Foster shrugs, “I don’t know. He’s holed up in his room too. Apparently, you have matching coping skills. Can you do me a favor and not take what he says right now too personally?”
“How do I do that? He very personally attacked me.”
"I know, but I promise you the vitriol that comes out of his mouth is not how he feels about you. Cole has a lot of shit going on in his life right now, and he's not handling it well."
"And that's my problem? We all have shit. "
"I'm not trying to defend his actions. I'm just trying to soothe your hurt. He used you as an outlet for his current frustrations, and that’s not fair."
"You're being vague as fuck. What's going on with Cole? I thought he was happy that he has a chance with the Dragons?"
"He is, but it's also tentative. There’s other stuff, too, but it’s not my story to tell. If he wants to explain, then that's up to him. He's only been living here for a few days. If you want to avoid him and have nothing to do with him, I will fully support you."
"You'd cut your best friend off?"
He leans down and kisses my temple, "For mistreating my girl? Absolutely. I only ask that you try to hear him out if he wants to talk calmly and respectfully. If he doesn't, then fuck him."
He lays the gentlest of kisses on my lips before leaving my room. I feel all the warm and fuzzy feelings when I cuddle back into bed. The visit calms my battling brain enough that I can turn on the television in my room and find a movie to stream. When the film is over, I'm exhausted. I don't know how because I haven't done anything all day. I turn everything off, send goodnight messages to both Foster and Talon and turn over for sleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night, the sound of my bedroom door opening wakes me. Someone, probably Talon, slips quietly into my room and crawls into bed behind me. When they curl themselves into my body, I know it can't be Talon because I'm pulled against a much broader chest. It must be Foster, but that doesn't feel right either.
I feel breath on my neck and hear a soft "I'm sorry."
It's Cole who has snuck into my bed.
When my alarm rang the next day, he was gone, and the bed was cold. Maybe I had dreamt the whole thing. We've done an excellent each other the week since that night, between his training and my work schedule. If he wants that to change, he’ll need to seek me out.
My shifts at the florist have become shorter and more sporadic, so I’ve started focusing on building my online presence with my photography. I sit with my laptop on my bed and go through the photos in my portfolio. I don’t have a ton, but hopefully, it will be enough.
The bed shakes as Foster flops down next to me. ”I love those pictures. She was adorable,” he points out the newborn pictures I took of Cora.
“She was a breeze to shoot. Slept the entire time and let me move her in any position I could think of. Too bad she won’t stay still for more than five seconds now,” I tell him.
“You need to get these onto social media. I built a solid following before I hired someone to do that all for me. I can help you out,” he offers.
I smile at him, “I’d appreciate that.”
I let him take the reigns as he sets up my accounts and helps me choose my best work to showcase. I have no qualms about stalking others on the web, but putting myself out there feels weird.
He scrolls through some of the pictures I’d taken for Talon since I’d moved in. “These should go up, too. They’re amazing.”
“I should ask Talon first,” I say.
“Ask Talon what?” the man himself asks as he lounges on the bed on my other side. He has also been absent recently, and we haven’t had any deep conversations.
“If she can put some of the pictures she took of you on her photography accounts,” Foster answers him.
“That’s a great idea. Make sure that I’m tagged in them. I’ll have her tagged on my account, too. ”
Foster nods and gets to work on that. “I have the pictures you took of me, and I bet even Cole would let you take some of him. He owes you. We all have avid followings.”
“Of females,” I point out.
“Who will get married and have babies of their own,” Talon adds.
“Good point,” I concede. “But what are the chances they’re from around here?”
“Why limit yourself to just working here? You could travel all over the world for your craft,” Talon points out.
