by J. S. Cooper
“I spent the week at my parents’ place.”
“Of course, of course.”
“Of course what?” What the hell was going on here?
“Let’s get two beers, and then we can chat.”
“Um, okay. Does Nolan know you’re here?”
“No.”
“Betsy?”
“Ha, no.” She shook her head. “Betsy would kill me.”
“So, then, why are you here?”
“How are you a fucking cop?” She shook her head in disgust. “You have no clue, do you?”
“No, I have no idea why you’re standing in my kitchen asking me for a beer in the middle of the night. I’m not a mind reader, Jules, so why don’t you enlighten me?”
“I’m here because I’m Betsy’s best friend, and you need to get a bloody clue.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re a fucking idiot, by the way.” She shook her head and gulped from the beer I’d just handed her. “I suppose you went to your parents’ house to check out their marriage and see just how bad it really is.”
“What?” My jaw dropped. “How did you know that?”
“Because you’re transparent, Jeff.” She rolled her eyes. “And because I know men.”
“Ha, yeah, right.”
“I got Nolan.” She smirked.
“That boy has been in love with you since we were teenagers. You didn’t really get him so much as you always had him.”
“Yeah, whatever. You might not think I know a lot about men, but I do. I know how men love to be overdramatic.” She huffed. “Which is ironic because they always say women are drama queens. Trust me, men are so much more drama than women.”
“Where are you going with this, Jules?”
“Fact, your parents’ marriage sucks. They argue a lot, your mom cries a lot, everything sucks in your house. You feel bad for your mom. You want to take away her pain, but you can’t. You wonder why she doesn’t leave your dad. That makes you feel guilty. You think love sucks because it leads to marriage and marriages suck.”
“What are you? Some sort of therapist now?” I bit out, annoyed she’d come so close to the truth.
“You think that you’re like your dad because you have similar temperaments. He gets annoyed easily, he gets angry, shouts, becomes a dominant bossy boots and completely loses it at times.”
“Glad to know what you think of me.”
“I’ve known you for years, Jeff.” She sat down on a chair next to my kitchen table. “I’ve also met your parents several times.”
“Yeah, and so what?”
“You’re not your dad.” She took another gulp of beer and leaned forward on the table. “And Betsy isn’t your mom. Betsy doesn’t suffer from depression, and she isn’t going to spend her nights crying and sad.”
“I know,” I spoke softly, actually glad to finally be able to voice my words to someone. “I didn’t realize my mom had manic depression. I didn’t know she was on pills. Not until this week.”
“How did you find out?”
“I spoke to my dad. I asked him why he didn’t leave so that she could be happy.” I sat down on a chair as well. “Turns out that she’d be more unhappy if he left.” I shook my head. “Turns out that even though they argue a lot, it’s not the arguments that make my mom so sad.” I looked at Jules and the compassion on her face surprised me. “My mom told me that. I spoke to her as well. She told me that she loved my dad. That he’d always been her biggest support. They both apologized to me. They didn’t realize that I’d gone so many years thinking what I thought.” I shook my head. “I always thought that their marriage was destructive and horrible, and maybe it really is, but not for the reasons I thought.” I took a big breath. “It scares me to see their relationship. I don’t want that.”
“I know.” Jules got up and walked over to me. “I know, Jeff, but Betsy is not your mom.” She rested her hand on my shoulder. “She’s a different woman, and mentally, she’s very strong. And she loves you, Jeff. She really loves you. And you’re fucking it all up.”
“What?” I blinked at her, taken aback by her words. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, it’s been obvious to me for ages that you love Betsy. I’ve never seen someone as slow and dense as you. I didn’t want to butt in, but I have to. My girl is hurting, and it’s because of you, and if you don’t get your head out of your ass, you’re going to lose her and it’s going to be your own fault.”
“I do love her,” I said slowly. “It feels weird saying that out loud. I love her so fucking hard, it’s not even funny. It scares me how much I love her. I just want to be with her and hold her and never let her go. And I’m scared I’m going to fuck it all up.”
“You’re not going to fuck it up.” Jules smiled at me but I could see that her eyes were wet.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her, nervous. “Are you okay?”
“You just admitted you love, Betsy.” She laughed slightly. “Finally. Thank you, God. I’ve been waiting for this day.”
“Does Nolan know as well?” I asked.
“Oh, hell no.” She laughed harder then. “He’s going to kill you. Especially when he finds out you guys had sex before you were a couple.”
“A couple?” I stared at her, blinking hard.
“Jeffrey Evian, don’t be fucking dense. What is it you want from Betsy?”
“I want her to be my girlfriend and then my wife,” I said the words out loud. “I want her to be the mother of my children.”
“You know what that means, right?”
“What?” I asked her curiously.
“It means, that one day soon, we’re going to end up officially being brother and sister.” She grinned, and I smiled back down at her.
“You’re annoying as hell, but I do love you, Jules,” I said, realizing just how true the words were. “You’re a really great friend to Betsy, and I’m glad you’re in my life.”
“I think the world has just stopped.” Jules laughed. “It has officially just stopped.”
“Ha ha.” I raised my eyebrows at her. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”
“Think?” She shook her head. “Nah, I know.”
“So you’re really okay with me and Betsy being together?” I paused. “Do you think Nolan will come around?”
“Yeah, he will.”
“What about Nanna?” I sighed. “She seemed to think that Nick was the one for Betsy. Maybe he is better for her than I am. Maybe he wouldn’t sleep with her and disappear for a week.”
“Nanna said that Nick was the one for Betsy?” Jules started laughing. “Oh, Nanna, she really will stop at nothing.”
“Sorry, what?” I narrowed my eyes and stared at her. “Is she responsible for setting Nick and Betsy up?”
“In a way.” Jules gave me a wicked grin. “In a way.”
“What does in a way mean?”
“You have to promise not to kill me or Nanna.”
“I’m not going to like this, am I, Jules?”
“I don’t know.” She grinned. “Maybe yes, maybe no. But you have to do one thing before I tell you everything.”
“What’s that?”
“You need to call Betsy and ask to meet her tomorrow so you can explain everything.”
“I was going to call her tonight,” I said with a grin. “I was just getting out of the shower and then I was going to call her and head over to her place.”
“Oh.” Jules looked surprised. “So I didn’t need to come over and get your head on straight?”
“No.” I shook my head. “But I’m glad that you did. I’m glad to know that both Jules and I have a friend as good as you.”
“Don’t you ever forget it, Jeff. Don’t you ever forget it.” And with that, she sat back down and shooed me out of the room so that I could call Betsy and set up a time to talk.
Chapter 18
Betsy
The sound of the waves crashing against the rocks always soot
hed me. I breathed in the salty ocean breeze and played with the sand beneath my fingers. My heart was racing and my head was aching as I sat there in anticipation. I had ignored Jeff’s first call, but I hadn’t been able to stop myself from picking up the second time he had called.
“Meet me by the pier at midnight,” he’d said.
I’d like to say that I hadn’t immediately jumped into the shower and put on a full face of makeup, but then I’d be lying. I wanted to look hot for my meeting with Jeff. I wanted to look hot as I told him that I never wanted to see him again. I never wanted to be around him or hear from him. That was the reason I had come tonight.
Two small crabs ran along the sand alongside me, and I watched them for what felt like minutes. My back stiffened when I realized that there was someone behind me. I turned to look over my right shoulder to see Jeff standing there, watching me.
“Hey,” he said as he approached me. He was wearing a black hoody and a pair of blue jeans.
“How long have you been there?” I asked breathlessly as he sat down next to me. I looked away from his probing blue eyes; just looking at him was making me feel emotional.
“Five minutes.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I like watching you.” He tucked a loose hair behind my ear. “You’re so cute and lovely.”
“Okay …” I looked up into his eyes.
“I’m sorry that I haven’t called you all week,” he said suddenly. “I’m an idiot.”
“Whatever. You said it was one time. It’s fine.” I shrugged. “We had some fun, and now we can both move on. I have Nick, so I’m fine.” The lie came smoothly to my lips as I shrugged.
“It wasn’t fine.” He shook his head and he moved closer to me. “I took the week off, and I went home.”
“You went home?”
“Yeah, I needed to see my parents. I have a lot of unresolved issues when it comes to them.”
“I see.”
“It’s what’s stopped me from entering relationships. And for going after what I really want.”
“I see.”
“I want you.”
“You had me.” I pulled away from him, feeling angry.
“I don’t mean in a sexual way.” He shook his head. “I want your heart. I want your soul. I want your body. I want your love. I want all of you.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’ve made a huge mess of things, and I’m a fool, but I’m sorry and I want you to give me another chance. I want you to let me prove to you that I will never just leave you like that again.”
“You hurt me, Jeff.” I looked into his eyes, his words swirling around my brain. “We had sex, and you just disappeared. You just left me. You didn’t call. You didn’t text. We had unprotected sex, and you didn’t even ask me if everything was okay. I felt so used.”
“I know.” He buried his head in his hands. “I’m so ashamed. There are no words to forgive that. All I can say is that I was overwhelmed. I was scared of what I was feeling and how badly we both wanted to be with each other. It’s hard to explain. A lot of it is related to my parents’ marriage. I want you to know that while I still have issues there, I’m going to go to therapy. I want to get to the root of my fears, and I want you by my side. I love you, Betsy-Lou Montgomery. I love you more than anyone has ever loved anyone. I want you to allow me to woo you, to take you on dates, to spoil you, to love you, to prove my commitment to you.”
“Are you sure?” My breath held as I gazed at him. “Are you really sure?”
“I’m more than sure.” He looked like he was in pain.
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to hear the words from your lips, Betsy. Let me hear the words.”
“What words?”
“You know.”
“I want you?”
“Not those words.”
“I need you.”
“No.”
“I want you deep inside of me.”
“No,” he growled. “Betsy, please.”
“I love you?” I said softly, and he beamed at me.
“Yes. Oh, yes.”
“I love you, Jeff. I’ve always loved you. I think you were built into my heart. There’s never been anyone else for me but you. There will never be anyone else but you.”
“Not even Nick?” He had a funny look on his face.
“No, not even Nick.” I laughed. “To be honest, I don’t really think Nick is that into me.” I paused. “Though I did hear that you warned him off in high school.”
“I did, I did.” He held his hands up. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” I laughed. “I suppose it was jealousy.”
“It sure was. You’re all mine, and everyone else better lay off.” He leaned forward and kissed me and then pulled back. “By the way, I know a little secret.”
“Oh?”
“Yes,” he grinned. “So it turns out that your nanna set this whole thing up, helped in part by Jules.”
“Oh?” I looked at him in confusion.
“Turns out that both Nanna and Jules have known for a while that we’ve had a thing for each other, and they both got fed up with waiting for something to happen, so they hatched this plan to make me jealous using Nick.”
“What?”
“Yeah, they were chatting with Old Man Campbell, and he reminded them that Nick used to have a crush on you and they were laughing at how I’d warned him off or something when suddenly it struck them that Nick could come in handy to help push us together.”
“No way.”
“Yup, turns out that Jules took you guys to the beach deliberately that night Nick was surfing. She knew he would be there, and then Nanna had told Old Man Campbell to send Nick in to get some cupcakes that morning.”
“But why did she tell me she thought Nick was going to be my husband—” I slapped my hand to my mouth.
“Ohh what?”
“She never actually said Nick’s name.” I smiled as I shook my head. “She was staring at both of you, and I assumed she meant Nick because she was telling him to take me on a date, but it was all a part of her evil plan wasn’t it?” I laughed.
“Yup, she just wanted to make me jealous so I’d react.” He chuckled. “I guess it worked.”
“I guess it did.” I paused for a few seconds. “How do you know all of this, by the way?”
“Jules came to see me.”
“What? No way!” I gawked at him.
“Yup.” He grinned as he nodded. “She’s not such a bad egg, is she?”
“No, she’s not. She’s my best friend.” I nodded. “I can’t tell you how shocked I am right now.”
“Maybe you can tell me afterward.”
“Afterward?”
“After we make love in the water.” He kissed my neck. “I’ve always wanted to make love in the ocean.”
“I have a feeling that might be against city ordinances.” I gave him a wicked grin as he ran his hand up the inside of my dress.
“I have an in with law enforcement,” he whispered as his fingers found my panties. “If we get caught, I’ll take care of it.”
“Oh, really?” I gasped as his fingers slipped down the insides of my panties and rubbed me.
“You got another pair?” His eyes widened as he realized there was a hole in the front of the panties I was wearing.
“I figured we had so much fun with the first pair, why not get another, just in case.” I grinned at him and then moaned as he pushed me back into the sand and buried his head between my legs, his tongue quickly finding the hole in my new panties and licking me up.
“Smart girl,” he said.
I moaned as his tongue continued to tease me. He then pulled my dress down and kissed the side of my neck. “By the way, the bet is off. There is no way I’m letting another man kiss you.”
“That’s fine, but I already kinda have another date. Turns out Nick or someone else donated ten thousand dollars so th
at Nick can go on a date with me.”
“I don’t know or care who that was, but I will bid ten thousand and one to stop that from happening.” Jeff pulled me up onto my feet. “You’re mine, Betsy. All mine, and everybody in town is going to know it.”
“I love you, Jeff,” I said with a contented smile as he pulled me into his arms.
“I love you more, Betsy. Always have and always will. You’re closer to me than my own heart, and I don’t want you to ever forget it.”
Thank you for reading The Hookup Plan To make sure you never miss any of my books, please join my mailing list here. Continue reading for an excerpt from my book, To My First And Last One Night Stand. Get your copy here.
Chapter 19
Excerpt from To My First And Last One Night Stand
Marco
“Te amo, mami.”
I winked at the blonde as she ran her hands down my chest. This was the second time I’d seen her at the bar, the first time I’d actually bothered chatting her up.
“I love it when you speak Italiano to me,” she purred, fluttering her long eyelashes at me, her big brown eyes fucking me with her gaze. “You’re so sexy.”
“It’s Spanish, but whatever.”
I let her unbutton my shirt, one button at a time, her fingernails grazing my skin. Some of the other patrons were staring at us wondering how I got to be the lucky bastard with a sexy blonde practically giving me a lap dance.
“Say something in Spanish to me again.” She pushed her breasts against my arm.
“A darle que es mole de olla,” I said in my sexiest voice, knowing she had no idea that I was telling her to start working with energy and enthusiasm. I looked down at my throbbing cock.
“Si, papi.”
She did a little dance in front of me. Her hips were a bit stiff, but nothing I couldn’t work with. For one night, at least.
“Do you know what I just said?” I cocked my head to the side as her fingers made their way down to my crotch and ran over my bulge.
“No, but I don’t care. Whatever you said, I’m cool with.” She winked.
“Oh, yeah?” I ran my hands through my short dark hair. “I said I want you to blow me.”