Page 69 of Bad & Bossy

————

My calves screamed at me as I stretched them on the front porch. I’d run the entirety of the way home, checking over my shoulder every two seconds to make sure Robert wasn’t following me. I needed to calm down before I went inside, needed to soothe my aching body and my shaking hands before I touched Drew.

Slowly, from the corner of my eye, I watched as a black Tesla approached, the windows tinted so dark I couldn’t see inside. My heart thundered in my chest again, worrying that it was Robert but hoping that it was Cole.

My hope was shattered as the window rolled down.

“I’m sorry if I startled you,” Rob shouted.

Oh, my god, I was going to call the fucking cops.

“Leave me alone, please,” I snapped, shoving my hands into the pocket of my hoodie so he wouldn’t see how badly I was shaking. If there was one thing I knew, that would only excite him more if he was trying to upset me.

He pressed on the brakes.

“I’m not interested,” I shouted, the quiver in my voice giving me away.

He stared me down, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel. His shoulders shook, the ringing in my ears cutting off whatever he was doing but fuck, it looked like he was laughing. “You’ll want me soon enough,” he grinned.

The window rolled back up, and within seconds, he was speeding down the road away from my house.

————

I hadn’t decided yet whether I wanted to tell Cole what had happened by the time he’d arrived to pick me up for our date. I didn’t want to add stress and fuel to his already burning fire, but I didn’t exactly know what to do about Robert, either. Was it worth calling the cops? He didn’t actually do anything. He said things to me that made me uncomfortable, seemed to show up out of nowhere, admitted to watching my house, followed me home…

Yeah, I should probably tell the cops.

The doorbell rang and I kissed Drew on the top of his bald little head before handing him off to the nanny; Vee was with some friends for the night.

When I opened the door, the bags under Cole’s eyes made my heart drop.

He immediately took me into his arms, his lips pressing against my temple. “Hey, baby,” he mumbled, his fingers tightening around my waist.

He smelled of cologne and toothpaste, and the longer I looked up at him, the worse he looked. He was still handsome, still Cole, but god, he didn’t look well. “Hi,” I said softly, pushing the loose tendrils of hair out of his face. “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Just haven’t been sleeping well.”

I hated that a part of me didn’t believe him. I wanted to, desperately, but being what he was—an alcoholic—I couldn't help but wonder if he was struggling. If he was trying to fight his demons alone, the stress of his parents weighing him down and making it harder.

Or worse—he’d relapsed.

I knew the signs. I knew them inside and out from my mother. Seeing as there were only a couple of them present, I didn’t want to consider it as a possibility. He’d called me and asked for my help the last time he’d almost slipped. I had to believe that he’d do that again. He trusted me.

He had to trust me.

Chapter 25

Cole

Iput the car into park after pulling back into Dana’s driveway. This was our third date this week, and yet, I still felt like it wasn’t going right. There was something I wasn’t doing right. We’d barely been physical, hardly more than a few kisses and stilted make-out sessions, and yet I’d been needing more without landing in the end zone.

“I’m sorry,” I sighed, pushing against my eyes with the bottoms of my palms. “I know I’ve been a nightmare to be around.”

Dana huffed a sigh as she twisted in her seat, her hand gently coming up to rest on my shoulder. My cock jumped at even that small gesture but my brain could not follow suit. “You have not. You’re just going through a lot.”

“I can’t fucking sleep,” I rasped. “I can’t do shit. I’ve barely gotten anything done for the soft launch party next week. I’m falling behind at work.” I took in a shaky breath, forcing myself to calm down. I was a constant lit fuse, always fucking seconds away from exploding. I wasn’t used to being this vulnerable with her, at least not since that night outside Flagstaff Spirits, the night I came so close to relapsing.

Her hand gently coaxed my own away from my face, her fingers lacing in mine. “Stay the night,” she whispered, and I couldn’t quite tell if it was an offer or a request.

---