“Cole, please talk to me,” she begs him.
Silence.
“You can’t keep doing this.”
“Don’t Austin,” he warns.
“Cole … please …”
“I don’t wanna have this conversation with you!” he snaps.
She lets out a huff. “Well, too fucking bad. We’re gonna have it.”
I rip my shirt up and over my head and unfasten my jeans before shoving them down my legs. I yank the covers back and crawl into the soft bed.
“Why didn’t you tell me the guys were coming?” she continues.
“Slipped my mind,” he lies.
I know why he didn’t tell her. He doesn’t want Austin to have the slightest clue of what is going on, but she’s a smart girl. She’ll figure it out. He should know that by now.
“Well, how long are they staying?” She huffs.
“Don’t know.” His response is flat.
“Do you know anything?” she snaps.
“I know I’m going for a swim.” Their bedroom door opens and then slams shut.
I sigh, placing my hands behind my head and stare up at the white ceiling. I should go down to the pool and talk to him, but sometimes the best thing you can do for Cole is give him space.
I just close my eyes when my bedroom door bursts open, hitting the interior wall. They snap open. I hold in a sigh when Austin enters my room, hands on her hips and a sour look on her face. “What the fuck is going on, Deke?”
I sit up. “That’s for Cole to tell you.”
“He won’t.”
“Then I can’t help you—”
“Bullshit!” she snaps.
I lie back down and close my eyes, dismissing her. When I hear my bedroom door slam shut, I smile in victory. My left hand reaches out to grab my phone. I need to set my alarm. I have a nine a.m. class tomorrow. My eyes spring open when I feel nothing but my nightstand.
I throw the covers off. “Shit!” My phone is missing. I just had it. I put it right there ... “Austin?” I shout her name, running out of my room. I enter their bedroom without knocking and find it empty. But their adjoining bathroom door is shut. I run over and try to open it. It’s locked! “Austin?” I pound on the door.
Silence.
Shit! I move back, about to shove my shoulder into the door to get my phone back, but then decide against it. This is Cole’s problem. Not mine.
I make my way downstairs and out to the back patio. Cole has his head underwater, swimming laps. I reach over and grab the first thing I can find, which is a towel. I take it and throw it at him. His arm gets caught in it, pulling it underwater. He comes to a stop and lifts his head. “What?” he demands.
“Austin locked herself in your bathroom.”
He just stares up at me from the pool.
“And she has my phone with her.”
He frowns.
