Caufield's girl

Chapter Thirteen

We both sleep peacefully until morning comes. When I open my eyes, Cole's already staring at me. He lifts his hand and traces my cheek with the palm of his hand. "Morning." He decides to speak for the first time. "Morning." I reply, but it's also the moment I realize what happened last night. "I'm sorry about earlier." I whisper in shame as I turn my gaze to the ceiling, avoiding eye contact between us at all costs.

"Don't you ever apologize for this again. You hear me?" he says as he reaches for my hand, and I shift under his touch. "I know it must be hard for you. I can't even fucking imagine." He tries to sympathize with me. "It's what it is. But thanks, thanks for everything. Really, I mean it." I look back at him. "I think I should get going." I add as I shoot up from the king-sized bed in an attempt to get dressed and leave as soon as possible, but his voice stops me as soon as my feet touch the oak wood floor.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asks as he gets out of bed too. "No, not really." I reply, as I've lost my appetite. "Too bad, because I'm gonna make you breakfast." He winks at me cheekily as he makes his way to the kitchen and starts pulling out a black pan and placing it on the marble countertop. I followed his footsteps right away. "You cook?!" I say in slight shock. "Only for the good guests, tho." He jokes. "I'm flatterd." I smile as I shake my head. "No, really, did you really think I am one of those morons who don't know anything?" he says, raising his eyebrows. "Of course not; how could I?" I say it amusingly. "So, what's it gonna be?" I asked curiously. "It'll be a surprise. In the meantime, you can get dressed." He suggests. "Alright, chef, I'll leave you to it then." I smile as I walk back to the bedroom to put on my clothes.

                                                                                    ***

When I'm done, I walk back to the kitchen. As soon as I enter the room, a pleasing smell overcomes my senses. I sit on one of the bar stools and look at the plate he puts in front of me. "Just for you." He says it gallantly. "Oh, that looks pretty decent for a guy." I give him credit for a tasty-looking grilled cheese sandwich laying right in front of me with a glass of orange juice. "No, really, it smells great." I say it more seriously this time, but I can't stop myself from teasing him with another remark. "Who knew you're a man of so many talents? A hockey player, businessman, and chef. Impressive." He takes a seat right next to me, with his own portion of this promising breakfast, as he shakes his head at my words. "Yeah, very funny. Now eat before it gets cold." I roll my eyes before I take the first bite.

"Oh my God! Mhm, it's so good. What did you put in it?! It's even better than mine." I am completely thrown off by the fact that he can actually cook. Unbeievable. Maybe he's not that bad after all. Okay, maybe he is, but his cooking skills slightly compensate for the other deficiencies. Fuck, maybe he doesn't have any. I would've been overthinking much longer if he hadn't interrupted my train of thought. "It's a secret. I'm not that stupid, smartass. You want me to spoil my recipe so you can beat my grilled cheese; no way I'm telling you." He shakes his head and smirks. "Whatever." I sigh as I take another bite.

"Anyways, any chance you're free tonight?" he blurts out completely out of the blue. "Well, it depends on various factors, but mainly if it includes hockey. Because, oh God, you're not dragging me into the arena again. I'm done with that for a while." I say this in slight apprehension, imagining all the worst possible scenarios in my head. "I was hoping that one dinner with me wouldn't kill you. Am I wrong?" he raises his eyebrows patiently, waiting for my answer. "But why? Don't you have your hockey things to do? Plus, I don't really have the best of experiences with restaurants." I say this as I remember the last time I entered a restaurant, and it ended up being a disaster. "I was really hoping to alter the reputation of men in this matter." he jokes. "So, will you give it a chance?" he adds as I take the last bite of his grilled cheese. "Alright, but only if it can top your already top-tier grilled cheese." I cross my arms. "Oh, I can guarantee you that." he laughs. "Alright, we have a deal. I should go now. Thanks for the breakfast, Cole." I say this as I'm already walking towards the main door. "My pleasure. I'll pick you up at 8." he says this right before he closes the door behind me.