One Night with Hemsworth (One Night Series Book 1) (10 page)

She nodded. “I want to go on a date with you.”

“Sunday okay for you? After I drop Cody off?”

“Sunday’s good.”

I desperately wanted to kiss her, but I knew if I started, I wouldn’t have been able to stop, and I wasn’t going to risk Cody walking in on that. So instead, I pulled back and headed towards the sink to start the dishes with the biggest smile on my face.

****

Shortcake:

Are we still telling each other why we shouldn’t be together? If so, I should probably tell you … nope, I can’t do it. It’s too much. I …

I kind of love Justin Bieber’s new song.

It’s over, isn’t it?

Cole:

As much as I wish I could unsee that text, even the power of the Biebs isn’t strong enough to knock the smile off my face when I think of you.

Looking forward to tonight. X

Shortcake:

Hope you leave the cheese at home. There’s one for my list. I don’t do cheesy. Go be mushy with someone else.

Can’t wait to see you naked tonight.

Cole:

One day soon, you’ll be begging me for cheese. And we’re not having sex tonight. It’s a first date.

Shortcake:

Whatever you say, Hemsworth.

“You’re dressed up to drop Cody home,” Hunter said with a smirk.

“Shut up.” I looked down the hallway to the closed bathroom door where Cody was showering, hoping the sound of the running water would drown us out.

“Am I going to have to vacate the apartment again?”

“Nope. I’m not going to sleep with her.”

“Mmhmm, then why are you going out with her?”

I sighed as I joined him on the couch. “We’re seeing if there’s actually anything between us or not.”

“Like for real? For real, for real?”

“For real, for real,” I said with a laugh.

Hunter sat back in his seat and stared into space like he was lost in thought.

“Just say it,” I complained.

“Are you sure you’re ready for that? And with her? I mean … I know I told you to go for it, but I didn’t actually think it’d turn into anything. Why her?”

“Are you trying to get me to talk about my feelings and shit? Because you know I don’t do that.”

Hunter rubbed the back of his neck. “I just didn’t think you’d be dating again. That’s all.”

“Neither did I,” I mumbled.

“I’m worried you might be excited by the chase of her, the fact you’d have to keep it a secret. You know Reece would flip her lid if she found out.”

I shrugged. “Maybe that’s what it is. I think both of us would prefer that. It’s why we’re seeing where it could lead before we go telling anyone about it. It might be nothing, but we kind of can’t stay away from each other. We tried.”

Hunter got a weird look on his face, something I’d never seen from him before. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was jealous. “Just, try not to fall into that dark hole I had to pull you out of when Reece left you. It kinda sucked seeing you like that, bro.”
Oh, not jealousy, but concern.

“The only way that’ll happen is if I fuck this up. And I’m determined not to do that.”

“So there’s like an eighty percent chance?”

I threw the couch cushion at his head and then stood to go hurry Cody out of the shower. “Thanks for the pep talk.”

“I’ve had all of two conversations with her, but I like her. Please try not to fuck it up,” I heard him say as I left the room, his tone no longer joking.

It was the one thing I was terrified of, and the one thing I knew that was most likely to happen.

12

- PAIGE -

“Why are you so nervous?” Sara asked. She was sitting on my bed, watching me pace my room. “You’ve slept with the guy twice now.”

“But both times I knew it couldn’t go anywhere. I didn’t even consider a possible future. I didn’t let myself. Now …” I shook my head. “Why am I doing this to myself? He was just meant to be a one-night stand.”

“Because he’s hot, good in bed, nice …”

“I’m starting to think
you
want a relationship with him.”

Cody’s voice travelled down the hallway, landing in my gut. “I’m home!”

He’s here.
Five PM on the dot.

As if on cue, my phone chimed.

Hemsworth:

Parked up the street.

“Time to go,” Sara sing-songed out of my room.

We walked out to the living room where Dad, Reece, and Cody were already settled down, watching TV.

“Bye, guys, we’re going out,” I called out.

They barely acknowledged us except for a “have fun” from Reece and a “goodnight” from Dad which was fine by me.

Sara started walking with me down the street. I was so full of nerves, my legs were wobbling. “Are you drunk?” Sara asked.

“Shut up.”

“Hey, Liam,” Sara said as we reached Cole leaning against his truck.

“Hey, Sara,” he said, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek. “Hey, you.”

“Hi,” I tried to get out, but it sounded more like a croak.

“Okay, you guys are too cute. I’m going to have to go before I want to smack both of you down in a jealous rage. Have fun.” She headed back to her car.

I turned to Cole. “She was joking. Mostly. She’s only ever tried to smack me down once before. It didn’t work out too—”

I was cut off by his lips on mine. He spun me so I was up against the door of his ute, and then he deepened the kiss, his tongue working its magic. My skin flushed and I began to feel hot. The sudden urge to take all my clothes off right there on the street was trying to consume me. Or maybe it was just Cole doing that.

When he did finally pull back, he was smiling. “Sorry, couldn’t help it.”

“Do you start all your first dates off like that?” I asked, breathlessly.

He stepped back and ran his hand through his hair. “I’ve never had a first date before.”

“Huh?” I blurted out crudely.

“Let’s get going before Reece or your dad sees us.” He started walking around to his side of the ute.

“Where are we going?” I asked when we started driving.

“Somewhere you love.”

Not long after that, we were pulling up to the last place I’d expected. “But you hate the beach.”

“I know. You need to roll around in the sand so I’m not even tempted to touch you again. We’re meant to be doing this right.” He got out of his car, came to my side, and opened my door for me. I didn’t realise I hadn’t moved yet. “Coming?”

I slid out of the cab and waited while he grabbed a blanket and a cooler from the flatbed of the truck.

The sun was starting to make its descent. Surfers and swimmers were making their way in from the water, and families were packing up and going home. We were the crazy ones setting up a spot, just where the sand met with the grassy picnic area. The autumn air was chilly but not freezing. It was still a vast contrast to a few weeks ago, though, when swimmers and surfers would still be out for at least another hour.

“You really hate sand
that
much?” I asked, noticing Cole was refusing to step onto the beach.

“I know it’s weird, but I can’t help it.”

“Then why did you even bring me here?”

“Well, I really wasn’t joking about you getting covered in it.” He cringed as he pushed me so my feet sunk into the soft white sand. “That’s better.” He sat down on the picnic rug, bringing his knees up and wrapping his arms around them, casual and loose. “Secondly, I had to Google what to do on a first date seeing as I’ve never been on one before. It said—”

“You had to Google it? Really? How have you never had a first date? You’re old.”

“Hey! I’m not
that
old. The six years between us is nothing compared to your dad and Reece …” He cleared his throat. “And I met my wife in high school, remember? No one dates in high school. You ask them out at lunch and you’re broken up by home time. At least, that’s what the deal usually was. You know, until her.”

“Did Google tell you that bringing up an ex on a first date is a big no-no? Because it totally is.”

He laughed. “It did, actually. Sorry. But do you really think we’re going to make it through tonight without mentioning
my
ex who’s marrying
your
dad?”

My smile faded. “Isn’t tonight about us and no one else? Aren’t I meant to decide whether you’re worth pissing off my dad or if you’re just an infatuation?”

“It is. Which is why I had to come up with a better idea after Google suggested I take you to a dinner and a movie. How cliché is that? I wanted to bring you here so I can show you that I’m willing to do something I don’t like”—he gestured around, referring to the beach—“for someone who might be worth it. I also Googled questions to ask if there’s a lull in the conversation.”

I couldn’t tell anymore if he was being serious or mocking me. “You’re such a nerd.” It wasn’t the best of comebacks, but it was all I had.

“So I’m old
and
a nerd? Shit, sounds like our first date isn’t going well already.”

I went to sit next to him on the blanket, but he put his hand up to stop me. “You stay on that side of the blanket with your sandy feet.”

Laughing, I humoured him, sitting on the farthest part of the picnic rug. “Okay, so what questions do you have for me?”

He let out a sigh. “Okay. Who was the biggest influence on your life?”

“Shit, straight into the deep stuff then, huh? Uh … I would say my dad, but apparently we’re not supposed to talk about him.”

“Two minutes in and already failing.” He laughed.

“What about you?”

He shrugged. “Hunter keeps me in line pretty good.”

“Neither of your parents …” I remembered what he’d said about his dad. “Your mum didn’t have an influence on you?”

“Nope. Hard to respect a woman who didn’t walk away from an abusive alcoholic. What kind of parent would subject their own child to that? She tried to keep Dad off me as much as possible, but she never had the guts to leave him.”

My heart lurched for him, and I wanted to reach out and console him, but I felt I shouldn’t. Plus, I was sandy.
Wouldn’t want that.
“I don’t think it’s as simple as that. A lot of battered people don’t know how to get out.”

“The only reason we escaped it was because he had a heart attack my senior year of high school and died. And she still fucking cried at his funeral.” He shook his head. “No. My mother wasn’t a big influence on me.”

Silence permeated the air between us as the breeze picked up, making me wrap my arms around myself.

“Do you still see your mother?”

He nodded. “She used to babysit Cody a lot—every Friday night so Reece and I could have one night off a week together to act like normal nineteen-year-olds. But when Reece and I split … well, we don’t see her much anymore. The last time I went and saw her was about six months ago, and it was only because she begged me to see Cody.”

“Why?”

“You mean aside from the fact that I turned out just like
him
and I blamed it all on her?”

“You didn’t …?”

“Who else was there to blame? He’s dead so I had to take it out on someone. I’m not saying I was right, just that my life was falling apart and I didn’t know how to handle it. Clearly, I didn’t handle it well.”

“Clearly.”

There was more silence after that.

A breeze off the ocean distracted me, bringing the scent of saltwater to my nose. I loved that smell. I associated it with my childhood; long days at the beach with Mum, Dad, and Danny—my older brother who now lived in America.

It amazed me how something so simple could bring memories flooding back. A simple scent.

In that moment, I realised Cole’s issues ran deep. He told me as much, but I figured he was dealing with it—he was still functioning, he was normal, and he didn’t seem to be the beast he believed he was. But if a simple smell can bring back my memories of a happy childhood, what would the scent of his father’s aftershave or even catching the smell of a particular whisky, do to him? Just the mention of his parents made him shut down. He has a lot of baggage, and anything could bring it to the surface.

“Google is full of shit,” he eventually muttered and then smiled. “Maybe I should’ve started with a lighter subject.”

Laughter bubbled out of me. “Ya think?”

“Are you hungry? I brought some food but figured we can buy fish ‘n’ chips for dinner from the shack over there.” He pointed to a little beachside restaurant.

“What did you bring?”

“Wait for it … you’re going to love it.” He reached for the cooler, bringing out a plate with several different cheeses on it and then pulled out a packet of crackers. “You told me to leave the cheese at home. So I couldn’t resist bringing some.”

“Now this is the kind of cheese I can get used to,” I said with a smile, immediately reaching for the cheese knife to cut off a slice of Camembert and putting it in my mouth. Closing my eyes, I let out an embarrassing moan.
Cheese is the best invention ever.

When my eyes opened again, Cole was staring at me, his eyes alive with heat. He quickly averted his gaze and cleared his throat, his eyes finding the water.

I followed his gaze, watching the last of the people make their way in from the beach. The swimmers were long gone, but there were still a few surfers making their way in.

When I recognised one of the stragglers, the hair on my neck stood up, and panic etched its way into my chest.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. I turned to face Cole, putting my back to the ocean and the wandering body of my ex-boyfriend.

Cole simply raised his eyebrow at me.

“You know how bringing up an ex on the first date is bad?” I asked. He nodded. “How bad is it if we run into one?”

His brow furrowed as he glanced over my shoulder at Hamish who was dragging his board up the sand.

I didn’t look back, hoping Hamish hadn’t spotted me.

“Blond guy?” Cole asked.

I nodded.

“Looks like you can’t hide, Shortcake, he’s heading this way. But follow my lead.” He stood and held out his hand to help me up, seemingly no longer worried about being close to my sandy feet. He pulled me into his arms and went to kiss me, but I stopped him.

“He knows my dad,” I whispered.

Cole’s eyes went wide in realisation, but then his pursed lips turned up into a smirk before he took my mouth anyway, cradling my head and pulling me close as his tongue danced with mine.

I’d almost completely lost myself, but then I heard
his
voice, totally ruining the moment and making my spine crawl. “Paige?”

I pulled away from Cole, but he kept his arms around me, hugging me from behind as I turned to face Hamish.

“Oh, hey, Ham.”
So fake.

His eyes raked over me from head to toe, a small smile playing on his lips. “Hey, I’m Hamish,” he said, nodding to Cole and reaching out for him to shake his hand.

“Hunter,” Cole said, only removing his hand from me to briefly shake Hamish’s before it was right back on my hip. I had to force myself not to laugh when Cole said Hunter’s name.

“You’re looking good, Minor,” Hamish said. I always hated it when he called me by my last name. “You’ve lost some pudding.”

I narrowed my eyes and tried not to scowl. He was wanting me to react; he wanted to affect me. He knew I’d never talk back—I never did that with him, but he loved making me feel small. Any time I’d shrink back into myself, look down at my feet, or show any discomfort, he revelled in it. So I forced myself to keep eye contact.

Cole squeezed my hip in a reassuring gesture, as he remained calm and collected behind me.

“Dating an underwear model does that to a girl. I have to watch what I eat. Must be nice to just let go.” Cole gestured to Hamish in his wetsuit. Not that Hamish looked overweight or anything. In fact, I think he’d actually lost a bit of weight too. I wasn’t going to say that aloud, of course.

“You’re a … really?” Hamish looked to me to deliver his next barb. “Is that even a real job?”

“Only have to work a few days a week, and it pays all my bills and then some. And it means I get to spend all the time I want with my girl.” Cole tightened his grip on me.

“Uh … right. Well, umm, I should go. Minor, you should call me after you’re done having fun with your shiny toy and are ready for something serious.”