Chapter 13: Smoke in theLungs.
Cole woke up but refused to open his eyes. He'd welcomed the extra rest happily. The last week had been restless. Angel normally started by sleeping in his guest room but almost always ended up stealing Coles covers. It felt weird sleeping in his bed with a man- never less a man who he'd only been on one date with. Angel seemed more used to it- explaining after a few days that he normally crawled into bed with Rudy or Matt when he was having a hard time sleeping.
Cole had been slightly jealous when Angel told him that but understood that it wasn't his place to be upset. He hadn't known Angel when the boy fell into his friends' arms. Now, Cole had sworn to always be there if Angel needed him. All this thinking of Angel reminded Cole that he should be curled up at the edge of his mattress. Cole reached an arm out- expecting it to fall on the punk's shoulder. It fell on empty sheets.
Fear swelled in Coles gut, the memory of Angel running off blacked out any calm that was within Cole. His eyes flashed open and he looked around in panic. His eyes landed on Angel sitting on the floor with his hand hanging out the window, a cigg in his fingers.
"Christ" Cole sighed loudly and rubbed his face with his hand.
"You alright?" Angel asked, small puffs of smoke bypassing his lips.
"yeah" Cole said, "I just- thought"
"I took off again?" Angel asked, finishing Coles thought.
"Yeah" Cole chuckled, "I don't know why I'm just afraid you'll run off again and I'll find you in the hospital again"
Angel laughed, his rich voice sending tingles down Coles spine, he looked fondly at the punk- who crushed the end of his fag on the ash tray leaning on the window sill. Angel pushed himself up off the ground and Coles eyes trailed him as he stalked over to the bed. He plopped down next to Cole and hovered over the Jock.
"Have some faith" Angel whispered- his face so close to Coles that Cole could smell the smoke residue on Angels breath.
"I do" Cole assured, "I'm just being possessive"
"Didn't know you were so attached to me" Angel teased.
"Don't be an ass" Cole retorted and the grin that spread out on Angels lips was dazzling. Angel sat up straight and snickered. Cole let one hand rest on one of Angels knees and the punk looked at the jock.
"I need some air" Angel suddenly said, and Cole nodded.
"Do you wanna go somewhere?" Cole asked, "if you know where you want to go we can take my car"
"What, like a second date?" Angel questioned.
"Sure" Cole shrugged, "we stayed in for the first one- why not go on an adventure. You probably know all the good hiding spots in this town"
"Oh yeah" Angel smirked, "We can go get real lost"
"As long as we are back for dinner- mom would kill us if we just up and went MIA for a night" Cole finally sat up and rested his back on the headboard. He was still in his PJ's- a pair of plaid flannel pants and a light gray shirt. Angel was in some of Coles sweat pants and the shirt he'd left there when he showed up in the rain that day almost two months ago.
"Yeah- I know somewhere cool" Angel nodded to himself and stood up- putting his hands on his hips. His shirt hiked up a bit and Cole glued his eyes to Angel. Angel grabbed his phone from the night stand and scrolled through his notification- unaware of Coles gaze locked on his every move, "So let's eat and then we need to get going"
"Okay" Cole said, "meet you downstairs? Mom normally leaves coffee for everyone"
"Your mother is a saint" Angel said dramatically and slipped his phone in the pocket of the sweatpants. He grabbed his jacket too and left Cole to shower and change.
Cole heaved himself out of his warm bed and strode across his room to his dresser. He picked out his Captain America briefs and a long sleeved white short that had ORAGAN STATE printed on it. He grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans and some of his sport socks before opening the door and walking into the bathroom. While in the hallways he could hear Angel talking to Tara downstairs.
Cole turned the shower on HOT and waited for the water to warm up. While he waited he undressed and threw his clothes in the hamper they had in the bathroom. When the water was to his liking (lava), he stepped in and let the stream cascade over him. He was excited, Angel was still a big mystery to him but he was trusting him to open up in his own time. Once he washed his body and face he turned the water off, dried off, and got dressed.
There was a mug waiting for him on the kitchen counter. Angel was leaning against the counter top while Tara was sitting on one of the kitchen stools, "Look who's finally down" Tara teased.
Angel smiled into his mug and took a long sip of his coffee. Cole stuck his tongue put at his sister and clutched his mug in his hands. He made his way over and stood next to Angel, nudging the taller boy with his shoulder.
"You eat yet?" Cole asked.
Angel nodded in response, "yeah, I had an apple"
"That's it? No offense Angel but you should eat more" Cole said cautiously and looked at Angel with worry.
Angel leaned slightly against Cole to reassure him, "I'm okay jock, I'm just not very hungry in the mornings- we can pack a ton of food for lunch. Okay?"
Cole nodded in agreement and went to the fridge to grab cream cheese. He set his mug down on the stove and grabbed the cream cheese. He stole a plain bagel from the bread box and cut it open- putting one half back and using a butter knife to spread cream cheese on the other half. He put the tub of cheese back in the fridge and wrapped his fingers around the handle of his mug again.
There was small talk with Tara until Cole finished eating and drinking his coffee. Cole and Angel rummaged through the fridge and pulled out various containers of leftovers and shoved them in a small YETTI cooler before grabbing two water bottles and walking to the front door to slip shoes on.
"So where are we going?" Cole asked.
"A surprise" Angel smirked, "hey, give me your keys" Angel said, and Cole cocked an eyebrow but reached into the bowl at the front door and grabbed his car keys, he handed them to Angel.
"Have you ever driven a car?" Cole asked, "I've only ever seen you with your bike. Where is that by the way?"
"yeah I've driven a car- had to get my car license before my bike license- and it's at Rudy's still- I'll pick it up eventually." Angel shrugged and slid into the driver's seat of Coles car, "Nice purr" Angel commented when he started the car.
"You're such a dork" Cole laughed and situated himself in the passenger seat, "can you at least give me a hint?"
"It's Matt's" Angle gave in to Cole as he backed out of the drive way, "past Mercer island"
"You are taking me to the mountains to kill me and chop me up in little bits?" Cole joked, and Angel smiled.
"Oh yeah- I planned all of this- befriending you, the hospital, making you like me- it's all one really drawn out premeditated murder" Angel teased.
Cole reached over and let his fingers fall on Angels thigh, "Well I'm flattered you hate me that much you plan a complicated murder"
Angel shook his head in amusement and dropped one hand from the wheel and picked Coles hand off his leg- wrapping his own fingers around his and holding his hand on the console between the two seats.
"So, is Matt just a trust fund kid or what? Never seen someone look so much like he's been in prison AND wear a suite that could cost my college tuition" Cole asked when Angel turned onto the highway.
"Ha!" Angel laughed, "he's gonna laugh his ass off knowing you said that. No, his father ran a broker company and when he was 47 he died in a car crash" Angel explained, "Matts mom died when he was young from cancer. Shortly after Matt's dad died his older brother took over but found the pressure and grief to be a little bit too much"
"Wait"
"He ended up jumping off a bridge" Angel said- so used to trauma that this was just a conversation to him- to Cole this was a grief filled confession.
"Jesus Christ, how old was he?" Cole asked.
"16" Angel said, "he dropped out of school- took over his dad's company- he's been getting a lot of help from his dad's old friend Nick. It's really stressful and take up a lot of his time. He's got all the tattoos because he went through a rough path after he took over. He's a lot better now"
"I'm glad he's doing better" Cole said, and Angel nodded, "when did you guys meet?"
"Middle school" Angel responded, "Rudy and I have been together since kindergarten. When did you meet Vinny?"
"Third grade" Cole said, "I hit him in the head with a football- teacher made me take him to the nurse. Been close ever since"
"Does he know?" Angel asked.
"Yeah- I kinda had a breakdown in the library and he asked what was wrong- I told him I had a crush on you. He was shocked but supportive" Cole explained, calming some of Angels nerves.
"So, I just have to win over the rest of your friends" Angel nodded to himself and Cole chuckled.
"Don't worry about that. Once they actually get past the fact that they think you are in the mafia and do heroin behind the school, they'll love you"
"Wait what?" Angel laughed, "Who thinks I'm in the mob?"
"It's just a stupid rumor, they have a lot of them about you. You did have the habit of just disappearing for a few days at a time and them coming back all beat up"
"Yeah but you and I both know it wasn't because I was running errands for the mob" Angel sighed.
"I know" Cole squeezed his hand, "if it makes you feel any better I never believed that shit"
"I appreciate that" Angel said honestly.
They passed Mercer island and Cole was dazzled by the sunshine reflecting off the water. Angel at one point turned on the radio and they just listened to whatever was one. Angel was surprisingly a cautious driver. Cole had seen him tear ass on his bike so him being so careful in a car was a little funny to the jock.
When Angel turned onto the 405 and then again onto Coral Creek parkway Cole opened his mouth, "Do you have growing pains?"
"What?" Angel glanced sideways but then fixed his eyes on the road again.
"When I took you to my house that first time- we were talking about why you and that girl broke up. You said that you broke up with her because being around her gave you growing pains in your heart" Cole said, "do I give you growing pains?"
Angel grinned happily, "You remember that?" he said, "No" Angel said sternly, "you don't give me growing pains. You've kind of proven to me that you're willing to stick your neck out when I need you. Do you remember what else I said to you that day?"
"That I was a good boyfriend" Cole said- a little suspicious at what Angel was thinking.
"I guess I'll have to test it out and get back to you on if you really are a good boyfriend" Angel joked nervously.
"You want me to be your boyfriend?" Cole asked- looking at Angel as he turned off the parkway and curved into Coral creek park.
"I mean" Angel took a deep breath, "eventually. This is weird for you isn't it? I mean I've dated guys before, but this is a whole new thing for you. We can be as slow as you want and..." he parked and looked at Cole, "I'm rambling"
"You do that when you're nervous" Cole commented, "how many people know that?"
"Not many" Angel said, "look- you...do something to me and I don't really know how to explain it. All I know is that I was really happy when you said you wanted to kiss me that day"
"You're actually a sweetheart, aren't you? All the tattoos and smoking, the leather jacket and piercings- this is all a defense isn't it?" Cole smiled.
"I'll get back to you on that" Angel said, "let's go- it's about a half mile hike where we are going"
Cole nodded, smiling to himself. They both got out of the car and Angel stretched as soon as he stood up. His shoulder cracking. He opened the back door and grabbed the small cooler filled with food. He shut the door and tossed the car keys to Cole who slid them into his back pocket.
"You want me to carry that?" Cole asked.
"I'm good" Angel said and walked towards the opening to a small hiking trail, "this way"
The walk was peaceful, neither boys spoke that much. Mostly just Cole asking where they were going and Angel refusing to tell him. The tress were colored out and the crunch under the boys feet was satisfying. Cole was just starting to get out of breath when Angel stopped walking, "here" he commented.
Cole looked up to see a small log cabin camouflaged by the brush. It was simple and beautiful at the same time. There were large square windows along the front, sides and back. The inside was lined with simple furniture that you would imagine in a small cabin in the woods.
"This is Matt's?" Cole asked, walking onto the front porch.
"Yeah" Angel joined him on the porch and twisted the door knob to the cabin- opening the door, "It was his dads hunting cabin. Matt is secretly a teddy bear, so he doesn't hunt- he mostly uses it for when he's dating someone. A little get away only an hour from home"
"It's beautiful" Cole commented.
"Wait until you see inside" Angel smiled and swung the door open. He was right- the cabin was filled with top notch furniture, it was a single room cabin- a loft design with a bathroom closed off. There was a queen-sized bed pressed up against the back wall of windows and the kitchen was made with white marble with red grain.
There was no television but there was an internet router. Cole took in the sight as Angel set the blue cooler on the kitchen island counter. Angel shuffled around until he settled by sitting on the bed and pulling the comforter around his body. He pressed his back against the windows and watched Cole. Cole trailed the pads of his fingers against the cold kitchen counters and finally made his way to sit next to Angel.
"Matt really is filthy rich" Cole gawked, and angel broke out in heavy laughter.
Cole watched while Angel gripped his stomach in laughter. Angel almost fell over, "it wasn't that funny punk" Cole teased and Angel looked at Cole.
"It's not it's just...I'm really happy" Angel admitted.
"Yeah, me too" Cole said, "despite all the shit that's happened- I'm surprisingly happy I met you"
"Nice" Angel rolled his eyes.
"What? Come on you have to admit you're trouble" Cole chuckled.
"yeah" Angel nodded, "I am. But you decided to keep pestering me, so this is all your fault"
"How could I resist you? I mean" Cole rubbed the back of his neck, "You're awesome"
"Yeah?" Angel grinned- finding himself tired, "How so?"
"Really?" Cole looked at Angel- kind of hoping the punk was joking.
He wasn't.
"Yeah" Angel grinned, "lay it on me jock"
Cole took that as invitation and kicked his sneakers off, crawling over Angel with his hands on either side of Angels head. Then he shifted onto his forearms- settling between Angles hips. The taller of the two smirked.
"This is not what I meantby 'lay it on me'" Angel laughed, "But I won't complain"