He opened the door and peered inside at where the keys hung. "What's the problem?"
"It won't start," I said dumbly.
The look he gave me told me he already knew that much. "I assumed that's why you were still here," he said, chuckling. He reached inside and placed his hands on the keys, causing me to press my back into the seat.
"Do you want me to get out?" He'd be able to reach it better if I wasn't in the way. My legs were long, but he also wasn't a small guy.
He turned his head to look at me and we were inches apart. The only thing between us was the condensation that came from our mouths as we breathed. His eyes flickered to my lips as my heart started to pound in my chest. Even with it freezing outside it felt like my palms were sweating.
Cole visibly gulped before shaking his head and backing out of the cab, holding the door open for me to climb out. I did and he ducked back into the truck, trying to turn the key over.
Sadly, no luck.
I was starting to think I imagined the whole thing as he popped the hood, casually working on my truck like nothing happened. If I hadn't imagined it, why didn't he kiss me?
When he wasn't looking as he ducked behind the hood, I turned around and blew my breath onto my hand to see if it smelled. It smelled like my toothpaste, so that couldn't have been why he didn't kiss me. I must've imagined the moment I decided.
"Hey, Ace."
His voice startled me, causing me to jump. Irritation at the nickname made me narrow my eyes at him as he came into view. He hadn't called me that since the first day of school. "It's Nina."
He smirked, ignoring my comment, and pointed at the dusty battery. "I'm guessing your battery is dead. Do you happen to have jumper cables?"
"Why would I have those?" I asked him, placing my hands on my hips. "I'm not a mechanic."
He laughed lightly before walking to the driver's side door. "I mean, you do have an old truck so I assumed you would," he said before looking behind the seats to see if I possibly had jumper cables.
I couldn't help but tilt my head side to side at his logic.
He backed out and placed the seat back into its original position. "Would they happen to be in the glove compartment by chance?"
I glanced in the truck and by the size of it, I doubted the cables would be in the glove compartment. "Be my guest." I waved my hand at the glove compartment and he rummaged through it, finding nothing. "I'm guessing you don't happen to have any jumper cables yourself?"
His head popped up with a half smile on his face. "If I did, I wouldn't be wasting my time searching for them in your truck."
My cheeks warmed at his words. He was right. Here I was being a jackass while he helped me after he played a basketball game. "Uh, thanks for helping me out," I muttered.
He closed the passenger door, but not before locking it by hand, and walked back around the truck over to me. "Nina, I'm messing with you," he said as he lifted his hand and flicked me on the nose.
"Ouch!" I grumbled as my hand covered my nose. With it being cold outside it made my nose hurt even more. So I did the only thing any normal person would do. I punched him.
He grabbed his arm in mock hurt. "Hey!"
"Now we're even," I stated.
Cole rolled his eyes before grabbing the keys from the ignition and locking the driver's side door. "I would say we were even before you punched me since I am helping you."
"Well-"
"You can't argue that," he said, interrupting me. His hand extended towards me with the keys dangling from his fingers. "Here."
I took them from him and watched as he got into his car that he must've parked a few feet away from mine before helping me. He rolled his window down and stared at me. "Are you going to get in or stand outside in the cold?"
I couldn't help but glance at my truck, not wanting to leave it here overnight. Yes it was junk, but it also belonged to Thomas.
"Nina," Cole said with a hint of laughter in his tone. "I don't think anyone will plan on stealing your truck."
He was probably right about that, so I walked over to his car and climbed in. The warm air was welcoming as my fingers tingled from the cold. Even the black leather seats had a heater.
"What's your address?" he asked me.
I told him where I lived and he punched in the address to the GPS on his phone.
The first ten minutes we drove in silence. He turned off the sound to his GPS and just followed the blue path it showed on the screen. Nothing but the hum of the car and heater filled the silence. The roads were mostly deserted besides a few cars at every intersection. As we got further away from the school, the less buildings and lights there were.
I looked over at him and noticed how relaxed he seemed now compared to when he was on the court. His hair was tousled in the front from probably running his hands through it.
A smile cracked the corners of his mouth before he glanced at me. "Nina, you can stop checking me out."
I scoffed before crossing my arms over my chest and looked out the window. "Was not." His laugh, that was now familiar, warmed my cheeks as I smiled too. "You're really good at basketball," I said to change the subject.
He pressed his lips together before speaking. "Thanks. I'm surprised you came tonight."
"I asked Shelly if she was free earlier this week and she told me she was going to your game tonight and invited me to come along," I explained.
He smiled. "Did you like watching the game?"
"It was cool." I said, thinking about the game. I was still in awe how Cole was able to turn his emotions off to play with a leveled head. According to my uncle, I needed to be able to do that so I could fight with a clear mind. "How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Turn your emotions off. It was like you had a switch inside of you. You went from being fun and carefree to aggressive and assertive. How do you do it?" I asked again.
He laughed, but somehow it felt forced, like he didn't completely agree with my statement. "When you have to flip it, you flip it," he said, shrugging his shoulders like it was as easy as that.
I watched him for a couple more seconds before looking out my window, getting the hint he didn't want to talk about it.
Before long, Cole had turned down the road that would lead to my uncle's house. Out here the houses were spaced apart by land and barbed wire fences, making it a quiet road with no lights to guide you.
Cole turned on his high beams so he could see and pulled onto the gravel driveway in front of Thomas' house. The little white rocks crunched underneath Cole's tires as he put the car in park. I didn't see my uncle's car so I assumed he was still out with Gracie.
"Is anyone home?" he asked me, looking at the dark house.
"I don't think so," I answered him, noticing the porch light was off too. Thomas normally left it on. He must've turned it off before he left.
Concern flashed through Cole's brown eyes before he looked at me. "Want me to stay with you until someone comes home?"
The fact that he still wanted to help me out after all he'd done tonight really meant a lot to me. He cared when most people didn't. "I really appreciate the offer, but you've already done a lot for me tonight. Thank you, by the way."
He smiled at me. "Anytime, Ace."
I shook my head at him as I rolled my eyes, pulling on the door handle. He got out after me and followed me up the wooden steps that were lit up by his car's lights. "What are you doing?"
"Walking you to your door." He used a tone like I should've known what he was doing. Next, he held out his hand. "Let me see your phone."
I handed it to him. "Why?"
He ignored my question and started typing something on my phone. "You don't use a passcode?"
I shrugged my shoulders even though his eyes were on the screen. "I have nothing to hide." That wasn't totally true. I just didn't have anything on my phone to hide.
His eyes found mine and he looked at me like he couldn't decide if I was telling the truth or not. He handed me back my phone. "I can stop by in the morning to pick you up, so we can get your truck."
My heart warmed at the thought. "Cole, my uncle and I can take care of that. I don't want to waste your time anymore than I already have."
He leaned towards me, making my heart pick up in speed. I could handle him from a distance, but whenever he got closer to touching me, my nerves kicked into overdrive. "Nina," he said, using a tone like he was scolding a little kid. "I told you earlier, I was messing with you."
"Well, if you insist." I turned away from him quickly and unlocked the front door with my keys. His light laughter followed me into the house as I opened the door. "Cole." I leaned out behind the door to look at him. "Thank you for all your help tonight."
He tipped an imaginary hat on his head towards me. "Goodnight, Nina."
"Goodnight, Cole."
I watched him get into his car before closing the door and leaning my back against it. My fingers touched the smile that spread across my face. I pushed myself off and ran my hand over the switch to turn on the lights.
Only, nothing happened. I flipped the switch on and off a couple more times. It was still pitch black in the house.
"My luck tonight," I said to myself before dropping my keys and my beanie onto the long and narrow table that was placed against the wall along the stairs.
I ran my hand along the wall as my eyes adjusted to the dark, making my way through the house. I tried the living room lights and nothing happened.
A creak sounded in the eerily darkness. I turned around but didn't see anything, only black. I don't think I'd be able to see anything unless it was right in front of me. Barely any moonlight filtered through the windows.
"Hello?" I called tentatively. My heart hammered in my chest as I took a few steps back towards the front door.
The wood creaked underneath my weight confirming my suspicions.
Someone was in the house.