by Anna Martin
“I’m stuffed,” Cooper said, leaning back in his chair and slurping the last of his soda.
“Okay. Then we should go so we can get a good spot for the fireworks.”
“Let me split the check—” Cooper started, but Drew was already shaking his head.
“It’s taken care of.”
“Thank you,” he said softly, trying not to squirm. He definitely wasn’t used to dates like this. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Drew reached for Cooper’s hand as they walked out of the restaurant, totally unconcerned at whoever might be watching. He was turning into the best boyfriend ever.
Chapter Six
OUTSIDE, DREW took Cooper’s hand again, ready to lead him through to the spot he had in mind to watch the fireworks. This year was the park’s sixtieth anniversary, so for the whole year there was a special show going on, and it always got crowded around the time the fireworks started.
“Hey,” Cooper said once they were outside.
Drew tried not to frown as he was pulled to a stop.
“Thanks for dinner,” Cooper said, sounding almost shy, and leaned in to press a small kiss to Drew’s jaw.
And of course, Drew couldn’t be mad at that.
“Anytime,” he said softly, pulling Cooper in close.
He had a plan and led Cooper up through Frontierland and back around the castle to get a spot near the statue of Walt and Mickey. They arrived just as the lights dimmed around the park and the swell of music started.
“Good timing,” Cooper murmured.
Drew pulled Cooper’s back to his chest and wrapped his arms around Cooper’s waist. Like this, he could drop his chin on Cooper’s shoulder and hold him through the show.
Cooper was good at pretending he wasn’t completely enchanted by the park and Disney magic, but Drew wasn’t buying it. Like everyone else, Cooper turned into a big kid here, and it was so very endearing.
Working here had its advantages, and Drew had already seen the show before. That meant he could relax and watch Cooper’s reactions, which was his main goal anyway.
“Hey, Cooper,” he murmured low into Cooper’s ear.
“Hmm?”
Cooper twisted back, smiling with fireworks reflected in his eyes.
“I love you.”
Cooper blinked, then laughed. “You planned this, didn’t you, you cheesy motherf—mmph!”
Drew cut him off with a hard kiss, laughing too. “Not in front of the kids.”
“I love you too.”
“Good,” Drew said and kissed him again.
They watched the rest of the fireworks, and Drew felt like his blood had been turned to fizzy soda; he was almost trembling with excitement. He hadn’t ever told a guy he loved them before, not that Cooper needed to know that just yet.
So he was a big, fuzzy romantic at heart, so what.
As the fireworks finished and the lights came back up, the push for the main gates started, and Drew grabbed Cooper’s hand, dragging him in the opposite direction.
“Where are we going?”
“Ride Splash Mountain with me,” Drew said, grinning.
“We’ll get soaked!”
“I have spare clothes in my locker. Come on.”
Cooper was laughing, shaking his head and letting himself be dragged back the way they’d come. “Drew….”
“Cooper. Live a little.”
“Okay. But if I get wet, I want a change of clothes.”
“It’ll be fine. We’ll jump on Thunder Mountain to dry off.”
“Then the Haunted House,” Cooper said. “And the Matterhorn, and Space Mountain.”
“All the mountains. You got it, kid.”
IT WAS late when they got back to Cooper’s apartment, still damp from the rides. Drew felt high. He was in love. Admitting it had only amplified everything, and all he wanted now was to fall into bed with Cooper and make love.
They stripped each other naked, cold fingers teasing damp skin while their mouths moved together, hot and needing. It felt so right, being with Cooper like this.
“Are you gonna—” Drew bit off the words, feeling his cheeks heat. “I mean. Um. Will you top me?”
Cooper nosed at Drew’s neck, laying gentle kisses on the sensitive skin. “Of course I will.”
“You don’t mind?”
Cooper pulled back. “I want to, if you want me to.”
Drew nodded. “Okay.” He pulled them both down onto the bed together. Cooper reached for Drew’s cock and squeezed it gently, then stroked all the way up to thumb at the head.
“You’ve done this before, right?”
“Mhmm. Just….” Drew stopped and pushed a stray lock of hair out of Cooper’s face. “Never with someone I care about.”
Cooper smiled, warm and sweet. “Okay. We’ll go slow.”
Drew felt no shame in clinging to Cooper as they moved together, slow and easy, just like Cooper had promised. He pressed his cheek to Cooper’s shoulder and let his lover take the lead, driving them forward and together.
He cried out as he came, feeling Cooper shuddering in his arms, and this was different than when they were together before, not just because of who was on top. Cooper kissed up Drew’s throat as they rode out the waves of their orgasm and murmured his I-love-yous against Drew’s skin.
This was different… this was making love.
Drew slipped easily into sleep after Cooper had finished cleaning them off, his body and mind both exhausted. It was easy to sleep next to Cooper. They didn’t clamor for space or covers, just slotted neatly together and found comfort in the familiarity of each other’s breathing.
The next morning, Drew was woken by the sunlight streaming in through the flimsy blinds. Cooper was still conked out on the bed next to him, so Drew decided to snooze for a while too. He didn’t have anywhere to be, after all.
They caught breakfast at a café when it was closer to afternoon than morning. It was a little place Drew had discovered completely by accident when he was still new to the city and had gotten lost while out for a drive along the coast. It took around forty-five minutes to get out to Manhattan Beach from his house, but it was much closer to Cooper’s little apartment. In some ways, Drew preferred it here to the bigger tourist beaches. He might have been caught dreaming of living in one of the huge, fancy houses in this neighborhood—maybe one day, when he was a famous actor.
The food in Drew’s secret café was definitely a step up from what either he or Cooper could make for themselves, though it was still hearty American brunch at its core. They each ordered one of the specialty omelets and watched the ocean breaking over the sand while they ate.
Refueled, they made their way back to Cooper’s apartment and lost a few more hours making each other feel good, and Drew was seriously considering a nap when Cooper rolled off the bed and padded through to his kitchen, wearing only boxers and a T-shirt.
“Hey, I want you to try something for me.”
“Sure.”
Drew took the opportunity to stretch out. It wasn’t a big bed, and the two of them tended to take up a lot of space. Cooper was making a hell of a racket in the kitchen, and Drew closed his eyes and smiled.
“Keep your eyes closed,” Cooper said.
“Mhmm.”
“And sit up, you lazy bastard.”
Drew laughed and pushed himself up, crossing his legs and setting his hands on his thighs. Not wanting to be told off, he kept his eyes closed.
“Okay, open your mouth.”
“No.”
Cooper laughed. “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”
“I don’t know if I should trust you.”
“You totally should.”
Drew wet his lips, then opened them. A moment later a spoon was pressed against them.
“Cold,” he protested, but sucked the ice cream into his mouth anyway. “Okay, this is good.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s not, I dunno, anchovy an
d custard flavor, or whatever you’d probably pick for yourself.”
“No. Almond?” he guessed.
“Almond praline. Yeah. Okay, what about this one.”
He opened his mouth willingly this time, surprised at the bite of rich dark chocolate and….
“Salted caramel?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s really good.”
“Okay, last one.”
Coconut. That was easy. But not gritty coconut; smooth and mellow, it tasted more natural than most coconut ice cream Drew had had in the past.
“I’m sure the Dreamy Creamery already has a coconut ice cream,” Drew said, opening his eyes. “But that’s better.”
“They’re lactose-free,” Cooper said, grinning a little self-consciously. “I’ve been trying out a few recipes when I work the morning shift.”
“You made these?”
“I make all the ice creams,” Cooper said, shrugging. “It’s my job.”
“But you, like, invented these.”
Cooper nodded. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do with them yet. Our boss isn’t around much. He’s got a few businesses, so Alana and I basically run the place on our own. Every now and then he asks who we’re hiring, that sort of thing, and if we want to promote anyone else to management he has to sign off on it. Our profits are good, he deals with all the advertising, and we do most of the day-to-day stuff ourselves. That’s why he likes me and Alana. We’re self-sufficient.”
“What about the flavors you designed for the store? Do you own those recipes or does he?”
Cooper shrugged. “I don’t know. I never bothered to ask.”
“Cooper….” Drew sighed imploringly.
“I keep all the recipes on my iPad. That way it’s easy to change them. If I left, I wouldn’t give the store my iPad… so I guess I own them by proxy.”
“You could put your new flavors in your ice cream truck.”
“The truck I don’t have, you mean?” Cooper said, raising his eyebrows.
“You should get a truck and then put your ice cream in it.”
“Drew,” Cooper said, exasperated.
“No, really,” Drew insisted. “You’re worth more than what you do now. You’re smart, Cooper, and you pretty much run the store on your own already. You said so yourself. There’s no reason why you can’t reach out and do more for yourself.”
“But I like what I do now,” Cooper said. “Honestly. I told you about the truck because… I dunno, because you asked. It’s not something I’m desperate for. Just a, you know, maybe one day thing.”
“If you had your own business, though—”
“If I had my own business, I’d have all the stress that goes with it,” Cooper said, standing up and taking the bowl of ice cream back to the kitchen. “I’d have to figure out the taxes and the licenses and all that shit, and I don’t want that yet. I’m only twenty-four, Drew. I’m not ready for it.”
“But you could—”
“Drew!” Cooper yelled, throwing his hands up. “You’re not listening to me. I know you do the ‘everyone deserves a dream come true’ thing all day every day, but you need to understand I’ll do it when I’m ready, and I’m not ready yet. You’re living your dream, and I respect that, I really do, but I don’t need you pushing me.”
Drew stood and pulled on his jeans. “I only want good things for you, Cooper,” he said softly.
“No, you want me to be better, so you don’t have to tell people that your boyfriend only works in a bar and an ice cream parlor.”
“That’s not true at all.” Drew felt his stomach clench. “Where the hell did you get that idea?”
“You’re going to be a famous actor, and I’m not going to be good enough for you.”
“Cooper, no. No. I just see so much in you, and you’re not making the most of it.”
“I know, I get that, I do. But you’re not respecting me or my choices.”
He pushed his fingers through his hair, looking around for his T-shirt. Shoes were by the door.
“I need to get stuff done before I go back to work tomorrow,” Drew said.
“Are you seriously walking out?”
“I’m ending this conversation, since it doesn’t seem to be going very well,” Drew snapped. He shoved his bare feet into his sneakers, not caring about his missing socks.
“Why can’t we talk it out?”
“Because I don’t like confrontation! I’ll talk to you later, Cooper.”
His heart was pounding as he pushed out of the door and jogged down the metal steps on the outside of the building. He’d only brought what he could stuff in his pockets with him, so it was easy to get out and jog down the street to get as far away from Cooper’s apartment as he could.
Half a mile later, he spotted a Starbucks and ducked inside to use their restroom. With the door locked securely behind him, Drew had a full-blown panic attack, putting his forehead on the cool mirror as he forcefully took long, slow breaths. Arguing with Cooper, especially over something so stupid was just… well, stupid.
He hadn’t told Cooper that he was Drew’s first real boyfriend, since the casual encounters he’d had before had never developed into real relationships, and Drew wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing. All the sweetness and the romance, he could do that; he surrounded himself with it all the time. The hard stuff, though? He didn’t have a clue.
When his heart settled down again, Drew treated himself to an iced caramel latte and called Uber to pick him up. He didn’t want to call anyone he knew, because that would mean confessing that he’d fucked up. Because Dan would know—he had a built-in bullshit detector and always seemed to be able to turn it on Drew.
The house was quiet when he got home, and Drew resigned himself to a long afternoon in bed, alone, with Netflix.
Chapter Seven
“IS IT over?” Alana asked, and Cooper tipped his head back and groaned.
They’d had their lunch together for the first time in Cooper couldn’t remember how long, taking the opportunity to go to the Panera Bread across the street and leaving one of the college kids who ran a window in charge. There were picnic benches outside, and Alana was sitting backward, elbows resting on the table behind her with her face lifted up to the sun.
“I don’t know,” Cooper admitted. “He walked out, and we haven’t spoken since.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to call him first, because he’s the asshole who was wrong, not me.”
“Are you sure?”
Cooper glared at her. Alana put her hands up in defense of the glare.
“I’m just sayin’,” she drawled. “He might have a point. Are you still here because you love it, or are you scared?”
“Scared of what?”
“Failure,” she said succinctly. “Look, Cooper, I know you’ve been rocking that laid-back, nowhere to go, nothing to do vibe for a few years now. But Drew might be right. You have a lot of potential, and it would be a shame for you to waste it just because you’re afraid of what might happen.”
Cooper couldn’t come up with a coherent response to that, so he mumbled something about people ganging up on him and shredded the remains of his bread bowl.
“I told him he thought I wasn’t good enough for him.”
Alana didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge Cooper’s statement at all.
“You know,” Cooper continued. “Because he’s so talented and an actor and he’s going to be famous, and I’m just the guy who scoops ice cream for a living.”
“Do you really believe that?”
Cooper said nothing.
Alana sighed.
“Cooper, you are not a stupid person. But you are a man.”
“Is that an insult?”
“The only person who is holding you back right now is you. I know you’re better than this job. Drew knows you’re better than this job. And if you’re honest with yourself, you do too.”
“I’m not ready—”
Cooper scrunched his nose up. “Shit.”
“Do you miss him?” Alana demanded.
“Yeah.”
“Then you need to suck it up. If you love him, you should call him.”
“Okay,” Cooper agreed sullenly. He knew he was moping and couldn’t bring himself to care. It had been three days since Drew walked out of Cooper’s apartment. Of all the things Cooper had expected, for Drew to be a stubborn ass wasn’t on that list.
Cooper’s phone buzzed with a message, and he almost dropped it in shock.
“Shit!”
“What?”
“Nothing, I just jumped,” Cooper said, annoyed with himself. He thumbed his code and unlocked the screen, heart thumping when he saw the message.
“Read it to me,” Alana said, not looking over.
“Got an acting job in Atlanta. Will be gone for three weeks. Drew.”
“Is that it?”
“Yeah. Do I respond?”
Alana hummed. “Can he see that you’ve read it?”
“Yeah.”
She hummed again. “Text him good luck, or something like that.”
Cooper dropped his head to the picnic table and groaned. “A week ago I thought he was the one, Alana. The one. Now it’s all….” He thumped his head a few more times for good measure. “I don’t know. So fucked-up.”
“You love him.”
“I thought I did.”
“Then you’ll figure it out. Come on, we need to get back.”
THREE WEEKS was a long time to wallow.
Cooper was no fool—he knew he was wallowing and decided to own it. Things didn’t really change. He got up every morning, went to work at the Dreamy Creamery, pulled a double shift at the dive bar three nights a week. It wasn’t anything to brag about.
Now there was something missing, though. He wouldn’t admit it, especially not to Alana, but the lack of “Good morning” and “Good night” texts was killing him. He wanted Drew spooned up tight behind him in bed. He wanted mind-blowingly good sex. He wanted his boyfriend back.