by Laura Farr
Selfishly, I leave the movie on for another twenty minutes or so before turning it off. I feel her pull out of my embrace and sit up.
“Why have you turned it off?”
“Because you’re terrified, Lex. You’ve spent the last thirty minutes with your head in my armpit!” She stares at me before bursting out laughing. “Have you even eaten any pizza?”
“Just the one slice, then I had to close my eyes,” she says through her laughter. I lean forward and pick up one of the boxes, holding it out to her.
“Thank you.” She takes a slice and moves a little away from me as she takes a bite.
“It’s still early. Let’s find something else to watch.” I flick through the list of movies, trying to find something she might like.
“What about Bridesmaids? Have you seen it?” She points to the screen, and I shake my head.
“I’m guessing it’s a chick flick?”
“Well, yeah, but it’s funny. I think you’ll laugh, and most importantly, there are no scary ass clowns in it!”
“Okay. Let’s give it a go.”
It turns out Lexi was right. Bridesmaids was funny, and as much as I hated to admit it, I enjoyed it.
We’re in the kitchen clearing the pizza boxes away when I notice Lexi looking out into the dark back yard.
“You okay?”
She turns around, her cheeks flushing pink. “I feel stupid asking this…” She trails off and looks back out into the darkness.
“You want me to walk you home?” I stand next to her, looking out through the glass doors. “You know there are no clowns out there, don’t you?”
“Oh god! I’m pathetic, aren’t I?” She drops her head into her hands and groans.
“Come on. I’ll check under your bed, too, just in case.”
She swats me on the arm as I open the door, walking outside. The security light comes on and illuminates the back yard. Making our way around the side of the house, I lead the way up the steps, moving to one side at the top so that Lexi can unlock the door. She walks inside and flicks the light on.
“Thank you. At least I know now not to watch another horror movie. I’m not going to sleep for a week!”
“Why didn’t you say something? I never would have suggested it if I’d have known you didn’t like them.”
“I didn’t think it would be that scary.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” She sounds confident, but her eyes betray her. I hold her gaze for a few seconds. “I’ll be fine, Cooper. Really.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
She nods, and I slowly walk down the steps. I hear her close the door, the lock engaging.
Back in the house, I lock up and head upstairs. After a quick shower, I climb into bed, staring at the white ceiling. I can’t help but think of Lexi and wonder if she’s okay. I should have turned the film off sooner. I was being selfish, wanting to keep her close to me. Grabbing my phone off the nightstand, I send her a message.
Me: Hey, you awake?
I don’t have to wait long for a reply, I’ve barely pushed the send button before I get a message back.
Lexi: Yeah, I’m still awake.
Me: Have you got all the lights on?
Lexi: How did you guess?
Me: Did you check under the bed?
Lexi: NO!!
Me: You’ve just checked, though, haven’t you?
Lexi: Might have.
I laugh out loud and hit the call button on my phone, holding it to my ear. It rings once before Lexi answers.
“Hello?”
“Did you find anything under the bed?”
“Cooper! You aren’t helping, you know! You’d be sorry if there had been something under there.” I can hear the amusement in her voice, and I smile.
“Seriously, though. Do you want to sleep in the spare room?”
“What? No! I’ll be fine. I’m just being stupid.”
“Do you want me to stay on the phone until you fall asleep?”
“You can’t do that. What if I don’t fall asleep?”
“You’ll fall asleep eventually, Lex.”
“What would we talk about?”
“Whatever you want?”
“Okay… Actually, I did have something to ask you. That evil clown made me forget.”
I laugh. “Go on.”
“They’re showing a movie in the park in San Clemente. Can I take Bella?”
“Sure. When is it?”
“Erm… Two weeks on Sunday, I think. Let me check.” I hear her moving around the apartment and some rustling of paper. “Yeah, it’s the Sunday after next. I know you usually spend time with her on the weekend, so if it’s a problem—”
“It’s fine, Lex,” I say, cutting her off. “What movie is it?”
“Frozen. I was thinking of introducing her to another princess. As much as I love her, Tangled is getting old.”
“Ha! I told you!”
She laughs. “Yeah, I guess you did.”
“How about if we all go?” I feel nerves erupt in my stomach as I wait for her to answer. I have no idea why I’m nervous. It’s hardly a date if Bella’s going to be there. My mind races as questions fill my head. Do I want to take her on a date, just the two of us? No small person interrupting every conversation, needing a drink or something to eat, or to tell me some random piece of information that I really don’t need to know. I guess the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach gives me my answer. I’d forgotten that nervous excitement you feel when you meet someone and want to spend every second with them. It’s been years since I had those feelings. After spending time with Lexi, I can feel them creeping up on me, and it seems I’m powerless to stop them.
“Cooper, are you asleep?” Lexi whispers, and I realize I’ve gone quiet on her.
“No, sorry. What did you say?”
“You were asleep, weren’t you? You don’t need to stay on the phone with me. I’ll be okay.”
“I wasn’t asleep, Lex. I’m staying on the phone. What did you say?”
She’s silent for a few seconds before I hear her sigh. “I said, I could make us all a picnic to take with us.”
“That sounds great.” I hear her yawn, and I smile. “Getting tired?”
“Yeah. You can go, Coop. I’ll be fine.”
“Just put your phone on the nightstand and leave the call open. I’ll do the same.”
“Okay. Thank you. Night,” she says softly.
“Night, Lex.”
I don’t quite do as I’ve said. I continue to hold the phone to my ear and I can hear her turning over in bed. To my surprise, a few minutes later, I hear her breathing even out. I think she’s asleep. Leaving the call open, I place my phone on my nightstand and close my eyes, falling asleep for the first time with someone other than Emerson on my mind.
Lexi
I spend nearly all of the following week at Cooper’s, only sleeping at my place. I eat all my meals with him and Bella, and most nights, I watch a movie or something on TV with Cooper in the den. Although I’ve offered to babysit if he wants to go out, he always turns me down. I think he is finding it hard to pin Alex down at the moment. I know how he feels. I’m having the same problem with Mads. The two of them are inseparable. I’m happy for them, though. Maddie deserves to be happy.
I’ve finally found a routine for cleaning the house, and on the days I have Bella, I try to plan something fun to do each day. We’ve done a beach day, where Cooper met us for lunch on the pier; a trip to the farmers market, where we brought groceries for dinner; and a day at the park. I’m pretty sure her favorite was the beach day. I hadn’t told her that Cooper was meeting us for lunch, in case he got caught up at work. Seeing her face when he walked into the diner was priceless. I adore spending time with her and am quickly getting attached.
The week seem to fly by and it’s Friday again. I’m cleaning the bathroom, which I’m not ashamed to admit is my least favorite job. I’
ve gotten into the habit of having music blaring from my phone and I dance around the room as I clean, singing along to whatever is playing. It passes the time and I’m happy for the distraction. Without the music, I find my mind drifting to Cooper and the previous weekend. I’d hated watching the horror movie, but I’d loved sitting cuddled up with him on the couch. Neither of us mentioned anything about that night, and we haven’t been anything but friendly since then. I am beginning to wonder if I imagined it all. I like him, and I think he feels the same, but I know I’m not going to be the one to make a move.
After I’m done with the bathroom, I strip Cooper’s and Bella’s beds, throwing the sheets into the laundry hamper. Heading downstairs, Bailey is in his bed in the kitchen, and he greets me excitedly as I enter. It’s almost three, and I know Cooper will be back soon with Bella. I’m cooking spaghetti Bolognese again for dinner. As I begin to chop the mushrooms, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Sliding it out, I see that I have a message from Greg. I frown, my finger hovering over the home button. I’m sick of him messaging me, and I’m seriously considering changing my number. Opening the message, I roll my eyes as I read it.
Greg: Lexi, baby, I miss you. Can we talk?
“No, we fucking can’t,” I mutter to the empty kitchen, deleting the message and tossing my phone onto the counter. “What an asshole! How dare he tell me he misses me.” I angrily chop the mushrooms, the knife landing heavily on the chopping board with each cut. When he left, I thought I was heartbroken. I thought I’d lost the love of my life. It didn’t take me long to realize I wasn’t actually that upset he’d left. I should have been a mess. If I’d truly loved him, I would have been. I was hurt and upset he’d fooled me, and I was angry I’d wasted so many years of my life on him. I was angry again now that he thought he could message me and I’d go running. I deserved better.
I’ve calmed down by the time Bella and Cooper arrive home and dinner simmers on the stove.
“Lexi! We made cupcakes today. Look!” Bella cries as she runs into the room, a cupcake in each hand. “I made one for you and one for Daddy.”
“Wow. They look yummy, Bells.” She holds out the pink cupcake and I take it, putting it onto the counter. “I’ll have it after my dinner. Is that okay?” She nods and places Cooper’s blue cupcake next to mine.
“Daddy and I are going swimming. Do you want to come?”
“Sure. Dinner will be a while yet. I’ll go and get my suit on. Do you need any help with your suit?” I smile to myself as I ask, knowing she will say no. She is fiercely independent and wants to try to do everything herself.
“No, I can do it.” She runs out of the room, colliding with Cooper, who is coming through the door.
“Don’t forget your floaties,” I call out to her as she pounds her little feet on the stairs.
“For someone so small, how is it she sounds like a giant on the stairs?” Cooper admonishes.
“I have no idea, but she’s always in a rush to get somewhere. That’s for sure.” I pause and look out toward the pool. “I was, erm…going to join you in the pool, if that’s okay?”
“Of course. How was your day?”
“Good. What about yours?”
“Yeah, good.”
A silence falls over us and I can feel the air thicken. Something has been building between us for a while, and I’m sure he feels it, too. We both seem paralyzed to act on it, though.
“I’ll go and get changed,” I say quietly, breaking the tension. He nods, and I quickly walk outside.
Climbing the stairs to my apartment, I find my bikini and get changed, throwing a cover-up on so I’m not walking around in just my swimwear. I’ll come back up and get changed before we eat. Grabbing a towel, I make my way to the pool.
When I get back to the house, Bella and Cooper are already in the pool. I remove my cover-up and toss it onto one of the loungers before sitting on the edge, dangling my legs in the water. I can feel Cooper watching me, and as I turn to look at him, he smiles and splashes me with water. I scream as the cold water hits my stomach, taking my breath away.
“You coming in?” he calls out from the middle of the pool.
“Well, I may as well now that I’m wet!”
I slowly lower my body into the cool water, allowing myself time to get used to it. It’s so warm today that although the cold water is a relief on my hot skin, it’s also a sharp contrast to feeling the hot sun on me. Bella has her floaties on, and her latest trick is to climb out of the pool, then jump in as far as she can. She started off wanting one of us to catch her, but after a few goes, she politely told us to move. Now she’s more than happy to jump in on her own.
“Come and do some swimming, Bells,” I shout to her after she surfaces from her latest bomb into the pool. I watch as she kicks her arms and legs until she’s in front of me. I slide off her floaties and throw them at Cooper as payback for splashing me. He catches them with ease and looks at me smugly as he tosses them onto the side.
Bella swims a couple of lengths of the pool before we put her floaties back on. She is doing so well, and I can’t help but feel proud of her. We spend the next half an hour or so messing around in the pool. Cooper is throwing Bella as far as he can, and she loves it. As soon as she surfaces, a huge smile appears on her face and she asks to go again. I see Cooper whisper something into Bella’s ear. She looks at me, grins, and nods. Her eyes are wide with excitement and I wonder what they are planning. I don’t have to wonder long as Cooper dives down under the water and swims toward me. Before I have time to react, I feel his hands go around my waist and he surfaces, lifting me into the air.
“Shall I throw her, Bella?”
“Don’t you dare,” I cry, squirming to get out of his hold.
“Throw her, Daddy!” Bella squeals.
“Cooper James Matthews, put me down right now!” I try to sound firm, but his hands are around the bare skin on my waist and I don’t really want him to put me down.
“Oh, you didn’t just full name me again! Middle name, as well!” His fingers tickle into my sides and I scream as his hands leave my waist and he throws me through the air, tossing me like I weigh nothing at all. I have just enough time to take a breath of air and hold my nose before I crash into the water. I surface seconds later to see Bella laughing and clapping her hands. Cooper is smirking at me. I stick my tongue out at Bella and swim over to Cooper.
“Oh, it’s on,” I tell him, winking as I tread water in front of him. “I’ll get you back for that.”
The smirk drops from his face as I try to stand up but realize I’m slightly out of my depths. I fall into his chest, my breasts pushing up against him. His arms wind around me and hold me to him. My nipples pebble, and I feel him take in a sharp breath the second he feels them through the thin material of my bikini. I feel my cheeks flush. Unable to look at him, I push off his hard chest and swim to the side.
“Throw her again, Daddy!” Bella cries as I pull myself out of the pool.
“No chance, pumpkin. I’ve got to check on dinner.” I reach for my towel on one of the loungers and dry off before throwing on my cover-up. My breathing is erratic as I walk into the house, and I’m glad to be alone for a few minutes to compose myself. I stir the Bolognese on the stove and put some pasta on to cook.
“You okay?” I hear Cooper ask from behind me.
Turning around, my mouth goes dry as he walks into the kitchen in just his swim shorts. Water runs off his hair and down his body. I find myself fixated on one droplet as it runs over his pecs, onto his six-pack, and disappears under the waistband of his swim shorts.
“Erm… Y-yeah… I-I’m fine,” I stutter over my words and want the floor to open up and swallow me. I don’t think my attraction to him could be any more obvious, unless I was actually drooling. I turn back to the stove, close my eyes, and take a deep breath.
“I got some garlic bread after you cooked Bolognese last time,” he says, ignoring my awkwardness.
“What?”
>
“Garlic bread, Lex. There’s some in the freezer.” He walks past me toward the freezer, and I stare after him for a few seconds. Water drips off his wet shorts onto the tile floor. As he turns to hold up the garlic baguette he’s pulled from the freezer, I walk toward him. As I do, my bare foot hits a patch of water and I slip, screaming. Before I know what’s happening, Cooper has his arms around me and pulls me against his hard chest.
“Hey, are you okay?” He pulls back slightly, his one arm still tight around me. His free hand comes under my chin and he tilts my face, my eyes meeting his worried ones.
I nod. “I think so,” I mutter, my heart rate increasing at being in his arms. I’m pressed so tightly against him, I’m sure he can feel it. “I slipped on the wet tiles.”
“Shit! That was my fault. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come inside without drying off.”
“I’m fine.”
“But you might not have been.” He moves his hand to cup my face, his thumb stroking my cheek.
“Cooper…,” I whisper, nerves swirling in my stomach.
“Are you and Lexi kissing? Do you love her, Daddy?” Bella cries from the doorway.
Cooper’s eyes drop from mine, his hand falling from my face as if touching me is burning him. He steps away quickly, his arm falling from around me.
“Of course not, baby girl. Lexi just slipped on the wet tiles and I caught her. Come on. Let’s go back to the pool.” He scoops her up and carries her outside without so much as a glance my way. I’m left standing in the middle of the kitchen, wondering what the hell just happened.