Cole

''You don't know what that is?'' I hear Jasmine ask from the kitchen as I skip in.

Yes, I was skipping in my house. I was that happy.

''I'm home!" I shout, and Gracie immediately rushes to me. Jasmine followed behind.

''Congratulations, Cole!'' she said, smiling widely.

That just made me even happier. Her smile was gorgeous. It was just like the saying, Your smile lights up the room. That's what hers did. I had to stop myself from telling her that.

I replied, ''Thanks! I'm glad you guys watched it. ''

''Yeah, daddy, you were great. I told Jasmine to wear the shirt for extra luck. But you know how she gets,'' Gracie said as I put her back on the ground, rolling her eyes.

''Hey! You said you were cool with it, little girl. We had a deal.'' she snapped and followed Gracie.

The things that go on in this house when I'm not here.

Gracie only shrugs, ''Things change.''

Laughing, I sat my bag on the couch and joined them. There was soda on the counter and a tub of ice cream.

''What are you doing?''

''I was just about to tell your daughter what a root beer float is.''

''Oh, what's that?'' she quickly looked up from the ice cream and stared at Gracie and me, shocked.

''Wow. Seriously, what did you guys do before I came? Root beer floats are like the basics of having fun.''

''Oh, well, I've never heard of it. Is it like some type of desert?'' I asked, intrigued.

''Yeah, sort of. A root beer float is a mixture of vanilla ice cream and root beer. And some people like whipped cream on top, but I can't stand it.''

''Oh, so that's why it's called root beer float, right? Cause when you add it all together, it floats up.''

''Yep,'' she answered and handed Gracie one. She looked at it disgustingly and pushed it back to jasmine.

''Just try it. You might like it.''

''And if I don't?''

''Well, then it'll be more for me,'' Jasmine jokes and smiled when I chuckled.

Gracie dipped the spoon in the cup and slowly put it in her mouth. Her expression immediately changed, and she began devouring it and licking her lips. In less than a minute, she was holding her cup out to Jasmine.

''Can I get some more? Please?''

''I take that as you like it.''

''What about you?'' Jasmine asked, turning to me. ''Do you want to try the ever so amazing root beer float, Cole?''

''I guess I could have a taste,'' I answered, accepting the cup she was handing me. I could see why Gracie's expression had changed so quickly. It felt like heaven was in my mouth at the first spoon full.

Jasmine was looking at us smiling proudly. ''This is amazing!" I shouted jokingly, with a mouth full of ice cream.

''See, you guys liked it anyway. My family used to make these all the time,'' she stared at the counter and her eyes lit as she talked. ''I remember this one time, my sister Maddie. You guys met her at the family function. But anyway, she had won this award for getting good grades, and we all surprised her when she came home with root beer floats. And we kind of just kept the tradition up.''

She gave Gracie her second cup and swished some whipped cream in her mouth. I smiled when it fell down her cheek. Lately, everything she did was becoming cute to me. Even when she was going through my pictures. If it had been anyone else, I would have fired them on the spot. But with Jasmine, I didn't mind, and I actually told her the story behind it. Last year, I would want to punch a wall and cry at the mention of Julianna. But I talked to Jasmine about her as if it was normal.

''What about you, Cole? Did you have any traditions growing up?'' Jasmine asked, her arms propped up on the counter, resting her head on her hands as she focused on me.

'Well, yeah, it's not really a tradition, but we did it every year. Every year, my parents and I would go on a hiking trip in the middle of the summer on the exact day. Dad was never usually around, so that was the only time we had him to ourselves. For a few days at least. We did it one year, and I guess it just stuck.''

We talked like that for hours. It ended up drifting away from our family traditions and we ended up talking about our dislikes, likes, fears, and other things. Every time I talked to Jasmine, it was never dull. Ever since the day I met Jasmine, it hasn't been a dull moment.

...

''You did not!'' She shouted, standing up with a shocked look.

''Yes, I did! I'll show you the tape.'' I protested.

''Who even recorded it?''

''Cooper.'' I grinned and stood up with her as she stared at me in disbelief.

''I do not believe that you, you, nice, little ol Cole, would hit someone in the face just because they didn't give you some of their soda.''

''You saw me at your function thing, didn't you?'' I hated when people called me nice or soft. It pissed me off to the core. It wasn't a particular reason, but it just messed with me.

''Touche.''

I was going to say something slick, but I finally looked over at Gracie and saw she was fast asleep.

''When did she fall asleep?'' I walked over to Gracie and put her on my back.

Jasmine only shrugged.

Making sure she was on all the way, I carried Gracie upstairs. When I made it to her room, after turning the light off, I kissed her goodnight.

Dammit, now we're all alone.

"What do you want to do now?'' I asked Jasmine, reaching the last step.

''Um, I don't know. Do you want to play a game?''

''Yeah, w...'' I trailed off as I walked into the kitchen. I hadn't realized Jasmine only had only a shirt and shorts. It showed her long legs as she looked in the cabinet. I slowly made my way behind her.

''Huh? I didn't... oh hey!'' She greeted me and turned around. I didn't answer. Instead, I continued to stare at her lips. Thinking of how great they would taste against mine.

After a while, she looked at me with a lopsided smirk and pursed her lips. My eyes immediately went to them. Her smirk grew. ''Like what you see?'' she took a step closer, grinning.

''I'd like it better if I was feeling them.'' I said, stepping closer.

''Oh really?'' she asked, taking three more steps closer. Now there was no space between us, and I could feel her nipples poking into my chest. She put her mouth close to my ear, ''I think you're a little too... soft to go through with it, Cole,'' she finished with a nip at my ear.

She knew it. She fucking knew I hated being called that. Sneaky woman.

I quickly backed us up against the counter and her eyes went big.

Not so confident now, are we?

And when she was about to reply, I kissed her. Her lips were on mine, kissing each other like I had wanted since the moment we met. It felt so much better than I had imagined.

I pulled away, '' Do. Not. Call. Me. Soft.'' My lips trailed down to her neck, to her collarbone and back up her lips. I gripped her waist, pulling her closer to me. Her fingers tangled in my hair as I deepened the kiss like it was our last day on earth.