Silence

Everyone but Cole and I were downstairs setting up the decorations and moving furniture around to make room for the DJ. It wasn’t my birthday until tomorrow, but my party was tonight.

  Don’t suppose you can skip your own party…

  “We get to tell everyone soon,” Cole said, grinning as he tied string to a balloon. He was excited to have our relationship out in the open. I was on the fence.

  I dropped my gaze and busied myself with a banner.

  “You don’t want to tell them, do you?” Cole asked quietly, his face falling. I hate that I was responsible for that look. “Oakley?” He prompted. Sighing, I nodded.

  “You don’t mean that. You’re worried about what they’ll all say.” I nodded again. “They’ll be happy for us, you know they will. Things will calm down after a week or two when it’s old news.”

  So he knew they were going to be watching us like crazy, too.

  “Look, I don’t like it, but we can wait longer. Whenever you’re ready.”

  He said the words, but I knew he didn’t mean it.

  Smiling, I shook my head and kissed his cheek quickly. I missed being physically affectionate with him. I wanted to hold his hand and have his arms around me whenever we wanted, no matter who was around.

  I missed being intimate with someone I trusted with my life, someone I knew would never hurt me. It was time to come clean about our relationship and be a normal couple.

  I was ready for that.

  I deserved that, surely.

  Cole deserves that with someone worthy.

  Ignoring the voice in my head, I playfully shoved his shoulder and made him laugh.