Ground Rules

Chapter Twelve

Mazey

“Areyou sure you don’t want to go out with me? There’s a party at the football house again. You seem to get lucky there, since you have disappeared there twice now and have yet to tell me who with.” Sutton gave me a quick look before glancing back in the mirror to finalize her outfit for the night.

“I told you, I can’t remember his name, and I’m sure,” I answered, lying back on my bed. “I have a paper due.”

Lies. I mean, I did have a paper due, but I wasn’t doing it. Instead, I was researching the statute of limitations on sexual assault, and how it differed in each state, and what that meant for me if Ryan admitted to what he’d done. It was making me nauseated.

“Okay, fine. Well, I’m not sure I’ll be back later tonight, but if I do, I’ll be quiet so I don’t wake you.” I glanced up at her from my computer. “Okay, well, be careful. Call me if you need me to come get you or something.”

She blew me a kiss and went to leave before I rushed out, “And don’t take drinks from anyone.” There was a burn in my chest, and I hated myself for saying it. I hated Ryan even more for putting me in the position of feeling this way or feeling the need to give extra warnings to girls who likely knew better.

Sutton smiled with a half-roll of her eyes. “Thanks, Mom.” I glanced away as she opened the door but quickly peered back up when she squealed, “Oh! Jesus. What are you doing outside our room?” She turned back to me with her eyes full of dark make-up, giving me a strange look. “You don’t remember his name...?” Her face had, You have some explaining to do, written all over it. I peered around Sutton and froze.

“I’m here for Mazey.” Cole’s voice was warm and decadent, sultry even, and it rubbed every part of my being raw.

I had hardly seen him since last week. He had stayed true to his word. He’d been on his best behavior and only texted me to check in with how my research was going. And I made sure to look at Ryan’s face very closely each time I crossed paths with him, because I was certain that Cole would lash out, but I was proven wrong each time.

“Oh, hey,” I said, regaining my ability to speak. I pushed my laptop off my legs and climbed over the edge. Sutton stood back with her brows crowded.

“Um…okay,” she finally said to Cole, looking back and forth between us. Eventually, the crease between her eyebrows softened, and the tiniest smile fell to her lips. “I’ll make sure to stay out tonight.” She half-laughed, giving me an amused look.

I was quick to insert my refusal. “That’s not necessary. Cole is just here to help me research.” There. That’s not a lie at all.

Sutton’s head fell back with a light laugh. “Right.”

She was halfway out the door, and Cole had managed to make it all the way to my bed as I rushed over and called down the hall. “I’m serious, Sutton. And be careful!”

Her laugh echoed, and I slammed the door quickly and turned around, my eyes landing on Cole.

Jeez. Did he purposefully look that good just to taunt me? I sniffed the air. Why does he smell so freaking good?

“So, how’s the research going?” he asked, taking a seat on my bed and pulling my laptop over to his lap. He opened it and began scanning the screen as if this was somehow planned.

I crossed my arms over my loose t-shirt, remembering that I was in my pjs. “What are you doing here?”

Cole slowly turned his determined gaze from my computer and caught eyes with me. “I told you I was going to help you with this thing. Remember?” He shrugged, leaning back on my pillow. Great, now it was going to smell like him. “It’s the weekend. I was waiting for you to show up at the house, but…”

“But Ryan is out of town, yeah. That’s why I didn’t go.” I sounded like a stalker. “I only know because of Kate. She’s home, too.”

Cole tipped his head back. “Ah, and how is Kate?” His eyebrows rose. “Does she still hate my guts?”

I laughed, dropping my head. “She told me she was going to come here and rip your throat out if you even dared talk to me. No one was pleased that I was coming here.”

Cole said nothing, and when I looked up at him, he was staring at me with a tight jaw. “That’s fair and not at all surprising.”

My heart clanked, and something burned my insides. I flicked my gaze down to his tight black tee, landing on the ink that covered the inside of his bicep. I jumped in my spot when he spoke again.

“Paenitet.” The word flew effortlessly from his lips, and I zeroed in on them. “Regret.”

My teeth sunk into my lower lip as I glanced away. There was pain between us, so much left unsaid, and the room seemed to grow smaller with each silent second. Cole cleared his throat as he bent down and kicked his shoes off. I watched as he lazily leaned back on my bed again with his long legs stretched out in front of him. “I have something for you.”

“For me?” I asked, taking a tiny step toward him. Do I sit on the bed beside him? Do we pretend we didn’t have sex the other night? That was what I wanted, right? We were to strictly focus on this issue with Ryan and leave the other stuff buried. But that wasn’t what I wanted, standing here, looking at him on my bed, appearing so…collected, and strong, and capable. He had changed in tremendous ways, and there was a tiny thought in the back of my head that whispered, Everything happens for a reason. Although, if I could go back and do it all over again, I would have never gone to that party, and I would have never allowed this wedge to separate us.

Cole leaned to the side and pulled a piece of paper out of the back pocket of his jeans. He held the thin piece in between two fingers that I happened to know were very talen—never mind—and waited for me to come over to grab it.

“What is this?” I asked, unfolding it while he peered up at me.