by Cindi Madsen
“Just relax. I’ll be right there with you—”
“With your arm around me, acting all flirty, and like we’re casual acquaintances who probably fool around a little?”
Whatever you do, do not think about what it might be like to fool around a little. I ninja chopped away the image of pulling her close. “Yeah, that’s the vibe we’re going for. But like I said, I’m not going to be super possessive or anything.”
“What about…kissing?”
Every ounce of my restraint went to keeping myself from looking at her lips, and I quickly shut down all thoughts of sparkly lip gloss and driving my hand through her hair to satisfy my curiosity about how it’d feel between my fingers. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. Maybe on the cheek? Like when I whisper it’s time to go? And you’ll act like you’re…” Into it. That was what I meant, but I worried it’d come out wrong and only make her more nervous—not to mention rev me up more—so I softened it. “Like you think that sounds like a great idea.”
She nodded again and again, like she did when her nervousness reached the next level.
I took her hand and slipped my fingers between hers. “We don’t have to do this.”
She looked at me, blinking the green eyes that looked even bigger and brighter thanks to the makeup she’d put on. “No, I want to.”
Could’ve fooled me. “Okay. I’m going to open the truck door and pull you out with me.”
I wrapped my fingers around the plastic handle.
“Wait,” she said before I tugged.
I turned back to her. “You’re doing this for your crazy mission thing, and as you like to remind me, you’re on a tight deadline. It’ll work. But first we have to go inside that party and pull off step one.”
“I think this is step two.” Her eyes met mine. “And call it by its name.”
“Why?”
“Because it’ll make me feel better.” She sunk her teeth into her bottom lip. “Please?” How could I possibly say no to her sweet features and that pleading look that said she really needed this.
I sighed, drawing it out, because I might be the sucker in this situation, but it didn’t mean I’d completely own it. “Operation Prom Date is officially go for launch. Once this mission is complete, we’ll report to home base for further instructions.”
A smile spread across her face and she tightened her grip on my hand. “Okay. Now I’m ready.”
Chapter Eleven
Kate
By now, Cooper most likely considered me certifiable, but he went along with it. I’m not sure why it was more reassuring to hear “Operation Prom Date” coming from his lips. Probably because he had a nice voice, deep and a bit husky. Plus, “crazy mission thing” made me feel crazy, which hampered the confidence I would need to play the role of friend who imbibed in ambiguous levels of benefits with one of her guy friends.
In fact, in the past week, Cooper had somehow become my closest friend. Maybe that was sad, but sad seemed like the wrong word to use when it came to spending time with Cooper. A good jump-start to trying to make friends once I hit college, maybe?
As if he knew I needed it, Cooper gave my hand an extra squeeze as we walked into the party.
But then he dropped it.
Holding hands was too possessive, apparently. Still, I missed the lifeline immediately, my nerves replacing the calm I’d possessed for a whole minute or so.
“Hey, Coop,” someone said, and Cooper reached out and fist bumped him.
The noise of the party overwhelmed me, so many conversations going on at once. Music blared through the room, too, the bass line vibrating the frames on the wall and working its way under my skin, until my heart beat in time with it.
Within minutes, it was clear that Cooper knew everyone.
And that everyone didn’t know me. I received a lot of blank looks with a few occasional finger points as they worked to remember my name or why I looked familiar.
“This is Kate,” Cooper said, draping his arm over my shoulders.
“Oh yeah,” Kevin Miller said. “We had Spanish class together last semester, right?”
Wrong. But saying so seemed rude—not to mention on the uptight side of the scale—so I gave a noncommittal shrug.
Gradually we made our way through the party, room by room. There were lots of familiar faces, but honestly, I didn’t remember how I knew them or all of their names, so I told myself it was fine they didn’t know who I was.
“I’m guessing this is my replacement?” a guy from our left asked, his brown eyes on me. He had tawny skin, dark hair that looked like it might be curly if he’d let it grow out, and an open and warm grin. I noticed the splinted wrist and put two and two together—because math was my thing.
“Jaden, this is Kate, your temporary replacement,” Cooper said. “Kate, Jaden Kelekolio, the guy who gets drunk and falls out of trees like a dumbass.”
“Hey, it was a graceful fall, thank-you-very-much. At least a nine, nine point two.” Jaden extended his left hand and I fumbled to shake it, the opposite hand thing throwing me off for a second.
“Keleko-what?” I worried I’d butcher it if I didn’t put it in my memory for good—and still might no matter how hard I tried—and suddenly I understood why he was one of the few dudes Cooper referred to by first name.
“Kelekolio. It’s Polynesian, and I’ve found very few people can pronounce it, so don’t worry, there won’t be a quiz later. Jaden works, or some of my teammates call me JK, so I respond to that as well.” A group of people pushed past, and Jaden curled his injured arm tighter to his body as he scooted closer to me. “So, Kate, I just have to ask…does Callihan get all scary intense with you on the water, too?”
I mirrored his conspiratorial posture. “Only every second we’re out there. I thought it was because I was a beginner, and that I must just be royally screwing up on everything.”
“Nah, he’s always like that when it comes to rowing. You should’ve seen him in our eight-man team.”
Cooper frowned. “Hey. I’m not that bad. I tell you guys good job, too.”
“Must’ve been when I was too delirious and exhausted to hear it,” I said, and Jaden snorted a laugh.
Cooper’s frown deepened, and I nudged him with my elbow. “It’s okay. I think I speak for Jaden when I say we’re just honored to be in the presence of such rowing greatness.” I put my hand on my heart, over-the-top dramatic, and sighed.
“Watch it,” Cooper said, and he poked me in the side, making me jerk as a squeal escaped my lips. He turned to Jaden. “Maybe you can come out with us sometime? Give newbie here a few tips as we drag your dead weight around? Even if some of them include how to deal with me.”
“Sure thing, man.”
A gorgeous girl with big brown eyes, long wavy black hair, and an hourglass figure I couldn’t help envy a little bit, walked up to Jaden. Their features were similar enough that I guessed they were related, but didn’t say so in case they were dating—making things awkward was a specialty of mine, but I was trying to give it up.
“Can we go already?” she asked.
“Kate, meet Alana, my twin sister who’s so serious that I worried she’d forgotten how to have fun, so I had to talk her into coming, mostly because driving one handed is trickier than it sounds. Clearly, though, I was right about her penchant for misery—she’s even farther gone than I thought.” He put his hand on her forehead, and she slapped it away as he laughed.
She turned to me and gave me a warm smile. “Hello, Kate. Usually I’m nicer—” Jaden snorted and she glared daggers at him. “But this isn’t my scene, and I’m over it.”
“I get that,” I said. “It’s not usually my scene, either. I’m trying something new.”
Jaden eyed her, his expression saying See? Try it out.
She stumbled forward as someone bumped into her from behind. She spun around and glared at the bad boy of the football team, Vance Mitchell, a junior with long hair and a longer rap sheet fro
m what I heard. “Excuse you.”
“Sorry,” he slurred. “These guys…” He got distracted with blatantly checking Alana out, and dawning crossed his features. “Hey, you’re my new neighbor. Why don’t I get you a drink and welcome you properly?”
“I have a boyfriend.”
“I have a goldfish,” he said, and all of us looked at him like he might be crazy—clearly he and alcohol didn’t mix so well. But then a huge grin spread across his face. “Oh. I thought we were talking about stuff that didn’t really matter.”
She shook her head and turned back to Jaden. “I’m going home.” She clamped on to his uninjured arm. “And since you’re all incapacitated, you’re coming with me.”
With a sigh, Jaden started after her. “Catch you later, Coop. Kate.”
Cooper nodded and nudged me toward the kitchen. “Okay, time to get this mission back on track.” When we reached the keg, he poured me a cup. Then he leaned close, his hand going to my lower back. “You don’t have to drink it, but at least hold it and take an occasional sip.”
I peered up at him. Of course I knew he was tall, but with his body almost pressed against me, I had to crane my neck even more. “And if I do want to drink?”
“Go for it. I’ll stay sober and cut you off before you get drunk enough to do something stupid.”
“Oh, if you want to see impressive, I can make a fool of myself completely sober.”
A smile curved Cooper’s lips and his dimples showed up full-force. He brushed the section of hair that’d fallen over my left eye off my face and tucked it behind my ear.
Time froze while my heart jolted into motion. I’d seen the gesture countless times in TV shows and movies, and while it always gave me butterflies, experiencing it first-hand made them a hundred times more intense.
His fingers spread on my back and he pressed me closer. His lips lowered to my ear, and his warm breath skated across my neck. “Mick’s nearby. Now might be a good time to giggle like I said something funny and attract a bit of attention.”
Sure. If my brain could catch up and overtake the hazy sensation that Cooper’s touch had brought on. I’d like to blame it on the alcohol, but I hadn’t had so much as a sip.
I leaned into him, careful not to crush the cup between us, and ran a finger down his chest. “Can’t you just say something funny, so my giggle doesn’t come out fake sounding?” I whispered.
“Why’d the chicken cross the road?”
I grinned up at him, grateful he played along so easily. “I don’t know.”
“I don’t know, either. You’re the one who asked for a joke on the spot.”
I laughed, and it came out louder than I expected, but completely genuine. That made Cooper laugh, and that made me laugh even harder. With that victory coursing through me, I scanned the room for Mick.
He was actually looking my way, a puzzled expression on his face. And I wasn’t sure where it came from, but I winked at him.
His eyebrows arched, and I flashed him a coy smile. Then I turned back to Cooper, needing him to tell me what move to make next before I lost all the ground I’d gained.
Cooper slid his arm around my waist, hooking his hand on my hip, and slowly turned us so we were both facing Mick. He gave him the nod, that casual guy gesture I could never pull off. “Hey, man.”
“’Sup, Callihan. You getting ready for the Spring Festival Boat Race? I know I am.”
Cooper tensed but he hid it well—if I weren’t plastered against his body, I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell. “I’m more focused on keeping up my training for college. You know how it is.”
“I do,” Mick said, that sexy smirk on his face. Then his attention moved to me, and my heart skipped a beat. “Hey, Kate. I don’t usually see you at these parties.”
O-M-G, he knows my name! I’ll just die happy right now and call it good.
“She’s usually at the Manchester parties,” Cooper filled in, most likely when he realized I’d become incapable of speech. “I finally convinced her to come to this one with me.” He jostled me, which I took to mean, say something so we can cross off your damn “talk to Mick” bullet point.
“What can I say? Those Manchester peeps throw some good parties.” Did my voice come out casual and cool? Or did I ruin it by throwing in the word “peeps”? Don’t think about that, or you’ll definitely ruin it. “I hear the ones up at the University of New Hampshire are pretty fun, so I’ve been meaning to drive up to Concord and check them out. Isn’t that one of the places where you might play football?”
His eyes lit up. “They offered me a spot, yeah. I might have to hit you up for your thoughts on going there versus the other universities I’m looking at. The coaches are all on me for a decision. It’s a lot of pressure, and I don’t want to choose wrong.”
I nodded, and then I nodded some more. He knows my name. He wants my thoughts on UNH. I can totally do tons of research, and then I’ll have the perfect conversation starter.
As long as he doesn’t expect me to talk about it tonight.
Holy crap, what if he wants to talk about it tonight? I’m so unprepared.
Cooper curled me to him. “Need another refill?”
“I think I’ve got a little more left in this one.” I lifted the drink I hadn’t touched yet to my lips. It took everything in me to not show how disgusting I found it. I couldn’t believe people were downing this nasty beer like it was soda.
Silence crept into the air, the conversation stilting as I struggled to come up with something more to say.
Cooper slipped his hand into my back pocket. Shock and a zing of awareness shot through me. I was pretty sure some offense should be mixed in there, too, because hello, his hand was on my butt! “Catch you later, man,” he said.
“Yeah.” Mick’s blue, blue eyes moved to me. “Later, Kate.”
“For sure.” I added a weird finger wave that I meant to be flirty but was fairly certain came across as creepy. I supposed it’d be greedy to ask for more than five minutes of normalcy.
“Sorry for the ass grab,” Cooper said as soon as we stepped into the living room, where people were getting louder and sloppier by the second. “He was just staring, and you seemed to be stuck on what to say, and I…I just reacted.”
“Oh. It’s…fine. I’m casual, cool Kate, remember?” I bumped my shoulder into his since he looked a bit worried. “I mean, I’m a little concerned that your knee-jerk reaction is ass grabbing. I’m guessing you’re either very popular or very unpopular with your rowing teammates.”
A crooked grin spread across his face. “Depends on the teammate.”
“So now we…?”
Cooper glanced around. A guy was currently standing on the coffee table, waving his cup around as he talked. Beer sloshed onto the floor, and he was one wrong move from falling, but no one seemed very concerned, including Cooper. Apparently this kind of thing happened all the time. How dare those imaginary parties with Manchester peeps leave me so unprepared!
“Circulate a bit,” Cooper said, “make sure you’re in Pecker’s orbit at least one more time—although this time, barely acknowledge him. After that, we’ll make our exit, leaving everyone to wonder will they or won’t they.”
Wow. It was one thing to talk about having all of our classmates speculating on the status of our hooking up, but being here now, with several of them looking at us with inquisitive glances, made it super real.
I returned my attention to Cooper and swallowed. I was already pretty deep into this whole facade. What was a little more pretending?
Chapter Twelve
Cooper
I don’t know what I was thinking slipping my hand into Kate’s back pocket like that. Despite doing my best to not totally cop a feel while I pulled off the fake move, the way it’d curved nicely against my palm remained burned in my memory. Even more disturbing, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I liked being able to pull her to me under the pretense of creating her carefree image.
>
I wound my arm around her and pulled her back against my chest as Dexter, one of the guys from the AV club, went on and on about his new drone. He wanted to fly it around the lake and thought it’d be cool to do so while I was rowing my boat through the water, and it wasn’t so much that I wasn’t interested, as that my attention kept getting drawn back to Kate. I swear, every guy in the near vicinity was suddenly looking at her with interest, and while I promised I wouldn’t do anything too possessive, I wanted to claim her as mine, so they’d stop checking her out.
Because she was my friend, and if all these other guys asked her out, she’d be too busy to spend time with me. For the deal we’d made. That was it.
Her intoxicating perfume filled my senses and she wrapped her hand around my arm, holding it against her. Our little performance seemed so innocent when I proposed it; now it was taking on a new life, and my body kept forgetting it was all an act.
I needed to calm down my thoughts, too, or Kate would notice and everyone would see, and this would turn awkward quickly.
“Ugh, when did that happen?” The shrill voice caused me to twist my head. Paris, Amber, and the rest of their crew stared at me and Kate, and to say they didn’t look happy about how close we were was an understatement.
Kate’s attention turned to them, too, the easygoing vibe I’d finally helped her reach fading.
Why do they care? Paris and I shared a physics class together, and admittedly, things had been on the flirty side all semester, but besides one party two months ago where we kissed a little, nothing else happened. She was too shallow for anything long-term, the kind of girl who bounced from guy to guy as the wind changed. I used to be friends with Amber, mostly because our houses were right next to each other, but we hadn’t exchanged more than the basic minimum all year. To be fair, she looked more surprised than angry like the rest of them, and part of me thought there might even be a hint of…regret?
Kate spun in my arms, bringing us chest to chest. Well, her chest hit more my upper stomach, something I was going to pretend I didn’t notice. I was getting hella good at this whole pretend thing. “I told you she hates me,” she said.