Chapter 14

                                    

                                          
It's so loud, inside my head
                          
With words that I should've said. 
                          
And as I drown in my regrets,
                          
I can't take back the words I never said.
                          
I hummed Skylar Gray's Words I never said under my breath as I dusted my hands after cleaning the kitchen counters. My mind wandered, like it had for the past 2 days, to the closet incident as I replayed the events again and again in my head. 
                          
Cole Murphy took my first kiss. 
                          
I internally squealed at the thought as I recalled everything that had happened that day - it was all so new to me, I had never let any guy touch me like that and it had felt amazing, everywhere. Even the thought of that evening and his lips brought back the same unfamiliar desire that had taken over my body, making me clench my thighs and feel a deep twist in my belly. 
                          
As I zoned out, I unconsciously touched my lips and continued with my chores, dreaming about Cole's intense, lust filled gaze, those strong forearms and the bulge I had felt against my thigh - I wanted it to happen again and hopefully never stop.
                          
"Brooke? Brooke! Hey, Brooke! What are you doing with your clothes, I don't think they go there." 
                          
My dad's loud, amused voice snapped me out of my dream state as I looked down and realized that I was about to put the recently laundered clothes into the refrigerator. Laughing awkwardly at my stupidness, I pulled my hand out and closed the door to the machine. 
                          
"You okay? You seem a little spaced out." My dad said, leaning on the kitchen counter and unwrapping a cookie. He was back from this workshop in Boston recently, and I had missed him the days he was gone. 
                          
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay, just...a little stressed out  about the mid terms, our last exams on Tuesday." 
                          
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get amazing grades, as always," he said, laughing with his loud, obnoxious dad laugh and hitting me on the back hard. 
                          
I winced as the slap made me lurch forward and almost drop the clothes, my back burning from the hit.
                          
He winced as well and patted my shoulder comfortingly. "Sorry about that, I'm getting used to having those boys occupying our house and watching matches almost all the time around here." 
                          
I rolled my eyes and smiled at his behavior. My dad always gets excited when he sees them in our house, it's like he considers all of them his sons and loves each one equally as well. He always liked Jack and Nate, (sometimes more than me, sadly) and had taken an instant liking to all of Matt's friends when he had met them. 
                          
Pinching his cheeks, I grabbed three packets of chips and a bowl of popcorn to take to my room, jogging up the stairs. It was girls' night today, and Amanda, April, and I had decided to have a night of relaxation after the stressful exams had started. It had only been 4 days since they did, and there were two more left for them to end.
                          
********
                          
"Ugh, I'm exhausted," April groaned and lay back on the pillows as Letters to Juliet ended on the screen in front of us. I laughed at April's melodramatic dialogue. 
                          
"We didn't even do anything, we just ate and watched movies." 
                          
"Yeah? Well, eating takes up a lot of energy, okay? Metabolism is a tiring process." Amanda giggled at April as she patted her stomach. 
                          
I rolled my eyes at her, leaning over her to grab the empty pizza box. 
                          
"Woah, woah, slow down there Scarlett," April shot out of her position and pushed me back down. I winced as my butt hit the ground hard. April narrowed her eyes on my neck and slid the strap of my tank top to the side. 
                          
"Is that a hickey?" April gasped as she examined the bite mark I had tried to cover with my hair all night as Amanda leaned closer and observed the pink mark. 
                          
There was a moment of silence, after which April and Amanda burst out laughing. My cheeks tinged pink as I swatted her hand away and tried to cover it up again.
                          
"Did little miss good girl Brooke Mathews actually get a love bite? Oh, my god, I never imagined this day would come." Amanda said, giggling and looking at my neck as April continued to laugh. 
                          
April calmed down, then faced me fully as Amanda did as well. They had a mischievous spark in their eyes. 
                          
"It was Cole, wasn't it?" Amanda stated more than asked. April narrowed her eyes at me. 
                          
I sighed, blushing a deep red. "Yes, okay, it was Cole it just....It just sorta happened, he pulled me into the closet and he kissed me-" 
                          
"Wait, wait, hold on - start from the beginning." 
                          
My hands started to fidget with the pillow in my hand as I told them, briefly, the whole encounter with Cole and all the other times we had...touched. After I finished, I was quite sure I looked like a tomato as Amanda and April stared at me with open mouths. 
                          
"Oh, my god, you like him a lot, don't you?" Amanda said in wonder and surprise, lightly slapping my pink cheeks. 
                          
I swatted her hand away. "Its just... He's really sweet, and he's so interesting and smart, and-" 
                          
"And hot," April interrupted. "Smokin' hot." She fanned herself jokingly. 
                          
I threw a pillow at her, laughing."It's more than that. Yeah, I like him a lot, but I think... I think this is more than a crush for me. There's just something about him, you know?" I sighed, ducking my head. The way I felt about Cole had changed dramatically from when we had met.
                          
Two months ago, if you had told me I was going to fall in love with Cole Murphy, I would have smacked you with my math textbook and told you to stop doing drugs. But now, I had changed my opinion of him. He really was a sweetheart, and the protective and possessive streak inside him made my heart clench. Not to mention that I had never ever felt such an intense attraction to anyone in my 18 years. 
                          
"Honey, trust me, we know. You can't take your eyes off of each other all the time and Cole always looks like he wants to eat you or something." 
                          
Amanda and April laughed at me as I threw popcorn at them. So much for being best friends.