She still couldn't believe he cheated on her, but with Michelle? The woman slept with every walking being with the right parts between their legs. More than one marriage had been broken through her shenanigans, and now another relationship.
Only two shots of vodka later and she felt ready to face Cooper, Ryan, and her brothers without bursting into tears. She’d never been a crying drunk, so it worked out well. She climbed down from the tree-house and grabbed the ladder once her feet hit the moving ground. It also didn't take much to get her tipsy.
Even though his house wasn't far, she opted to leave her jeep by the tree house. She texted Ryan that she was on her way to Cooper's and kept walking toward his house. Tires on gravel sounded behind her and she turned to see Nick driving the golf-cart toward her with Jacob in front and Ryan sitting on the back.
Nick slammed on the brakes with a big smile until his gaze landed on the bottle of Vodka in her hand. "What the hell happened?"
They all jumped from the cart and searched her over. Jacob walked her toward the cart. "We'll take you home and then we'll go kill him."
"No! It's nothing. I want to go with y'all to Cooper's and just forget about it. Really, I'm fine." She so wasn't going there with them. There was the slightest chance she'd keep it from Ryan as well. Tonight needed to be about forgetting.
They glanced at each other before nodding. "Fine, but as soon as you're over this mood of yours, you need to tell us what happened so we can kill him."
She shook her head and laughed. "I'm fine. Let's get going."
Jacob jumped onto the back of the cart with Ryan as Nick took his seat behind the wheel beside her. Cooper's house stood only a half-mile from theirs and she shook at the thought of seeing him. She didn't have a boyfriend anymore and if she didn't have the alcohol already in the system, her nerves would be shot.
Now that she could have something with Cooper, it scared her even more. She didn't want to go through the pain of losing him again.
Her body jolted, forcing her to grab onto the dashboard of the golf-cart. "Sheesh!"
Nick flushed a little. "Sorry."
"I should've driven." Jacob punched Nick's shoulder.
She ignored them as the white two story house came in sight. Over the years, she'd walked to the house and let the memories take her to another time. It hurt, but she always tried to remember the good times she'd had there. Now she was back. And so was Cooper.
Chapter Ten
Cooper was anxious for them to come over. He'd already found out Sophia probably wasn't coming and it hurt, but he still couldn't wait to hang out at the pit like old times. He took a quick shower and threw on a clean pair of jeans, black t-shirt, and one of his favorite plaid shirts.
After rolling up the sleeves, he ran downstairs, grabbed a beer and was about to sit down when he heard someone coming up the drive. When he glanced out the window, he froze. The golf-cart headed his way and it wasn't the twins or Ryan in the back that caught his attention.
Sophia. She had changed her mind—and he was ready for her. Her face wasn’t clearly visible, but from what he saw she seemed flushed and had been crying. He was going to kill whoever put tears in her eyes.
Then all thoughts disappeared when she stepped from the cart. He stood there with his mouth dropped open and he swore drool actually slid down his chin.
He had to adjust himself in the tight jeans. Maybe he should let them come in before the brothers noticed his situation. Instead, he walked to the door, and met them outside.
The thin dress she wore had flowers and other stuff, but all he noticed was the way her breasts were pushed high and showed just enough to make him bite his tongue. Even with her dress, she wore those sexy as hell boots.
He closed his eyes for a second to remind himself that she was in a relationship and that her brothers were there. Another truck pulled up and he ignored it and the others. Once he had more control, he made his way down the steps to hug the woman he was way too damn attracted to.
Why? He really had no clue. Her brothers were there and if they didn't already know how he felt about her, then he wasn't helping the situation. Surprisingly, she didn't shove him away.
"Baby Bear, you've been crying." It was the wrong thing to say.
She pulled away and just shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."
One way or another, he'd get it out of her. He stepped away to give her room to breathe and walked over to Jacob and Nick. When Sophia walked up the stairs with Ryan, he spoke softly to her brothers. "What happened and do we have plans to kill someone?"
Jacob shook his head. "I'm all for it, but she won't tell us what happened. For all I know, she broke it off with Seth or maybe they're just fighting."
It shouldn't have caused a wave of happiness to flow through him, yet he stood there trying to keep the smile from his face. She was meant to be his and now he had his chance to prove it.
****
She wanted to blurt out to Cooper what had happened, but forced the words to stay put. There was no reason to tell him if she wasn't willing to tell anyone else. Getting hurt again was not on her future list and she’d obviously been wrong about how he saw her. Why else would he call her Baby Bear—a name her brothers called her? To hear it out of his mouth just reminded her of them.
Damn the man for managing to be even sexier than he did the last two times she'd seen him. Well, there wasn't much better than seeing him in only boxers. The jeans he wore didn't have as many holes in them, but they were light and fit just tight enough for her to notice the thickness of his thighs. Then she risked a glance when he was speaking to her brothers and damn. That man had a very nice ass and she never thought about men's butts.
The blue plaid shirt with some shading of black and white brought out his blue eyes even more than usual. She couldn't help but wish he'd left the shirt off and just showed bare skin. Man, she had become a pervert since he arrived in town.
She peered down at the floral dress she still wore and winced. She'd managed to tear a hole in it when she climbed into the tree house and it wasn't as clean anymore. Cooper was so handsome, and she didn't feel quite so attractive compared to him. All she could see him with was tall, skinny, and perfectly proportioned models. She didn't hate herself, but she definitely didn't feel like a model.
The alcohol in her system was wearing off way too fast. She thought she could handle seeing him and for some reason, she also thought she could resist. Idiot.
She closed her eyes and took a breath. The warmth lingered from his hands holding her hips. The thin material of her dress didn’t make much of a barrier from his touch.
"Are you sure you want to be here?" Ryan's higher pitched voice sounded beside her as he snaked his arm around her shoulder. "Are you going to tell me what happened at Seth's?"
She couldn't help but compare his voice to Cooper's deep take me now voice.
"No. So, how about those drinks?" Sophia interrupted the reunion and started for one of the bags in Mike's hands. Not giving them time to react, she grabbed something she would drink from his bag—the Vodka from the golf-cart—and then headed inside.
The house smelled like Cooper. All male. The cleaning chemicals didn't take away from his addicting smell. She should've just gone home. His house hadn't changed a bit from the refrigerator down to the beige tiles.
A few boxes were packed up here and there, but the same look and feel of seven years prior had been retained. The folded blanket on the couch with a pillow on top told her that he hadn't made it to the upstairs yet.
She loved the house and unfortunately, she still loved him. As for Seth—their relationship felt comfortable and…safe. How wrong she had been. Of course it was easier to keep from falling too fast for Seth, but with Cooper she couldn't prevent it. That problem started way too long ago and she saw no way of correcting it.
The orange flavor of one of the drinks didn't do much to tone down the vodka in it. She didn't care either way. The burn meant it would hopef
ully numb her from the pain she felt. It still wasn't as bad as the vodka straight.
"Slow down, Sophia. You're going to get wasted before we even pop the tops on ours." Mike nodded toward her bottle.
She gasped when she realized it was nearly empty. "It's not my fault you can't keep up with me."
"Oh, we'll see who can keep up. I've brought the good stuff, Crown and Coke." He pulled out two bottles from their purple bags.
Sophia rolled her eyes and grabbed her own Vodka. "I think I'm good."
"Why do you have that anyways? You've never liked the stuff in the past," Jacob chimed in.
"I don't want to talk about it." She bit her lip and prayed they didn't pry. Not yet.
Cooper walked into the room and all thoughts left her as her attention was drawn to him. With his cap gone, she had to fist her hands to keep from reaching out and running a hand through his messy brown hair. The disheveled look drove her insane. How awful was it that the man's hair turned her on? She forced herself to turn away and then fixed herself a little Vodka in a cup. Maybe a little much for a shot but she didn't care.
All eyes switched to her. Some narrowed and some widened.
"What are you doing?" It was Mike who spoke but the others probably wondered the same thing.
"A shot. What does it look like I'm doing?"
"You never drink anything other than your fruity drinks. You can't handle a shot of Vodka." Mike grabbed a red solo cup from one of the bags and then the Crown.
"I've already had two shots before Nick, Jacob, and Ryan picked me up." She smiled innocently at them all and winked at Ryan.
Mike laughed as if she was joking.
"She's not lying. I saw the bottle was already opened and a little low." Nick nodded.
Please don't ask why I was drinking. She wouldn't be able to handle answering them. Luckily they all seemed to know she didn't want to talk and moved on to chatting with each other. She put the cup to her mouth and chugged it. The liquid burned on its way down. She savored the feeling and couldn't wait for it to start working its magic on her once again. The courage she had from the two shots she'd done earlier had already disappeared.
Ryan put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "You knew you couldn't keep up with us men, so you decided to start before us, is that it?"
She smiled at him. He was the greatest friend and knew she wasn't ready to tell anyone what happened at Seth's. "Yep, that's exactly right."
From the way Jacob's gaze narrowed on her, she expected he'd be talking to her later about what happened.
"I have a feeling I'll need to kick some ass after shift tomorrow." Mike took a swig of his drink.
Great. She hadn't thought about Seth working with Mike at the fire station. That's what she got for getting involved with one of his coworkers. She couldn't do that ever again. Of course, Cooper was definitely off limits since he was best friends with all three of her brothers.
"Hey, let's build a fire out back," Jacob said as he started out the door and the others followed close behind.
She forced herself to peek up when she felt his eyes on her and found those gorgeous baby blues watching her. The focus he had on her didn't seem to falter even after she caught him. What was he staring at?
"Cooper? A fire okay?" Jacob slapped him on the back and his gaze finally left hers.
"Sounds great." Cooper left the kitchen out the back door.
Sophia followed them. She loved hanging out with her brothers and even Cooper, but she really needed to find a man who didn't cheat, was emotionally available, not a friend of her brothers, and straight. Was that too much to ask?
Chapter Eleven
Cooper took a step away from the raging fire and tried his best to keep his eyes off Sophia. That became impossible when she started to dance to the music blaring over the radio, looking drunk and vulnerable with whatever happened between her and her boyfriend. Maybe if he kept repeating that to himself, then his mind would get away from the dirty thoughts.
Hard to do, when her dress hiked up way too short, showing smooth legs and round breasts about to spill out. He loved the way her short hair framed her face more than anything. And those deep blue eyes held him in a trance when she would finally look at him. Not that she acted aware of the fire she stoked in him—much larger than the one inside the pit.
Her hips swayed as she grabbed Ryan. The man was gay. Cooper was pretty sure anyways, but it didn't stop the strong need to stomp over there and pull her away from the guy. He would much rather have her rubbing against him the way she did with Ryan.
They stopped dancing and Ryan grabbed her hand before walking over to where he stood beside the others. He reached for another beer and focused on Cooper. "So, I saw a guitar sitting by the couch. Do you play?"
"Umm…." Sophia seemed interested to know, too. "I do. I've actually been performing for a while."
"Performing? Like in a band?" Sophia leaned forward and nearly fell on him.
Ryan caught her before she did.
Too bad.
"I play on my own most of the time. Every once in a while I get together with a couple guys and we play together back in Texas." He didn't know why it scared the shit out of him for them to know he was trying to become a country singer. Maybe the thought of failing… It's easier to fail without having anyone to feel sorry for you. "It's not a big deal."
"Play for us!" Nick yelled and then toppled toward the fire but managed to stop himself. "I'm going to sit on this log while you do that."
Jacob just shook his head at his drunk twin. "You should definitely just sit there, before Mike has to doctor you up because you fell into the fire."
"So, you gonna play?" Ryan asked.
"I don't really feel—"
"I want to hear you."
Those eyes of hers lit up with the firelight flickering over her face and he couldn't deny it. He couldn't tell her no. "Okay, I'll play."
He kicked himself on the way back into the house. What would she think of him playing? If she didn't like it, then he was screwed. God, he'd never been more scared to perform than he was right then. He grabbed the guitar and walked back outside where they'd all found a seat around the fire.
Sophia sat on her own and left the only empty spot right beside her. She straddled the log and he couldn't believe she wasn't showing more skin than she was. A shame, really. Both hands rested in front of her as she watched him come toward her. She seemed excited to hear him play.
The small smile on her lips and the impatience in the way she moved her fingers made up his mind about what to play. Her song. The one he'd been working on since he came back home.
Sophia just sat there biting her lip as his voice and the chords to his guitar filled the silence of his small audience. No one else really mattered right then, but her.
When he finished, she stood and walked back over to the radio. He really had no clue what to think other than she didn't like it.
Ryan followed her and they started dancing together again.
Talk about smack in the face.
Jacob slapped him on the shoulder just a little harder than a pat from a friend. "I'm not stupid and I know you have feelings for my little sister. I'm also sure Mike and Nick picked up on it too. So I'd suggest you be careful."
Threats didn't work well on Cooper. "I could take you and them, too. No matter what, I won't hurt Sophia again. I swear."
"Good." He spoke a little louder. "I'm heading home then. Got a big project to work on tomorrow."
"Have fun with that. Not that I can say much. I'll be up first thing working on the house." Cooper faked a laugh as he kept his gaze from going back to Sophia.
"If I get any free time, I'll be over to help. Don't let these two, because they wouldn't know what to do with a hammer." Jacob walked over to Sophia.
Nick snorted and Mike shrugged his shoulders. Both didn't seem too amused and not by Jacob's comment.
He turned to see Sophia kiss her brother's cheek and shaking her
head. He must've asked if she wanted to leave. Cooper didn't want her to go yet. That didn't mean she shouldn't.
"I think I'm going home, too. Big fire today is really taking its toll. Nick, you coming with us?" Mike headed inside the house and Cooper followed.
"Yeah, let me take a piss first. I doubt I'd make the ride." Nick moved off to the other side of the house. "I'll meet y'all at the cart."
Cooper waved them off and then went for his stash. The Jose bottle hadn't been opened yet and he felt like it would be the best time. Jose tended to knock him out and if he didn't fall asleep fast enough, then he had a bad feeling he'd try something stupid with Sophia. It wasn't time to beg for her to forgive him. He wasn't even sure if she was still with that guy.
Luckily, she had Ryan to keep him from making a move.
The door creaked and Ryan stumbled through. "Is it alright if I crash on your couch tonight? Or just rest until Sophia is ready to head back."
Cooper could see Ryan's eyes cross. No way in hell was he letting either of them drive. "Wait, neither of you have a vehicle."
"Mike left his keys here." Ryan headed toward the couch.
"Don't worry about it. You can both crash here tonight."
Yep, that was smart. The perfect way to keep Sophia at bay. Just have her sleep in your house, drunk, and with the hottest little dress on.
He poured a shot and took in the burn as it seemed to creep down his throat. One more shot, a quick adjustment of the uncomfortable bulge between his legs, and then he went back outside to put the fire out.
****
Sophia felt as if the ground moved beneath her feet. Then Cooper walked out and all of her attention switched to him. She managed to stay clear of him most of the night until he played that song. The song she knew was about her. After he finished singing, she could only walk away or she'd have jumped him with her brothers right there. Now, they had left and there was no missing how sexy he looked.
Lost Chances Page 6