Page 16 of Love Me Again

"So?"Aimee questions, looking at me, her blue eyes wide and hopeful. "Did it work?" I shrug and look around, gnawing on my bottom lip. "I mean the way he possessively pulled you away from Dante, from over here it looked like he was a little jealous?"

"It absolutely did.ThatwasveryCole." Jo agrees, biting into her churro and chewing gingerly.

"Oh, girls, I don't know. I mean, the way he was looking at me for averybrief second, it felt like it used to." I explain, glancing over at Cole talking to Josh, a profoundly serious expression on his face.

The girls decided we should test and see if Cole would still get jealous if he saw another guy near me or touching me, and sure enough, he did react like I hoped he would when he saw Dante— myverygood-looking, completely gay friend—dancing with me. I thought he would kiss me when he pulled me away from him, but he didn't. He asked who Dante was, and when I told him he was my friend, he went right back to his emotionless self again.

“That’sfantastic, Shay. It means he still cares enough to get jealous of another man touching you. You need to keep pushing him into feeling these things, and eventually, he will start to realisethathe does love you." Aimee tells me while I watch Cole sullenly. I miss him so much, and it kills me every time he looks at me, and I don't seethatlove in his eyes. He's so different, so cold, distant, and moody.

That’snot the Cole I know. Where was the guy who would touch me and constantly want to be around me? Where didthatpassionate man gothatwould gaze deep into my eyes and tell me he wants me and would die if he didn't have me. Where was he?

"Ireallyhope so, Aimes, because the way we're going now, I don't see us making it through this at all," I whisper woefully, and Aimee shakes her head.

"Shayla, babe, don't saythat. You have to keep fighting for him. As much as it hurts, you can't give up." I shake my head and look at her with a sigh.

"You think I want to? Of course, I don't. I'm still in love with him, but he doesn't love me, or at least he doesn't rememberthathe does." I mutter, closing my eyes.

"If anyone is going to pull him through this, it's you, Shayla. You might have been wiped from his mind but, you're still etched in his heart. Every time you think about giving up, you rememberthat, okay?" Jo expresses, taking my face into her hands and looking at me. "Who knows, one day he might wake up and remember everything. You justhave to be patient and hold onto the hopethathe will remember. A love as strong as yours doesn't disappear overnight."

I nod and bite my lip, glancing over at him again. Cole was watching me. Our eyes meet, and I feel my heart race like it used to when we first met.

I can do this. I love him too much to lose him. Cole looks away and turns his attention back to Josh, and nods. I wonder what Josh was telling him. "Shayla?" I look down at Esme and smile at her. "Can we dance now?" She asks excitedly. I nod and take her hand. We walk over to the crowd dancing, and we start to dance together. Esme was Rico's five-year-old daughter. She's the sweetest thing. I laugh and spin her around while we sing and sway together. Aimee and Jo join us, and we all dance with her. I watch as Esme runs off toward Cole and Josh and pulls them to come and join us.

Josh scoops her up into his arms, and they walk over to us. Jo, Aimee, and Josh dance with Esme while Cole comes over to me.

"Dance with me?" I ask with a smile, and he hesitates for a moment but nods and steps closer to me. I take his hands and place them at my waist, and I rest my hands on his chest, and we sway together.

"You're an incredible dancer," Cole tells me as he snakes his arms around my waist, drawing me closer against him. I smile up at him and lick my lips enticingly, drawing his eyes from mine to my lips.

"So are you," I reply, wrapping my arms around his neck, and he smiles, pressing his forehead to mine while we dance together. Cole jumps when he feels the baby kick against his stomach and looks down.

"Wasthat...?" He trails off, his green eyes wide.

"Your baby girl? Yes, it was. It seems she'sas excited to be dancing with Daddy as I am." I tell him sincerely, and he stares down at my stomach, and for the first time since his accident, he places his hand on my tummy. I smile when he looks into my eyes and bites his lip.

"I can see why this place is so special to us." He tells me, looking around as we sway together.

"Itreallyis astounding."

"It sure is."

"What did we do after we danced last time?" I smile.

"I uh, made you try churros for the first time, and we sat on the banks by the river over there till closing time just talking and..."

"And...?" Cole presses, and I feel my face go all hot.

"Kissing," I finish, staring into his eyes while he nods wistfully

"Right, I was taking full advantage of the bet, I take it." He smirks, and I nod with a shrug.

"You sure were, butthatone week following the bet was one of the best weeks we spent together. You broke down all the walls around my heart, and it was inthatweekthatI realised I was in love with you." I confess, and Cole heaves a sigh and rubs his forehead, taking a step back from me when the song ends.

"I want to remember Shayla. Josh keeps saying if anyone has the power to pull me through this, it's you. Do you think maybe we can start over, like go back to the beginning and act like we just met?" He suggests, and I nod in response. "Maybe if I get to know you again as I did before, it may help jog my memory."

"Of course we can," I answer, and he smiles a little, nodding. "But on one condition," I add, and he looks at me questioningly.

"You need to relax a little and drop this whole awkward, robotic demeanour you've got going on. Don't overthink and hold yourself back.Evenon the first day we met, you were confident and charming. Where isthatguy?" I question, and he looks at me bewildered and frowns a little. "Cole, we never had an awkward moment ever, we were always comfortable around each other, so if you want this to work, you need to relax around me."

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