Page 82 of The Murder Between Us
“I put both in her bag,” Cole murmured. “Cell phone.”
Katie grabbed her phone, hidden under her chemistry textbook, from the dining room table and ran back out the front door, slamming it behind her again.
They laughed as they kissed, and kissed again, and Noah’s arms wrapped around Cole’s neck as Cole grabbed Noah’s ass and squeezed.
There wasn’t time for more than a quick make-out session in the kitchen, not if they wanted to be on time to the game and get a parking spot somewhere within the Des Moines area code. Cole threw the clothes from the washer to the dryer as Noah put away the dishes, and then they were off, bundled up in hoodies with Katie’s school mascot across the front, thick jackets, beanies, and gloves. They held hands walking into the stands and to their seats, just off the fifty-yard line in the first section, close to where Katie and her squad cheered. Katie saw them arrive and waved. Her friends joined in, waving and shouting hellos to them both.
The game was close, and exciting, and cold. Their breath fogged in front of their faces, and when they weren’t jumping to their feet to scream and cheer with the crowd, they were huddled together, arms around each other, faces buried in their jackets. After one touchdown, they kissed, hugged, and clapped with the crowd. Through it all, Katie cheered with her squad, tumbling in the end zone and flipping for each point the team put on the board, and then rising to the top of her squad’s pyramid before flipping backward and landing safely, caught by her squad mates.
“I hate when she does that one,” Noah mumbled, looking away. “I can’t watch it.”
“You know she does it even more now that she knows you don’t like it.”
Noah shook his head and grumbled, smothering his grin.
After the game, they met Katie and her friends outside the athletic center. Everyone was still amped from the excitement, from the win, from the cold air and the Friday night lights and the crisp, fresh freedom of a winter weekend. The team was heading to the championship game out in Cedar Rapids in two weeks to play for the state title.
“Dad, we want to go grab pizza. Is that okay?” The tip of Katie’s braid swung as she walked and talked. Katie wasn’t driving yet, and none of the friends with her after the game were, either. Noah and Cole were the chauffeurs for this late-night crew.
Noah looked at him. He looked at Noah. “Sure,” Noah said. “Where are we taking you guys?”
They conferred, as teen girls do, and delivered their decision as they piled into Noah’s SUV. The back was filled with loud voices, high-pitched giggles,Oh my Gods andNo ways for the whole drive. Cole held Noah’s hand, smiling as they drove past the buildings of downtown, glittering against the ink-dark sky.
At the restaurant, the girls ordered a breakfast pizza, while Noah and Cole got cheese sticks. They sat apart from Katie and her friends, close enough to keep an eye on them without being accused of hovering. Raising a teen, Cole had discovered, was a delicate balancing act between trying to keep them safe and not crossing the line into a full-on parental surveillance state.
More friends arrived, summoned by text message, including girls on the squad who could drive. Another pizza was ordered. The girls seemed to settle in, in no hurry to leave.
Eventually, Katie wandered over, all smiles and flushed cheeks and laughing, happy eyes. “Hey, Dad, Evelyn invited me to spend the night at her house with Christina and Emily. And yes, her parents are home. Cool?”
“When will you be back tomorrow?”
She shrugged. “Noon?”
Noah looked at Cole. Cole looked back at him, smiling. “Sure. Just remember we need to finish your chemistry and work on your English paper. And when I say we…”
“You mean me.” She rolled her eyes and smiled at the same time. “Can we get a Christmas tree tomorrow, too?”
“As soon as you finish your homework.”
She grinned. “Okay.” She bent down and kissed Noah’s cheek, then kissed Cole’s, too. “See you guys tomorrow!”
Katie went back to her friends, and Noah and Cole slid out of the booth, tossing their trash and heading for the door. Cole waved to Katie as Noah held open the door, and he caught the end of a high-pitched group giggle and Emily saying, “Oh my God, do you know what they’re going to be doing while you spend the night?” and Katie replying, “Stop. Those are my dads. You don’t make fun of anyone else’s parents, so don’t make fun of mine.”
In the parking lot, Cole pulled Noah to him and crowded him against the SUV door. Noah grinned, his gloved hands wrapping around Cole’s neck. They were surrounded by cars liveried in the high school’s colors, painted with football players’ jersey numbers and “#1” and “Go Team”across the windows. Noah’s breath puffed in Cole’s face right before Cole leaned in, kissing him softly.
“Is this what you imagined at all?” Noah asked. His nose was red from the cold, but his eyes were shining as bright as the stars overhead. “Did you ever think this would be what your life became?”
I wanted this so badly I ached for it. I dreamed of this future every night. You remade my entire life, and I cannot imagine any other world, any other possible existence, other than being here with you and Katie.Cole smiled. “It’s perfect,” he said, and kissed Noah’s nose.
“Maybe you’ll want to stick around?”
“Maybe.”
Noah grinned. He kissed Cole, this time not sweetly, not softly. This kiss was hungry, and wanting, and hot. Cole backed him against the door, dragged their hips together, ground against him as he looped his thumbs through Noah’s belt loops, skirting his concealed holster.
Noah didn’t know it, but Cole had already figured out the sticking around bit. There was a box hidden in his sock drawer, waiting to be wrapped and put under the tree. Inside was a pair of rings, each with three stones laid in a center channel: his birthstone, Noah’s birthstone, and Katie’s birthstone, all together. He imagined Noah’s face when he flipped open the lid, when Cole dropped to one knee and took his hand, kissed his ring finger, and whispered, “Can I marry you, Noah?”
Can I join your life until the end? Can I join you and Katie, and can we make this family we’ve created last forever?
He thought he knew Noah’s answer already. He hoped, at least.
And he thought he knew how Katie would react, too. In fact, he’d gotten her a necklace, a matching pendant with their three birthstones set inside a delicate circle on a golden chain.
He’d even called Lilly last week, giving her a heads-up on his intentions. “Cole, you hardly need my permission or my blessing,” Lilly had said. “But you have them nonetheless. You make them both very happy.”
Noah broke the kiss, pulling back and smiling. “Take me home, Dr. Kennedy. Take me to bed.” He kissed Cole again. “Show me how much you love me. Show me everything.”