Page 28 of Restricted List

“What are these?” he asks, walking over and picking up the one I finished this morning—a drawing of the brownstone home I grew up in, just miles from where Harlow and Cole also grew up in Brooklyn.

“That’s my house. Well, my dad’s house. In Cobble Hill.”

“Did you draw this?” he questions, never once taking his eyes off the drawing in front of him, staring at it in a look of awe.

“Yeah,” I reply sheepishly. “Drawing has always been my emotional outlet. I hadn’t done it in a while, but I brought my art supplies back out recently. I haven’t been able to stop.”

“These are incredible, Rory.”

Cole starts sifting through the mess of papers.

The brownstone house.

The Brooklyn Bridge.

Central Park.

A group of friends, arms slung around each other with their backs turned.

And one I forgot I still had lying there.

“Rory,” he says as the understanding of what he’s looking at dawns on him.

“Um, yes, it is…” I reply because there’s clearly no denying it.

Cole turns around to face me. “You drew me?”

“Yes,” I say softly. “I’m going to draw all of our friends.”

A bald-faced lie, but I can’t let him know that all of this started again because of him. Because I can’t get him out of my fucking head.

“And you drew me first.”

His words come out strained, almost emotional. Like the small act of someone drawing him is meaningful.

“I did.”

Without another word, Cole wraps his arms around me, the top of my head not far above his shoulder. “This is so fucking cool. Can I have it?”

I look up at him. “You want to keep my drawing?”

“Hell yeah, I do. This is fucking incredible, Ror. I had no idea you could draw like this.”

“And I had no idea you could sing.”

Cole’s smile is so bright it’s almost blinding, and I just take it in. “Guess we still have a lot to learn, don’t we, Starlight?”

“It seems we do, Sparrow.”

Cole laughs before releasing me from his hug, staring at his portrait again.

I never meant for him to see that.

But seeing how happy he is that it even exists makes it worth it.

Even if it makes my heart beat erratically. Makes my stomach do somersaults. Makes my head spin.

These feelings aren’t going anywhere, are they?

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