“So—” Now I was the one being defensive.
“I mean take Madison, for example, she stormed off when she saw it. He’d never done something like that with her.”
Crossing my arms, I hug myself. What Hailey was saying made sense, but she wasn’t the one who saw the coldness in his eyes when he’d said what he had.
A shiver shoots down my spine at the memory.
Downplaying it, I push him from my thoughts. I should be worrying about my date with Xander. Not debating over why Cole does the things he does.
I wasn’t his responsibility, and he wasn’t mine.
Hailey’s face clears, brightening up. “But don’t listen to me. Go have fun, enjoy your date. You’ll have to tell me everything when you get home.”
I look down, double-checking myself in the mirror one last time making sure everything looked okay. I could admit I was a little nervous, but also excited.
My phone dings and I pick it up.
Our eyes lock as mine shoot up from the screen. “He’s almost here.”
Hailey’s reaction is to squeal jumping off the bed and giving me a hug. She had been hesitant, but she’d pushed her reservations aside to be supportive of me.
She really was the best.
“You’re going to have a great time.” She beams, squeezing me again. Basically shoving me to the door when she does.
“Now go, have fun.” Her voice turning stern. “And don’t forget to text me when you’re done. I want to know every last detail. The goodandthe bad.”
“You think it’s going to go bad?”
The dimple in her cheek pops out, almost looking devilish. “No, not for you, at least.Hemight have trouble controlling himself when he sees you downstairs.”
Her gaze turns roguish, and I’m not sure if that gleam in her eyes is directed toward Xander or someone else.
My phone beeps again and I exhale a shaky breath. Guess I was about to find out.
forty
Cole
“Ifyoulookatthe door one more time, your ass is going to be on the other side of it cuz I will kick you out of it myself,” Eli grunts low beside me.
I fight a glare, not appreciating him calling me out like that.
Finn’s eyes glued to the TV screen. Too invested in the game to pay attention to anything else. He’d be lucky if he had fingernails left by the end with how much he was chewing on them.
“Phone counts too,” he adds.
My fingers stall on the screen but I check anyway. No one was about to tell me what I can and can’t do.
Rory had left on her date, a little under an hour ago. I’ve been sitting in this same spot ever since wondering when she’d be back.
You’d be acting the same way I was if you saw how she looked coming down those stairs. Dark opaque tights that ran the length of her toned legs. Winding themselves up and under a flowy black dress. An olive-green bomber jacket sitting overtop that.
My hand grips at the armrest as my breath shallows out again. Rory looked too good to be going out like that.Especiallywhen it was Corn Pop she was meeting up with.
Princess shouldn’t be going out with him, she should be here, where she belongs.With me.
I jerk my head in Eli’s direction, sneering when he clears his throat, eyeing me, looking down at my device again. This motherfucker—