AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It is?”
“It really is.” It wasn’t a total lie. After all, Amberhadtold herself that things had to change. Boring and predictable were out. New and spontaneous were in. Maybe the more she said it, even to herself, the more she’d actually start to believe it. “I’m trying something new.”
“Really? Then maybe you’d like to—”
Amber laughed at the skepticism in her friend’s voice and cut off her idea before it could take root. “I said I wastryingsomething new, Josie. One step at a time, okay?”
Less than an hour later,Amber and Cole were seated in a faded red plush lined booth in the back of the only pub in town, the Tipping Cow. There wasn’t much to it, but the music was good and the beer was cold, and as far as Cole was concerned, those were the two most important things for a night out in a small town. Aside from the company, of course. “To us.” Cole raised his mug of beer and waited for Amber to join him in the toast. To his surprise, he didn’t have to wait long.
“To us,” she repeated. “Although, I have absolutely no idea why we would toast to us.”
She took a sip of her beer. Another surprise for Cole. When he’d offered to order a jug of draft, he thought for sure she’d want to order a glass of white wine or a martini or something. She was full of surprises. Not that she shouldn’t be. After all, they barely knew each other and spending a few days in someone’s apartment two years earlier didn’t mean he knew anything about her at all.
But dammed if he didn’t want to know everything there was to know. Something about her buttoned-down, scared-to-jump, uptight schoolmarm look that she had going on made Cole want to know a whole lot more about her. More specifically, what exactly was hiding under that hard shell.
“We’re toasting to us,” he said after his own sip of beer, “because we’re here. Together. And if that isn’t a reason to toast, I’m not sure what is.”
“Oh.” She blushed and kind of half choked on her beer before her fingers came up to her mouth and Cole had to force himself not to stare. “I didn’t—”
“I know you didn’t expect, or maybe even want, this.” He cut her off smoothly. “But that’s what we’ve got and I, for one, don’t think it’s such a bad thing.”
She tipped her head and examined him for a moment. “You don’t?”
“No. Not at all. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to spend a few days before Josie gets home than with her best friend.” He actually could. He could think of a whole lot more specific ways to spend the time with her—notably in bed, or up against a wall. He wasn’t picky. But he was pretty sure if he said those things out loud, she’d either slap him in the face or turn around and run out of there. Neither of which were things he wanted.
As it was, Amber blushed. But her blouse was buttoned up all the way to the collar and he was robbed of seeing the sexy warm skin on her neck that he knew was hiding under the thin fabric.
“Don’t tell me you can think of something better, then?” he challenged her. “Because this seems pretty good to me.”
The tension between them was thick, but not uncomfortable. Quite the opposite. He liked it. Because a sexual tension that strong meant only one thing: the release—when it finally came—would be dynamite. That being said, Amber wasn’t like the other women he usually flirted with, and for a moment, Cole worried that maybe he’d pushed her too far, too fast. Amber was definitely the type who would spook easy. Like a frightened kitten. It was entirely possible she would run and hide. But he could see a strength in her, too, and he was counting on the glimmer of a tiger inside that would keep her from running. Because despite the fact that he’d like to get a little closer, he’d meant it when he said he couldn’t think of anything better than spending time with her. He couldn’t. After a few weeks of couch surfing with old friends who he’d completely run out of things in common with, and dealing with his parents, flirting with Amber for a few days would be a very welcome distraction.
Before Amber could answer properly, the waitress arrived and slid a basket of wings between them. Amber sat back and smiled at the woman, thanking her, and just like that, the tension between them was broken. She grabbed one of the wings and bit into it.
“I thought you weren’t hungry?” Cole laughed and chose a wing of his own.
A moment later, she tossed the bones on a plate. “I was wrong.” Her voice was low, and unlike he’d heard it before. “I’m actually quite hungry.” She watched him with heavy-lidded eyes, and when she put her finger in her mouth and slowly—oh so slowly that he wished he were that finger—licked it clean, Cole finally realized what she was talking about.
He sat back, his chicken wing forgotten, trying to process what had just happened.So much for frightened little kitten.She’d transformed in front of his eyes, in a millisecond. It was a transformation he wasn’t entirely sure he trusted, but it was interesting for sure. He reached across the table and took her hand. “Why don’t we start with wings and beer and see where it goes.”
Just as he expected her to, Amber stiffened slightly, giving herself away.Welcome back, little kitten.Cole chuckled a little to himself and released her hand. “It’s okay, Amber. I’m not going to bite.” Ironically, he had to bite his tongue to keep from adding,Not unless you want me to.That would bewaytoo much,waytoo soon.
She didn’t respond, but instead went back to the wings. This time, she ate a little less seductively, using her napkin to wipe her fingers. It was disappointing to be sure, but Cole forced himself not to stare. He waited a few minutes before he shifted the conversation to a much safer topic. “So, what have you been up to for the last few years? Unlike my sister, I assume you stayed in school.”
“Why would you assume that?” Her voice hardened and she stiffened her shoulders. “Because I seem like theschooltype? The super predictable type?”
“Whoa.” He held up his hands in defense as he clearly hit a nerve. “I didn’t mean anything by it at all. It’s just that Josie dropped out and I would hope, or think anyway, that most people have a little more common sense than her when it comes to things like their future.”
“Do you?” she challenged. “Have more sense than her?”
He laughed. “Good point. I suppose as the big brother, I don’t set the best example myself.”
Cole hadn’t even graduated from post-secondary. He’d finished a semester, but it hadn’t been for him. With every class he took it just felt like he was inching closer and closer to a life he didn’t want. So he’d quit, bought a ticket to Australia, and left.
“Not really,” she agreed with him. “But dropping out didn’t turn out too badly for her. Josie’s killing it and she seems really happy bouncing from place to place.” Her eyes took on a faraway look for a moment. “And besides your poor example,” Amber refocused on him, “she sure seems to think the world of you.”
It would have been Cole’s turn to blush, if he were the blushing type. Which he wasn’t. He took a sip of beer and refilled both of their glasses from the jug. “I don’t know why she does,” he said finally. “But the feeling is totally mutual. If it wasn’t for Josie, I wouldn’t be back in Canada at all. I tried to get her to come out to see me, but she said she was too busy. Judging by the fact that she isn’t even here, I guess that’s true. But you didn’t answer my question. Are you still in school?”
“Yes and no.” She dabbed at her lips with the napkin.
