I like him too.
There has never been anyone in my life I’ve let in like I have Kole. Last year, I made friends with Cohen, but we never talked about real shit. I would purposefully make him uncomfortable by being blasé about everything wrong with my life because I could make offhanded comments and not think about it too deeply.
With Kole … I’m not sure when it happened or how, but I feel like I could tell him anything and he wouldn’t judge me.
He accepts me, bad behavior, baggage, and everything else that comes with it.
I lean in and whisper, “You’re allowed to be hesitant. I know I would be if I was dating … uh, me. Although, I’ve done plenty of that too.” I wink.
“It’s nothing against you. You’re great. I just don’t have time for anything serious.”
“You don’t have time for anything serious with a fuckboy. You do realize we’ve been spending most of our free time with each other already? Well, until you caught the feels and decided you needed to avoid me. Not cool, yo.”
He almost smiles. “What will it take for you to drop this?”
Easy. “A date.”
“Oh, sure, when should we schedule that in? After practice, during midterms, at an away game, or when you’re looking after five minors?”
“Hmm …” I tap my chin. “How about now?”
Kole’s sexy mouth opens and then closes just as fast.
“Ha, you can’t come up with an excuse. Buckle up, big guy. A date with Asher Dalton is like a date with—”
“A pushy, insistent jerk whose head is so big it’s surprising he doesn’t fall over when he walks?”
“I was going to go with something cliché like destiny, but yours might be closer to the truth.”
“If I do this date thing and then tell you I don’t want another one, will you let it go?”
I want to say no, but I also don’t want to be one of those pushy guys. “Yes,” I say instead, and I mean it. If I can’t make him admit to me with this one date that he really does have feelings for me, then we should step back.
I didn’t think Kole could ever look at me as more than a jock who can’t pass a basic health course—and who can give him amazing orgasms. If there’s a chance? Even if I don’t deserve it? I’m going to give it everything I have.
I wait for his reply anxiously but try not to let it show.
He relents. “Fine. Take me to your date place.”
Yesss. Okay, date mode.
“Hmm, which McDonald’s do you think is more romantic? The one in Colchester or South Burlington?”
Kole pauses and glares at me.
“That was a joke. Geez. Calm down. Five Guys is much better. And you can say things like ‘Five Guys filled me up, and now I can’t even walk.’”
Kole pats my shoulder. “You’re really selling me on this date thing. It’s going to be so hard for me to say I don’t want another one by the end of it.”
Little does he know I’m messing with him.
Prepare to be wooed, Kole Hogan. I’m bringing out the big guns.
24
Kole
I’m nervous. I can’t remember ever being nervous around Asher before, but now that he knows how I feel about him, things have shifted. I’m in a vulnerable position I don’t like. One my playful and charming attitude won’t get me out of.
I almost kick myself. If Asher—poster child for flippant emotion—can break down and show me himself at his lowest, I can suck this shit up.
A week wasn’t enough to turn these feelings off.
A week was painful.
The whole time, I tried to focus on coursework and spending time with Hades, and flirting with guys in my classes was a total fail because the more I worked to actively not think about Asher, the more he occupied my mind.
I have committed the ultimate friends-with-benefits crime. I’m not just falling for the guy.
I’ve fallen.
And now I have to hope it doesn’t freak him out completely.
I try to study his face again, but it’s neutral as he concentrates on driving. His black hair is curled over into his eyes a little, and his biceps flex as he flicks the turn signal.
“Wendy’s?” I ask through a grin.
“Only the best for you.”
“Well, it’s not McDonald’s.”
“No, this is way classier.” He turns into the drive-thru. “And since it’s a first date, I’ll even let you order from the regular menu. I should warn you though, second dates and onward are deal items only.”
“I thought you were supposed to be convincing me to want a second date?”
“What’s not convincing about that?”
We place our orders, and after they’re handed to us, Asher pulls up in the parking lot.
“This isn’t our date, by the way,” he says around a mouthful of burger.
Joke’s on him though, because I really don’t care what we do together. I could easily make an excuse of telling him this is all I have time for, but the last week has caught me up completely on schoolwork, and now I’m with him, I’m too weak to walk away.