Page 19 of Chasin' Cole

"Run, Rose!" he squeals as the warm summer air hits us.

Laughing, our legs carry us down Main Street, past all the shops andstores, until we stop in front of Cole's truck.

"That was..." Cole trails off.

"Exhilaratin'," I finish for him as I catch my breath.

Cole grins. "Forbidden love is fun."

My heart stops beatin' in my chest. Did he saylove?

"Come on," he wraps an arm around my waist. "Let's get into the truck."

But I can't move. I'm frozen in place. The air is stiflin' as Cole's fingers rest of my hip. He's...this...I can't breathe. I can't breathe from how intoxicatin' he is.

He just had to say the wordlove. Now, I can't get it out of my head.

Pull yourself together, Rose! Forbidden love is just another word for affair.Secretaffair.

"Rose? Are you...can you hear me?" Cole tries.

I swallow hard. "Just catchin' my breath." That's a lie. I still haven't caught it yet.

Cole helps me into his truck, kissin' me before he closes the door. I take a deep breath, remindin' myself to play it cool.

"We should probably take some back roads home," Cole hitches a shoulder. "To keep up our cover."

"Ah," I nod my head, playing along. "We should definitely do that."

"I wouldn't want anyone to see us," Cole continues.

"Especially this late at night."

"And if we get lost?" Cole teases.

"Then I guess you'll just have to keep me warm," I hold up both hands innocently.

He doesn't respond right away. "You are something else,Ring Around the Rosie."

"That I am."

Cole drives us down every back road in town as the music drifts into the cab and our hands stay twined together. The night sky is full of twinklin' stars, and I can hear the frogs croakin' in the background as my hand hangs out the open window.

"I'm sorry about the movie," Cole says when we pull in front of Mama's house.

"I think I enjoyed ridin' around with you more," I admit.

"I did, too."

He leans towards me, his musky cologne renderin' all my senses useless. I could spend all day sittin' beside him, just breathin' him in.

He kisses me. But this time, there's a slowness to it. No urgency. Cole takin' his time as his fingers caress my cheek. I inch closer to him. I want to be closer

So, I climb into his lap and straddle his waist.

The steerin' wheel digs into my lower back as I wrap my arms around Cole.

He's right. This forbidden love thing is fun. But what happens when we drop the forbidden and all we're left with islove?

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