Chapter 23: Old times - Monet

I groan, my mouth feeling like shit, the taste of rancid beer heavy. Is this the cost of having a good time every single time we decide to drink? Maybe I should stick to the wine coolers, I certainly didn't feel like this the other morning.

My eyes fly open when I realise my head is definitely not resting on a pillow.

Oh no, my head is on a very hard, muscled arm, and at first I think what the hell did I do, but then the subtle smell of crisp apples wafts through my nostrils, and I look up into Cole's face, his eyes open and burning with something I don't want to put a name to.

This is nothing new for me to wake up in his bed. Only this time, we're no longer kids or innocent young teenagers.

"Good morning." He murmurs, his voice deep and gruff from sleep. Instead of pushing me off his arm, he throws his other arm over my waist and snuggles me even tighter, his face in my hair.

"Morning."

I have so many questions, like how did we get here? I sort of have a little bit of amnesia.

"Sorry I came to sleep here, my body took a lot of hits yesterday, I didn't want to sleep on the couch."

"I'm so sorry." Shit, now I feel bad that we got drunk once again and they had to take care of us, taking up his space.

"It's a little like old times, right?" He says into my hair. "Except we have another friend with us."

"What?"

"Amy is on your other side, but it looks like she's hanging off the bed more than anything else."

I lift myself and he has no choice but to let me go. Luckily he has on a T-shirt and shorts, or this would've been very awkward.

My friend is literally hanging off the bed, her black hair everywhere, but she's still sleeping so I decide not to disturb her.

Cole doesn't take his arm away, so I have no choice but to lay my head down into the crook of his arm again.

"Thanks for letting us crash here." I look up into his face, his clean shaven face of yesterday now sporting a five 'o clock shadow. Yeah, we're definitely not kids anymore, and we shouldn't be sharing a bed, especially when him standing in the living room, completely naked keeps on flashing through my mind.

"No problem. You can have the bed all to yourselves soon, I'm going to the training centre to take an ice bath." He groans.

" Are you okay?" I lift my head and rest it on my hand, looking down at him. "Did you get hurt?"

Damn, Cole is a very handsome man, all the boy in him completely disappeared now. He's all fine lines and hard edges, and I can't blame all the girls throwing themselves at him.

"Not more than usual." His eyes are still serious, quickly moving to my lips before meeting my eyes again. "It's all part of the game."

"You were really great out there." I tell him softly, still in awe at what I saw yesterday. "I couldn't believe my eyes. And thank you for my gift, it's so beautiful, but you shouldn't have, it was probably very expensive."

"Thanks, and I wanted to buy it for you. Ever since I got here things just clicked into place for me." His tone softens. "At first I thought it was a great opportunity to get an education for free and still be able to play ball, but now it's become everything."

"Mmm, I can see that." I nod. "I don't want to be a party pooper or anything, but are you okay with all this attention, it's a lot of pressure on one person."

Something dark flashes in his eyes, but like the other night, he blinks, and it's gone, transforming into a guarded expression.

What's going on in that head of his?

"I've learned how to cope." He suddenly sits up. "Thanks for your concern."

I don't know if I shouldn't have brought it up, but I know him better than anyone else, and I just want him to be healthy.

"I'll bring something after I'm done for the hangover." He grabs an already packed bag from his closet, and leaves, closing the door behind him.

Is he mad at me now, for mentioning his past? Did Mom tell him that I texted her? I really don't want him to be mad at me again.

Amy groans from her position half-off on the bed, and I chuckle when she tries to get up.

"I have a really big headache." She complains, brushing the hair out of her face. "I don't think I like beer."

"Ditto, Cole said he'll bring us something for the hangover after his ice bath."

"Thank fuck I put toothbrushes in my bag, my mouth feels like I ate shit." Her eyes widen. "Fuck, did I kiss Luke last night?"

"The last thing I remember was that we were dancing. I think James was there." I groan too. "I hope I didn't kiss him. "

"Why not, I thought you liked James."

I thought so too. He's perfect on paper, but maybe Cole was right. I shouldn't be dating anyone from the football team. It could complicate things down the line. Cutting James off now would be the right thing to do.

We stay in bed until Cole comes back with pain killers and protein shakes, making us drink all of it even though my stomach feels like it wants to regurgitate everything back up.

It also feels like he's somehow avoiding my gaze, but he grabs my arm when I suggest we go home so they can rest.

"Stay." There's a soft urgency to his tone. "We'll watch movies like old times, I'll get you some fried chicken."

"You're gonna eat fried chicken?" I joke. He hates fried chicken.

"Definitely not." He pulls a face.

I laugh, and Amy agrees that we can spend the day with them. Poor Luke is still asleep, but she goes into his room and jumps on his bed until he lifts his head groggily, looking at her like she lost her mind.

Cole was right, it is a little like old times, but different.

There's a new atmosphere in the air, and I don't know if it spells something good or bad.