“Coming from you, Jasper? Really?” I replied. Jasper was a man-child and one of the most immature people I knew.
He narrowed his eyes and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He shoved his hand in my hair, ruffling it up.
“Get off,” I shouted, batting his hand away with my own. Now really wasn’t the time to mess around. I needed to find out if Cole was around so I could figure out how to meet him again for the first time. There was no getting around the fact that we would meet, but I wanted to do it properly.
I shoved Jasper, and as I looked up, I froze. It was too late to leave. Cole stood in front of me, staring open-mouthed. No, no, no! My heart soared. Seeing him again was such an incredible feeling it took my breath away. He hadn’t changed much. His hair was the same style but an inch or two shorter. My memory hadn’t done him justice at all.
Beside him was a girl I didn’t know. I felt a chill, and my heart plummeted to my toes. His girlfriend? Of course. I knew he probably would have found someone else, but I sure as hell didn’t want to see it.
Jasper let go, and I almost fell to the floor. My legs were weak. I wanted to leave before this girl was confirmed as his, but I couldn’t move.
“This is awkward,” Jasper muttered under his breath. I wanted to hit him, but I still couldn’t move. The girl, who I unreasonably hated, clearly recognised me. She looked at me with wide eyes, surprised to see me too. Did Cole talk about me to her? Was I the bitch ex who left him and she the angel of a current girlfriend? That wouldn’t be far from the truth.
“Oh my freakin’ God! Oakley!” Kerry screamed, bursting into the room. She bounced over to me, and I was wrapped in her iron grip. Ben stood behind her, looking between me and Cole. “You’re really back! I can’t believe it. How long for? God, I missed you.”
I mumbled a breathless hello as she squeezed the air from my lungs.
“Ooh, you have a sexy husky voice!”
I didn’t really know what to say to that, so I said nothing. It must be so strange for her to hear me speak. I hadn’t seen her since everything had come out.
“Ben, say hello,” she ordered and before he could, she continued. “Oh, and this is Chelsea, our friend.”
I smiled at Kerry and her not so subtle way of telling me Chelsea wasn’t with Cole. Relief flooded my system. “Hi, Chelsea.”
“Hey,” she replied.
I looked back at Cole, who was still a statue. He hadn’t looked away from me this whole time, and I didn’t know if that was a good sign or not.
“I wonder if it’s possible for this to get any more awkward,” Jasper said.
I glared at my idiot brother.
“Beach party, Jasper,” I hissed. “Beach party.”
He shot me a dark look but backed down as I knew he would. It worked every single time I needed him to shut up.
“What happened at the beach party?” Kerry asked.
“Nothing happened at the beach party!” Jasper yelped. “Now, come on, let’s leave Cole and Oakley to talk.” And to think I had gone twenty years without having any real murderous thought about my brother!
“Sure. I wanna see your mum anyway,” Kerry said and ushered them all into the kitchen.
I chewed the inside of my cheek and desperately tried to think of something to say. Something that wasn’t, ‘I love you. Please forgive me.’ Giving myself a little pep talk in my head, I took one step forward. It was only right that I was the one to speak first.
“Hi,” I whispered.
His lips pulled up into a small smile.
“Hi.”
My stomach flipped over. I had missed the sound of his voice so much. Let’s face it, I had missed everything about him.
With that brief exchange we fell into silence. I stood still and stared at him, and he did the same. There was so much I wanted to say that I couldn’t figure out what to open with. His eyes bored into me with such intensity I felt naked. Looking at him again, I had no idea how I managed to leave him behind.
His eyes flicked over my shoulder, and he glared at something behind me. I looked around and saw Jasper and Kerry peeking around the kitchen door. It was Jasper’s idea to give us some privacy, yet he was the one snooping.
Cole looked back at me and nodded towards the French doors leading to the back garden. I moved towards the door, and he followed. At least he was coming too and not just telling me to get out…
He closed the door behind us and sat on the step from the decking to the grass. I sat beside him and looked forwards, too scared to make eye contact straight away. When his aftershave mixed with his natural scent hit me, I felt safe again – something I hadn’t felt in four years.
Finally, he turned his head and looked at me.
“How long are you back for?” His question wasn’t what I had expected first.
“Um. I’m not sure. It depends on the trial I suppose.”
He frowned, looking out at something in the garden. What? “I didn’t think you were coming back for it.”