❝ here's the real question: is the only reason you're trying to keep your distance from cole because deep down, you're afraid of how much you're starting to care? ❞
the room falls into a profound silence, the weight of realization hanging thick in t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
PART THIRTEEN gotcha
cole stooped down, gathering flowers sprouting from the ground. carrying the flowers, he made his way towards the tranquil waves where the rocks lay undisturbed. hearing blanca's footsteps nearing, cole glanced to his side and extended the flowers to her, prompting her to pause momentarily.
"for you," he explained, offering the flowers to blanca, who accepted them gently. "thank you," she responded cautiously, her confusion evident. as she received the flowers, taking them from his hands, cole, leveraging his height advantage, swiftly swiped the hat off her head.
"bro, give it back!" blanca exclaimed, attempting to reach for the hat as cole held it just above her grasp.
"it's not so bad," cole commented about her bleached hair. their interaction seemed like a sudden basketball match, with cole seemingly doing everything in his power to block Blanca from retrieving her hat.
"cole, i'm being so serious. it's not funny," blanca insisted, chasing after him.
"come on, bianca, you gotta live a little bit," he retorted playfully.
"okay, coleslaw,"
cole laughed as he continued to move further away from her. the basketball match continued for a while longer until cole eventually conceded defeat. blanca managed to snatch her hat back, swiftly readjusting it as she turned away from cole, repositioning the hat on her head.
turning back around, blanca noticed cole removing his tan jacket, revealing a dark blue shirt underneath. seeing an opportunity, she decided to playfully snatch his jacket. laughing, she easily grabbed the jacket, while cole, noticing her move, attempted to charge after it. however, blanca skillfully evaded his grasp at the last second, leaving cole empty-handed as she swiftly maneuvered away from him.
he made another attempt to retrieve his jacket, yet the same scenario unfolded. however, this time, before blanca could completely flee, his arms encircled her waist and swiftly pulled her close to his chest, preventing her escape.
"gotcha," cole whispered softly into her ear, his tone playful and triumphant as he held her close.
the playful tussle for the jacket continued between them until blanca, amidst laughter, eventually relented, conceding as cole took the jacket back and held it by his side, their shared amusement filling the air.
blanca settled herself at the edge of a nearby rock, her feet dangling just above the cool water. twirling the flowers between her fingers, she gazed at them with a slight smile on her lips.
