"What song was that?" I ask, smiling against his lips.
He backs away with a chuckle, eyes twinkling before he winks at me. "Adorn. Apparently I can give Miguel a run for his money."
I laugh along, but make no reply. As much as I loved that he sang it, Cole cannot give a professional singer a run for his money...period.
"You definitely get an A for effort," I reply, biting down on my lip before falling into a fit of uncontrollable laughter when he starts poking and tickling my side.
We banter for a while, before Cole turns on an unpaved road and announces that we've reached our destination. He lets go of my hand and unties my bandana, letting it fall to my lap. I blink rapidly to clear the tiny dots from my vision, knitting my eyebrows together as I look at the deserted roads around us, trying to figure out where we are. My eyes stay trained on the profile of his face as he pulls onto a dirt road, admiring his golden skin and the way his turned up mouth showcases the dimple on his cheek. When I see him furrow his eyebrow at whatever is in front of us, I turn my attention and body forward, gasping loudly as my hands fly to cover my mouth.
"Oh my God," I mutter under my breath as water pools my eyes before I look at him. "Where are we?" I whisper.
He gives me a small smile, placing the car in park. "You know where we are," he says, tilting his head.
"But how?" I ask, still at a loss for words.
"With a lot of work and a whole lotta love," he replies as he unbuckles his seatbelt and jumps out of the truck.
I place my hands over my rapidly beating heart, trying to bury the conflicted feelings that threaten to overpower my happiness. I turn my gaze slowly back to the red barn house before me, surrounded by the meadow that we used to play in as children, and smile as tears trickle down my cheeks. I wipe them away quickly and take a breath when Cole opens my door and gestures me to step out. Before my feet hit the ground, he scoops me up and swings me in his arms, making me squeal and giggle against his chest.
"Let's go inside," he says excitedly, walking toward the house.
He sets me down in front of the four white wooden steps and holds my hand, walking me toward it before letting go and taking a familiar looking mint blue box with a white ribbon out of his pocket and handing it to me. My eyes widen and my heart flutters as I untie the ribbon and open it to find a house key on it. After tracing the key with my finger, I look up to find him watching me with naked amusement.
"Thank you," I say, shaking my head and smiling before leaning up on my tiptoes and pressing my lips against his.
"Anything for you," he replies cordially as he takes the key from me and opens the door.
Stepping in, I close my eyes and inhale the rich scent of wood that fills my nose, before opening them back up and looking around at the cozy living room.
"It has three bedrooms, so it's not huge but we can always add to it," he offers as I look around with a smile plastered on my face.
I take in the mostly bare white walls that surround us, with the exception of a fire place on the right side. I walk over to it and take in the smiling faces in the frames that adorn the mantel. Pictures of us as teenagers with our friends, with Maggie, in the house, at the lake, in the Taco Bell parking lot, on the high school football field, in our high school graduation. I continue exploring, walking toward the hallway to the right side and stepping into the first room, which is completely empty.
"I figured you should have a say in what we do with this one," he says behind me.
I nod and walk to the room across from it, poking my head in and opening the door to find two desks, one white and one dark wood.
"We can work from here when we wanna escape the world," he offers and again, I nod before I step out and walk past a guest bathroom and toward the last door.
My breath hitches when I open the door to the master bedroom, and I find a beautiful, yet simple king size bed low to the ground, with a beautiful white upholstered headboard behind it. To my right is an antique vanity with a round mirror and a small stool, and beyond that is a closet. I walk over to the closet first, finding a T-shirt hanging and a pair of worn shoes on the floor. I look over my shoulder and raise an eyebrow at Cole, who is leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest watching me closely. I walk to the bathroom next and smile at the sight of my favorite shampoo and body wash. The same color toothbrushes we have at our place are on an iron-looking holder, and white fluffy towels are placed on a rack by the shower. I can't help but love the simplicity of it, all of it.
"Who built this?" I ask curiously when I turn and walk back toward him.
His mouth twists into a wry smile. "Not me, if that's what you're asking." He chuckles. "I hired a company. I told them what I wanted, though. I figured you would appreciate that it's not huge. Seems more homey, I think. Do you like it?"
"Do I like it?" I ask, bewildered. "Cole, I freaking LOVE it! This is...it's everything." My voice is barely a whisper as I finish the last part. I never thought I would feel such peace coming back here, not after everything, especially not after everything that's happened recently.
"We've been working on it for a while. I wanted it to be done for my birthday, actually..." he starts, trailing off before finishing. I lean into him, wrapping my arms around him and placing my head on his chest contentedly.
"Thank you," I whisper. "So much."
He wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head before pulling back and brushing my cheek with his thumb.
"Anything, baby," he says, smiling as he taps the tip of my nose and leads me back out to the living room. "You haven't seen the kitchen yet."
Movement catches my eye as I step over the threshold between the living room and the kitchen area, and I squeeze Cole's hand in apprehension.
A loud gasp escapes me when "SURPRISE!" is yelled, followed by pink confetti tossed at me from all different directions. My jaw unhinges and my eyes dart to the people I love that are standing in front of me. And I forget about the history of secrets that plague this house because it is once again a place of happiness for me. When I tear my gaze from their faces, I notice the pink "Happy Birthday, Princess" banner that hangs over the white kitchen cabinets and the sprinkled cupcakes on the table in the center, and I'm transported back twenty-three years.
Back to the day when ringing gunshots woke me up. My breathing shallows as I stare blankly at the cupcakes, envisioning the pink Hello Kitty alarm clock clearly on my nightstand. Running down the stairs and passing the very same banner that greets my blurry eyes now, the blood on the cupcakes, on the floor, on my clothes. My mother's lifeless gray eyes burning a hole through mine as large, loud men yell back and forth. My father being carried away over someone's shoulder and Mark's kind eyes and arms taking me away from it all. Taking me from one dark place to another. I blink the memory away and look back into the green orbs that have been my one constant in times of both despair and happiness, and I'm reminded of the reason
I'm here. Aunt Shelley's words of wisdom ring true in my head, and I'm thankful that unlike me, Cole has never second-guessed us. He's never questioned whether or not we were better off apart because even during the years that I tried to keep my distance, he was there. Those truthful eyes that I've held on to during the most difficult times in my life have never left me. He's never left me, and I know he never will.
My daydream is interrupted by various arms wrapping around me and kisses on my cheek.
"Happy Birthday, Blakey!" Becky says quietly as she presses her cheek against mine. Greg and Aubry give us a group hug as Aimee takes my hands in front of me, and Cole stands off to the side smiling and letting them shower me with attention.
"Thank you...so much. You guys..." I say, failing to create a coherent sentence through my emotion.
"All right, all right, give her space!" Cole says, his voice dripping in amusement as he walks toward us and pulls me out of their circle.
He turns me by the shoulders so I can see my friends and take in the decor again, before leaning into me. "Do you like your kitchen?" he murmurs against the spot right below my ear.
"Yes," I reply with a shiver.
"And the decorations are okay?" Cole asks quietly, concerned.
I nod rapidly. "Yes, they're perfect," I whisper.
He turns me around again, signaling our audience with his head before looking down at me and brushing my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, his long stare rocking every inch of my body. Aubry walks up to us and gives me a hard wet kiss on the cheek. He walks off while laughing at my disgusted grunt.
"Why do you always have to be the funny guy?" Cole asks Aubry, who's still laughing, making the rest of us laugh along.
He takes a deep breath as he takes both my hands. His eyes grow more serious with each second that passes. "Blake, if you don't like any of this let me know."
"I love it! Please stop saying that already! It's getting annoying," I reply, cracking a smile.