Page 51 of Snowed Under

I also tamed my curls and put my contact lenses in. I don’t wear them very often, but I think I look more grown up. A pop of red lipstick and some blush bring everything together.

“How’s your mom since this morning?” Emma got off the night shift early this morning. “I heard they’re keeping her in for another night.”

“She’s doing good. I went to see her earlier and we’re hoping to collect her tomorrow. They wanted to keep her in for another night. Her blood pressure was really high.” Thank God it wasn’t a stroke, and she hasn’t damaged her head from the fall.

“She’ll be okay. You know she will.”

I smile. “She’s a tough cookie. It’ll be nice to get her home so we can decorate the tree together.”

“I’m surprised your more than friendly neighbor isn’t escorting you to town tonight. You two seem to have grown close in a short space of time.”

I press my lips together and try to not let out too big of a sigh. But my best friend needs to know what’s happened over the last couple of days, especially last night. I just didn’t get time to text her today. “He’s going to be down there later,” I say.

“Are you two still pretending you’re dating, for asshole Drake’s sake?”

I shudder at the thought of my ex. Funnily enough, I haven’t heard a peep out of him since the dance. I mean, I blocked him and all, but it’s still a small town after all and it wouldn’t be hard to find anyone. Emma knows all about it because I told her the day after the incident, which only amplified her dislike for Drake and her approval for Cole. “Well, sort of. I think.”

She pauses before she pulls back out onto the street. “Sort of, you think?”

“I don’t really know exactly what we are,” I sigh. “But last night…” My cheeks instantly burn at the mere mention of it.

She glances at me briefly before making her way down my quiet street toward the main road to town. “Did something happen with you and Cole?”

I press my lips together again, a dead giveaway with me. Emma is also super perceptive and doesn’t miss much.

“It did, didn’t it!” She bounces up and down in her seat enthusiastically.

“Yes, but you can’t let the cat out of the bag,” I say in a hushed whisper, like someone is gonna hear us in the confines of the car.

“Oh My GOD!” she practically yelps. “You hot dawg! I don’t believe it.”

I can’t help but laugh. Even the mere thought of someone like Cole being into little ole me still blows my mind. When I think about the fact that he’s been known to be quite the ladies man around town in recent years and ever the charming, cute, hazel-eyed Casanova, I know that it’s all an act. He hasn’t been with anyone since last year. I feel that little flutter in my chest deepening when I think about him.Mine. The butterflies in my stomach won’t let up.

I really, really like Cole. I want us to be exclusive. Not pretending just to annoy my ex. I’m pretty sure our little display at the dance did the trick, so I won’t be hearing from Drake anytime soon. Cole also said something about being boyfriend material, but we never got to discussing that before I jumped him.

It may be soon after my breakup, but being in a relationship with someone like Cole gives me a fever. He’s sweet, kind and funny and other than my ex, never has a bad word to say about anyone. And he’s as sexy as sin. My heart flutters at that part, too.

“Something may have happened,” I say eventually. “He’s just the sweetest.”

Emma glances at me again and I know my best friend enough to know she’s gung-ho for me to spill. “Tell me everything.”

My heart races thinking about some of the things we did before we’ve even been on a proper date. Not something normal for me. “I don’t know abouteverything, but I can say that Cole Garrison knows how to make a woman smile.”

“And scream at the same time!”

“Em!”

“Or him screaming your name?”

“Let’s just say he knows his way around the female body in ways I’ve never experienced.”

“So, you had sex?” she quizzes giddily.

I bite back a smile. “Um, yes, we had sex.”

“Oh my God, Ains!” she squeals. “I knew something was cooking with you two last night!”

“You did?” I bite my lip, thinking about how I initially got off on my kitchen table. The way he played with my body and made me feel so sexy still rocks me to my core. I also hope it wasn’tthatobvious when we went to visit my mom. And what happened right after we left the hospital… facepalm.

---