About an hour after my mom left for work I heard the purr of a motorbike come to a halt outside my house. The morning sun was shining brightly and I gave a shy smile when I greeted Cole who looked as handsome as ever. Dobey was ecstatic to see him that it took him a good five minutes to calm down.
Because it was such a nice day outside, we went to sit on the back-porch in the sun. Our backyard wasn't anything to write home about: the lawn was a bit overgrown (thanks to the still broken lawnmower my dad promised to fix) and brown due to the winter, there were obviously no flowers and the roses that normally always bloomed were dormant.
I felt a little self-conscious at our mediocre garden and small house when Cole was used to a mansion and luxurious landscapes. But Cole seemed completely at ease as he sat down on the porch, pulling his jacket off, before leaning back on his arms. I couldn't help but notice the way his biceps bulged at the movement.
Swallowing thickly, I took a seat a couple feet away from him and stared at Dobey, who now lay passed out in the warm winter sun. It was silent between Cole and I, but the kind that didn't need to be filled with words. I wasn't sure how long we sat there, but when I turned I couldn't help but look at the swirling tattoos on his left arm.
"Why did you get those kinds of tattoos?" I asked and Cole glanced at me. I looked away trying to fight down the blush and butterflies. "I mean, they're not an actual image of anything ..."
Cole was silent as he stared at me before he sighed. "It's the same kind my dad had," he said as he looked down at the wooden flooring beneath him.
I scooted closer, intrigued. "Tell me about them."
"Who? My parents?" Cole asked as he looked back at me.
I nodded and looked at him hopefully. He thought for a moment before lying down on his back that his head rested on his jacket and patted the spot next to him. My heart jumped in my chest as I slowly and nervously lowered myself down next to him, resting my head on his jacket as well. My skin tingled when his arm lightly brushed against my own and was shocked slightly when he didn't move it.
"My parents were the bravest and strongest people I ever met," he began. "I didn't spend as much time with them as I would have liked because of their jobs, but they always made my sister and I feel loved when they were home. They would sometimes be gone months at a time so my sister and I would stay by Aunt Stella and her husband. My mom was something else though. She was the one who taught me how to fight."
My eyes widened and I turned to look at Cole shocked. My breath hitched when I realised that he had already turned his head and was staring at me intently, our faces millimetres apart. I swallowed and quickly looked away as my face flared with colour.
"She sure sounds tough," I muttered.
I lost track of time as we just sat there in the sun, telling each other a few childhood stories. "I never believed my parents with the stories of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth fairy," I stated.
"Oh?" Cole asked as he quirked a brow.
"Yup, every time 'Santa' came, I kept trying to prove to my younger cousins that it was my uncle by trying to pull of his white beard," I said with a smile.
"Sounds like me," Cole said with a soft chuckle and my heart warmed at the sound. I don't think I've ever heard him laugh.
"I once proved that the Tooth Fairy wasn't real by not telling my mom when one of my teeth fell out. It stayed in my shoe for two weeks before I eventually threw it out."
I smiled, but my stomach decided to remind me that it hadn't eaten for a few hours by rumbling painfully. "Uh ... do you want some lunch?" I asked as I sat up, Cole followed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Unfortunately, I can't cook anything yet so are sandwiches fine?" I asked as we both stood and made our way into the house, leaving Dobey passed out on the lawn.
"That's fine with me," Cole replied as he made himself comfortable on one of the kitchen chairs while I washed my hands and then pulled all sandwich-worthy ingredients out of the fridge.
"Okay, what do you like?" I asked.
"Tomato and cheese," he said immediately.
I pursed my lips. "Really?"
"You don't like it?"Cole asked with a raised brow.
I shook my head. "Cheese I don't mind, but tomato ... never acquired the taste."
Cole merely shrugged and I began to prepare the two sandwiches; his with tomato and cheese, while mine was cold ham and chutney. While I was placing all the ingredients back in the fridge I froze when I heard my mom's car pull up the driveway.
My eyes widened as I went into full-blown panic-mode. "Oh, no my mom!" I shrieked. "She's back early! What am I going to do? She'll kill me if she sees you here." My eyes bulged out of their sockets when I saw her climb out the car and walk towards the front-door. "Hide!" I yelled in a whisper.
"Where?" Cole asked as he stood.
"Uh ..." My eyes darted around the kitchen until I spotted the broom cupboard. "In there, quick!" I said and pushed him towards it.
I felt a little sorry for him because it was packed with cleaning supplies, but I didn't have time to find another spot because, as I closed the door, I heard my mom enter the house.
"Lizzy?" she called.
"In the kitchen," I replied, trying to remain calm as she walked in, looking through her purse.
"Have you seen my driver's licence? I can't find ..." she trailed off as she looked up and noticed the tomato and cheese sandwich. "Since when do you eat tomato?"
I gulped. "Well, you know how you always say tomato helps develop a baby's spine? So, I thought I should try it. You know, acquire the taste?" Mom raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm expecting or anything!" I quickly added.
Mom slowly nodded her head as she turned to look around the kitchen. "Oh, there it is," she said and picked up the card. She turned to leave before stopping. "Why is there a bike parked outside our house?"
Shoot.
"Uh ... " I stuttered dumbly, "there ... is?" Faking ignorance, I looked out the kitchen window. "It ... must've broken down or something?"
It was a complete lie. I've never seen a bike in more mint condition than Cole's, but I was counting on the fact that Mom didn't know much about motorbikes to get away with my bluff.
Mom shrugged. "Maybe, well I best get back to the old job. Bye, sweetie."
"Bye," I waved and watched her walk to her car. I didn't move from the window until I saw the car no longer in sight before letting out a deep sigh. I quickly made my way back to the broom cupboard. "She's gone."
"You are the worst liar I've ever met," came Cole's muffled reply and I blushed.
"Well, it's not my fault I've never had to lie-"I squeaked in surprise as I pulled open the door and Cole fell out because a broom hooked between his legs. His heavy body bulldozed into mine and we both tumbled to the floor as a broomstick managed to whack me in the right eye.
"Ow," I winced as I pressed my hand to my eye. Thankfully it wasn't my good eye.
I heard Cole gasp slightly. "I'm so sorry," he said quickly when he realised what happened and slowly pried my fingers away to look at my eye.
I tried to shrug it off, suddenly realising that he had landed on top of me. "I've had worse," I uttered, losing my voice as I felt his warm body loom over my own. But he didn't seem to realise our position as he cupped my cheek to look at my eye closely, his touch burning my skin.
We lapsed into silence as we stared at each other. Cole's eyes softened as his thumb gently trailed over the light scar running down my eyelid; a permanent reminder of the day I fell down the stairs and he looked after me.
"How is your eye?" he asked quietly.
"I still can't see out of it properly ..." my voice trailed off when I saw his gaze slowly trail over my face before landing on my lips where it stayed.
My mouth went dry when Cole slowly started to lean in, his eyes still trained on my lips, and I felt my heart stop and go into overdrive at the same time. His eyes flickered up to my own and I saw his deep eyes appear even darker as he gently stroked my cheek, sending the cells he touched into disarray.
I opened my mouth to try and say something, but was interrupted by a barrelling furry body that charged into us full-speed. I squealed as I tried to hide my face from Dobey's slobbery tongue and I felt Cole move off me as I attempted to wiggle away from Dobey's furious onslaught.
"No, Dobey, stop it!" I laughed and Dobey stopped after a moment.
I gave him a scratch behind the ear as I tried to regain my breath. A hand extended out to me and I slowly looked up to see Cole offering me his hand. I slowly placed my own in his large, warm hand and he effortlessly pulled me to my feet.
I felt my blush return and I slowly stepped away from him. "Thanks, I'll just ... get the sandwiches ready," I muttered awkwardly and turned my back to him to wash my hands in the sink, praying he couldn't hear how fast my heart was beating in my chest.