by Joanna Wylde
“Did I do something to piss you off?” he asked bluntly. “Because I thought we were friendly, but all weekend you’ve been disappearing every time I try to talk to you.”
I had, actually, although I hadn’t realized I’d been doing it so obviously. (Creeping around and watching someone without talking to them is more complicated than it looks, especially in a town as small as this one.)
“No,” I said, startled into meeting his eyes. Ah crap. They were deep and brown and so rich they could’ve been made of chocolate. Danger! “Of course not. I really appreciate all the work you’ve been doing around here.”
“Well, I appreciate the job, not to mention the hospitality,” he said, offering a sexy smile. It transformed his face, and my womb quivered. Yeah, you read that right. My womb fucking quivered, because there’s really no other way to describe what this man did to me. This man who had a girlfriend, a girlfriend I knew all about because his bedroom wall and my bedroom wall were right next to each other. Sometimes his bed thumped against it while they had crazy monkey sex.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying your new place,” I managed to say.
“I am,” he replied. “Although I feel kind of sheepish, since you fixed me dinner and I never paid you back. Too bad I can’t cook for shit, but I’m picking up some Chinese tonight instead. Wanna share it with me? You can even bring your dad if you want.”
OMG he likes us! my quivering loins shrieked, making an end run around my common sense. Say yes. Yes!
“Sure,” I said quickly. Probably too quickly. “But my dad’s in bed. He wasn’t feeling good. I think it’s just a cold, but he gets tired easily these days.”
“I hope he feels better,” Cooper said. “I’ll go grab the food. Meet you at my place in about half an hour?”
“See you then.”
• • •
Never has a half hour flown by so quickly.
I told myself it was because Chinese sounded so good. That I’d had a long work week—the last thing I wanted to do was cook for myself. Not only that, I really needed to hit the grocery store, because there wasn’t much left in the house anyway.
My quivering womb called bullshit on this, emphatically pointing out that I hadn’t gotten laid for way too long and that it wasn’t like he was married.
“Come in!” Cooper called when I knocked at his door. I stepped inside hesitantly, looking around to see what he’d done with the place. There wasn’t much furniture, and what he did have seemed to be mostly of the thrift shop variety. He walked out of the little galley kitchen toward an old Formica table, which I noted had been set with mismatched plates.
“Guess what I didn’t get in the divorce,” he said lightly, offering a quirky smile.
“Furniture.”
“You nailed it,” he said. “But that’s okay—the kids need it more than I do, so I left everything with my ex. Want something to drink?”
“Water’s good.”
I sat down at the table, feeling awkward. My own home was so comfortable, and this just seemed . . . bleak.
“You should get some plants or something.”
He laughed, reaching forward to open a steaming container.
“I’d probably kill them,” he admitted. “Not really a plant kind of guy. This is mostly just a place to sleep and shower while I start over again.”
I frowned, wondering what I’d do when he left. Unrequited lust aside, I had a lot more unfinished projects. “When do you think you’ll hit the road again?”
He shrugged.
“Really just depends. I’m figuring things out on the legal front right now. Taking some time for myself. I’ve done well enough that I’m not too worried about money, at least not for a while, but if I leave the area, my ex might try to pull something, you know?”
“So you’re in limbo,” I said, spooning some broccoli beef out onto my plate.
“Yeah, you could say that. Watching and waiting.”
“I know how that feels, actually. When Mom died last winter, it was sudden. She was always so healthy and strong, and she was only in her sixties. Then I got a phone call that she’d slid off the road one night. It wasn’t even a bad accident, but I guess she hit her head exactly wrong and it was all over.”
Cooper didn’t say anything at first, and I looked up, expecting to see that old familiar look of pity. People never knew what to say, about my mom or the baby. There wasn’t a hint of pity in his face, though. I couldn’t read his expression, but he didn’t feel sorry for me, and that was better than I could’ve hoped for.
“Sorry to hear that,” he said quietly. I shrugged.
“It is what it is. I was only planning on staying for a week or two, but then I realized things weren’t right with Dad. I can’t leave him on his own, but I can’t see putting him in a home, either.”
“So you moved back to Hallies Falls to take care of him.”
How to answer that? I wasn’t sure I knew the answer myself.
“I haven’t decided yet,” I admitted. Cooper raised a brow.
“You already relocated your business and took over the apartment building. What’s left to decide?”
He was so matter-of-fact about it that I laughed.
“What?” he asked.
“Everyone dances around, but you just blurt things out, don’t you?”
“Call it like I see it.”
“I never planned to move back home permanently,” I told him. “And the the way I’m doing business right now is completely unsustainable. If I’m going to stay in Hallies Falls, I’ll need to put that commercial kitchen in the house—those aren’t cheap. The little one down at Mom’s store passes Department of Health standards, but it’s no good long term. Among other things, it’s not big enough for all my equipment.”
“That’s a big investment,” Cooper said, leaning back in his chair.
“Yes,” I admitted. “And it means a real commitment to the town, which was never my plan. At the same time, Dad is happy here. He’s not a danger to himself, at least not yet. Just confused. I can’t imagine taking him away from his home unless there’s no other choice—I think he’d be totally lost.”
“Tough situation,” Cooper said. “But it sounds like you’ve already made your decision.”
I cocked my head, startled. “How’s that?”
“You just said you can’t imagine taking him away,” he replied casually. “And I’ve seen the way you watch him. You love him and you want to take care of him more than you want to be in Seattle—otherwise you’d have left by now. Looks like you need to sell your old place and move forward.”
“But then I’ll be trapped here,” I said, my voice low. “It’s not easy being a single woman in this town. You wouldn’t believe how many small-minded assholes live here, and they just love to gossip about me.”
Cooper smirked. “So I’ve heard.”
I groaned, closing my eyes.
“So you know about that?”
“I heard you’re a cougar who likes to seduce college boys on the weekends,” he said, cocking his head at me. “Nobody’s actually come out and said it, but I get the impression you also drink their innocent blood to maintain your youth and beauty?”
I leaned my elbows on the table, rubbing my temples, wondering how my life had ever come to this. “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. It’s not flattering, but believe me, I’m not some cougar on the prowl.”
Cooper started laughing. Frowning, I flipped him off, which made him laugh louder.
“What’s so funny?”
“I know you’re not on the prowl,” he said. “I live next door to you, Tinker. You’re in bed by ten every night and haven’t gone on a single date since I moved in. Either you’re having a hell of a dry spell or you don’t get around nearly as much as they’d like to imagine. So tell me, where does the cougar rep come from?”
“It’s really embarrassing,” I admitted, pushing my plate to the side.
“The best stories us
ually are,” he said, grinning at me. “Tell me. I’ll even bribe you.”
He stood and walked over to the fridge, pulling out a giant, fancy cupcake balanced inside a domed plastic container. Carefully removing the cover, he set it in the center of the table.
“That thing’s huge,” I said, laughing.
“Yeah, women say that to me a lot,” he replied, deadpan.
“You’re terrible.”
“No, the general consensus is that I’m pretty good,” Cooper said, allowing his mouth to quirk. “See? That’s so lame I’m humiliated and ashamed of myself. Now you have no excuse not to share your story.”
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh at him.
“Confession is good for the soul,” he prodded.
“Okay,” I replied, wondering if I could really go through with it. But he’d hear it all sooner or later anyway. Almost everyone in town knew already. “You have to promise you won’t judge me.”
“You got it.”
“So I left my husband a year and a half ago,” I started. “It was a rough time. No need to get into details, but I’d fallen into a slump and just couldn’t seem to pick myself up again. Four months ago I got an invitation for a bachelorette party in Olympia for my friend Margarita. She was in high school with me and Carrie, and now she’s a professor down at Evergreen State.”
I paused, staring at the cupcake. Could I really tell him this?
“And?”
“All right, so Carrie and I drove down together, and a big group of us met up at the hotel for the party. Rented a suite and everything. It was almost like a high school reunion for me, because a lot of the guests were women I grew up with but hadn’t seen for years. We all moved away from town a long time ago, all except for Carrie, Heather Brinks—she’s Margarita’s cousin like ten times removed, but Margarita’s mom made us invite her anyway—and Maisy Braeburn, who invited herself along with Heather. They were bitches back then and they’re bitches now, and it never occurred to us that they’d actually show their faces. Anyway, that night everyone went dancing, and eventually we landed back at the hotel around three in the morning. Maisy was feeling sick, so she went back to her room while the rest of us gathered in the suite. That’s when the strippers showed up.”
Cooper smirked. I felt my cheeks start to heat up.
“They did their dancing thing, and we were all laughing and having a great time and there was one who kept hitting on me. Now, he was pretty to look at, but I felt sort of weird perving on him because he was probably twenty-one at most, you know? Barely legal. Not only that, he looked sort of familiar but I couldn’t quite place him. Then he invited me to do some body shots off him, and the next thing I knew we were back in one of the bedrooms and he was doing body shots off me and . . . Well, let’s just say we got real friendly real fast.”
He stared at me, obviously stunned. Shit, this was a huge mistake. He’s judging me and—
Then Cooper burst out laughing. Not hateful, mean laughter, but genuine amusement.
“Stop it!”
He laughed harder, holding up a hand.
“Calm down,” he finally said.
“I can’t believe I told you that,” I moaned, wondering if I could make a break for the door. I mean, the situation was so awkward already—was it even possible to make it worse?
Cooper shook his head, grinning at me. “So you fucked a stripper—they’re people, too, you know. There are uglier crimes.”
I groaned, rubbing my temples again. You started it, now finish it.
“It gets worse,” I admitted. “Maybe half an hour later, the room door bursts open and everyone comes trooping in looking for more booze. Carrie and I had hit a liquor store that afternoon, and the backup stash was in the bedroom, you know? Anyway, here I am buck naked on top of the guy and they’re all staring at me. Next thing I know, Heather whips out her phone and starts filming.”
Cooper’s eyes widened. “You have a sex tape floating around out there?”
“Yesss . . .” I admitted very quietly. “And that’s not all.”
“Jesus, and I thought it was funny before,” he said, shoulders shaking. I glared at him, but there wasn’t any judgment in his eyes, just honest laughter. “Hey, I don’t care that you have a sex tape. Human beings fuck, despite what some of these gossipy prudes around here want to admit. Why should you be ashamed of it?”
I just shook my head, because obviously Cooper and I had very different definitions of the word “shame.”
“Anyway, they’re all laughing at me and I’m humiliated and all that. The guy jumps up and tells them to leave. Then all of sudden I hear Maisy’s voice, and she is pissed—her aunt owns the Hungry Chicken downtown, it’s not far from my store. She starts screaming at me and I’m all confused and still drunk and then it suddenly falls together. The guy I slept with? He was her cousin, Jamie. He grew up in Hallies Falls until his folks got divorced and he moved to Spokane to live with his dad. I used to babysit him! Now he’s stripping to pay his way through college. I hadn’t seen him in years, and let me tell you—he’d grown up a lot during that time. None of us even recognized him! Not only that, Heather texted the damned video to half the town. I still don’t know how many people watched it or who has copies. Guess who isn’t welcome at the Hungry Chicken anymore?”
Cooper leaned back in his chair, raising a brow.
“You fucked up.”
“Yeah, I fucked up,” I agreed, seriously considering crawling under the table. “I had no idea, Cooper. None. I was drunk as hell and he kept coming on to me. Turns out he’s had a crush on me since he was just a kid or something. When he saw me at the party he decided to go for it. Maisy wasn’t there when he first showed up—she was drunk and puking back in her own room—and the rest of us didn’t recognize him. The rest is history. I’m the town whore who seduced the innocent kid I used to babysit. The only good thing is that the Braeburns managed to shut it down fast—I mean, people around here know everything, but so far as I can tell nobody uploaded it online or anything, so I guess I have that going for me. Oh, and Maisy was so pissed at Heather that she still won’t talk to her. The whole thing was beyond crazy.”
“What a fucking cunt,” Cooper said, shaking his head. “Who does that?”
“Apparently Heather Brinks,” I told him, my face on fire. “She’s hated me for years. Heather’s high school boyfriend dumped her and then asked me to the prom. I thought Carrie was going to kill her that night in Olympia. Even now she practically hisses and spits at her every time they run into each other. My dad was shocked, although I have to give him credit—he never judged me. We decided to ride it out, but now half of Hallies Falls thinks I’m the Whore of Satan. Can you see why I might not want to live here anymore?”
“Yeah, I can see it,” Cooper admitted. “But Tinker, if you think about it, you didn’t actually do anything wrong. I mean, you probably should’ve locked the door, but other than that, the kid’s a legal adult, right?”
“Of course,” I said. “And it wasn’t like I hired him to sleep with me. Things just happened . . .”
“And you were drunk,” he added. “Was the guy drunk, too?”
“Maybe a little buzzed,” I admitted. “But nowhere near as drunk as me.”
“So he saw his chance and went for it,” he continued, still smiling. “Can’t blame him—you’ve got a bangin’ body, Tinker. He knew what he wanted and took it. Not his fault his mom’s a bitch. You know, if a guy fucks a stripper for free, everyone thinks he’s a stud—why should this be any different? And why do you care what a bunch of small-minded cunts think anyway? Not like you lost any friendships that matter. You can’t tell me that Carrie and Darren give a flying fuck about any of this.”
It took me a minute to answer, because I was still hung up on the “bangin’ body” comment. Then I processed the rest of his words.
“Carrie said she was jealous,” I admitted. “Said she’d have done him in a heartbeat if it wasn’t for Darren. A
nd I think Darren just enjoyed how pissed off Maisy was. She’s been a bitch to all of us for years.”
Cooper smiled.
“So there you have it. If it makes you feel better, I’ve fucked all kinds of strippers. Managed a club for a couple years, actually, and if they play the game right, they make damned good money. And they’re real people, just like the rest of us—it’s not like you went down on a donkey. Hell, the kid got lucky. Gotta admire that kind of initiative on his part.”
I stared at him, trying to wrap my head around what he’d said.
“It really doesn’t bother you, does it?” I asked. Cooper shook his head.
“Nope, it really doesn’t bother me,” he replied, his eyes growing darker. “I’d have done the same damned thing in his place.”
Wait. Did I hear that right? Holy shit!
“Are you hitting on me?” I asked, unnerved. “Because I know you have a girlfriend. Just because I slept with a stripper doesn’t mean I’m a slut.”
He caught and held my gaze, dark eyes intense.
“I’m telling the truth,” he replied, his words slow and deliberate. “You’re smart and sexy and hot as hell, and if I was free I’d be all over that. But you’re right, I’ve got a girlfriend and I’m not looking to break up with her. Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a beautiful woman when I see her. Now, you want to eat that cupcake or not?”
CHAPTER SEVEN
GAGE
“Can you share some of the blanket with me?”
I reached for it as Tinker nodded, eyes glued to the TV. I’d convinced her to stay and watch a movie after dinner, which hadn’t been easy. Not sure I’d ever seen anyone turn as red as she did while she was telling her sex tape story.
Have to admit, it caught me off guard.
I’d heard rumors around town about her. Not that I’d paid much attention—backstabbing bitches flapping their mouths had never interested me. Hearing what she’d done, though . . . I was sort of impressed she’d gone for it, and more than a little jealous of the little fuckweasel, because he knew what that tight cunt of hers felt like and I could only imagine.