I shared very similar ethics, rules and ways to structure a gang, so she thinks I am the guy for the job.”
I didn’t know whether to believe him or not. “Why was she so nervous?” I questioned, hoping to lay all my wandering thoughts to rest.
The corner of Colton's lips twitched up while looking at me in the corner of his eyes, once more. “Jealous?”
“Jealousy would mean I like you more than what you are to me ... Please, answer the question.”
“She was nervous because she kept thinking I would back out. Belvedere was terrified that I’d not help her — that she’d say or do something, and I’d leave her father’s gang in the hands of her brother-in-law.”
Part of me was satisfied with that for I could believe it. Looking over at the car clock, I saw that it was a quarter till nine. We’d been driving for more than an hour and a half. “How much longer?”
“I don’t know,” He exclaimed.
“You don’t know? ... Please for the love of bananas tell me you aren’t just driving around aimlessly. Tell me that you have a destination.”
“I have a destination. However, we won’t get there for another 5 hours.”
My eyes nearly popped out of my head. “5 hours?! You have to be kidding me!"
“That is if we do a straight shot there, no stops.”
“There? As in...?”
“I can’t tell,” He said with a grin of satisfaction. Colton liked getting under my skin, and I hated not knowing things and as if this moment, I didn't know where we were headed — and didn't like it.
I, overall, didn't no idea how to react to the situation of this random road trip. I was certain, though, that 5 hours with him in a car with no escape was far more than I was expecting or wanting right now. “You are going to have to tell me because there is no way in hell that you are going to be driving all the way there. We are going to have to switch,” I told him as I thought about when I got to drive, I would just turn this car back around and head back to New York City because he was clearly out of his mind.
“You funny,” he stated. “You’d take us back to NYC.”
My eyes narrowed for Colton always seemed to read me like a book, with ease.
“I know you, Alice. More than you’d like to admit,” He informed me. “Hence why I know you were jealous about Belvedere.”
I sat there, shocked. “Colton, I was not and am not jealous. You can do whatever the hell you want with whomever you want. We aren’t dating and the mere idea ... well ... It’s ...”
“Do tell,” Colton said in a mocking tone.
My eyes snapped over to him, and I hoped for once in my life that looks could kill. “It’s a weird thought. I mean, forget that you are Oldy McOldy, what makes it weird is that you're like a father figure to me-” Suddenly the car swerved to the side of the road. “What the hell?!”
Colton put the car in park and looked at me with a stern expression. “We’ve been through this, so many times, Alice. I am not your father-”
“No, you’re not but you might as well be. You raised me Colton; you taught me everything. That is, correct me if I am wrong, part of a father’s job. My parents didn’t want me-”
“That is not true, Alice. They ... they loved you.”
I rolled my eyes, “Like a grandchild. They didn’t want me, you as well as I know that ... Point is, thinking of you as anything more is just weird.”
“But, it’s not an impossible thought.”
I sat there, staring at Colton. “Where is this all coming from?” I inquired as my head started to spin with curiosity. This was all so random, so rushed. It felt like someone was pouring ice cold water over me and shocking me to my core.
Cole shifted in his seat and sighed, “I don’t know.”
I tried to piece everything together as silence enveloped the car. After a second of us not sharing any words, I spoke, “I think you want to protect me. I think when you thought of me going on a date you, freaked because you didn’t want Rafe hurting me.”
“Rafe?”
I stuttered, realizing what I said, “I meant-t Chad-d.”
Colton eyed me with a questioning expression.
I continued to speak, hoping my little slip up wouldn’t raise questions. “You didn’t want Chad to hurt me, so your father instincts kicked in. You threatened Chad not to come and instead you took his place.”
“I didn’t threaten him. I never even talked to that bastard.”
My eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head. “Right,” I sarcastically replied.
“That is not why I came, Alice,” He gritted.
What he said had my attention. I wanted to hear what he was going to say. Part of me had this underlying suspicion that my ‘father-protect’ theory was wrong — a theory that he was about to shatter into a million pieces.
“I came to Catch 180 for several reasons. One was because I was informed that Chad was not going to show up — he was going to stand you up. Secondly ... well, I didn’t like the thought of you dating someone else.”
“That is the father inside of you-”
“No! Damn it, Alice,” He looked me square in the eye and I swear he was seconds from flipping his shit. “A father wants his daughter to be happy! Me. I want you to be happy but only by my words and actions. I don’t want another man to make you feel anything. The thought of you dating someone sends me up a wall and makes me think of a thousand and one ways to murder the bastard. A father is protective but wants his daughter to grow up, be happy, meet a good guy, get married and have kids. I don’t want that for you with another guy. I want you by my side twenty-four / seven. I want to protect you but for the selfish reason that I need you in my life.”
I wanted to demolish his speech and explain that he just thought of me as a daughter he had to protect. However, the look in his chocolate brown eyes showed me that he was not wavering; he was serious about this. “Did you feel this way two years ago?”
Colton didn’t respond. Instead, he looked at me with eyes that mirrored so many emotions that I couldn't place — except for one, hopelessness. As of that moment, in the car with nothing around us but a highway that held no cars, Cole looked like his whole world was crumbling down around him.
I think I was able to pick out that one emotion for the simple fact that I felt the same way, at that moment. In this car, I knew that things were changing. We were rewriting who we are to one another, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. “Did you. Feel this way. Two years ago?!”
“I don’t know.”
His answer didn’t settle with me very well. I wanted a yes or no answer. Breathing in, I knew the only reason I wanted this to be black or white was so I could pick a fight. I wanted to yell at him, let out the frustration that was building up inside of me.
“What are you thinking?” He asked me, as he swept a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. His hand gaze my cheek, and I felt a slight tingle.
“Many things,” I vaguely replied. I didn’t want him to have a definite answer for he didn’t give me one. “I can make myself view you as a friend and not a father, Colton ... But I am concluding you want me to view you as more than a friend. And ... I don’t know if I can.”
Colton didn’t say anything right off the bat. Instead, he thought about what I was saying. “Honestly, I don’t know what I want, Alice.”
“Houston, we have a problem.”
“It’s not all a problem, really. You don’t know how to view me, and I don’t know what I ... feel. So, let’s not know. Let’s be Alice and Cole—”
“We tried that and you snapped into being Mr. Sharp.”
“Things arose.”
“Really? Like the plan to trade me over to Garrett? ... You know, what if he locked me up, abused me, or did much worse?”
“He signed a contract that he wouldn’t lay a finger on you. If he did, he’d be killed, and his whole gang would be relinquished over to me. The man wants power and wouldn't break the contract.”
“That is why you made it a stipulation that I stay working with you," I stated, not asked. "So you can monitor if I was being treated right...”
“One of many reasons...”
Suddenly, a question popped into my mind. Without thinking I blurted it out, “Did you order the hit on me?”
He blinked a few times, “What?”
I shook my head, “I shouldn’t have asked that because you are just going to say the same thing: a lie. However, I know the truth. I know that you didn’t order the hit out on who stole from you — before you knew it was me ... So, do you know who did?”
Colton closed his lips — pressing them in a fine line — that meant he was thinking.
I could see that he was taking himself away from the moment we just had and thought about what I just blurted out. It took him a minute, but he soon answered me, “No. No, I don’t know who ordered the hit. It was someone in the company. Someone was able to copy my signature, seal and use my computer to order the kill. If anyone were to trace it, they’d think it was me.”
“So, you have no idea who it is?”
“I have a few people in mind.”
“Who?”
Colton shook his head, “I am not telling. I don’t want to get you involved.”
“I’m already involved ... How about I will tell you a secret, if you tell me who is your suspects?”
“A secret?”
“Yep, it involves Garrett and I think it will be very valuable to you. At least I think, I am not sure. I could be wrong-”
“I don’t want to hear it, Alice,” Colton's voice was cold and stern. “You are not in the business of sharing secrets you pick up at Garrett’s house. What happens there stays there. What happens between us, stays between us — as well as the work. Sharing any information can get you killed. Don't ever — to anyone — speak about what happens in Garrett's house and the workplace.”
I sighed, “I know but-”
“No buts,” He stated and then turned the car back on and began to drive in the direction we were originally.
Looking away from Colton and glancing out the passenger window, I wondered what the hell had gotten into me. I was about to tell Colton about Garrett’s ‘guest’ that I suspect was Mich. I was glad, in a sense, that he stopped me. I didn’t have any evidence and knowing Colton, if I told him he would have turned the car around and stormed into Garrett’s house. That might have been catastrophic if I was wrong.
Thinking back, I realized that Colton and I’s relationship was now shaken. There was something building up in the car, between us, something that made me realize that this mini-trip might be a horrible idea.
My mind drifted in thought right before my eyes became heavy, and I fell asleep.
***
“Alice, wake up.”
I felt someone lightly poke my cheek. I groaned and opened my eyes. It was still dark outside, and Colton was standing beside me, with the passenger door open. In his hands, there was a brown paper bag and a two cups of what I presumed were coffee. “What time is it?” I asked as I noticed that the car was off, leaving me with no way of telling the time.
Sitting up, I noted something warm slipped off me. I looked in my lap to see Colton’s jacket was placed over me. I couldn’t help but smile in gratitude at the fact that he must have covered me with his jacket while I was asleep.
“It’s six-thirty in the morning ... I pulled over when we were an hour outside of here and took a power nap.”
I furrowed my eyes in confusion, “Where are we?”
Colton smiled, “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
For some odd reason, I followed his command and closed my eyes.
“What do you smell?”
I took a large inhale. “Coffee and butter — oddly enough.”
Colton grunted, and I heard some movement.
Opening my eyes, I saw him move a few feet away, place the coffee and bag on the asphalt and glance back over at me.
“Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”
“Why? What is smelling going to do? Can't you just tell me where we are?!”
“Just do it,” he demanded.
I rolled my eyes and did what he said. My nose was filled with a smell that was familiar; I just couldn’t place where I had smelled it before. “Salt. I smell salt.”
“Good, now what do you hear?” Colton asked me.
It was evident by his hot breath now fanning my face that while I was concentrated on the smell around me he moved closer to me — very closer.
“Do you hear it?”
I focused away from the thought of his proximity and tried to pick up on what he wanted me to hear. Slowly, I started to hear what sounded like a faint roar. A squeak was heard, from a bird I figured. My eyes shot open, “The ocean!” I unbuckled, pushed Colton away from me and got out of the car in a rush.
It was then that I fully took in my surroundings. We were in a parking lot, turning around I saw what I heard and smelled — the sea. I nearly flipped my shit.
Colton came up beside me and smiled. “It’s not Pensacola, Florida — where we went the summer before I went to college — however this was closer ... Didn’t think you’d want to take a long trip to Florida.”
I chuckled, “Well the trip to Florida, when we went from California, was days long.”
Smiling, Colton nodded and handed me my coffee. “Yeah, but it was fun.”
“... Agreed ...”
“Come on,” Colton grabbed my hand and led me to the beach. “The sun is going to be up soon, figured we can watch the sunrise.”
I looked over at Colton and remembered how we got to Florida right as the sun was rising. We ate croissants, and he let me have some of his coffee. The memory was stuck in my mind as I knew it would be until the day I died.
I mean, nothing could erase the warm feeling of the air around us, the cool metal of the bed of his truck, as our eyes stayed focused on the rising sun.
It was by far the best vacation I took with Cole growing up.
“I don’t have a truck, so we can’t sit in the bed of it. Thought we’d sit in the sand.”
I grimaced, “I am wearing a dress. I’ll get it dirty, and it is the only clothing I have with me...”
Colton gave me a wide grin, “I already figured we’d have to buy clothing since we will be staying here for a night.”
“A night?!”
“Yeah, I thought we would spend the day on the beach, have a real dinner — nothing fancy — get a room and leave in the morning.”
“Get a room?” I gulped.
Cole gave a deep laugh. “Yes, they make rooms with two beds, Dear. If you are not comfortable with that, I can just order you a separate room.”
I audibly sighed.
Without saying anything more, Colton tugged my hand and led me over to a place in the sand. He sat down while I stayed standing. “Sit.”
I looked down at him, “It’s a nice dress, Cole. I don't want to mess it up.”
“I’ll buy you another. Sit.”
“I don’t want you to buy me anything, Colton."
He pulled at my arm, lightly. “Sit down or I will be forced to make you.”
I ripped my hand out of his grasp and shook my head. “No.”
Colton sat there for a good minute, looking straight at me. “You asked for it.” Suddenly, he got up.
I smiled and immediately took off in the opposite direction of him. “I’m not gonna sit down! you can't make me!” I shouted with a laugh escaping my lips. My heels were digging in the sand and slowing me down as I ran from the mad man that was hot on my tail.
Suddenly, warm arms wrapped around my waist, “That is not the plan anymore, Alice.”
He tossed me over his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes. “The plan?! What are you doing?!” I yelled as he started to walk away from the parking lot and our food. I quickly realized the direction that he was headed in. “No! Cole! No!”
His laugh vibrated his whole body.
Something inside of me clicked, and I found myself craving to hear him laugh again. My eyes gazed down, and I found my eyes locked with his butt. It was a fine butt; I had to admit.
I saw water around his feet, and I noted that he had entered the sea.
“Cole! Don’t do this! I - I can’t swim!”
Colton laughed once more, “I taught you how to swim!”
Damn, he caught me.
“That is right — you did, Father.”
He stopped walking for a moment, “Oh, now you're getting it.” Colton ran forward.
The first thing to feel the cold water was my feet and it made me shriek while giggling at the same time. It wasn’t long before I felt my body being submerged in water.
As the water blanketed me, I could still feel Colton’s arms tightly around my waist — holding me from swimming away or getting washed up by the ocean's current. After a prolonged second, he pulled me up to the surface and stood me up on my feet.
I couldn’t stop smiling, “You completely ruined this dress.”
He said nothing for a minute and just grinned.
It was then that I realized another meaning to what I said, “Pervert.”
He laughed, “You should have sat down on the sand.”
I rolled my eyes at him, “Lesson learned.”
Colton turned his head, and I followed suit.
The sun was rising, and the sky was turning into a light blue color while the horizon gave off a yellow and orange hue.
“Hungry?” He questioned as he tilted his head in the direction of our food. "I got croissants."
“Starving.”
Without saying a word, Colton turned his back to me. "Piggyback ride?"
I stood there for a second but then without thinking, I hopped on his back and giggled. “I’ve not been given a piggyback ride in years!” My arms wrapped around his neck, and it was then that I was able to breathe — not that I haven’t been able to breathe ... it's just that this was different. This was a breath of relief, familiarity, and comfort. This breath made me realize we were back - I didn’t know how long or if it was indefinite ... but Alice and Colton were back...
***
A/N:
I hear that many are not getting updates via email anymore about stories - Wattpad error, I assume. So, watch your emails because I will just start sending messages to fans about updates.
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! I am on a writing roll and might update again very soon! *fingers crossed*
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