The Right Side of My Pillow, стр. 23
Jade would have had to move closer to Cole than what was comfortable, so she decided she didn’t want to know that badly. “Uh. That’s okay. I won’t be here long enough to use it. If I want to watch a movie, and you’re not here, I’ll just watch it in my room.”
His shoulders tensed just a bit. She’d only been in his life a little more than a couple of weeks. Thinking about her leaving was the last thing Cole wanted. And nights like tonight were rare. So rare they were basically non-existent. Jade went to work, came home, and retreated to her bedroom. Every now and again, Cole would catch her briefly in the kitchen before or after work. Still, he let the remark slide for now because he had no intention of letting Jade get away from him anytime soon. Instead, he put the movie in the player. “What are we watching anyway?”
The seats in the theater room had been made for lovers. It made it impossible to sit too far away, but Jade hugged her corner as she sat next to him. “It’s called Pieces of Me. It was a book I read a long time ago by the author, LaShawn Vasser, and they turned it into a movie.”
“Is it good?”
“I enjoyed the book. It’s a modern day fairytale. Sweet girl meets a handsome, wealthy man who has a heart of gold on the inside but is rough on the outside. They are forced to get to know each other when their plane crashes on a deserted island.” She shrugged. “That kind of stuff doesn’t happen in the real world, but I loved it anyway.”
Cole hung on almost her every word. “Hmm…almost sounds a little like us except for the romance part. I don’t know. You probably wouldn’t be here if you had another choice.”
“Cole let’s not…”
He interrupted her as he opened the bottle of wine and poured each of them a glass. “It’s fine, Jade. I get it. I would be upset too if I’d done the things you think I did.”
He didn’t know that over the past couple of weeks, Jade desperately wanted to let go of the past. She was tired of carrying it around with her. But, with Cole, she needed it. She needed that armor of protection. Even at her angriest, somehow he still managed to send shivers down her spine.
“Are you cold?”
Did she shiver? Oh, God and he noticed. Jade sucked in her bottom lip and lied. “A little.”
He pushed another button, and the fireplace came on.
Her voice came out in a near whisper. “Are we ever going to watch the movie?”
“Of course. You want to see it, so let’s get to it.” He pressed the button, and it began to play.
Part of the way into it, Jade pulled her knees up to her chin with her eyes glued to the screen. Cole couldn’t get into the film because he’d been transfixed by all of Jade’s expressions. She had always been interesting to watch. When she reached over to get another handful of popcorn, she caught Cole’s eyes staring at her. She held her breath and suddenly her mouth felt like cotton. By some miracle, she managed to speak. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You know I can tell almost everything you’re thinking by how expressive your face is? You’ve never been able to keep a straight face.”
She didn’t like being scrutinized and prayed that he couldn’t read her thoughts that easily. However, nobody had ever been better at reading her than Cole. Jade needed to change her expression and the subject quick. “What happened to your plans tonight? Elise right?” Talking about Elise helped to remind her of a whole host of things.
Cole picked up his wine and took a long sip before answering. “Yeah. She’s a bit upset with me.”
Jade picked up her glass and took a sip from it too. She laughed a bit to herself. He was always pissing off his girlfriends, and they used to always come to her hoping she would give them inside information. She never did. “You seem to have that effect on women. Always have. What did you do now?”
“I won’t propose.”
Jade stopped laughing. “Wow. Cole that’s pretty…um…serious. Are you sure you want to discuss this with me?”
As if it were the most natural thing in the world he responded. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. It just seems a bit strange?”
Determined to break through her shell he answered as honestly as he could. “Does it really feel strange, Jade? I just don’t think time can erase the bond that we had. Even though it’s been years, I haven’t been this at ease with talking to someone in a very long time.”
She couldn’t hold his gaze and decided to take another sip of her wine instead. “W-Why? Why won’t you propose if you don’t mind me asking?” She slowly put her glass back down.
Cole stared into his