“Hey, Tess,” Landon shouted from the couch. “Can you get me a Coke?”
He turned around abruptly and popped his head over the couch. “Tess, hurry. It’s my turn and...Cooper?” Landon removed his headset and stared at me with curious eyes.
The Yankee hat turned around, and I locked eyes with Simon. A current ran through my entire body.
“What’s up man?” Cooper said to Landon. His voice sounded as if it were coming from a faraway place. It was as if my body was unattached and I watched the events unfold as I floated toward the ceiling.
“I didn’t expect to see you here. How’s it going?” Landon said politely. He got up off the couch and went to shake Cooper’s hand.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” I hissed to Tess. “A little warning would’ve been nice.”
“Um, I like your outfit?” Tess said loudly, in a questioning tone.
I looked down and suddenly felt like a little girl who had been busted for playing dress up in her mommy’s designer clothes.
“Yeah, you clean up nice,” Simon said. He looked at me with sincerity as he stood and approached our dysfunctional little group. He held his hand out to Cooper. “I’m Simon.”
Cooper accepted his hand. “I’m Cooper. Lucy’s...”
“Ex. I know. Heard a lot about you.” Simon gave Cooper a once over.
Cooper groaned. “I was going to say stylist, but I see my reputation precedes me,” he said sheepishly. “I’ve come to redeem myself.”
“Well, they say the key to a woman’s heart is through her wardrobe, right?” Simon said in a flat tone. I closed my eyes in despair.
“So they say,” Cooper smiled oblivious to the sarcasm.
“Um...” Landon began uneasily. “Are you just passing through?”
“That’s to be determined.” Cooper winked, putting a protective arm around me.
I gave my audience a weak smile and wished that I were the one who was just passing through. I drew in a shaky breath.
“I’m going to use the bathroom,” I said. “Care to join me?” I said to Tess, shooting her a look of death.
“No, I’m good,” she responded, an octave too high. Then she inched away towards Mark.
“Oh, I think you do,” I smiled sweetly and grabbed her wrist.
I led her down the hall and opened the door to the ladies room. Once inside, we both began to talk at once.
“I don’t think so,” I said, holding up a finger. “Me first. Why didn’t you tell me you invited the boys here?” I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the sink.
“I’m sorry,” she cringed. “I thought you would think I was stupid for trusting Mark ... and...”
I raised an eyebrow. “How stupid do you think I am?”
“Okay,” she sighed. “We, that is, Mark and I, thought you and Simon would like to see each other. He’s been asking about you and—”
“He has?” My mouth twisted into a smile, which I quickly wiped away. This was no time to smile.
“Yes!” Tess practically shouted with excitement.
A flutter in my stomach made me press a finger to my lips. “Shh,” I whispered. “Go on,” I encouraged in a stern voice.
“Okay.” Tess took a breath and begin to talk in a fast pace. “Mark said that Simon really missed you and totally regrets that he bailed our last night in Paris. We all know your hang-up about the age difference,” Tess said, rolling her eyes, “so, he figured it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. Was he right?”
I ran my hands through my hair and held it up in a tight ponytail, not giving Tess the satisfaction of appearing to care.
“Anyway, that was until Mark decided to come see me. I guess Simon wanted to see you one last time before he lets the old ship set sail.”
“Ha ha,” I sneered, releasing my hair. “The old ship, eh?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Tess grimaced. “Anyway, Cooper’s here,” she said dismissively. “So, I guess it really doesn’t matter whether Simon’s hot for you or not, right?”
“Right,” I said, although I didn’t quite believe it myself. My stomach suddenly ached and I placed a hand under my rib cage. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Cooper. I feel kind of silly myself. Not to mention I feared your mother’s wrath.”
“Oh I hear that.” Tess smiled, and then her face grew serious. “Aunt Lu, we just want you to be happy, with whoever that is.” She paused to give me a questioning look. “If Cooper makes you totally happy, and you love the way he makes you feel, then you have my blessing.”
“Thanks, Tess,” I said, suddenly unable to look her in the eye. I reached over and gave her a hug.
“Wait a minute.” I pulled away from her and firmly cupped her shoulders. “You still haven’t told me how Mark got here.”
“Long story, but to sum it up, his ex decided to surprise him back in Paris. He wanted to tell me, but was afraid I wouldn’t believe they really had broken up.”
I narrowed an eye. “How do you know he’s telling the truth now?”
“I trust him,” Tess shrugged. “Besides, it was all laid out on Facebook anyway.” The look in her eyes matched the light-heartedness of her voice.
“What is it with your generation and relationship announcements on Facebook? Anyway, speaking of happiness, the most important thing is that you’re happy.”
“I couldn’t be happier,” she said, beaming. “Now, let’s go back to the group.” Tess took a hold of my elbow.
“Ugh,” I groaned, feeling a massive pit in my stomach. I looked in the mirror and rubbed my temples.
“Aunt Lu, if you don’t feel anything for Simon, then you have nothing to worry about, right?”
“Right.” I nodded weakly, following her out of the bathroom and down the hall.
We went back into the common room. Landon, Mark, and Simon were still playing the game and shouting at the TV. Cooper sat perched on a chair, tapping away at his phone.
“Aww, man,” Simon cried. “I’m out.” He tossed the control on the table and walked towards the refrigerator. “Anyone want one?” He waved a Coke in the air.
“Um, I’ll take a Diet.” I dug my fingernails into my palms as I walked towards Simon. “So, how have your past few days been?” I wished the light tone of my voice matched the feeling in my heart.
“Pretty good,” Simon answered. “One vat-free soda coming right up.”
Simon winked as he handed me the can. Our hands brushed, and a spark passed between us.
“Thanks.” I swallowed and toyed with the pull tab on the can.
“How’s your ankle?” Simon asked.
“Good.” I said with a nod. “Well, it was until I put these shoes on anyway.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Cooper’s head snap up.
“I was going to say, I almost didn’t recognize you,” Simon said.
“The places I like have dress codes,” Cooper interrupted.
Simon and I both turned to look at him. I had always hated his jealous side.
“Is this the guy who helped you when you fell?” Cooper said to me.
“Yep.” My cheeks grew warm, and I sipped the soda.
From behind the can, I saw Cooper eyeing Simon with interest. My gaze shifted back and forth between the two men who were polar opposites. Cooper wore leather loafers, linen pants, and a seersucker shirt, while Simon was sporting khaki shorts, a Polo t-shirt, flip-flops, and of course, his signature hat.
“So, what have you guys done over the past few days?” I said to Simon, hoping to start a more neutral conversation.
“I had some work issues to take care of back home. It actually took up a lot of my time.”
I nodded, but had to wonder what kinds of things a camp counselor could possibly have that required his attention. Ordering sunscreen? Bug spray? I suspected he was trying to impress Cooper, who had been firing off emails from the moment we entered.
“See, Luce?” Cooper said. “Every guy takes work on vacation wit
h him.”
I gave him a sideways look in response.
“What do you do, man?” Cooper said to Simon.
Simon opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off at the pass. “He works at a camp.”
I ran a fingernail around the rim of the can and looked at Cooper, silently willing him to change the subject. The last thing I wanted was for Simon to be subjected to Cooper’s career scrutiny.
“Lucky you,” Cooper said, clearly misreading my mental telepathy. “I wish I worked at a camp. Now that, I could probably leave behind.”
Simon gave Cooper a half smile. “It entails more than you might think,” he said dryly. “But regardless of the job, at some point you just have to let it go, right?”
“It’s not that easy for me,” Cooper said. “I have millions on the line every day. Each ignored email is like dollars trickling away.”
“Well, you also have your life trickling away, one day at a time. I know it’s hard, but you have to keep it in perspective,” Simon said. He removed his hat to run his hands through his rumpled hair.
Cooper was getting irritated. He folded his arms across his chest and shifted uneasily. “Want to go to your room?” he said abruptly.
Just the mention of the word ‘room’ caused my upper lip to moisten. Suddenly, it was as if I was about to cheat on Simon with Cooper and that I had already cheated on Cooper with Simon. Both notions were preposterous, but suddenly I just wanted to be alone.
“You know what, Cooper? If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to take a quick shower. I’m feeling a little hung over ... or something.”
“Do you want company?” Cooper said suggestively.
I glanced at Simon who looked away. I wondered if my cheeks were as red as they felt. “No, thanks,” I replied.
“Ok,” he said coolly. A flicker of annoyance crossed his face, but was immediately replaced by a neutral expression.
“Cooper, you’re more than welcome to play with us while you wait,” Landon offered.
“Video games?” Cooper said with disdain. “No thanks. I haven’t done that since I was a freshman in college.” He snickered.
“It’s fun,” Landon responded. “What else is there to do? I’ve done my sightseeing for the day, meetings are done ... The Italians don’t start partying until late.”
“You’re such a loser, Landon,” Tess teased her brother.
“The guy makes a good point. It sounds kind of nice to relax before we go out,” Mark admitted, putting an arm around Tess. “Do you guys want to watch a movie? They have a pretty good collection in the library.”
Cooper walked over to a shelf that contained the movies. “Please don’t tell me this is the library? What is this, 1980?” he said, picking up a VHS. “No DVD’s?”
“Who cares?” I joined him at the shelf and peered closely at the row of movies to get a better look. “These are classics. Roman Holiday, Before Sunrise...”
“Obviously they’re used to dreamy Americans blowing through here,” Cooper said.
“What do you mean?” Simon demanded.
“I hate these movies. They’re so cliché. Guy and girl meet in a foreign country, gaze at the Eiffel tower, and find love. Blah, blah, blah. Ridiculous,” Cooper scoffed. “Or what about the ones where two people from opposite walks in life come together?”
“It’s been known to happen,” Tess said, looking over at Mark.
“You sound like your aunt,” Cooper said, pointing his thumb at me. “You gotta love her idea of hopeless romance, but c’mon, love doesn’t work that way in real life.”
I looked at my ex-fiancée as if he were a stranger. Was this the same guy who had just taken me on a hot air balloon ride? The flirtatious one who kissed me in the tasting room?
“What?” He stared back at me. “Remember that J-Lo flick you made me watch? The one where she gets hit by a car or some crap, the guy comes to her rescue, and they fall madly in love? Like that would ever happen,” he said with a sneer.
Landon laughed. “Ooh you better watch out, Coop. Simon rescued Lucy when she fell off of a ladder.”
I looked over at Tess, who gave me a helpless shrug. Clearly, she hadn’t told him there had been something between us.
“Well, I’m sure they didn’t fall in love after she fell off,” Cooper said with a fake smile on his face.
Simon was picking away at a cuticle on his finger, and from where I sat, I could see the tips of his ears redden. An awkward silence filled the room.
“Cooper,” I warned.
“Luce, I was kidding,” he muttered, but he looked back and forth between Simon and me, obviously wondering what he had started.
“I’m going upstairs,” I pointed to the ceiling. “Cooper, can I just call you later? I really have a whopping headache.”
He looked at me and nodded. “C’mon, I’ll walk you to your room.”
He held his hand out. I took it and reluctantly allowed him to lead me up the stairs. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw Simon staring ruefully at me and felt as if I were doing the walk of shame. I gave him a subtle smile before turning around.
When we reached the top, Cooper put his hands on my shoulders and looked me square in the eyes. “Are you mad at me?”
“No.” I crossed my arms defiantly. “But you could have been a little nicer down there.”
“To whom?”
I cocked my head and raised my eyebrows.
“Oh, come on,” Cooper responded as he grabbed my hand. “I was kidding. I don’t think that guy or anyone out there for that matter would expect you, a classy lady, to fall for a camp kid.”
Cooper gave my hand a tight squeeze as he continued. “Speaking of camp, I knew there was something I wanted to tell you. I rented a house in East Hampton for the summer. It’s totally like a camp. It’s got the whole pool, tennis court, volleyball pit thing going on. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you.”
“Ugh.” I pulled away from his grasp. “I hate the Hamptons scene.”
Cooper stared at me with a blank look on his face. “You do?”
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. One of our biggest fights ever was over the fact that I didn’t want to get married in East Hampton. I licked my dry lips and wished I had a bottle of water. It felt like a wad of cotton was stuffed in my mouth, and I wasn’t sure whether it was from anxiety or all the alcohol we had consumed.
“Wait. I do remember you didn’t want to get married out there, obviously, but what does that have to do with spending summer weekends there?”
“Um, a lot? The same reasons still apply.”
Cooper raised his eyebrows and folded his arms across his chest. “Explain.”
“I don’t like the pretentious people that hang out there, plain and simple. It’s New York City supercharged. Every trust fund Dick and Jane come out for the weekends in their, no offense, convertible whatevers...”
I half expected Cooper’s eyes to flash Porsche logos.
“Honestly,” I said, with a shrug, “it’s a moot point. I’m still here, and when I finally get home, the last thing I want to do anyway is to leave the city.”
“The city is dead in the summer,” Cooper observed.
I held my finger up in the air. “Precisely my point.”
“Okay, okay, point noted.” Cooper paused and put his hands on my shoulders. He looked down at me with a deadpan expression. “How about instead we adopt a tribe of children and lock ourselves in the apartment until Labor Day?”
A giggle burst through my tight lips, and I smiled.
“Luce, all I need is you. If I have you, I will do whatever it takes to keep you, my dear.” He tilted his head and looked at me. “Do I? Have you, at this point?” He squeezed my hand and frowned. “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I really, truly love you, Lucy Banks.”
Cooper massaged the top of my hand with his thumb. As I looked into his eyes, something inside of me softened. I had looked into that same pair of eyes for years. Yes, t
heir owner had seriously let me down, but he’d also been there for quite a bit, too. He definitely was a colossal jackass at times, but those were just deep-rooted insecurities and vulnerabilities that reared their ugly head at times. I gave Cooper’s hands a tight squeeze.
“Does that mean you love me too?” he said.
I looked at him thoughtfully. The creases on his forehead deepened as he waited for my response. “Yes, I think it does.”
“It does? You do?”
“Of course I do,” I answered aloud with conviction. “My feelings never stopped. But you destroyed me, Coop. I’ve been angry for a long time. I still am.”
Cooper nodded solemnly. “I really want to make a go at this when we get back to New York. Please. I’ll do it however you want. We can go slow, or we can even move in together,” he said excitedly. “I’ll give up my place and everything.”
I couldn’t quite imagine Cooper leaving his posh pad on the Upper West Side to move into my one-bedroom on the Upper East. I felt a tight feeling in my throat that I couldn’t quite identify. I pulled my hands away and coughed into a clenched fist.
“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s talk about the logistics another time. How about we just start with dating for now? We’re a long way off from sharing a toothbrush holder.”
Cooper wrinkled his nose. I shook my head as I put the key in the door and turned the doorknob. He had a strange thing about having his toothbrush in the same vicinity as anyone else’s.
“Okay,” Cooper agreed from behind me.
I turned around and saw him chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully.
“Speaking of logistics, I have a question.” He tugged on his lips. “How many babies do you want, anyway?”
At that point, my head started to pound. I tucked my lips into a thin line and inhaled slowly through my nose as I pushed the door open. “How about I call you in a bit? I really need to put that, and myself, to rest for now,” I said with a strained smile.
“Good idea.” He looked content as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be waiting.”
I got inside the room and after the door had clicked shut, I leaned against it and slid down to the floor. I hugged my shins to my chest and rested my head on my knees. When did my life become so complicated?
Tales From a Broad Page 23