After the Raft Capsized, the Ice Cold Campus Heartthrob Came Knocking Chapter 03
Derek quickly comforted her and told her to stay. Then he turned and yelled at me, “You’ll regret this! I—”
Before he could finish, I grabbed a water blaster and threw that at him too. “Get lost!”
The toy hit him square in the head. He was so mad he opened his mouth to curse me.
But I didn’t give him the chance.
I took off my other shoe, snatched the scoop from Cole’s hand, and hurled everything at him.
Sabrina caught some splash back and started crying again.
But Derek was too busy dodging my attacks to comfort her.
I was still not satisfied and looked around for more things to throw.
Earl hid his paddle behind his back. “Sorry, sweetheart. I need this to steer the boat.”
I sighed in disappointment—then turned to see Cole holding out a long wooden pole, along with a pair of men’s sneakers.
My face lit up. I grabbed the new ammo and kept pelting them.
In the end, they fled in defeat.
After that circus was over, we kept drifting downstream.
Looking at Cole’s bare, pruned feet, I felt a sudden pang of guilt.
“Sorry about that. I threw your shoes away. I’ll buy you new ones.”
He looked at me and gave the faintest, almost invisible twitch of his lips. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Wait—did he just smile?
I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I’d been so angry at Derek that I was hallucinating.
Earl, however, burst out laughing behind us.
“Hahaha! New shoes? You can just pick up a pair at the end. Plenty wash up on the shore.”
His smile vanished as quickly as it came. He frowned at the river ahead and warned us, “Hold on tight! Rapids coming!”
A huge wave slammed into us right after he spoke.
I lost my balance and tumbled straight into Cole’s chest, instinctively wrapping my arms around his lean waist.
When I came to my senses, I tried to scramble out of his arms—but he reached out, pressed his hand against my lower back, and pulled me back against him.
Seeing my dazed expression, he said coolly, “The waves are big. Hold on to me.”
A crisp, clean scent hit me. My face flushed scarlet, and my hands obediently clutched his windbreaker.
[Oh my god, I actually held Mia in my arms. I’m never washing this hand again.]
My face went dark. Dude, you’re way too much.
Then wave after wave crashed over us.
I stopped caring about his inner monologue and just buried myself against his chest in terror.
Cole held me with one arm and gripped the raft’s handle with the other, the corner of his mouth rising higher and higher.
Not long after, we made it safely through the rapids and reached the midway rest stop.
I had no idea we’d arrived. I was still hiding my face in Cole’s chest, clinging to him.
Earl tied up the raft, saw us tangled together, and couldn’t stop grinning.
Cole looked down at me, his eyes full of tenderness and affection, his hand gently patting my back in slow circles.
Earl gave him a silent thumbs-up and slipped away.
A while later, I finally realized we’d stopped.
I looked up, and found his dark, deep eyes fixed on me without blinking.
[She’s so cute. I want to kiss her.]
My heart jolted. My cheeks burned. I shot out of his arms like I’d been electrocuted.
A moment later, when I glanced back, his face was calm as ever—the same aloof expression he always wore. I started to doubt myself.
I must have misheard. There’s no way he’d say something like that.
We walked to the snack stand together.
I remembered his phone was dead, so he couldn’t pay. I offered to treat him, and Cole didn’t refuse.
The stand was packed, but we got lucky and snagged the last two cups of mac and cheese.
No sooner had I paid than I spotted the two people I least wanted to see—Derek and Sabrina.
They’d come to buy mac and cheese, but it was sold out.
Derek noticed the two cups in my hands and walked over, holding out his palm. “Give me one. Sabrina’s cold. She needs something warm to eat.”
