Emma

Chapter 23

They rode in comfortable silence for a while before Emma finally asked the question that was at the tip of her tongue the moment they entered the car. A small grin formed on her face as she turned to look at Cole, one of his hands was holding the staring wheel while the other mindlessly fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

"Cole?" He hummed in response and slightly turned to glance at her, a smile forming on his face as he spotted the one hers. 

"When you said I should get in so I can stop making you jealous of your own car, what exactly did you mean?" She said and raised an eyebrow at him. It was Cole's turn to have a nervous streak as he sighed and glanced at her, a small smile playing on his lips, still amused by her suspiciousness.

"It meant you were showing my car a lot more attention than needed." Emma finally let out a laugh at the slightly offended tone of his voice. 

"If you have this car then why do you use the motorbike?" Emma said, finally catching her breath from the short fit of laughter.

Cole thought for a moment. 

"I'm way too cool to use a car." He said a smirk now playing on his face and causing Emma to roll her eyes at his smug expression. 

"We both know that's a lie, now tell me the truth."

Cole put his free hand on his chest as though someone had shot him. 

"I'm deeply offended. But on a serious note, I guess the bike just... It just gives me some sort of freedom. It takes a piece of my worries away, the breeze and the feeling. I just can't really explain it. It just calms me down a little." Emma smiled as she heard that.

"And... It was the first vehicle I ever bought so I like to show it off." Cole said shrugging his shoulder and drawing an eye roll from Emma, the smile still playing on her lips. 

"Way to spoil the moment." Cole chuckled at her comment, willing himself to focus on the road and not her smile.

"What about you? How come you don't have a car?" Emma thought for a while before shrugging. 

"I don't know, I just don't really see the use of it." Cole's eyebrow rose up and he finally spared a glance at her before focusing back on the road.

"You know so much about cars, but you don't want one. You even know Merlot more than I do." It was Emma's turn to raise an eyebrow. Cole noticed the silence and glanced at her to see the confused look on her face and he chuckled.

"I named my car Merlot." He said a smile on his face already knowing her reaction. 

"Cool. What does it mean?" He did not expect her to ask him what it meant. Most people would be all like 'You name your car?' When they know full well that almost everyone names their cars. He knows they just do it to fuel his ego and it only annoys him, but she genuinely wanted to know the meaning, and that made his smile grow wider.

"Merlot is the name of a grapefruit that is used to make one of the most famous wines which is my favorite color." He said a smirk forming on his lips, this time genuinely knowing her reaction. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know that you love wine," Emma said rolling her eyes and causing Cole to chuckle in response. 

"Actually, only you know that I like wine, Twix." He said turning and winking at her.

A smile spread on her lips at the thought of it, feeling some kind of uniqueness just by knowing his favorite color, the smile suddenly turned into a slight pout as she suddenly realized something.

"How come you get to give me a nickname and I don't get to give you one." She said in a somewhat childish manner and causing a warm smile to spread across his face. 

"I never said you don't get to give me a nickname."

Emma's smile returned at that and she looked deep in thought for some moments before her eyes lit up as she hit her EUREKA moment. 

"How about... Gris." Cole's eyes furrowed in wonder at the unusual-sounding name.

"What does that mean?" Cole said glancing at her in confusion. 

"It means grey in Spanish." Cole rose up his eyebrow, still trying to figure out how it all related. 

"Like your eyes." She said a smile playing on her lips.

As soon as she said that, their eyes met and Cole had to force himself to look back on the road. 

"I like it. It's...... Majestic." He said, imitating a French man's accent and gesturing with his hands as though describing food, and drawing a giggle from Emma as she looked out the window. 

"Your house is really far."

They had been driving for quite some time now and her nerves were kicking in, eager to see where he lives. 

"Yeah. I prefer living isolated from everyone else." Emma laughed. 

"Why am I not surprised."

They rode in comfortable silence before Cole broke it this time. 

"Emma, why are you a Christian?" Emma looked slightly taken aback by the question that popped out of nowhere, causing her to think about it longer than usual. 

God, please help me explain. Speak through me.

"Well, for me and most other Christians out there, Christianity is not a religion, it's a belief. It's a faith, it's a lifestyle, and I became a Christian because when I was shattered and broken and hopeless and it just seemed like there was no way out, I felt it. It's this indescribable feeling of relief, of assurance that everything was going to work out. I had heard about it, but I had never really felt it before, but that day... That day I felt it. When no one was by my side to reassure me or guide me, I could feel his presence, God's presence, and it completely engulfed me. So I had faith and I believed that Jesus Christ is Lord. So I guess I became Christian because God was there to guide me at many of the times I was in desperate need, and from then on, I believed."

There was silence as Cole thought about it. So all she did was believe? Believe in something she can't even see? Cole let out a sigh, not fully satisfied with her response.

"So what are we watching first? The X-men sequence or The Avengers sequence?" Emma winced at his sudden change of subject before noticing they were approaching a house. 

"Avengers, cause I have a little history on it." She said confident in herself.

"If you call a steroid taking pilot of America, history, then sure, you have history on it." Cole said shrugging his shoulders and drawing a giggle from Emma, causing a smile to fill his lips as they approached his building.