Claiming Cooper

by A. F. Crowell

  “Ouch,” I squealed, sitting back. My hand flew to the back of my arm and rubbed, while I laughed. “That hurt.”

  “But you’re not dreaming.” He laughed, sliding even closer. His hips aligned with mine. Cooper bent down, his face hovering over mine. His breath, warm and minty fresh. “Be mine.”

  Before I had a chance for the weight of his words to fully envelope me, his lips crashed into mine as his arms wrapped around my shoulder and waist. His kiss was fervent and fiery. Wild and unbridled passion that had been locked away for years, screaming to be freed. The last song faded out as Make It Rain by Ed Sheeran came floating through the air. Raspy yet velvety, the song fit the moment. We were washing away the past.

  So lost in his sinuous lips, the pain in my side didn’t even register. All I could think about was the way his teeth bit and tugged on my bottom lip or how strongly his tongue swirled around mine. When he finally pulled away, my chest rose and fell dramatically as I tried to catch the breath that he stole.

  “Holy shit.” That man would be the death of me. I would gladly suffocate if it was in his kiss.

  “I may be your center of gravity, but you’re the gravity of my universe. I love you, Kinsley Elizabeth Allen. Say you love me too and I haven’t fucked up and lost you before I could have you.”

  “Cooper,” I breathed. Every fiber in my being screamed uncontrollably. “I do love you. I can’t remember a time that I didn’t love you but,” Cooper’s face fell, “be sure, Cooper, because I won’t be able to pick up the pieces if you break my heart again.”

  His handsome face smiled again. “I’m claiming you, baby. I’ll never let you go again.”

  Adrenaline surged through my body as I smiled widely. “Then I’m claiming you, Cooper.”

  I sat forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, finding his lips once more. His chest gently pushed me back, laying me down as he moved to lay down beside me. Carefully not to hurt myself, I turned on my side, so I could hold him closer to me. The once passionate, hurried kisses turned to intimate, slow kisses, learning and discovering each other.

  Rain started to fall lightly but we ignored it and continued until a loud, bright bolt of lightning cracked through the night sky, making me jump. “We should probably get inside before it starts raining harder.”

  “You’re probably right,” Cooper agreed, turning over and standing up. With his back to me, he adjusted his jeans then came around the wide lounger. Another loud crash of lightning lit up the sky as the rain picked up, extinguishing the candles around the pool. “Well, I guess I won’t have to come back out to blow them out.”

  The cool water in contrast to my hot skin made the rain feel thirty degrees colder than it probably was. I shivered as Cooper bent down and hoisted me up to his chest. “You know, I could get used to this.”

  He laughed. “What? Me carrying you around?” He started back to the house across the grass and down the hill to the driveway. The rain soaking him, dripped down his face, making him look even sexier.

  I grinned. “That too, but mostly just being in your arms.”

  “You feel good in my arms.” He bent his head down and kissed my nose.

  “What about the lights?” I noticed the lights were still on in the trees as I looked over his broad shoulder.

  “I’ll call Ash, he can get it on his way back in.”

  My forehead crinkled in response.

  Cooper’s lips curved. “You didn’t think I pulled all of that off by myself, did you?” We reached the covered front porch of the big house and were finally out of the rain. The button-up shirt stuck to his chest and back and accentuated all his tone, thick muscles.

  “I guess I didn’t really think about it.”

  “Ash helped me set it up while you and Anna were out today. I waited until you guys got home to start lighting all of the candles.” He pulled open the screen door, holding it with his foot as he maneuvered me through the doorway, back into the house.

  The last bit of apprehension I was holding onto fell away. We had Ash’s blessing.

  Cooper took me to Ashton’s room to change, placing me on the bed and grabbed a dry tank and a pair of clean running shorts from the pile on the dresser, and set them on the bed next to me. Giving me some privacy to change, he went to his room to do the same. I found my phone on the bedside table and sent a text to Anna.

  Me: I won’t be home tonight. It finally happened!

  Anna: I can’t wait to hear all about it. I’m so happy for you. Ash told me on the way back over here what Coop was planning.

  Setting the phone back on the bedside table, I looked in the mirror and the reflection staring back was the happiest me I had seen in a long time.

  When he returned a little while later wearing a plain black t-shirt that had the sleeves cut off and a pair of silky red basketball shorts, I was sitting on the side of Ash’s bed.

  “You wanna watch a movie or something,” he asked, tipping his head in the direction of his room.

  Looking down at my leg, it throbbed its discontent. “I need to take some pain meds. My leg is hurting.” I looked to the bedside table and saw the pill bottle. “I think it’s the weather messing with the screws and stuff in there.”

  “I’ll grab you a drink.” He spun on his heel and darted out of the room. He was back before I could even think about what would happen next.

  In all the time I had spent throwing myself at him, I never thought about what would happen if he ever reciprocated.

  “Here you go.” Cooper handed me a cold can of soda. “You wanna stay in here or go to my room?”

  What did I want? Part of me wanted nothing more than to go with him and get lost in his body; in his touch, but I wasn’t ready. Physically or emotionally. I opened the pills and threw one in my mouth, washing it down with a huge gulp of Pepsi.

  “I think we should talk,” I said, reaching over and placing the soda on the bedside table. Planting my hands on either side of my butt, I pressed down and slid my butt toward the headboard, giving Cooper room to sit.

  “Those are not the five words I wanna hear, Princess.” He sat down then turned slightly so his right leg was on the bed while his left hung down.

  “And what five words were you looking for Cooper?” I smiled, holding back a snicker. It probably wasn’t the best statement to make at that time.

  “Take me to bed, Cooper . . . those were the words I was looking for. Definitely not what you said. As a matter-of-fact, I hate that string of words together. They make my balls run and hide.” He placed his hand, palm down on the foot of the bed and leaned into it.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Your balls hide?”

  “Fuck yeah, they do. Especially when they feel like they’re gonna get kicked.”

  I laughed harder. “I’ve got one leg, babe. I can’t kick you.”

  “You know what I mean.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

  “I just wanted to talk for a minute. About . . . what we do now.”

  “That’s it? What we do now?”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged.

  “What we do now is go get in my bed, so I can fall asleep with you wrapped around me and tomorrow we figure out what’s next.” He pushed off the bed and stood in front of me with his hand out to me. “For tonight, just us. No words, no plans. Just your body against mine. Don’t overthink it.”

  Well, when you put it like that.

  Looking ahead, I watched as my hand reached out and took his offered hand. He pulled me up, so I was standing on one foot. He dipped down and scooped me up. My arm went around his neck and he carried me out of the bedroom. “If you get my crutches, I can walk on my own.”

  “Nah, you don’t need crutches, I got you.” We exited the bedroom, turning to get through the doorway.

  “Bathroom. I need to go in there first.” If we were going to sleep, I needed to brush my teeth, pee, and wash my makeup off my face.

  “You got five minutes,” Cooper told me setting me down on the toile
t lid.

  Well, I guess I’m sleeping here one more night.

  BEFORE I KNEW IT, A week had passed, and I had been sleeping in Cooper’s bed every night. I had not moved back into my place and we were still taking things a day at a time. I tried to quiet the whiny voice in my head that was begging me to finally go further than just making out and sleeping coiled around each other like a snake to its prey.

  Cooper returned to work on Monday, so I had been waking up alone. His scent still lingered hours after he had left for work. The whole room smelled like white tea and sandalwood with a salty hint of ocean air. I wanted to bottle that scent and take it with me everywhere.

  Yesterday, I went to the surgeon’s office for my leg and got rid of the stitches, ace bandages, and heavy splint. I traded it for big, hot, black brace that went from the middle of my thigh to my ankle, but I did not complain. I could take it off to shower or just scratch my leg. It was a step in the right direction.

  “Are you listening to me?” Mom asked from across the table.

  “Sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you say?” Dad, Mom, Anna, Ashton, and I were all sitting around the dinner table. Mom had made meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Ashton’s favorite.

  “I said, I hate to see Anna leave. I know you’ll miss her more than anyone though,” Mom repeated, pushing her fork through her slice of meatloaf then stabbed it.

  “I will definitely miss you,” I turned and said to Anna, next to me, “but I think someone else might miss you more.” I smiled and looked at Ash out of the corner of my eye, sitting at the foot of the table, opposite my father. “When do you think you’ll get back up this way?”

  “I’m not sure,” Anna replied as she lifted the last forkful of potatoes to her lips.

  “When do classes start back?” Dad asked, leaning back in his chair, sipping his wine. He was finished long before anyone else, like always. He had discarded his tie when he came home and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his cornflower blue shirt.

  “Not ’til the end of August.”

  “Which is why I think you should stay a couple more weeks,” Ash added, setting his fork down, finished with his meal.

  “I can’t live in Kins’ place all summer.” Anna took the napkin from her lap and blotted her mouth.

  In unison, Ashton and I both asked, “Why not?”

  “I don’t know . . . I just . . .” she shrugged, “I’ll feel like a freeloader, I guess.” Anna stood and started clearing her and Ash’s plates. “Fall semester starts in three weeks.”

  “Anna, honey, I’ve got this. Put the plates down,” Mom insisted, waving her hands. “You three go on. We know you don’t wanna hang out with us old folks.”

  “Speak for yourself, woman. I’m not old.” Dad laughed and playfully crossed his arms over his chest with a huff.

  “Go. Get outta here.” Mom stood and began to clear the table. Normally, I would be the one clearing the dishes and putting away the leftovers, so I felt bad watching everyone clean up while I sat.

  “Hey, Kins. You wanna go to Howard’s for happy hour?” Ashton pushed in his chair. “Just a beer or two. Ethan and Ryan are playing pool in league tonight. I told them I’d stop by.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ash. What if . . .” Anna started to say from the kitchen. She had ignored Mom and carried the dishes to the sink.

  “She’ll be fine. Cooper just text me and said he’d meet us there.” Ash knew he had me at Cooper.

  “I guess we could go for a drink or two.” I had already started thinking about what to wear. I would have Anna run up and grab something because I wasn’t ready to try the stairs. I trusted her to dress me in something appropriate but sexy. “Anna, could you run out to my place and find me something to wear, please?”

  “Oh, yeah. I love playing dress up Kinsley,” she cheered, rubbing her hands. As she did, an evil grin spread across her face and suddenly I was nervous.

  “I’m gonna run home and check on my mom. She said she’d feed tonight, but I wanna make sure she’s okay,” Ashton said, walking up to Anna and kissing the top of her head. “And don’t think I’m dropping the conversation from earlier. We’re gonna talk more about you staying,” Ash informed her as he exited the kitchen for the front door. “I’ll be back.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I said, standing up as Dad handed me the crutches. My underarms were almost as sick of those things as my hands were.

  Once I was alone with my parents, I cleared my throat. “So, I wanted to ask about the Jillian situation.” I had called my dad to fill him in the morning after Coop and Ash returned. I didn’t want my dad to waste his time, looking into who had sent the texts.

  “What about it?” Dad asked from his chair as my mom flitted around cleaning up from dinner.

  “I was wondering what’s gonna happen to her. I know by deleting the texts I made it impossible to prosecute her,” I said, hopping on the crutches toward the powder room off the foyer.

  “I think being arrested and almost charged with stalking and harassment might be enough to scare her from ever contacting you again. She was warned not to, of course.”

  “Kinsley, I don’t think that troubled girl is going to bother you anymore,” Mom reassured me. “It’s time to put this whole mess behind you and start moving forward. . . . Speaking of which, I thought you were moving back in soon,” her words come out more as a question than a statement.

  “About that . . . I’m probably gonna stay at the farm for another week or so.” I looked over at my mom, waiting with a look of hope on her beautifully-aged face. “I can’t go up and down the stairs yet. And I can be there for Maria. She’s doing good, but I still find her crying when she thinks nobody’s around.”

  Mom’s lips stretched upward. “Maria,” her eyes bounced. “I think Cooper being home may factor in there more than Maria, but it’s sweet you want to help her.” I had always been pretty open with my mom about my relationships, or lack thereof, but Dad was another story.

  “Look at the time.” Dad pretended to check the time on his silver watch as he darted away from the dining room toward his back office. “I’ve got to check on a . . . uh, email I’m waiting on.” He stopped and looked across the living room at me. “Love you, Lizzy. I’ll see you for dinner tomorrow, right?”

  My world lit up when my dad announced he wanted to spend time with me. “Of course, Dad. Oh,” my eyes widened as I remembered something I wanted to ask him, “have you heard back from Deputy Robbins about the truck that hit me?”

  “I did, but they don’t have any new news yet. He was waiting on forensics to get back to him on the tire treads.”

  “If it wasn’t Jillian, then it could just be a totally random hit and run, right?” My chest tightened.

  “Absolutely, it could. Honestly, honey, I don’t think you need to worry about this anymore. I don’t think what happened to you in Charlotte has anything to do with you getting hit. I think it was just really bad luck,” he said, crossing the room, stopping in front of me in the foyer and wrapping me in a warm embrace. “It’s over.”

  I wanted nothing more than to believe that, but I had a nagging feeling I couldn’t shake. I felt like the other shoe had yet to drop.

  IT WAS CLOSE TO EIGHT when we finally made it to the bar. Ashton had gone home to check on Maria and found her on the tack room floor, sobbing, with Scott’s favorite saddle in her lap. He told us he sat on the floor and held her while she cried. He didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know what advice I could give him, but I told him I would have my mom call her the next day.

  Anna picked out a red, scoop-neck top and a pair of short, cut-off jean shorts that I had not worn all summer, with good reason.

  “Stop pulling at your shorts, they’re fine,” Anna admonished me like I was a six-year-old.

  “You couldn’t have found a smaller, more revealing pair?” I asked her facetiously, watching Ryan bank the yellow one ball off the far rail, into the side pocket.
/>   “You want to get some or not?” Anna mumbled under her breath.

  “I heard that,” I said, giving her the side-eye. “What about you?” She had confided in me over the weekend that she and Ash had messed around but had not actually had sex yet.

  Anna’s eyes darted around the room, assessing where everyone was, then leaned across the pub table toward me. “I think tonight might be the night.”

  I picked up my ginger ale, brought it to my lips, and gulped down a few swallows. I wasn’t sure I was ready to drink. I hadn’t taken anything for pain other than ibuprofen all day, but I usually took a pain pill before I went to bed because the last few days my leg throbbed by the end of the day.

  “Really?” I set my glass back down on the wood-laminate table top. We were sitting near the front of the room, where there was a half-dozen tables scattered around. “Listen, I love you and I love Ash, but for the love of God, if you two have sex, please don’t give me details or particulars.” I shivered at the thought and quickly shook away a visual that tried to pop into my mind. “Have you thought anymore about staying longer?”

  Anna held the Grey Goose martini up to her lips and took a sip, holding back the olive-speared toothpick. “I have and,” she hesitated so I interrupted her.

  “You’re staying,” I finished her sentence for her. As I did, Ashton walked over with Ethan and only caught my side of the conversation.

  “You’re staying?” Ash asked enthusiastically but didn’t wait for Anna to answer. He stepped in front of her, shoved his hands between her arms and ribs, lifting her out of the chair. Ashton twirled her around, her legs almost taking out a few people on the second rotation.

  Anna’s gaze was lethal as I shrugged and mouthed, “Sorry.” We both knew I wasn’t. I wanted her to stay as much as Ash did.

  As one song, I didn’t know, faded into the Garth Brook’s new Ask Me How I Know, I looked around the bar, I couldn’t help but feel eyes on me. I shook off the hair-raising feeling and turned my attention to my friends.

  Ethan sipped his beer while Ryan talked to him about his next shot. They were on a team with Heather and her cousin, Joey. They played every Wednesday night in the dimly-lit, back room of Howard’s.