Chapter Three- Giving Into Passion

Friday

Penny watched as Phoebe finished doing her hair.

She was anxious to meet the man who could elicit such a change in Phoebe. Never before had she seen Phoebe look so grown up.

Usually Phoebe wore short skirts, tight pants, and tighter tops. She liked showing a lot of skin, but more than that her clothes tended to make her look youthful. She often looked like a rebellious teenager, instead of the college student she was.

But tonight... Phoebe was wearing a simple blue and white patterned dress, that was sexy, but elegant.

Now that Penny thought of it, for the last few days, ever since her date, Phoebe's clothes had begun covering more skin.

More than that, she had been walking around with a permanently dreamy look on her face. It was obvious to anyone that she was happy.

Penny was interested in meeting this 'Cole' fellow, yet... She couldn't help bare in mind the fact that Prue hadn't seemed to like him. Piper had commented that he seemed very nice, but Prue had confided that something about him bugged her, and that bothered Penny.

Of her three granddaughters, Prue had the best instincts when it came to people.

Phoebe was the most naive of the three. She had a very open, trusting personality, a trait that Penny feared was going to lead her to trouble. If not the ordinary kind, then definitely the demonic kind. After all, being too trusting could get you killed when you were a witch.

Piper, while not as naive, was also very trusting. Piper tended to give people the benefit of the doubt, always trying not to judge someone without giving them a fair chance.

While it was an admirable quality in a human being, again it was one that could be danger when you were a witch. You had to be on your toes, always cautious, always on the look out for trouble, because it was often there.

Penny knew that it would be even worse for her granddaughters, after all they would be the Charmed Ones. Penny knew that from the moment their powers awakened, they would be in grave danger.

That was why she was grateful for Prue. Prue was by far the most suspicious of the three sisters. In some way it was one of the things that made Penny worry about her, the fact that she rarely let anyone get close to her.

Prue was, in fact, the opposite of Phoebe, instead of being too trusting, she rarely ever trusted anybody. She was always on guard.

While Penny had no doubt that would serve her well as a witch, it made living hard. Prue was always waiting for someone to hurt her, and because of that she never really let herself enjoy life.

No each of her granddaughters had both great flaws and great strengths in her personality, which is why she was grateful that their powers depended on them working together.

With Prue's instincts, Piper's fairness, and Phoebe's openness, Penny believed they could be an incredible team.

If they would work together.

Lately she began to despair of that ever happening. They seemed to be growing even further apart now that they all lived in the manor again, especially Prue and Phoebe. They always seemed to be arguing over something or other.

Penny just hoped that changed soon, if not... Heaven help them when they got their powers, it would be a disaster.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Penny was shaken out of her thoughts.

"Oh, that must be Cole." Phoebe said, turning from the mirror.

"I'll get it." Penny told her.

"Thanks, I'll go grab my purse."

Penny smiled at her granddaughter, then entered the hall and opened the door. On the other side stood a handsome man in his early thirties, who really did seem more like Prue's type than Phoebe's.

"You must be, Cole." She said, motioning come in.

"Yes." He confirmed. "And you must be Phoebe's grandmother. Phoebe's told me a lot about you, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too." Penny replied. "Phoebe will be ready in a moment."

Cole smiled, but didn't say anything.

Penny instantly saw what it was that made Prue uneasy. There was an air about him, something that made her wary of him.

Penny was sure that Prue was right not to trust him, but she knew that if she tried to warn Phoebe, that she wouldn't listen.

After all, Phoebe rarely listened to her anymore, if she ever had, and more than that, Penny knew that if she had really fallen for this man, then there was no way she would listen to anything bad about him.

No, there was nothing Penny could do, just hope and pray that she and Prue were both wrong, and that he was harmless. Yet, somehow, she doubted that was the case...

Just then Phoebe came into view.

"Phoebe, you look wonderful." Cole told her with a charming smile.

Phoebe smiled in return. "Thanks." She turned to Penny. "I'll see you later, Grams."

"Alright." Penny said pleasantly. "Good night, Phoebe. It was nice meeting you, Cole."

"The pleasure was mine." Cole said before he and Phoebe left.

Penny watched them go, wondering what Phoebe had gotten herself into.

He's trouble, I know it. She thought. Let's just hope that Phoebe realizes it, before it's too late and she gets seriously hurt...
* * * * *

"Did you like the movie?" Cole asked as they exited the theatre.

Phoebe looked at him blankly. "Huh?"

"Did you like the movie?" Cole repeated. "You know, the one we just saw."

"Oh yeah, sorry." Phoebe said, blushing. "It was good."

It was lie. The truth was, Phoebe couldn't remember a single thing that had happened in the movie, she couldn't even remember what it was called.

Her attention had been focused on Cole. He had behaved like a perfect gentlemen during the movie, but that didn't stop her from being aware of his every move.

She had been especially aware of his arm across her shoulders. She liked the feel of his arm against her and she couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to feel the rest of him pressed against her...

She had to admit that she found those thoughts more appealing than the movie.

Luckily for her, Cole seemed to expect her answer, without asking her to expand on it.

"Do you want to go get something to eat?" He asked.

"That would be nice." She said softly, smiling up at him.

Phoebe was surprised by how attracted she was to him. After all, she had only met him a few days ago, yet... It felt like she had always known him.

No, that wasn't it, it was more like she was meant to know him. As if there had been reason for her running into him the way she did...

She knew that some people would think that was silly, but she had always been a big believer in fate, and maybe it was fate that she and Cole had met.

Whatever it was, it was certainly something special.

"Do you have any preferences?" Cole asked as they approached his car.

Phoebe smiled. "Actually, I know this quiet little place we could go."

"It sounds good." Cole said, opening the car door for her, then he walked around and got in the other side.

The ride to the restaurant was full of pleasant conversation, once Phoebe had given Cole directions.

When they reached the restaurant, they went inside and were seated at one of the nice cozy little tables. That was the reason Phoebe had suggested this place. It was small and had an incredible atmosphere.

The other night had been wonderful, Phoebe wanted that night to go just as well. In fact, she wouldn't object if it had different ending than their last date had...

She had to admit that was all she had been thinking about since he had dropped her off at her doorstep the other night...

"Hey, where did you go on me?" Cole asked with a teasing smile, snapping her out of her reverie.

Phoebe blushed. "I'm sorry, I was lost in thought."

"That's okay." Cole told her. "Interesting thoughts."

"Very interesting." Phoebe said with a flirtatious smile. "In fact, I was thinking about how little I know about you."

"Well, what do you want to know?" Cole asked her.

"Well, for starters, where were you born? Where did you grow up?" Phoebe asked with a smile.

"Okay, those are easy ones." Cole told her with a grin. "I was born here in San Francisco, though I was raised in New York City."

Phoebe smiled, thrilled to learn more about him. After that, the rest of their dinner conversation was light and flirtatious, yet there was a definite sexual charge in the air.

As the evening came to an end and they exited the restaurant, Phoebe definitely couldn't help, but wonder what would happen next.

Phoebe knew what she wanted to happen next. She knew her sisters and Grams would disapprove, but...

"Do you want to go back to my place for some coffee?" Cole asked softly as he started the car.

Phoebe smiled, this was what she had been hoping for. Maybe it wasn't the smart thing to do, maybe it was reckless, but she wanted him and she believed that there was more to it than just attraction. But even if it wasn't, wasn't it worth taking a chance?

"I'd love some coffee." She replied, looking at him intently.

Cole just smiled and met her eyes.

Phoebe was amazed by the intensity of what she saw in his. A tiny voice in the back of her head asked what she had gotten herself into, but the rest of her ignored the voice, mesmerised by his eyes and by her own emotions.
* * * * *

Cole opened the door of his apartment and then followed Phoebe inside.

"This place is nice..." She said, looking around.

It was in fact, a very nice apartment. Cole had good, expensive tastes, and he also needed an apartment that went with the image he projected, and this did nicely.

However, at the moment, the decor of his apartment was the last thing on his mind. There were other things that he would rather be focusing on...

That was why he just nodded, distractedly, and then before he could help himself, leaned down and kissed Phoebe.

She responded instantly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Cole deepened the kiss, lifting her up as he did so.

He couldn't believe how badly he wanted her... He hadn't felt like this in a long time. He had been planning on waiting, on savouring the seduction, but... God, did he want her, need her...

Phoebe wrapped her legs around his waist, and he pressed her against the wall.

The kiss was growing more passionate with every second and soon all he could focus on was the moment. It was like nothing else existed.

It was only the two of them and this moment...
* * * * *

Piper was awakened by the sound of the phone ringing. She looked at the clock. It was three o'clock in the morning, who could be calling her?

With a sigh she reached over and pulled it off of the end table before it woke Grams up.

"Hello?" She answered groggily.

"Piper?"

"Phoebe, is that you?" Piper asked, sitting up. "Where are you?"

Her sister hadn't come home from her date when Piper went to sleep four hours earlier, yet Piper had assumed that she had returned. Yet, obviously not.

"I'm at Cole's." Phoebe told her. "I... Then I fell asleep. I just woke up and I saw what time it was. I figured I should call so that you wouldn't freak out when you saw I wasn't home yet."

"Phoebe." Piper said, shaking her head. "Gram's going to flip."

"Piper, I'm twenty-three, I think I get to make my own decisions. Besides... It felt right."

"Well, how was it?" Piper asked.

"Incredible." Phoebe told her.

Piper smiled. "Good, I'm glad."

Phoebe was silent and Piper heard a noise on the other end. "Piper, I should go." Phoebe said finally. "I'll be home in the morning, I just didn't want you to worry."

"Thank you." Piper told her. "I'll see you then."

She heard a click on the other end and hung up the phone.

So Phoebe had slept with Cole.

She knew that if Prue found out she'd call Phoebe irresponsible, but... Piper was amazed by how responsible she had been.

Yes, she had waited until now to call, but at least she had called. Phoebe didn't usually bother to, usually she just did whatever she pleased and stayed out to all hours of the night without giving them a second thought. This showed that she was maturing.

Maybe Cole had something to do with that, maybe not.

All Piper knew was that Phoebe really liked him and that was enough to convince her to give him a chance.

She snuggled back into bed. She'd think about this more in the morning, right now...

Right now all she wanted to do was sleep.
* * * * *

"Hey there, sleepyhead." Cole said when Phoebe finally opened her eyes the next morning. He was leaning on his side and smiling at her.

"Cole." She whispered. She looked around her.

So the night before had been real, she had been afraid it was just a dream... It had been just so incredible, unlike anything she had ever dreamed of. It had never been like that before, and she had more than a little experience in that area.

But with Cole... She had never even imagined it could be like that. She had felt so close to him, so connected.

"Hey there." He told her. "I hate to rush you, but even though it's a Saturday, I have to get into the office, and I thought we might get some breakfast first."

"I'd like that." Phoebe whispered, then she sighed. "I guess that means, we have to get up."

"Afraid so." He told her with a smile. "I wish we didn't though. I wish we could stay like this forever."

He ran his fingers through her hair as he spoke.

"I know the feeling." Phoebe told him with a sigh. "But you're right, we have to get up. I have some homework, I should probably actually do. Not that it really matters, I'm close to failing out. I mean, I'm already taking longer than I should to get my degree. It's just... I'm just really confused. I know I should finish school, but..."

"But?" Cole prodded.

"I don't know, it just doesn't inspire me." Phoebe told him. "But I'll worry about that later. Right now, I want to savour the last of this mourning before the real world interferes. It tends to do that."

Cole pulled away and got out of bed. "It does, but that doesn't mean we can't have more moments like this."

"Do you mean that?" She asked softly, getting out of bed herself. "This isn't just a one time thing?"

"No, it's not." Cole told her. "I like you Phoebe and I'd like to have a relationship with you. I don't know how long it'll last, but I'd like to see. What about you?"

"I'd like that too." Phoebe told him, feeling completely content.

Last night had been perfect and Cole seemed to actually care about her, the morning was off to a good start, too bad she would have to go home and face Prue and Grams...

"I'm going to go shower." Cole told her, then he smiled seductively. "Care to join me?"

"I'd love to." Phoebe told him, pushing the thought of what awaited her later out of her mind as she followed Cole into the bathroom.

She'd deal with that later, right now she had other things she'd rather concentrate on.
* * * * *