The Takedown (The Hookup Book 2)

by J. S. Cooper

  The Takedown

  (The Sequel to The Hookup)

  J. S. Cooper

  What happens when you make a plan for your best friend to fall in love with you?

  Janie Ryan has been in love with her best friend Nate Lexington since college. Yet, he is totally clueless and unaware. So she decides to try and make him jealous by flirting with his friend Dylan on a group trip to Belize. Only things don’t go as planned.

  When secrets emerge that show Janie that she might never have really known the real Nate, she is left wondering what to do next. And she’s also wondering why her other best friend, Anabel is acting so weird.

  The Takedown is the sequel to The Hookup.

  Thank you for purchasing The Takedown.

  The Takedown is the sequel to The Hookup.

  Join the J. S. Cooper Mailing List here!

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2018 by J. S. Cooper

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Prologue

  Janie

  I can’t go a moment without thinking about him. The blueness of his eyes haunts me. The sadness reflected in his gaze every time he stared at me always made my heart stop. There’s something about witnessing unadulterated pain. There’s something heartbreaking about being let into someone’s haunted secret world knowing you can’t do anything to help them escape. When I close my eyes, I can still smell him. His deep scent, musky with a scent of salt, like the ocean. His hair, dark, wild, silky smooth, just like him. His name, always on the tip of my tongue. Always wanting to be said by my lips. To anyone that would listen. To anyone that doesn’t know our story. His touch, oh how I think about his touch. So gentle, so rough, so teasing, so absolutely perfect. The way his fingers would smooth my hair, would gently rub my cheek, would rest upon my stomach in sleep as he pulled me to him, unknowing, but needing. I loved him with everything that I was. Held onto him tight. I held onto him until my fingers could no longer grip him. I held even as he pulled away. I held even as he turned his back on me. I held even as my whispers faded into the night. I held even as he walked away. I held on, waiting, waiting, waiting. I held on, even as I fell, and went crashing into the treacherous rocks. I held on, even as my wings failed me. They all told me he was no good. They told me to move on. But I’d promised. I’d promised and he’d promised. We promised to never let go. But I should have known. I should have known that a hookup could never lead to happily ever after—could it?

  Nate

  Every single step that I take feels like it’s the wrong one. If I think something is up, it’s down. If I think something is black, it’s white. A part of me doesn’t know what thoughts in my brain I can trust. I never thought that men and women could be friends. Not really. Women are too emotional, too much work, too needy and just way too much drama. Though I suppose I was being unfair. Men were just as much work as women. I think there’s just something inherent in humankind that means that certain people are full of drama and I seem to attract them all. That’s why I don’t have time for romance. Friendships alone take it out of me. Though recently I’ve been thinking that it’s about time for me to find a mate. It just seems like it’s time. I’m not sure what sort of woman I want though. Half of them seem crazy and if they aren’t crazy yet, they’re halfway there. I wish I could just meet one sane woman. Just one. Is that too much to ask for? I refuse to think about the possibility that I have already met her.

  Dylan

  “Oh my God, that guy is so hot.” I could hear the whispers in the corner of the bar. I looked over to see the two women giggling and staring at me. One of them was a bit bolder than the other and her eyes immediately locked with mine. She was pretty. Had a good body. Was the sort of girl that I would have taken to bed quite easily in the past, but right now I wasn’t interested. I turned away from the women and smirked as I heard one of them saying, “I wish he would take his shirt off.” I looked at my reflection in the mirror as I walked toward the counter to order myself a shot of whiskey. Dark blond hair, light sky-blue eyes, light stubble from not shaving this morning, the dimple in my cheek, a muscular six foot two body. The same package I was accustomed to. I knew that I was considered to be a catch. Handsome and rich. It was what all the women wanted. It allowed me to get pretty much every woman I’d ever gone for. And that had been great. Up until now. Up until I’d screwed everything up. I felt a tightness in my throat that I’d never felt before. I’d never felt this way before and I wanted to bang my fist down on the bar. I wanted to break things. I wanted to hurt someone. Something. Or maybe I should just get laid. I looked back toward the corner of the bar. The girls were still standing there, staring, wanting me to make a move. Wanting me to take them home for the night. Wanting me to do things to them that would make them scream and squeal. My phone beeped then and my heart stopped as I saw her name pop up on the screen. She’d responded, finally. Delete my number. Never text me again. I’m done. My stomach churned at her message. She wasn’t going to forgive me. Ever. I knew it in my bones. I’d messed up one too many times. I’d lost the love of my life. It was over. As I stood there, I felt a tear falling from my eye. My heart stopped in that moment. The world stood still and all I could think was this was it. This was it. There was no coming back from this. And with that realization, my head fell down to the counter and the tears poured. I didn’t care who saw or what they thought. There was only one person I wanted in that moment. And I’d lost her.

  Chapter One

  Janie

  “So, I cannot believe that I’m going along with this hair-brained scheme of yours.” I gave Anabel a side look as we walked onto the plane. I could not quite believe that the day had finally come. All of our plans and schemes were finally about to go down. I was going to have my chance to finally make Nate mine. I almost groaned aloud as I thought about what I was about to put myself through. I still wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not. Yes, I was in love with Nate. I always had been. I wanted him to be in love with me too. That was the hard part. I knew he was attracted to me. I knew he wanted a hookup. But now I wanted more. This was my opportunity to see, once and for all, if he could and would give me more. I swallowed hard as the enormity of the situation hit me. This was going to be all or nothing.

  “You better Belize it.” She grinned, and I rolled my eyes at her. “Belize it, believe it, get it?” She started laughing at her own joke, and I was grateful that she was being goofy for once. I needed something to distract me from what I was about to do.

  “Ha-ha, you’re so unique and funny.” I couldn’t stop myself from laughing, though my stomach was churning. “I cannot believe that we are going to spend a week in Belize and that today has finally come. This is unbelizeable.” I giggled as I continued the joke.

  “Ambergis Cay here I come.” Anabel sounded and looked excited. Maybe even more so than I was, but then she didn’t have the stress of trying to convince the love of her life that she was the one. “This is going to be amazing. Sun, sand, water, and booze.”

  “Why do I feel like we’ve switched roles?” I shook my head at he
r as we made our way to our seats. “You’re the eager one, and I’m the nervous one.”

  “The student has become the teacher, and the teacher has become the student, I think?” Anabel said. “Or something like that.”

  “Ugh,” I groaned and plopped down next to the window. “You’re the bitch.” I giggled as I pointed to the middle seat that I was definitely not going to sit in.

  “Ugh,” she moaned. “You better hope that a little kid or a mom with a baby doesn’t sit down next to me. That would be so annoying. I will get you if that happens. You know I hate sitting in the middle.”

  “Me too.” I laughed, though it was more from nerves than the situation. Then I started to think about the plan for Belize again and I started to feel rumbles in my stomach. “Oh my God, Anabel, was this a mistake? Maybe we should get off of the plane and go home? What am I doing?”

  “Nah, there is no way we are getting off of this plane.” She shook her head. “This way you figure out what Nate really wants right? And then you can go forward with your life accordingly.”

  “But hasn’t he already told me what he wants?” I made a face at her. He’d already rejected me once. Did I really want to or need to go through this again?

  “Maybe he has told you in his own way. I mean he was a jerk in college.” Anabel looked thoughtful. “But then he needs to stop playing games with you. He can’t be trying to hook up with you still and yet saying he only wants to be friends.”

  “But isn’t that the point of a hookup or being friends with benefits?”

  “You guys are not friends with benefits, and he knows you don’t have the personality or temperament for that sort of relationship.”

  “But I did tell him I wanted to hook up.” I was trying to give Nate the benefit of the doubt. “Maybe he thinks I’m cool with that now.”

  “No way. He’d be a fool to think that.” She shook her head. “He’s one of your best friends. He should know better than that.”

  “I guess.” I sighed. “And what about Dylan? I feel a bit weird having him come on this trip as well.” I made a face at her. “Am I a player? Or even worse, a user?”

  “You’re not a user, girl. And you could never be a player. He’s the weirdo for accepting.” Anabel shook her head as she consoled me. “If there is someone I don’t feel sorry for, it’s Dylan.”

  “Anabel.” I laughed uncomfortably. “I just feel like this isn’t the best idea. This is one of the craziest endeavors I’ve ever been a part of and it’s not even my idea. Does that make me even crazier?”

  “Maybe.” She grinned at me. “But all the pieces have come together easily.”

  “I know. I can’t quite believe it.” I sat back in the chair and closed my eyes for a few seconds. “It really does feel surreal that we’re on our way to Belize.”

  “What I can’t believe is how quickly Nate pulled this trip together. Didn’t he just ask you like a week ago if you wanted to go to Belize?”

  “Yeah.” I made a face. “I haven’t even seen Dylan again and I’m shocked that he said he would come. Everything has been so crazy and rushed.”

  “I have to admit I’m shocked as well,” Anabel agreed with me. “What could Nate have said to get him to come? And why would he even want Dylan to come?”

  “No idea.” I shook my head. “Though I told Nate the only way I’d even consider this vacation was if you and Dylan could come as well. He wasn’t happy, but he said okay.”

  “Oh, Janie.” She laughed out loud. “If only he knew how badly you needed this vacation to go through.”

  “I didn’t need it to go through.” I made a face at her. “I would have been perfectly happy if it hadn’t gone through.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “You know that. This was your idea. Not mine.”

  “I know.” She gave me a small smile. “And I do wonder if I’m crazy as well. However, I think this is best for you.”

  “Best for me?” I asked and wondered why she thought that. Though, I already kind of knew the answer.

  “You’re so confused about this whole situation and I know you, Janie. You can spend years obsessing. I don’t want you to spend years obsessing over Nate or Dylan. Not again. Not now. If either one of them is meant to be with you, then let’s find out and if not, it’s time to move on.”

  “I don’t really want Dylan though. I don’t even know him.” I sighed. “I want Nate.”

  “I agree and I’m glad you said that.” Anabel made a face. “I swore to myself that I wasn’t going to say this, but Dylan almost seems worse than Nate and you know how I feel about Nate.” She made a puking sound and I rolled my eyes.

  “Oh, Anabel.” I giggled nervously. “You really don’t like Dylan huh?”

  “He seems too eager. Almost desperate. And I don’t like how he’s a friend of Nate’s and didn’t tell you. That seems so shady to me.”

  “Then it’s shady on both of their parts.”

  “Exactly!” she exclaimed. “They’re both shady.” She pointed at me and shook her head.

  “Tell me again, why you think this is a good idea if you don’t like either guy?” I asked her thoughtfully. “Is this some sort of tough love situation on your part?”

  “Yes and no.” She sighed. “I do want you to be happy and I do think that Nate could be the one for you; if he ever grows up. He cares about you, but he’s an asshole and he needs to stop being a kid. I hate that he thinks he can just have you when he wants you. That sucks, Janie. And I’m kind of mad at you too.”

  “Why are you mad at me? What did I do?” I pouted at her. “He’s the one that uses me. Not the other way around.”

  “But you let him, Janie. You let him get away with it. It’s so frustrating. Sometimes when you tell me the things that he says or does, it makes me want to throttle you.”

  “You want to throttle me?” I put my hands up. “Do I have to call the police of the FBI here?” I stuck my tongue out at her to try and lighten the mood.

  “Maybe.” She wrinkled her nose at me. “I don’t know what to say, Janie. These guys are douches. I don’t know why you want to be with a douchebag, but let’s just see how this goes.”

  “Tell me how you really feel.” It was my turn to sigh now. “Don’t you think I know that these guys aren’t the best? I can’t help how I feel. Especially about Nate. Oh, Anabel, he has my heart. I just have the feels for him. It’s so hard to explain, but he just makes me feel things that I’ve never felt in my life before. When I’m close to him, it’s like an electrical wire starts burning in my stomach. I’ve never had that feeling before.”

  “Ugh.” She made a face. “But he’s such a user. He is not worthy of your love. Look how he treated you in college.”

  “But that’s the point of this plan, right? Make him jealous? Make him really think about if he wants to be with me or not.”

  “And you know what happens if it’s a not, right?” Anabel put her hand on my arm. “You have to tell him goodbye.”

  “Yeah, adios, muchacho. Or whatever the saying is, I forget.” I sighed. “Though the goodbye won’t be forever. I don’t want to lose him from my life for forever.”

  “Hmmm.” Anabel rolled her eyes. “Maybe not forever, but for a long time. You can’t have him in your life right now, Janie. Not as a friend. Not when you want him for more. Not when you never really got over him. If he doesn’t want to commit to you, you have to let his ass go. And I mean for a really long time. So you can finally meet ‘the one.’”

  “I thought he was the one,” I started to explain. “I wanted him so badly to see it as well.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She gave me a smile. “You’re a true romantic, Janie. Maybe you’ve watched too many rom-coms and read too many romance books because real life doesn’t work that way, hun. Once a douchebag, always a douchebag in my book.”

  “But you have to have some faith, Anabel. Sometimes guys can change.”

  “Yeah and sometimes pigs can fly.” She shook her head
at me and then closed her eyes. “I’m going to try and get a nap in before we land. Wake me up if any delicious food is delivered. Or if we get free drinks.”

  “We’re in economy.” I laughed. “There are no free drinks and since when has the food ever been delicious on a plane?”

  “Don’t burst my bubble.” She giggled. “You never know.”

  “I do know.” I laughed. “Trust me. I know.” I turned to look out the window then and sighed. What was I doing? Was it a smart idea to go on a vacation with my best friend and two guys I kind of had a thing for? Two guys that knew each other. Anabel’s plan had seemed so great in the beginning. Go on this trip. Flirt with Dylan. Make Nate jealous. Make him see he really wanted to be with me. And if not, then I’d let him know that if he wanted me, he had to step up to the plate. That was the plan coming into this trip, but now, now it seemed like a really bad idea. What if he didn’t like me like that? What if he didn’t want to commit? Then I’d have to walk away from the friendship. That made my head hurt and my heart ache. I couldn’t imagine Nate not being in my life. He was my everything. Though I was loathed to admit it, he almost meant more to me than Anabel. I felt like a traitor for even thinking that. I suppose that was what love did to a person. And I knew that I was still in love with him. After that night in my bedroom, I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I wanted him. In more ways than one. I wanted him in my heart. Yet, I also wanted him in my bed. I wanted to touch him and hold him and feel him. I wanted to stare at his handsome face and hold his handsome body against mine. I wanted to feel his hardness pushing into me. I shifted on the seat slightly as I thought about being with him again. Shit, I was horny. I felt a little guilty and naughty and weary all at the same time. Was this a good idea? I’d wanted Nate before and he’d broken my heart. He’d walked out of my life. He’d chosen another girl. Could I face that again? Did I really want to push my luck? If he liked me, wouldn’t he have asked me out already? I bit down on my lower lip. Maybe I shouldn’t go ahead with this. Maybe we could all just enjoy this holiday in Belize and then go home. That would be good. Yes, no need to rock the boat right now. What would come of it? Nothing good. Nothing good at all. I just had to figure out how to tell Anabel that the plan had changed. I wasn’t going to push my luck.