In My Father's Shadow (12 page)

“Of course I do,” she exclaimed. “But you asked these
questions and you made me think about them! And I did. Constantly.
Now I want to know what your opinion is. I want this out in the
open.”

He sighed and released her hand. He rubbed her arms
before hugging her to his chest, resting his chin on the top of her
head. “I think that you and I would be the best thing ever. But, if
for some reason we didn’t work out, I think we’d be able to mend
our friendship in time.”

When she edged back from his chest, her smile was
slow and beautiful. She linked her hands behind his neck. “I
agree.”

He bent his head and brushed his lips softly over
hers. She broke the kiss abruptly and rummaged through his jacket
pockets. “What?” he asked, confused.

She handed him his phone. “Call Jennifer. Call her
right now. I know you’re a stud, Cole, but I’m still not letting my
date take two women to the dance.”

He kissed her forehead and took the phone from her
hand. He flipped it open and scrolled through his numbers until he
found Jennifer’s. He called her and turned away from Ally, rubbing
the back of his neck frantically. He talked for a couple of minutes
then returned to Ally, shoving his phone into his pocket.

“Well?” Ally asked, worrying her bottom lip, not
liking the look in his eyes.

“I told her I was sorry and that I shouldn’t have
said that I’d go with her. I told her it was a mistake and I didn’t
mean to hurt her.” He shrugged as if the whole thing were just some
minor inconvenience. Maybe to him, it was.

“What’d she say?” Ally whispered, nearly holding her
breath.

He smirked and inched closer, gripping her hips. “She
said to have fun with Ally and then she hung up on me.” Before she
could verbalize her astonishment, he dipped his head and kissed
her.

Chapter Ten

Ally shuffled along the sidewalk on her way to the
cafeteria, kicking the multi-hued leaves that littered the
sidewalk, her mind filled with questions. She had practically
floated to her room the night before and dreamt of nothing but Cole
but when the harsh rays of reality woke her in the morning, new
doubts had hit her.

Was she his girlfriend now? He had kissed her last
night, slowly and thoroughly and her heart still turned when she
thought about it. But did that necessarily mean they were a couple?
And how was she supposed to act around him if they were? Or if they
weren’t?

She reached the doors to the cafeteria and took a
deep breath before entering. She decided she would just go in like
usual, get her food and sit where she always sat. She’d let Cole
take the lead from there.

***

He was totally aware of her the minute she walked
through the door. He bent his head over his breakfast and fought
off a smirk. He watched through his thick bangs as she chatted with
a couple of volleyball teammates as she waited in line to get her
food. He briefly wondered, as she made her way to their table, if
she would sit in her customary seat across the table or in the
vacant space to his left.

“Good morning, boys,” she said as she put her tray on
the table, directly across from him, next to Jamie. She sat down
and gave Cole a quick, shy smile.

“Morning, Al,” he said, draining his orange
juice.

“You’re pretty peppy for a Monday morning, Ally,”
Jamie observed, hiding his smile behind his juice glass.

“Yeah, no kidding,” RJ added, trying to keep a mask
of innocence firmly on his face. “Something happen?”

She narrowed her eyes and transferred her glare
warily from one to the other. “Don’t be morons,” she told them. She
unwrapped her silverware, her eyes continuously darting between her
friends.

“What?” Jamie asked, lifting his brows in mock
oblivion. Ally recognized it immediately and wasn’t fooled in the
least.

“Honestly, Ally, we have no clue what you’re talking
about,” RJ continued, not able to meet her steady gaze.

She shook her head and picked up her toast. She
nibbled on the ends but maintained constant vigilance over them,
knowing sooner or later they’d slip and start ribbing her.

“Seriously, Ally,” Jamie said. “Did something happen
last night?”

She knew they knew and were playing with her and
decided she could play just as hard. She’d grown up with them,
after all, and was more than familiar with their little tricks. “I
have no clue what you’re talking about.” She lifted her chin
arrogantly as she opened a carton of milk.

Jamie put his arm around her shoulder but she
shrugged it off as if it was a pesky insect buzzing about her head
and concentrated on her breakfast. “Come on, cuz, you can tell
us.”

She turned her murderous glare on Cole who was calmly
eating. He felt her gaze and looked up, raising a brow. “They’ve
been bugging me all morning.”

“We figured since Cole wasn’t gutted and hanging from
the flag pole that you two must have kissed and made up or
something,” RJ said, admirably maintaining his look of innocence.
He even had the gall to smile angelically at her.

Cole, who could stand it no longer, smirked at RJ and
offered up his fist. RJ bumped it while Ally glared at them.

“I knew it,” Jamie proclaimed, practically bouncing
in his seat. He leaned over the table to offer up his own fist.

Ally groaned. “You guys are pigs,” she complained as
she grabbed her tray and stood, surveying the cafeteria.

“Where you going?” Jamie asked, puzzled.

“To sit with my new favorite cousin,” she retorted
and marched to Jeana's table to plop down between her other cousin
and her friends.

RJ whistled. “Dude, you pissed her off already.”

Cole shrugged. “A pissed off Ally is an amusing
Ally.”

Jamie shook his head, grinning. “You were right;
you’re terrible with girlfriends.” He paused and shot Cole a
questioning look. “She is your girlfriend, right?”

“I don’t know, man,” Cole said, standing up with his
empty tray. “We didn’t really discuss it.”

Jamie covered his ears and winced. “I don’t think I
want to know what you did.”

Cole rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t
worry, there’s not really anything to know.” He took his tray to
the appropriate place and waited for the other two. Ally remained
stiffly seated beside Jeana and he figured he should at least
rescue her to make up for earlier.

He nodded his head at his friends. “Come on,” he
said, striding toward Jeana’s table. “We owe it to Ally to save
her.”

As he walked up behind her, her spine grew rigid,
signaling that she sensed his presence. “Ladies,” he greeted with a
charming smile, causing half the table to either blush or
giggle.

Jamie sat down next to a cheerleader, stole her
toast, and gave her a wink. She giggled and scooted closer to him.
RJ sat on Jeana's other side and grinned.

“Go away you idiots,” Ally mumbled, her jaw set and
her eyes hard.

Cole bent over and placed his mouth next to her ear.
“You don’t really want that do you?” he asked. Before she could
answer he continued. “I came to rescue you, like a gentleman, and
walk you to class.”

“Thanks but no thanks,” she muttered, trying
unsuccessfully to stifle a shudder.

He put his hands on her shoulders and gently massaged
them. “Please excuse us, ladies, but Ally and I have a matter to
discuss.” Two of the girls shot Ally envious glances and she just
rolled her eyes. She groaned and got to her feet, snagging the
strap of her backpack. She reached for her tray but Jamie stopped
her.

“Leave it, cuz,” he told her with an apologetic
smile. “I’ll get it. It’s the least I can do.”

She shrugged and started to swing her backpack on her
shoulder but Cole beat her to it, removing it from her hands. She
narrowed her eyes, her lips pressed so tightly they turned white.
His lips twisted into a smirk.

“Ready?” he asked, grabbing her hand after hoisting
his own backpack over his other shoulder. He didn’t wait for her
reply.

She yanked her hand away, red anger coloring her
cheeks. “Yes, let’s go.” She waited until they reached the sidewalk
outside of the building before she turned on him. “You are such a
jerk,” she said through clenched teeth. “I don’t know why I ever
wanted to be with you!”

He stopped, grabbed her face gently, and kissed her.
“Good morning, Al,” he whispered.

She gaped at his smirking face, all the angry words
she’d wanted to spew at him evaporating from her tongue, never
reaching air. “You…you can’t just do that to me!”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Why not? You
don’t want me to kiss you?”

“That’s not what I meant,” she said, fury dancing in
her eyes. “You can’t just act all ‘he-man who conquered the woman’
to your friends and then just kiss me and expect me not to be
mad!”

He shrugged. “They’re your friends, too.”

She clenched her fists, anger on a roll. “You are so
infuriating!”

“I know,” he said as he dipped his head and kissed
her quickly again. “That is why you want to be with me. You find it
charming,” he said as he took her hand and dragged her down the
sidewalk. “Come on. It’s chilly out here and you’re going to be
late for class.”

***

Cole’s entire face pulled into a frown when he
entered the cafeteria that evening for dinner. He hadn’t seen Ally
since that morning - not even at lunch – and he couldn’t see hide
nor hair of her now. He wondered if she was still upset and
therefore avoiding him. He grabbed some pizza and a soft drink and
sat down next to RJ.

“You guys seen Al today?” he asked, his eyes darting
between his friends.

“Just in class,” Jamie said. “But I didn’t get a
chance to talk to her.”

“I just wondered why she didn’t eat lunch,” Cole
frowned.

RJ smirked as he chewed a huge hunk of pizza. “She’s
probably still mad at you, man.”

Cole sighed, his shoulders slouching. “I’m sure.”

Just then the doors opened, allowing the cool autumn
breeze to blow through the room and send a stack of paper napkins
flying. The girls’ volleyball team sauntered in, still dressed in
practice clothes, though some of them had thrown on sweatshirts to
protect them from the October chill.

Ally grabbed a bottle of water and threw herself down
next to Jamie. She plunked her head on the table and groaned.

“Brutal practice?” Jamie asked.

“Yeah and we’re not done,” she murmured, still head
first on the table. “Open this, please,” she asked Jamie, handing
him the bottle without lifting her head.

He opened it and set it on the table in front of her.
“You need to eat something, cuz,” he said.

She picked her head up and sighed. “I will. Give me a
minute.”

“Why the long practice?” Cole asked. She looked at
him and smiled, causing his heart to skip a beat.

“We’re playing St. Francis on Thursday. They’re the
only school that beat us last year during regular season and they
beat us in the playoffs. Coach is on a mission.”

Jennifer Mansfeld walked past with two other girls
from the team and glared at their table. Cole watched her carefully
before turning back to Ally. “Is Jennifer giving you a hard
time?”

Ally laughed and glanced over her shoulder. “I can
take her.”

Cole smiled warmly, knowing she was probably right
but hoping that things between Ally and Jennifer never came to
blows. “Yes, but still, is she giving you hassles?”

“No,” Ally told him slowly as she got to her feet.
“I’m getting some food. Anyone want anything?”

They all declined and Cole kept his eyes on her as
she walked away. Her dark hair hung in a loose pony tail and swung
freely behind her back. She was dressed in navy blue shorts, one of
Jamie’s Woodsedge Academy football sweatshirts, and had her navy
knee pads pulled down covering her shins. She grabbed two slices of
pizza and another water bottle before returning to the table.

“Where were you at lunch?” RJ asked after he watched
her wolf down her first slice.

She rolled her eyes and finished chewing before
answering. “I had to work with my Chemistry group on the project
we’re supposed to have finished by Friday. We worked in the library
at lunch.” She finished her food and heaved her tired body to her
feet as the rest of the volleyball team started for the door.

“She’s not still mad at you,” RJ said to Cole,
nudging his shoulder.

“Oh, I’m still mad at him,” she said with a toothy
smile. “I’ll take it out on him later.” She grabbed her water
bottle and jogged out of the cafeteria.

***

After practice, Ally scooped her sweatshirt off the
gym floor and tugged her knee pads to her shins. She stretched and
took a swig from her water bottle.

“Hey, Ally,” Kelsey Brown, a fellow junior and
teammate, greeted as they headed to the locker room. “Jennifer's
pretty ticked at you.”

“So I hear,” Ally responded, not in the least bit
bothered.

“Is it true that Cole broke off their date for the
dance to take you instead?” Kelsey asked in a low whisper.

“Yeah,” Ally said with a nonchalant lift of her
shoulder. She dropped to the bench and kicked off her shoes before
peeling off her socks. She shoved them aside and gathered her
shower items and a towel.

“Are you two like dating now?” Kelsey asked.

“I’m not really sure what we are at this moment,”
Ally responded honestly as she slipped her feet into shower flip
flips and headed toward the shower room.

“Well, watch out for Jennifer because she’s convinced
herself that if it weren’t for you, she’d be back with Cole,”
Kelsey warned, her eyes worried.

“Thanks, Kelse,” Ally said as she smiled over her
shoulder. “But she doesn’t scare me.”

***

Ally pondered Kelsey’s question the rest of the week.
She knew she should just come straight out and ask Cole but she was
too afraid. Besides, she’d hardly had a chance to tell him good
morning let alone have a heart to heart with him. After practice
and homework, she barely had time to eat, sleep, and shower. They
hadn’t had a moment alone since the night he’d walked her to her
dorm and broke off his date with Jennifer.