I hesitated. “Should I?”
“Autumn. He’s leaving in three days. If you want whatever this is, you need to actually spend time with him. Not just naked time, though that’s clearly going well.”
He wasn’t wrong.
My phone buzzed.
Cole: Missing you already. Is that pathetic?
My heart fluttered like a teenage idiot.
Autumn: A little, but I like it.
Cole: Good. Come to the show tonight?
Autumn:Maybe.
Cole: That’s a yes. I can feel it. Front row. I’ll have them save you a seat.
Autumn: That’s very presumptuous.
Cole: It’s confidence. There’s a difference.
I smiled at my phone like an idiot.
“You’re texting him right now, aren’t you?” Eli asked.
“Mind your own business.”
“Your business is my business. That’s how this works.” He leaned over, trying to read my screen. I angled it away. “Rude.”
“It’s called privacy.”
“Overrated concept.” He stood, heading for the door. “I’m taking Luna to her foster home today, by the way. The family seemed great.”
“Good. She deserves good.”
“So do you, you know.”
I looked up. Eli’s expression had gone serious.
“I know you’re scared. But Cole? He seems like the real deal. Again, don’t sabotage it before you give it a real chance.”
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“What if it does?”
He left before I could argue.
I stared at my phone. At Cole’s texts. At the evidence that someone wanted me, found me desirable, made me feel things I’d forgotten I could feel.
Autumn: Okay. I’ll be there.
Cole: You just made my whole day.
Cole: Also, I can’t stop thinking about this morning. Specifically the shower. And the thing you did with your mouth.
Cole: I’m hard just thinking about it.
