by Kaylee Ryan
“Maybe we can catch up, have dinner sometime.” He throws the offer out there.
“Yeah.” I smile. Hunter is an attractive guy. He’s got light brown hair and big blue eyes. He’s slender, yet you can tell he takes care of his body. He’s at least a couple of inches shorter than Cooper, but still taller than me. He seems like a really sweet guy. “That would be nice,” I add when I realize I’ve just been staring at him.
Daughtry’s “Start to Something Good” filters through the speakers. “Want to dance?” Hunter motions his head toward the dance floor.
I open my mouth to decline, but remember this is what I need to do. I need to branch out, spend time with people other than my core group of friends that are all moving on. I need to let a man other than Cooper have some of my time. “Sure.” I finish the last of my drink and slide off my stool.
“You know what, I’m not feeling so well. I think I’m going to head home,” Tessa says. She looks at Hunter. “Can you please make sure she gets home safe?”
“I’ll come with you,” I tell her, flashing Hunter an apologetic look.
“No,” she says quickly. “I’ll be fine. I’ll order an Uber and see you at home.” She leans in for a hug and whispers, “He might not be your forever, but you need this. Enjoy tonight, Reese.” With that, she’s gone.
My eyes follow her until she disappears. Then flash back to Hunter. “Shall we?” I ask, offering him my hand.
He takes it and leads me out on the dance floor. His hands settle on my waist as I slide mine behind his neck. We’re quiet as we sway back and forth and listen to the song. It gives me faith that there is someone out there for me. I just hope that I have room in my heart for someone else. Only time will tell.
Chapter 17
Cooper
When Nixon told me that he was going to the girls’ apartment to wait on them to get home, I was all in to tag along. It’s something that I wouldn’t have thought twice about before last night. However, here I am sitting on their couch, staring blindly at the TV, wondering if she’s going to be mad that I’m here. Normally, we’d hang out and then go to bed. Her bed. I would sleep next to her, and all would be good. Nothing sexual, just friends. We’ve shared a bed countless times, but tonight, I feel as though she might not want me here.
It’s not just that. How am I supposed to lie next to her and not touch her? Not kiss her? I don’t know that I can, and that scares me.
“My girl,” Nixon says, smiling at his phone.
“What?” I ask.
He looks up as if he just remembered I’ve been sitting here with him. “Tess is on her way home.”
I nod. Glad they’re not going to be out late. Two women on their own is dangerous late at night. Then his words register with me. “Just Tess?”
He cringes. “Yeah, I guess she didn’t want to be the third wheel.”
“Third wheel?” I’m aware I’m repeating everything he says, but I can’t seem to form words otherwise.
“That’s all I know, man.” He gives me a sympathetic look.
Fuck. I run my fingers through my hair. Tessa wouldn’t feel like a third wheel if it were another female in their group. Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees, my head bowed as I calm the fuck down. I can’t have her; she’s my best friend. I need to be happy for her.
“Coop?”
I look up to find Nixon watching me. “You good?”
“No.” My voice is gritty.
He nods. “Just tell her that you love her, man. Why put yourself through all this?”
“She’s my best friend.”
“You’re a fucking idiot, Reeves.”
I don’t reply because he’s right. My fear of losing her is causing me to be miserable with the possibility that another man gets to kiss her, hold her close at night, and be the most important person in her life. “We fooled around last night,” I blurt. “Just kissing and… touching, but she wanted more, fuck me, I wanted more, but I stopped us.”
“What?” The disbelief is evident in his voice.
“I can’t lose her, Nix. She’s been by my side for every major moment in my life. Sex complicates things, and if it didn’t work out, and I lost her…” I shake my head. “I couldn’t deal with that.”
“So you let the girl you’ve been in love with for years just walk into the arms of another man?”
Pain slices through my heart. “You don’t understand.”
“You’re right. I don’t understand.” He pauses before speaking again. His voice is calm, but his words pack a punch. “What I do understand is that you’re letting the fear of losing her control you. What you don’t understand is that things are going to change, Cooper. You’re moving to who knows where, and she’s going to be here. You can’t expect her not to have a life. She’s going to move on, and things are going to change with the two of you. Regardless of whether or not you confess how you feel about her or not.”
“No. Distance won’t change the connection we have.” I say the words and will them to be the truth. Our truth.
“I know you have good intentions, but long-distance is hard. Even if it’s just friendships.”
“I don’t have any other choice. I can’t ask her to come with me. That’s not fair to her.”
“Not as your best friend, but as the woman in your life, the love of your life, there’s nothing wrong with that. Tessa is coming with me.”
“You’re engaged.”
“You could be too. There are these things called jewelry stores.”
“Fuck you.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “Look at you, man. You’re a fucking mess.”
He’s right, and I don’t want Reese or hell, even Tessa to see me like this. “I need to go.”
“What? Why?”
“I can’t be here. What if she brings him home? I can’t…. I’ve gotta go. If Tessa can’t bring you home tomorrow, call me.” I stand and stalk toward the door.
“Running away isn’t going to solve the problem, Coop.”
“No, but that’s the best I’ve got right now.” With a wave, I disappear out the front door. In my Jeep, my chest heaves as if I’ve just run a marathon. I don’t like that she’s with a man I don’t know. What if he hurts her? “Fuck!” I scream, slamming my hands down on the steering wheel. “You fucked up, Reeves. That’s what you get for touching your best friend,” I say to myself. Grabbing my phone, I send her a text.
Me: Hey, you. If you need me, or a ride home, you know how to reach me.
I stare at the screen, waiting for the screen to show me that my message has been read. My eyes stay glued to the screen, and I have to keep tapping it to keep it from going into sleep mode. I can’t move from this spot until I know she’s safe, and that if she needs me, I’m there.
I’ll always be there.
I don’t know how long I sit in my Jeep, staring at my phone like it holds the answer to world peace. Finally, my message shows as read, and those three little bubbles bounce.
Reese: Thanks, Coop. Hunter is taking me home.
Hunter. Fuck. That’s the guy who was dancing with her at the party. The night we kissed. He’s had his sights set on her, and now he’s with her. He seems like an okay guy, but Reese deserves more than just okay. She deserves everything.
Me: Be safe, Reese.
Reese: Always.
That’s it. She doesn’t need me. I don’t know how I feel about that. I gave into temptation, and now she’s leaning on someone else. She doesn’t need me to pick her up because he’s with her. Someone who’s not me. Putting my Jeep in Drive, I pull out of the parking lot and point the it toward home. I’m in a daze most of the drive, imagining Reese and Hunter together.
When I pull into the driveway, the house is dark, which fits my mood perfectly. I don’t want to talk to anyone. I just want to be alone. I don’t bother with the lights and head straight for the stairs. In my room, I shut and lock the door and blindly make my way to my bed, falling face-first onto th
e mattress.
My bed smells like her.
Emotion wells in my throat at the thought of losing Reese in my life. I can already feel her slipping away. I knew better. I knew I shouldn’t have kissed her or touched her, but the temptation was too strong. Now, my careless actions may have lost me my best friend. I don’t know how to deal with that.
Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I scroll through my pictures. Ninety percent of them have her in them. Just like my memories. There are few that don’t have Reese in them with me. I knew leaving her would be hard, but it’s worse with this… divide I suddenly feel. Is it all in my head? Is it my regret that’s making me feel this way? Is it our new reality? Whatever it is, I don’t like this feeling.
My phone vibrates with a message from Reese. I fumble to click the icon and read her message.
Reese: Just got back to the apartment. I didn’t want you to worry. Night, Coop.
The agony roaring through my gut calms. I read her message three times before I reply.
Me: Thank you. Goodnight.
I want to say more, but I’m at a loss for words. I’ve never not had something to say when it comes to her. We talk about anything and everything, but it all suddenly feels different. We feel different. I told her that we had to stop before we couldn’t go back. What I didn’t realize was that we had already crossed that line.
It’s just after four, and I know her last class of the day just ended. I also know that she doesn’t have to work tonight. Normally, that would mean that I end up at her place, or she ends up at mine. Today I don’t know what to expect. I tossed and turned all night last night, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fall asleep. It was the early morning hours before I finally lost the battle to exhaustion.
My ass was dragging at the gym this morning, and it’s still dragging as I plop down on the couch next to Nixon. “You talked to Tessa?” I ask him.
“What kind of question is that? She’s my fiancée.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes. I’ve talked to the love of my life. Have you talked to yours?”
I give him a hard look, causing him to laugh. “What’s so funny?” Dustin asks with a bag of Doritos in his hands. He takes a seat on the loveseat across from us.
“Nothing.” Nixon sobers.
“What are we doing for food? Are the ladies coming over?”
“Tessa should be here around five,” Nixon says.
Dustin looks at me, and I shrug. I’m not sure if Reese is coming over or not, and I hate that just as much as I hate this distance I feel between us. My phone is already in my hand, so I hit her name and place it next to my ear.
“Hey.” She sounds happy and not at all upset about this weekend.
“Hi. Are you coming over with Tessa?” I get straight to the point.
“I was planning on it. Is that okay?”
“Yes,” I say quickly and way too loud. Dustin gives me a strange look, and Nixon smirks, keeping his eyes downcast at his phone. “I just wasn’t sure. I hadn’t talked to you today.”
“Yeah, we’re stopping at the store to get stuff to make spaghetti. Didn’t Nixon tell you?”
“No.” I turn to look at my ex-best friend. “Nixon didn’t tell me.” He shrugs and blows me a kiss. Bastard.
“We should be there around five. You need anything while we’re out?” she asks. That’s Reese always thinking of others.
Just to see you. “No, I’m good. I’ll see you soon.”
“Sounds good. Bye,” she says, and ends the call.
“What the hell, Nix? You knew she was coming and didn’t tell me.”
“Nope. It’s not my job to be the go-between with the two of you.”
“What did I miss?” Dustin asks.
“Nothing, just that the girls are making dinner. Spaghetti.”
“Yeah. Tessa asked me what sounded good. I told her if she stopped and picked everything up, I’d pay her, so cough up some cash.” He holds his hand out. I dig into my pocket, and so does Dustin to give him some cash.
“Trey and Hank are out for the night. I guess they met a couple of girls at the party, and they’re all getting together tonight,” Dustin tells us.
“He needs to be careful. You don’t know who you can trust, and some of the cleat chasers are like vultures wanting to sink their teeth into a pro career.”
“True dat,” Dustin says, shoving another Dorito into his mouth.
“So, you ready for the Combine?” Dustin asks us. He’s not declaring for the draft. He doesn’t love the game like we do. He likes it, and he’s a damn good player, but it’s not in his blood like Nixon’s, Hank’s, and mine.
We spend the next hour while we wait for Tessa and Reese to get here talking about the Combine and the upcoming draft. I’m nervous as hell but excited at the same time. This has always been my dream, and it’s so close that I can taste it.
When the front door opens, I stand to help, as do Nixon and Dustin. We take the bags from their hands. “Are there more?” I ask Reese.
She smiles up at me. Her green eyes are bright and don’t hold a single worry or regret. “Nope, this is it. However, you can help us with salad prep.” She hip checks me and laughs all the way to the kitchen.
“You got a little something…” Nixon taps at his chin. “That’s your best friend, you know?” he snarks.
“Damn right,” I say as I follow the path Reese just took to the kitchen. I do as I’m told and start dicing a tomato for the salad. The five of us talk and laugh, as we always have. Nothing seems off between us. Reese laughs and smiles. She sits next to me at dinner and swats at my hand when I try to steal her breadstick.
“Hands off, Reeves,” she says, swatting at me with her fork.
With each passing minute, my anxiety begins to fade, and we’re just us. Just Cooper and Reese, two best friends hanging out with a group of mutual friends. It’s exactly what I needed, and nothing like I was expecting. It gives me hope that nothing will ever change between the two of us. Not time, not distance, and not other people.
We will always be Cooper and Reese.
Chapter 18
Reese
“Do you have to go?” Hunter asks. We’re sitting in the theatre waiting for our movie to start. We’ve been casually seeing each other since girls’ night a few weeks ago. If you can call it girls’ night since Tessa bailed on me. We have dinner at least once a week, and this is the second time he’s brought me to the movies.
It’s been nice to have someone other than Cooper’s friends—well, I guess they are my friends too, but Hunter, I met him all on my own. Sure, it was at a party at the house, but still, he introduced himself, and then that night at the bar, he drove me home and asked for my number. Four days later, he called, asking me to dinner that weekend. I accepted. Cooper wasn’t impressed. He didn’t say a word, but his actions told me his true feelings. He’s never going to stop worrying and protecting me. That’s what best friends who think of you as a little sister do.
“Yes, I have to go. Cooper’s family. He’s been working toward this his entire life. My parents and his are going to be there too.”
“Does that interest you? Watching the Combine?”
“Yes.” I shrug. “I’ve always loved football.”
“I wasn’t sure if it was because Cooper played or if you shared the love for the sport.” He smiles, and it’s warm and inviting. He’s not jealous of Cooper; he really is just trying to understand me and my likes.
“I love it. I watched it with my dad growing up, even before we moved next door to Cooper and his parents. It was kind of our thing. When Cooper came into my life and I found out he played, I was excited. My dad taught me about the game, so it was something we had in common.”
“Did you ever play?” he asks.
“No. No way. I’m not that brave. Have you seen the size of those guys? Nope. I want no part of that. I was never a cheerleader either. Well, at least not on the sidelines. I prefer to watch a
nd cheer from the stands.”
“You know, I’d never been to a football game until college.”
“Really? Did your high school not have football?”
“Nope. We were a big basketball school.”
“Did you play?”
“Nah, I did go to the games, though.” He pops a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth as the lights go down, and the movie starts.
For the next two hours, we sit side by side, sharing a tub of popcorn with our eyes riveted to the big screen. It’s not uncomfortable. There are no awkward moments when we both reach for a handful of buttery goodness at the same time. But there’s also no spark, and I blame myself for that. Hunter is a great guy, but I’m still healing. The broken pieces of my heart are going to take some time to mend back together.
“Well, what did you think?” Hunter asks once we’re outside the theatre.
“It was really good. I thought for sure it was her dad who was the killer.”
“Really? I was thinking the brother,” he volleys back.
“We were both wrong.” I laugh.
He holds his arm out for me, and I slide mine into his as we walk to his car. It’s late February, and the weather is still cold out. Hunter walks me to the passenger door and opens it for me. Like the gentleman that he is, he waits for me to put on my seat belt before closing the door and rushing to the driver’s side.
“I’m ready for warm weather,” he says, rubbing his hands together once he’s in the car.
“I don’t know… I’ll miss my sweaters and boots.”
“There’s that.” He laughs.
Hunter is different from the group of guys I’m used to hanging out with. No doubt, any one of my friends would have made a comment about my ass in my jeans or leggings that I pair with my boots and sweaters. Not Hunter. No, instead, he gives me a kind smile.
“Where to next?”