Twisted (13 page)

“That had to have been
tough,” Noah says, his eyes solemn as he studies me.

“Not really. I'm not big on
attention and whatnot. I like to do my own thing.”

He nods.

I scramble for anything that
comes to mind to change the topic. “I take it your plans for college changed
after the accident? Or have you always wanted to work with special needs
children?”

Noah doesn't seem to mind
that I'd changed the topic abruptly or that I'd brought up the accident and I
am relieved. “I was originally interested in broadcast journalism but plans
changed once I lost my hearing. I love kids and it just seemed natural to do
something where I could put my disability to use,” he says.

Before I can reply, our
waitress is back with our meal. As she sets our plates in front of us, I glance
at Noah and wait until his eyes meet mine. “This looks wonderful, thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

The waitress refills my water
and Noah's soda before she moves off, leaving us on our own again. We're both
quiet as we eat our meal. The chicken is delicious and I find that I am
enjoying my time with Noah. I still can't understand why a woman would find him
hard to date. I think he’s quite easy to get along with. When we finish, our
waitress slips a dessert menu on our table before clearing our plates.

Noah looks at me
questioningly. “Dessert?”

“Sure.”

He hands me the menu and I
scan it, searching for something that doesn't contain chocolate. I am one of
those strange people that has an aversion to it. Most people love it, but I
can't stand the taste. I catch sight of the cherry cheesecake and hand the menu
back to Noah. He scans it as well and when our waitress comes back Noah orders
a slice of chocolate cake and I order my cheesecake.

He turns his attention back
to me once she's gone. “Do you like kids or are you one of those types where
they make you uncomfortable?”

“Uncomfortable,” I admit.
“They're so...”

“High strung and honest?”
Noah supplies as his eyes flash with humor.

“Yes. They kind of scare me,”
I laughingly confess. “So, I take it one day you would like a huge family with
lots of kids with snotty noses and sticky fingers?” I tease.

He grins. “Absolutely. First
though, I figure I better try taking care of a dog first. If I can talk your
brother into it, that is.”

“Tate won't let you get a
dog?”

“He's not thrilled with the
idea and I'd rather have him on board before I go out and buy one, so I'm
patiently trying to wear him down,” he muses.

“Good luck with that.”

“I know. All he keeps saying is,
“A dog is going to piss and shit all over the place. That's what they do.”

I can't help but laugh. My
brother definitely was not one to mince words. “It's sweet though that you're
trying to persuade him instead just getting one. I like that.”

Noah gives me a quick smile.
“Well, when you live with someone, you compromise. It's not like I have to have
a dog now anyway, but sooner or later I'd like to have one. They make great
companions.”

Our
dessert arrives and we turn our attention on our food.

I'm not sure what to expect
when I arrive at school on Monday. After ignoring Cole's text messages all
weekend, I half expect him to be mad that I put him off for so long. Instead, I
find him patiently leaning against my locker.

Waiting for me.

As I walk over, I see his
green eyes roam over me before they focus on my lip. The cut doesn't look as
bad as it had and I am still using makeup to cover the bruise. I'm not sure
what to say to him, so I am silent as I walk over.

“Still mad?” he asks quietly,
his eyes searching mine.

“I've cooled down a bit.”

He studies me for a second
and then he picks up the plastic bag at his feet that I hadn't noticed. “Here,”
he says awkwardly, pushing the bag at me.

I'm surprised that he has
something for me at all. Cole never gives me anything unless it's in the form
of alcohol. I take the bag and open it, peering inside. There are some new
shirts with tags on them and a pair of knee high black boots. My eyebrows rise at
the sight of them. Leave it to Cole to give me an apology gift that benefits
him more than myself. It's amusing though and I find myself smiling as I look
at him. “Thanks.”

Cole looks extremely
uncomfortable as he shoves his hands in his jeans pockets and clears his
throat. He looks at the crowded hallway instead of me. “Yeah. I didn't know
what to get you. Flowers die and...” he hesitates and his eyes shift back to
me. “I don't really know what you like. I've never asked.”

He's trying and I like that.
I also feel bad that he feels so awkward. I move close to him and gently kiss
him, letting him know I forgive him. His arms come around me almost tenderly
and as he kisses me back, his tongue brushes mine slowly. It's a sweet kiss and
it's the best kiss I've shared with him because it seems to mean something.

Someone in the hall catcalls
in the background but we ignore it as we finish our kiss. Cole pulls back and
brushes my hair away from my face as he peers at me. “Skip with me?”

“And go where?” I ask as I stay
in his arms, my world feeling calm and balanced for once.

“No parties. No alcohol. Just
you and me.”

I nod in agreement. “I'd like
that.”

“Let's go,” he says, taking
my hand in his and I quickly grab the bag with the clothes before we make our
way down the hall. We pass Paige with Blake and she looks at me with surprise
as Cole and I head out of the school.

I put the bag in my car along
with my backpack before I readily climb on the back of Cole's motorcycle and
wrap my arms around him. Then I press my cheek to his back as we roar out of
the parking lot, leaving school behind. I don't know where he's taking me and I
don't care. It just feels good to be with him.

When I feel Cole pull the
motorcycle over and we quit moving, I open my eyes and look around. “Where are
we?” It looks like we're close to a lake or something. I can see a narrow paved
path and beyond that are trees. In the breaks of the trees I see sunlight
glinting off water.

“You'll see.”

We climb off the motorcycle
and Cole walks it towards the trees where no one can see it from the road, and
puts the kickstand down. Cole opens the small compartment on the motorcycle and
pulls out what looks like a folded up bed sheet. Then he slips an arm around me
and we begin to head for the lake.

“It's pretty out here,” I
say, looking around.

“The American River Bike
Trail runs through here. I thought we'd relax by Lake
Natoma
,”
he says, tossing me a smile.

An answering smile blooms
across my lips. “Thanks for bringing me here. This is perfect.”

He leans over and kisses my
temple briefly before we continue walking. When we reach our destination, I
watch as he unfolds the sheet and spreads it out on the ground before I turn
and look out at the lake. There are boats out on the water. Everyone’s enjoying
the beautiful day. The waves pushing up on the sand sound tranquil and my
entire body begins to relax. I find myself drawing in a deep breath of fresh
air, and I'm enjoying the fact that Cole is finally putting some effort into
our relationship that doesn't involve partying.

When I turn around, I see
that Cole is sitting on the blanket, waiting for me. I kick off my sandals and
sit down near him. “It's beautiful here.”

His gaze touches mine almost hesitantly.
“We need this. I'm not normally into this kind of stuff. I don't do romantic
but I'm trying. I'm lousy at relationships,
Blayre
.”

“Well, we'll try to figure it
out together, okay?”

He nods.

I turn my head and study the
river for a long moment.

“I shouldn't have hit you.”

“No, you shouldn't have,” I
agree as my eyes slide back to him.

“To be honest, I didn't know
I had it in me. You're the first I've ever hit, at least when it comes to
girls.”

“Why did you?” I ask as I
study him.

He draws in a breath and
looks away, staring moodily at the river. “I was mad. I couldn't believe it
when one of the guys told me some asshole was all over you and you were
allowing it. Why did you do that,
Blayre
?”

“Seriously?”

He frowns at me. “Yeah. I
asked, didn't I?”

“Cole, you ditched me for the
entire evening.”

“I was working.”

“Same thing if you ask me.”

“No, it's—forget it. I didn't
bring you here to argue.”

“Okay.”

Cole rubs his hands over his face,
messing his hair up slightly before it settles back across his forehead again.
“This isn't going like I thought it would.”

“Oh? What did you have
planned?”

He motions to the distance
between us where we sit. “I wasn't expecting the distance or for things to
be...weird.”

I can't help but laugh. “Were
you expecting sex?”

A devilish glint appears in
his gaze. “Is that an option?”

“No, but I don't mind if you
hold me,” I say lightly as I move close to him. Cole shifts and we both lie
down and try to get comfortable. My elbow accidentally jabs him along the ribs
and Cole grunts, his face twisting slightly in a grimace before he tries to
smooth it out.

“Did I hurt you?” I ask with
surprise.

He doesn't move from where
he’s reclined on the sheet and his expression tenses. “No. It's an old injury.”

Old injury? Without asking, I
sit up and boldly grab the hem of his shirt and lift it up. At first, I am
distracted by the sight of his dragon tattoo again but as I pull the shirt
farther up, I catch sight of the huge black and blue bruise that mars his
entire rib cage on his left side. Even the tattoo can't hide it. I draw in my
breath with horror and look at him questioningly. “What's that from?”

Cole sighs. “It's not a big
deal. Leave it be,
Blayre
,” he says as he tries to
tug the shirt back down.

“Did someone do this to you?”

“Relax with me.”

“Not until you tell me the
truth,” I say stubbornly.

He glares up at me with
resentment. “Fine. Ethan was mad over something and he took it out on me. Guys
fight all the time, it's no big deal.”

“Sure, guys fight, but that's
bad, Cole. How did he accomplish such a huge bruise?”

“Baseball bat.”

My mouth falls open and I
stare down at him with disbelief. “What?”

“Dammit,
Blayre
.
Who the fuck cares?”

“I do!”

“Why? Why would you give a
shit after I just hit you two nights ago?”

“Do you not want me to care?”
I ask with confusion.

He rubs his forehead. “I
don't know. You knowing my brother attacked me with a bat makes me look weak. I
don't like that.”

“You're not weak,” I say
firmly as I shift and very carefully ease down near him, my face turned up
towards him. “Does Ethan do that a lot? Come after you with bats and stuff?”

“Only when he feels he has
good reason.”

“And what was the reason this
time?”

“Drop it,
Blayre
.”

“Okay.” I finally give in but
I can't resist asking, “Do your parents know that Ethan is so violent?” 
We haven't really discussed family and all I know is Cole lives with his
brother.

Cole is silent for so long
that I figure he's not going to answer me at all. His lips eventually tighten
but he grudgingly answers. “My mom ran off when Ethan and I were just little
kids and my dad is in prison. What about you? Who's done you over real good?”
Cole asks abruptly, turning the conversation back to me. My entire body stiffens
up and his eyes meet mine knowingly. “I saw the way you reacted the other
night. It's like you're used to someone knocking you around.”

“My uncle,” I finally murmur
since there's no point in denying it. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“Yeah, me neither. Let's go
swimming. You game?”

“I didn't bring anything.”

This earns me a wolfish grin.
“You don't need anything.”

“I am not skinny dipping with
you,” I say, rolling my eyes at his constant need to try to get me naked.

“Can't blame me for trying.”

We both fall silent for a bit
and I find myself listening to the trees rustling in the light breeze, and the
sound of the birds chirping happily.

Cole sighs from beside me.
“This whole conversation thing isn't as easy as I thought it would be. I'm
better at partying.”

“I'm not going to disagree
with you,” I say with a laugh. “But you know, just relaxing with you is nice. I
like this.”

“Yeah?”

“
Mmhmm
.”

“Then I guess I'm doing
something right.” He falls silent for a bit before rolling gingerly onto his
side as he props his head on his hand and peers down at me. “Tell me stuff I
don't know.”

“Like what?”

“Like anything you want to
tell me.”

I hate talking about myself.
“I'm not giving anything up unless you do, too. You ask and then I ask, we take
turns,” I suggest.

“What do you do when you're
not with me?” he asks curiously.

“I read,” I admit. “My
brother wants me to wait to get a job so I read or hang by the pool. What about
you?”

“I get high.”

His answer doesn't surprise
me. “On what?”

“I like ecstasy when I'm
around people and acid's fun when I'm bored. The hallucinations really fuck
with the mind.”

“And that's fun?
Hallucinating?” I ask doubtfully.

“You'd have to try it to
understand it.”

“No, I think I'll pass,” I
say dryly.

“What is your deal with
drugs? They make you feel good.
Blayre
, you should
try it. You never seem to really relax.”

“I'm fine with alcohol.”

“Moving on,” Cole says
lightly as he reaches over and brushes a strand of hair off my cheek. “What's
the craziest thing you've ever done?”

I let loose one of my
unladylike snorts. “Somehow, I think our definitions of “crazy” will be polar
opposites. I had a strict upbringing, so I don't have anything that even comes
remotely close to crazy.”

“We'll have to change that.”

“Let's not. What about you?
What's the craziest thing you've ever done? I bet you have lots of stories.”

He looks away and avoids
meeting my curious gaze. “You wouldn't like it.”

“Try me.”

“No.” His eyes shift
back to me. “It was Ethan's idea, not mine. And I don't want to talk about it.
Why won't you let me touch you?” he asks abruptly.

“I let you touch me.” I'm
bewildered by his question.

“Not the way I'd like to.”

Oh.
There are things that Cole wants to do that I am not
ready for. I have no idea why I am holding back so much with him. I know at
some point I will probably want to, but at the moment I feel like things are
moving so fast between us. I need to hold back a little or I'm going to lose
myself in him. Cole has a way of getting under my skin and staying there. I
know I am already hooked and sometimes it bothers me how much I rely on him.

“Is it because you're a
virgin? Well, obviously, but are you scared to be with me or something?” he
asks, his eyes searching mine.

“I'm not scared. I
just...I'll know when it's right and I'm not there yet.”

Cole frowns but doesn't push
the topic.

“How old were you the first
time?” I ask, turning the conversation back to him.