Page 35 of Broken Silence
I carried the shots back to the table, spotting Kerry and Ben laughing as they almost fell over in front of the band. Jasper was nowhere to be seen, but the place was packed now, everyone wanting to get drunk cheaply here before moving on.
Oakley took the tiny glass, clinked it against mine and tipped her head back, exposing her neck again.
I was getting so hard just looking at her, it wasn’t even funny.
Swallowing, she tuned up her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. “Ah, that’s bad.”
“Yep,” I agreed, and downed mine, wincing as it burned my throat.
“Shall we get another?”
“You don’t want to do more shots, Oakley.”
“Yes, I do. The next month is going to be really hard. I want to get drunk.”
So, that’s what this is about.
She was drinking her problems away. I’d had first-hand experience on just how much that one didn’t work.
I shook my head. “Not happening. Talk to me.”
As I touched her arm, her eyes filled with tears.Fuck no.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, reaching for her. I pulled her onto my lap, the feel of her body against mine almost driving me insane.
Her lips parted, eyelids fluttering. She wrapped an arm around my back and melted into my embrace.
“I’m scared, Cole,” she whispered, burying her head in my neck. It was only because she was so close that I’d heard her. “I’m really scared.”
I held her tighter and kissed the side of her head, my eyes snapping shut.
I’m scared, too.
Chapter 7
Oakley
Now I remembered why I didn’t drink.
Cole held onto me tightly, keeping me safe in his arms. He was all that stopped me from shattering, I was sure. In his embrace, I felt stronger than I had in a long time.
Our table was out of the way, but I was still aware that we were in a public place, and I didn’t want to meltdown here. I took a deep breath and pulled up from his chest where I’d listened to his heart beating hard, pumping faster than the beat of the drums.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, dabbing a tear from under my eye.
Cole kept his arms around me while I sat on his lap, his fingers tracing patterns on my skin. I didn’t want to go anywhere, either, so I didn’t even attempt to get up.
“Don’t be sorry. Not ever. You okay now? What can I do?”
“I’m fine. You’re already doing everything.” I smoothed down my hair and dabbed under my eyes, hoping that was enough to make me look normal.
“Want to get out of here?” he asked. “There’s a crappy little all-night café down the road. We can go there.”
“Crappy café? That’s not very gentlemanly. If that’s what you say to the ladies, it’s no wonder you haven’t had any since—”
He shook his head, chuckling. “Yeah, all right. Very funny.”
I grinned, my heart lighter now that I’d pulled myself together… and, of course, because he was touching me.
