***
Dean groaned, the feeling of loss that never failed to flash through him anytime he recalled his last conversation with Kayla, whirling through him. He looked up at the clock. It was almost seven p. m. He knew the boys were not going to meet today as Chris, Damon, and Matt were out of town, Michael was on call at the hospital and Kyle had his hands full with his brother, Ken, who had refused to undergo any more chemotherapy. Dean reached for his phone, remembering Cole saying Briana was writing her end-of-semester exams. That would mean she was in school and Cole was home alone.
Cole picked up on the first ring. “Hey.” Cole’s voice sounded like he was doing something.
“Hey. Busy?” Dean asked.
“Just packing some boxes. Sup?”
“Can I come and see you?” Dean asked quietly.
After a slight pause, Cole’s voice came back on. “Sure. Get some pizza on the way. Pepperoni and cheese for me.” Then he hung up.
“Asshole,” Dean muttered. It was obvious Cole knew why he wanted to see him and the idiot was having fun.
Dean grabbed his keys and headed for the door. What was the worst that could happen?
***
“You dick!” Was Cole’s first words when he opened the door. Then he took the pizza from Dean and headed for the den, which they called the ‘boyz ghetto’.
The ‘boyz ghetto’ was where the guys had fun whenever it was Cole’s turn to entertain on Saturdays. It was a big plush game room. It had Massaging recliners, a home theater, stereo, video games, dartboard, a pool table, a wet bar, and, through a set of French doors, an enormous rooftop balcony complete with a hot tub and a BBQ setup.
Dean closed and locked the door and followed Cole into the den. He removed his shoes and took off his shirt, leaving his undershirt. Cole was already seated in front of the huge LED TV and opening one of the pizza boxes. Dean went to the fridge in the corner and got out some beers, throwing one to Cole, who promptly opened it and took a long swallow. Dean sat and opened his and took a much slower swallow, staring at the TV the whole time.
“Hey, eat,” Cole said, pushing the pizza towards Dean. “You need your strength for what I’m about to do to you.”
“Cole…”
“Relax. She told me she ambushed you. Actually, that’s the only reason you’re not in the hospital right now dude. That was Kayla for goodness sake. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t,” Dean muttered reaching for a slice of pizza.
“Oh, you were thinking alright. With your dick. Jeez.” Cole muttered.
They ate in silence, the only sound the low voice of the newscaster on CNN.
“So what now?” Dean eventually broke the silence. “What do I do?”
“What do you want exactly Dean?” Cole asked turning to look at his friend. He looked so defeated, Cole felt sorry for him.
“I want her Cole.”
“Of course any hot-blooded male would want her. How do you want her Dean? And don’t tell me on her back with you buried deep inside her or I swear to God, I’ll punch you.” Cole said looking at Dean.
Dean shook his head slowly and turned to look at Cole. “I want her for real. To be mine. I want exclusive with her.”
“You see, that’s just it. She knows you. And she knows you’re not serious about any woman. You just use them and discard them. Kayla is too smart to allow herself to be treated like that. She doesn’t trust you dude. Hell, I don’t trust you when it comes to women. And I’m a guy.”
“Then I’m going to make her if it’s the last thing I do,” Dean said heatedly.
“Tell me, why do you want her?”
A look of pure desire appeared on Dean’s face. “She’s beautiful, funny, and smart. And she has an arse that is so sexy that I struggle to even understand it.”
“You wanna crochet that into a pillow and send it to her grandmother?”
“Her grandmother is dead, asshole.”
“And so will you be if you don’t stop talking about her arse. I’m sure Kay is lovely and all that but there are a million girls out there. You could take your pick. ‘Cause if you fuck Kayla up, you’re not going to lose just her. You’re going to lose me too.” Cole sounded dead serious.
“I want romance with her. I want…”
“Dude, when it comes to you and romance, something always happens. Much as I love you, something always happens.”
“I resent that you jerk. I’ve had some relationships that were successful.” Dean growled.
“Before they went absolutely nowhere.” Cole retorted and immediately regretted it at the hurt look on Dean’s face. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, you did. I know I’m an asshole but…”
“You don’t want to hear the word commitment. We all didn’t. But when the right person comes along, it’s like being hit by a tornado. You don’t even notice till you’re swept away.” Cole said staring off into space.
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone Cole. I don’t know what she did to me but all I do is think about her. She’s the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I’m going to sleep. I want her in my arms all the frigging time…just to hold her. And when I see her…my heart beats so fast and hard I fear I’m going to have a heart attack. As for my dick, I don’t even want to talk about it. She’s like liquor running through my veins …”
“I’ll be damned!” Cole whispered but Dean didn’t even hear him. He was lost in his own world, talking about Kayla. Cole just knew his friend had fallen for Kayla but didn’t even know it. Well, he wasn’t going to say anything about that. What he was going to do, was help Dean convince Kayla that he was serious about her. That Dean wasn’t just lusting after her body but wanted a real relationship with her.
“Are you listening to me dude?” Dean asked Cole who seemed lost in thought.
“I heard you. And we’re going to convince Kayla, that neither are you after sex nor do you want to add her to your conquest list. So help me God, if you go fucking this up by hitting that pussy again…”
“I swear I’m not gonna touch her if that’s what it’ll take to convince her. Wait…what if she asks me to?”
“Especially when she asks Dean. No matter how much she pleads, don’t fuck her.” That’s the only way you can convince her that you’re not doing all the chasing because of sex.”
“No matter how much she begs me to fuck her, I won’t.” But Dean knew even as he spoke, that there was no way he could resist an aroused Kayla. It was going to be a real challenge.
“Dude, we’re going to try to make a point so work with me here. No sex.”
“No sex,” Dean repeated.
“Good. The chase is on!”