Page 45 of Echoes of Us
Marie's eyes snapped to hers, sharp with surprise."Yeah.Exactly."She studied Ashley's face."You know, that's the thing about Cole - everyone thinks they understand him.The bad boy, the player, the rebel without a cause.But you..."She trailed off, shaking her head.
"What?"
"You look at him like you see something else.Something real."Marie stood, smoothing her dress."Maybe that's why he's avoiding you.The Cole I knew?He was real.This version?He's spent years making sure no one sees past the act."
Ashley twisted her rings, processing this new piece of Cole's history.The good boy Marie described - she could see him in her Cole, in the man that he would become.
"People can change back," she said softly, more to herself than Marie."They can find their way home."
Marie studied her for a long moment.Then she stood, lips curving into a determined smile."Well, if anyone's going to remind Cole Westwood who he used to be, it might as well be the girl who sees right through him.Now come on - let's make you devastating."
An hour later, Ashley barely recognized herself in the mirror.The black dress was a weapon in its own right - short enough to make a statement but fitted in a way that was more elegant than obvious.Marie had insisted on smoky eyes that made the honey-gold of her irises stand out and had tamed her hair into waves that fell just right across her shoulders, artfully hiding the mostly faded marks on her neck.
Marie herself was a vision in deep burgundy, the color striking against her dark skin.The dress wrapped around her curves like liquid, its long slit offering teasing glimpses of her leg as she moved.She'd pulled her curls up, gold earrings catching the light with each turn of her head.
"We look hot," Marie declared, snapping a selfie of them both."Time to make some bad decisions."
The party pulsed with life by the time they arrived, bass vibrating through the floorboards of the old fraternity house.Bodies pressed together in the main room, moving to music Ashley felt in her bones.The air was thick with spilled beer, sweet perfume, and end-of-semester desperation - everyone was determined to make these last moments count.
Her heart stopped when she spotted him.Cole dominated a corner of the room and his white dress shirt rolled to his elbows, dark jeans sitting low on his hips.A half-empty bottle of whiskey dangled from his long fingers, and a redhead in a barely-there crop top pressed against him like she was trying to climb inside his skin.Her curves strained against emerald green satin, magnificent breasts practically spilling into Cole's chest as she laughed at something he'd said.
Marie squeezed Ashley's arm."Come on, let's get a drink."
But Ashley couldn't tear her eyes away.She watched him through the night, each shot he took matching the growing ache in her chest.Girls orbited him like they couldn't help themselves - the redhead's hands in his hair as they danced, a blonde pressing champagne kisses to his jaw, a brunette's fingers tracing the muscles of his forearm.He entertained them all with that sharp smile she'd grown to hate, but his eyes...his eyes kept finding her across the room, dark with something that wasn't quite anger.
By midnight, the party had devolved into that particular brand of chaos of drunk students who’d just finished their finals.Ashley pushed through the crowded bathroom, desperate to escape the press of drunk, sweating bodies and the sight of Cole's hands on yet another strange girl's waist.
When she emerged, Marie was nowhere to be found.
She weaved through the crowd, the bass thrumming through her bones, until voices near the kitchen caught her attention.One was unmistakably Cole's - a low rumble that still made her skin prickle.The other...
"I can't believe you remember that," Marie was saying, her usual confidence replaced by something softer.Ashley rounded the corner to find them by the drinks table, Marie tucking a curl behind her ear as Cole leaned close to be heard over the music.
"Junior year chemistry," he said, a dangerous smile playing on his lips."You were the only one who laughed at my terrible periodic table jokes."
Marie actually giggled - Marie, who Ashley had never heard make such a sound."They were awful.But you looked so proud of them."
Something twisted in Ashley's stomach.This was a different Cole than the one who'd been performing all night.This one was almost...gentle.
Cole's eyes found her over Marie's shoulder.Something flickered in them - recognition, want, anger - before his mask slammed back into place.He straightened, reaching for the bottle of whiskey.
Marie turned, spotted Ashley, and had the grace to flush."I was just...we were..."She glanced between them, understanding dawning."I should find Sarah."
She squeezed Ashley's arm as she passed, an apology in the gesture.Ashley barely noticed, too focused on the way Cole's hands were white-knuckled around the bottle, the way his careful distance had cracked just enough to show something raw underneath.
"Enjoying the party?"he asked, voice slurring slightly.He'd been drinking steadily all night, she realized.Each girl, each shot, each performance - all of it fueled by whatever demon he was trying to drown.
"Cole-"
"Want to know something funny?"He pushed off from the table, swaying into her space."You remind me of her sometimes.Marie.Back before everything went to shit."
Anger flushed through her, "don't compare-"
"But that's not what you want to hear, is it?"His laugh was bitter, edges sharp enough to cut."You want poetry.Romance.All those pretty words that make girls think they're special."He leaned closer, alcohol heavy on his breath."Want to hear my favorite?The one that always works?"
Cole swayed closer, backing her against the wall.His fingers traced up her arm as his voice dropped to a whisper meant only for her.
"I love you without knowing how..."his hand slid to her waist, "or when..."fingers spanning her ribcage, "or from where."His thumb brushed the underside of her breast, making the pure words sound like sin.
