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Cole stops gawking and catches up with me, hot on my heels up the steps to my apartment. When I open the door, I’m hit with a sudden wave of comfort. I know Riot like the back of my hand, so I have no doubts that he’s going to demand I stay at his place while I recover. While there’s this huge part of me that wants to push him away, there’s another part telling me to just give. Because we almost lost each other, and the last thought swimming through my mind as I bled out in that parking lot was that I needed to tell him how I felt.
Cue the existential crisis.
“So how’d you end up living above your studio?” Cole pries, as he looks around my small apartment.
“That’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time,” he grins.
“Maybe later boy toy,” I roll my eyes and his smile actually grows wider.
Fuck me sideways.
Cole follows me into my bedroom like a puppy dog, and it gets under my skin just a little. “You can go sit down, you know? I’m not going anywhere.”
“And I’m not letting you rip your stitches open simply because you’re too stubborn to ask anyone to help you. So you let me know what you need,” he bites back.
“Fine,” I grit between my teeth.
Opening my closet door, I grab a duffel bag from the floor and toss it onto the bed. I begin yanking some clothing from the hangers and tossing them on the bed next to the bag, and to my surprise Cole just sits down and starts folding it all. Stuffing one article of clothing at a time into the bag like this is just the most normal situation in the world.
Going through my top two dresser drawers, I yank out some more clothes and throw it over his direction before making my way to the bathroom. Gathering up my toiletries, I put them in a small bag and walk back over to where Cole is sitting quietly.
Fold.
Stuff.
Repeat.
I stare down at him not sure what to think or feel. His presence does things to me, but I’m also terrified that I need to view him as a threat. Someone who’s here to steal the one thing that makes breathing every day a little less difficult.
“Just say what’s on your mind Zeke,” he says as he continues to pack my bag without looking up at me.
“What makes you think something is on my mind?”
“I can feel it. You’re hot, you’re cold. One minute the tension is so thick I can’t see through the fog, the next you’re like an ice queen. It’s like my entire existence pisses you off. You weren’t like this before so what gives?”
Sighing in annoyance, I pinch the bridge of my nose, and press my eyes closed. I don’t know what he wants me to say, so I just don’t respond.
“I told Riot I don’t want to come between you two.”
“Look,” I snap, turning to face Cole, leaning over him, invading his space. I inch forward placing my hands on the mattress on either side of his thighs, caging him between my arms. “Nothing is coming between us.”
“Exactly what I said,” he breathes.
I push my face forward, “I lo- Riot means a lot to me. He needs this, so I’m in, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have reservations.”
“Tell me,” Cole licks his lips, and his eyes fall to mine.
“I can’t lose him,” the words fall from my lips in response, and I immediately wish I could recall them. Shove them back in and swallow them.
“I’m not here to take him. I care about him, yes, and I want to be with him. I also just…”
“Just what?”
He gulps hard, his Adam's apple bobbing slowly as he swallows. “Want to know you.”
His breathing speeds up, and there’s this weird tension bubbling between us. Like a volcano preparing to erupt. My cells are buzzing against the surface of my skin, and my cock twitches, reminding me that I want to know him too. Even if I refuse to say those words out loud.