Page 79 of The Playmaker
I close my hands over his, and we stand there a moment longer, holding on to one another like it might be the last time we do. An uneasy feeling moves through me, giving me the sense that this is it between us.
But I don’t want this to be the end of us. I made a mistake, though had I known, had Cole opened up to me, told me the truth, it never would have happened. But he doesn’t really open up. I’ve only caught glimpses of the real Cole when his guard was down, and he tries very hard to never let that happen, and never in public.
“It’s getting late, we’d better hurry,” he finally says, breaking the moment.
“Is there is someplace we have to be?” I ask, assuming we’re just going on a tour.
“Yeah.”
His hand closes around mine—big, warm and strong—and I glance up at him, take in the tightness of his jaw. I follow him out, meet the pilot, Greg, and climb into the seat behind him. Cole sits next to me and, after we buckle up, we’re equipped with headphones and a mouthpiece so we can all speak to each other. Cole’s hand captures mine again, and he gives a little squeeze.
“Nervous?”
“I’ve never been on a helicopter before.”
“Me neither, actually.”
I nod. Too bad, considering he’d always wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but I keep that to myself. I’m sure it was hard for him to dredge up old, painful memories. No need to remind him of it again.
The chopper takes to the air and Cole pulls a blanket, bottle of wine and two glasses from his pack. He wraps us up, and pours us each a glass. I glance out the window as we sip, and a bubble of excitement wells up inside me when Mt. Rainier comes into view.
Cole leans into me. “It’s not ideal, but I know you can’t hike it anymore, so I thought this was the next best thing.”
On the horizon, streaks of blue and purple bruise the sky as the sun begins to set, and my heart swells. I can’t believe Cole set this up. Tears prick my eyes, and I try to turn my head so he doesn’t see them.
“Hey,” he whispers, and touches my chin. He turns me to face him and brushes the tears away. “I thought you’d like this.”
“I love it.”
His brow furrows as his gaze roams my face. “Then why the tears?”
“I can’t believe you remember me telling you this.”
“I remember everything.” He puts his arm around me, and I settle against him as the helicopter hovers over the mountain, letting us soak in the sunset. “I wanted to land right there and have my way with you” Cole says teasingly. “But we can’t. This bird has to be back before it’s pitch black.”
“When you drive me home, maybe you can have your way with me then,” I say, so touched by this gesture, I’m a little raw inside.
His grin widens. “Yeah?”
I take a sip of my wine and pretend I’m mulling it over, but there is nothing in the world I want more than Cole in my bed tonight.
We spend the next fifteen minutes watching the sunset, and it takes me back to my childhood when I hiked the mountain with my brother and the guy I hated—but secretly crushed on. But that crush has grown into so much more, and deep in my gut, I fear that our time together has come to an end, even though we decided to continue this affair until the playoffs were over.
Cole holds me tighter as the helicopter takes us back to the airport, and we’re both a little quiet as we make our way to his car.
“How is Tabby?” I ask as he drives me back to my place.
“She’s okay. She came back to the house after you left. We had a long talk.”
“Did Jack propose yet?”
“Not yet, I guess he’s waiting for the right moment. You know, sort of the same way you do it in your books.”
I grin. “I don’t think Tabby tortures him the way I tortured my heroes, though. Thank God.”
Cole laughs. “Do you like him? Do you think they’ll be good together?”
“I do.”