11
cole
Over. Under. Up. Through. Loop. Tighten.
Shit.
I swear to God I hate ties.Looseningup the noose I’ve somehow created, I rip the impossible and completely pointless article of clothing from my neck and toss it to the sofa. Not only did I find out this “small party” of mymother’swas now up to two hundred people, I also learned that it was a formal affair and required a black tie dress code. I love my mother dearly, but that’s just crazy. I’m going with ano-tiedress code, and she’s lucky she’s got me a suit. Or, should I say, she’s lucky Jenna got me in asuitbecause I didn’t have one. We snuck out of town the other day and drove three towns over—an effort to keep some secrecy to my homecoming— just to pick it up.
“Jenna?” I call out for her when I notice the time. “Baby, you almost ready?”
“I’ll be right out,” I hear her say from the bathroom.
Unable to help myself, I begin to pace. I’m not going to lie, I’m nervous as hell about showing up at that party tonight. Different reactions to my presence keep rolling through my head, and I’m honestly not sure what to expect from my parents and the other guests—tears of joy that I’m finally home or a piss-poor attitude that I’ve been gone for so long and decided to show up unannounced. Anxiety quickly builds within me, and I force myself to stop pacing to take a few deep breaths. Looking into the small mirror hanging on the wall by the door, I give myself a silent pep talk that everything will be okay and adjust my black suit before seeing the bathroom door open.
My heart stops. And I know that’s a dumb thing to say because when your heart stops beating you’re technically dead but, shit, maybe I am. I turn and watch as Jenna slowly makes her way down the hall. Her long blonde hair is in soft bouncy curls, and she’s wearing a pale pink dress with thin straps and a flowy skirt that hits right below her knee. I swear she looks like an angel. My angel. My saving grace.
“What?” she asks me, almost bashful.
“You look beautiful,” I somehow manage to say. I literally feel weak in the knees at just the sight of her.
“Stop,” she says, and the pink hue that fills her cheeks makes her even more amazingly gorgeous.
“I mean it,” I tell her and walk over to meet her. “You are absolutely breathtaking, baby.” Reaching for her hand, I lift it to my mouth and gently kiss her fingers. “Now I’mreallydisappointed that I’m not escorting you to the party.”
Arriving tothe party separately wasn’t a choice either of us particularly liked, but it was necessary. No one knows I’ve been in town for the last week, except for Jenna and Emma, and I really don’t want anyone to hold a grudge against them for keeping my secret.
“How about you promise me a dance or two, and we’ll call it even?” she says, and the way her green eyes shimmer with excitement and happiness makes me want to promise her anything and everything.
“Done,” I agree with a grin. “And as far as I’m concerned, my dance card is full for the night.”
We exit the house, and I offer Jenna my arm as we walk down the steps. We stay just like that until she’s in her car, and once she’s seated, I lean in to kiss her again before I can’t anymore for the night.
The drive to my parents’ house seems longer than I remember, or maybe it feels that way because I’m so nervous. I’m white-knuckling the steering wheel as I pull into the gated community and working hard to calm my breathing. The last thing I need right now is a panic attack or emotional breakdown.
“You’ll be fine,”I hear Jenna’s voice repeating the words in my head she’d spoken right before we left the lake house.“I’ll be with you all night. I’m always right here when and if you need me, Cole.”
I’m filled with a sense of ease after that and continue my way to my parents’ place. Cars line the street, and I’m amazed by how many there are as I find an empty spot and park before heading up the blacktop driveway to the house. This enormous brick colonial wasn’t always my parents’ home. Hell, I only lived here for my duration of high school. My parents’ bought it after my dad made partner at the law firm he still works at.Fancynew job meant fancy new things, so we left our life in the suburbs and moved to luxury living. Speaking of luxury living, it looks like my dad’s acquired a few new cars since I left, and that ‘69 mustang has my name written all over it.
I think of Adam when I see it, as the memory Jenna brought up the other night flashes into my brain, knowing he’d love that car just as much as I do. His parents, Jenna’s parents, will most likely be here tonight for the big celebration. I’m not really looking forward to that reunion. Not that I won’t be happy to see themagain,because I’ve honestly missed them. George and Nina were like my second parents, always making me feel like I was a part of their family and not just Adam’s best friend. After everything happened, I never could work up the courage to see them, to tell them how sorry I was, and because ofthatI’m just unsure of how they’ll feel about seeing me now—the man that let their son die.
I call Emma as I stand off to the side of the house, away from prying eyes and nosy do-gooders, and she meets mebythe side entrance.
“Whoa, Em,” I say, stunned when she holds the door open for me. “Does that thing come with a jacket or a sweater?”
She glances down and runs a hand over her navy blue strapless dress that clings, in my opinion, way too much to her body.
“Shut up,” she tells me with a grin. “I look amazing.”
In all honesty, she does. Her straight brown hair is pulled back into one of those half-up-half-down styles, and she’s not gone overboard with hermakeup. “You do, sis,” I tell her and return her grin. “But don’t get mad at me for beating the shit out of any of these yahoos that look at you for too long.”
“Why do you think I chose this dress?” she asks me with a challenging glare as I walk past her into the house.
“You’re going to give me premature gray hair, woman,” I mumble and hear her laugh.
We quietly make our way through the large house, miraculously unseen by any of the guests, and enter my dad’s study.
“Are you ready for this?” Emma asks me as she straightens my jacket. I hope I look put together on theoutsidebecause on the inside is a completely different story.
