“He did?”
“Aha, I knew it. Something is going on. You’ve been holding out on me. Spill...” Her eyes glitter with anticipation.
“It’s complicated.”
“Well, yeah, it’s Cole. I won’t lie, it still makes me uneasy thinking about the two of you together, but you should have seen him, Hads. The second he realized you weren’t there, he changed.”
I don’t want to hear her words, but I do. They sink inside me, coiling around my heart and taking hold.
“He turned up at my dorm room,” I admit. Because what’s the use in lying? She knows something is going on, and if she’s right, Cole isn’t exactly trying to hide it either.
“And...” She claps her hands together.
“I thought you were uneasy about this?”
“I was... I mean, I am. But you’re both adults and honestly, I’m worried about Cole. He’s more withdrawn than ever. And I know Ace is at a loss about how to reach him. Since they found out the truth about James being their dad, and then all that shit with Charlie... it’s like he’s completely checked out.”
The truth teeters on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t tell her.
I won’t betray Cole.
Not that I even know the truth... well, not all of it.
“So, what happened?”
“We... uh... talked.”
God, why is this so hard? She’s with Ace. He’s a Jagger, so Remi is well versed in bad boys with a bad attitude. But Cole isn’t like his brothers, we both know that.
He’s dark and depraved, and maybe even a little crazy.
“Hadley Rexford, are you blushing?”
“What? No!” But I am. I feel the heat tingling underneath my skin, remembering how it had felt to be completely at Cole’s mercy as he trailed his knife over my skin.
“You know, I heard Marissa says he’s got a Prince Albert piercing.” Her brow quirks up suggestively.
“I am not discussing this with you.”
“Oh my God, he has, hasn’t he? Did it hurt? Or does it make it feel better?”
“Remi!” I grab a cushion and bury my face in it.
“Come on, give me something... anything...” Her laughter is like a salve to my pain, and I peek out over the top of the soft material.
“It was... nice.”
“Nice? Oh my God... you couldn’t think of a better word?”
I roll my eyes, fighting a smile. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Well, you should, because something tells me Cole would be a freak between the sheets.”
If only she knew the half of it.
“Come on.” She gingerly stands. “Let’s go see if Ellen is finished baking the cookies.”
We walk over to the main house in comfortable silence. The sugary sweet smell of melted chocolate fills the air and my stomach groans.