by Megan Derr
"'Cause honest to god I was scared what they'd do if they caught me." Jake sighed, head falling back so he stared at the ceiling. "They always left me twitchy, but I chalked it up to not really liking lawyers in general. They've always done a good job, and their accusations sounded so crazy, it was like they were too crazy to be made up. But at the same time, it just didn't make any sense that you'd jump ship in such a sneaky way. If you wanted to leave, you'd tell me you wanted to leave. I didn't know. I just wanted to tread water 'til you got home, and I knew the moment we left that Henry would call you."
Cooper nodded. "So what made you finally up and fire them?"
Sitting up, Jake leaned toward him, resting his elbows on his knees. "See, that's the strangest damned part of this, other than the idea of you being a backstabber. Not two hours ago, Dominic came to the office while we was getting ready for the meeting tomorrow and up and tells us he's made up most of what he said and exaggerated the rest. Wouldn't tell us why, but it wasn't hard to figure he was jealous of you. The way he muttered, he clearly thought you and Henry had been having an affair and was trying to get revenge. How tabloid does that sound?"
"Are you serious?" Cooper asked and buried his face in one hand. After a moment he looked up. "What the hell made that asshole come in and confess?"
Jake shrugged. "Hell if I know. He was stubbornly set against telling us, kept changing the subject or flat out ignoring the question. You ask me, something put the fear of god in that boy."
Hmm. Cooper thought about the way Dai had gotten up early, his vague explanation. How he hadn't really seemed all that surprised Jake had shown up. If anyone could terrify Dominic into being honest, it was Dai. That boy was sweet as heaven, pretty as sin, and twice as wicked. Anger stirred at the thought of Dai interfering, but in the next heartbeat Cooper was forced to admit he might not act so different in their roles were reversed.
And it was damned hard to get mad at someone who had done so much for him, from keeping their relationship a secret to canceling a tour to terrorizing Dominic into coming clean.
Cooper loved him to death. And the more he thought about it the more he wasn't even remotely sorry that Dai had interfered. He almost wished he'd seen it. He hoped the stupid asshole had pissed himself.
"So what did the lawyers have to say to that?"
"Not a whole hell of a lot, actually," Jake said with a long sigh. "So I fired them. Should have gone with my gut from the start. I don't even know where to start with this whole damned mess, except trying to square things with you. Though right now it feels like it's too fucking late."
Cooper shook his head. "It ain't."
"You sure? 'Cause I'm still mighty pissed you throw stones about trust at me, but here you haven't really trusted me all these years."
"It's not even close to the same damned kind of thing, asshole. It wasn't like that and you know it," Cooper replied.
"Oh, funny how that's just fine when you're the one saying it," Jake snapped.
"I let you talk, you gonna let me?"
"I'm getting me some damned coffee." Jake stood and stomped off to the kitchen, taking his merry time helping himself.
Cooper poked through the papers and photos again, stole a few that were actually really good shots of Dai—and him and Dai. If Jake didn't like him taking them, too damn bad.
"So talk," Jake said as he returned to the living room and sat down.
Cooper almost stood to get more coffee himself, but that was just a stalling tactic. "It was habit at first. Gay isn't exactly the smartest thing to be as a bullrider, so I kept it to myself. I'd only been out of the hospital a few weeks when you came to see me, hadn't been out of the game long enough to decide what I wanted to do. Then when I signed on to help you for a bit, keeping it quiet seemed the best way to go since anything that happened to me would affect ya'll, which didn't seem fair when I was only going to be temporary. Then suddenly I was permanent and famous, and I didn't know what the hell to do. Easier to keep quiet like I'd always done. Henry said—"
"You fucking told Henry but not me?" Jake cut in, sounding even more hurt than he had already. "Damn it, Cooper. I know what you're saying, but I'm your friend. I wouldn't… I don't care. I never would have let anyone get away with treating you wrong. Shine would have stood by you. Why would you tell Henry but not me?"
"It wasn't on purpose, hell. I found out just how bad things were with her and Dominic, and we shared secrets. That's all. We've always helped each other out on the quiet 'cause what the whole band knows eventually the damned press knows. I swear I only ever kept it to myself to protect Shine. And then it went on so long I didn't know how to finally bring it up. I was working up to tell you. Figured if I was I willing to sneak off to London for a man, I should probably introduce him to ya'll, even if I'm still not keen on the rest of the world knowing. They already pry too much into the rest of my business."
Jake sighed, stared at his coffee like he thought it might say something useful. Cooper knew the feeling. "So you've shacked up with a damned rockstar, huh?" Jake smiled, the kind of easy, fond smile they'd exchanged a thousand times. "Couldn't even find a respectable country boy, had to go for someone that's gonna shock your mama."
"Shock her?" Cooper laughed a bit. "Maybe. More likely she'll be mad I ain't introduced him sooner. My sister, though, she's gonna be mad enough to lock me out of the house. You know as well as me how much she loves Forever and a Dai, though I think it's Jet she's got the most posters of."
"You'd deserve it," Jake said with a hesitant smile that faded away in the next breath. "Look, Coop. I really am sorry. I never meant for anything to go like it did. I know you wouldn't hurt us or leave without talking. The lawyers had me backwards and upside down. And regarding you not telling me you're gay… I know I don't have no right to be mad at you."
Cooper nodded. "You really are my best friend. I've wanted to tell you for ages, but after a while it becomes a thing you just can't say 'cause you've gone so long without saying it. If Dominic's out of our hair for good now, then I'm calling it done. And I might just know a better lawyer for us."
"Yours?" Jake drawled, taking a swallow of coffee before grinning and adding, "His name sounded familiar, and Shine's lawyers sure didn't like hearing it. Your boy comes with all sorts of perks."
"His name sounds familiar 'cause he's Dai's brother."
Jake's brows shot up at that, and then he laughed. "Glad this fight didn't go all the way to the ground, cause I can tell who was gonna come out the loser."
"I tried to tell Dai to stay out of it; he wouldn't listen. Can't say I blame him," Cooper replied with a smile. "Hang on a minute." He stood and headed down the hall to the master bedroom, not surprised to find the door firmly closed and, when he opened it, Dai sprawled on the bed wearing his headphones. And bubblegum pink satin panties.
Dai opened his eyes and smiled, pulling out his headphones as he sat up. "You and Jake work things out, then?"
"Yeah, and I sense I have you to thank," Cooper replied with a look. "What were you really doing this morning?" He crawled onto the bed and braced over Dai, going easily when Dai pulled him down into the kiss.
"Errands," Dai said with a wicked little grin. That mouth wouldn't melt butter.
"Uh-huh." Cooper nipped his bottom lip. "Stop being a distracting little devil and come meet Jake. Well, you've met before, but…"
Dai ran a hand through Cooper's hair, petting gently, smiling in a sweet, happy little way. "Not like this. If you want me to put clothes on and meet him, you have to let me up."
"Don't go laying on my bed practically naked, then," Cooper said, but with a last quick kiss rolled away and helped Dai up.
Walking over to the open luggage in one corner of the room, Dai pulled on jeans. One of his tight-fitting pairs that went on way more easily that seemed fair. Dai then pulled on a dark blue Henley before sitting down to pull on socks. He ran his fingers through his bright pink hair. "Ready! I think."
"Don't tell me
you're nervous?" Cooper asked with a laugh, holding out his hand and reeling Dai in when he took it. "You?"
"I'm always nervous. I just fake being cocky really, really well," Dai said. "I may gripe about my family, but my parents never let me get away with hiding and being shy. Doesn't mean I don't want to crawl into the nearest hole and hide forever."
Cooper kissed him softly, lingering on that warm, pliant mouth meant for kissing. "I admire the skill. I mostly got over crowds 'cause when you're trying to keep your ass on a bull, you ain't got time to wonder what folks is thinking." He pulled away, still holding fast to Dai's hand as they left the bedroom and returned to the living room.
Jake was standing back over by the windows. He turned slowly when he heard them coming, and a small smile took over his face when he saw them, head shaking as he crossed the room and offered a hand. "Howdy. Nice to meet you again."
"Hi," Dai said. "I'm glad you guys worked stuff out. Cooper is always talking about you."
"I hope not, when he should be paying attention to you," Jake said with a wink. "My ex-wife used to get real mad when I'd talk and talk about the band but never get around to asking after her day. Which she certainly should have been. Nice hair. Don't think I've ever seen a picture where it wasn't some crazy color or three."
Dai grinned. "I did it the first time to piss off my parents, but then found I really really liked it. Don't see my original color very often."
Jake laughed, then slid a mischievous look to Cooper. "Pint size rockstars with pink hair, huh? Wouldn't have guessed that for your type, Coop." Something flickered across his face, and then the mischievous grin turned full on evil. He looked at Dai again. "Did you spend some time at a beach house with him several months back? Round the time we all had dinner?"
"Yeah…"
Jake started laughing all over again, and Cooper could feel his face burn. He gave Jake a shove. "Shut up, or we're gonna go back to not being friends."
Dai gave them a puzzled look. Jake just sniggered. "You should meet the rest of the band, unless you want to keep things on the down low?" The last was said to Cooper.
Shaking his head, Cooper replied, "I ain't looking to tell the world, but it's time the rest of the band knew. We can go to dinner or something. Guess I'd better call Jason and tell him everything is taken care of."
"Already did," Dai said. "He said if Shine the Moon wants to hire him, he'll speak with you tomorrow, same time as the original meeting."
"That's nice of him," Jake said.
Dai let out a sharp, cracking, "Ha!" He rolled his eyes. "Don't let my brother's manners or pretty face deceive you. He's exactly why they call lawyers sharks. And assholes. And sanctimonious, ass-kissing—Um. Anyway. Can my band come to dinner? They haven't gotten to meet Cooper yet and they really want to. I promise we'll behave. Except Jet. I don't make promises regarding his behavior. Not even God could make him behave, trust me."
"Sure," Jake said. "How about Jessie's place? She won't mind giving us a room last minute, and paparazzi won't be able to get through." He made a face. "Though speaking of press, I should probably schedule a press conference to put all this shit to rest. I had to turn my damned phone off I was so sick of getting calls. We'll deal with that tomorrow. I'll get things sorted, call you with the details. Nice to meet you, Dai."
"You too," Dai said and shook his hand again, grinning as happily as Cooper had ever seen him.
Jake hugged Cooper, then gathered up his things and left.
Cooper blew out a sigh of relief when the door closed. "I thought I was going to end this day out a job and my best friend. Never been so happy to be so wrong."
"No way was I going to let that happen. Fuck that," Dai said.
Reaching out, Cooper snagged Dai about the waist and hauled him in close. "You're better to me than I deserve."
"That deserves to be scoffed at, and so I do," Dai replied and cupped the sides of his head before leaning up to kiss him. It started out hard but gradually turned soft and lazy. If Dai were a cat, Cooper didn't doubt he'd be purring. "I'm glad everything worked out so well. Though it might all come crashing down again when my crew is set loose on yours. Especially Jet. He is way too excited about this. No one should be happier than us that we're in a relationship, but I think he's honestly giddy with it. Then again, I catch him reading romance novels all the time, so who knows with Jet. Even I don't fully understand how his brain works."
Cooper chuckled. "I think I'd like to meet the person that settles him down."
"That's usually an officer of the law," Dai said, smiling when Cooper laughed. "So what's this restaurant we're going to? Is it a steakhouse? That's a dumb question. The only restaurants in Texas are all steakhouses, it's like a law."
"I don't want to hear it, given ever other building in your neck of the woods is a coffeehouse and every last one treats you like a regular." He grinned when Dai smiled sheepishly and bent to kiss him again. "Come on, I need to get dressed for public, and you make me want to try for things I know I can't do again yet."
Dai snickered but pulled away. "I wonder if I have the right clothes for this. Oh, can Jason come? He'll act all aloof and professional, but secretly be glad he's there."
"You're awfully nice to him considering you're always claiming to hate him."
"I don't hate him; I just feel it should be legal to punch the shit out of my dumbass, stubborn brother whenever he's being especially difficult."
"Uh-huh," Cooper drawled. "And who gets to decide the 'especially difficult' bit?"
Dai beamed innocently. "Me, of course."
Cooper rolled his eyes and hustled him toward the bedroom. "You should be lucky it ain't a law, 'cause I suspect he'd have a few punches of his own to swing."
Dai's brows rose as he reached the bedroom and turned to face Cooper. "Are you saying I'm especially difficult on occasion?"
"I would never," Cooper said. "Stop being distracting and get dressed." He turned away so he wouldn't get distracted watching Dai change.
In the end, the eyeliner and pink lipstick proved to be his downfall, but Cooper wasn't terribly sorry about it.
Track 09
Shine Forever
As Dai, Jake, and the others stepped into the room, he heard someone say, "Seriously, Jake, give us some clue as to why we're here." Dai didn't need to touch Cooper to feel the tension running through him. He hadn't said much since leaving the condo, outwardly had looked calmer than Dai could ever remember seeing him outside of well-fucked and sacked out. It reminded him of Jason, actually, who got frostier as he got more nervous. Not that Jason would ever admit he got nervous about things.
He lightly touched the back of Cooper's hand, offering what reassurance he could as they drew closer to Jake and the rest of Shine, who finally noticed them.
"It's nothing bad, and that's all you're getting," Jake finally replied.
Dinner was, as predicted, at a fancy steakhouse where Jake had arranged a private room. Two large buffet tables took up the back corner of the room, spread with steak, two kinds of potatoes, various vegetables, and all sorts of finger foods. There was also beer, wine, and three different evil-looking cakes for dessert. Dai looked away from the table, putting his attention back on Shine the Moon as they stared, curious and confused—and definitely shocked as they realized who Dai and the others were.
Callie, a short, pretty woman with dark brown curls and a mess of freckles, stepped slightly forward. Next to her was Janette, Shine the Moon's new permanent member. Behind them was Henry, who had stared at him with jaw dropped as she figured out what the others couldn't possibly know yet. "Somebody tell me what's going on before I start hitting people, seriously. Is it true you're leaving us, Coop?" She cast Dai and the others a look that wasn't quite a scowl, but would tip into that and worse if she didn't like what she heard.
"No, I ain't leaving," Cooper replied, exasperated and amused. And nervous as hell under that, though Dai didn't think anyone but him, maybe Jake or Henry, heard it. C
ooper drew a deep breath, then let it out. "I wanted—I have something—" He broke off, sighed, then half-turned and took Dai's hand, dragging him forward. "Hell, best just to say it direct. I wanted ya'll to meet my lover, Dai."
There was a sudden silence, two stunned looks from Callie and Redd. Cooper was holding Dai's hand so tight Dai was half-afraid something was going to break. He squeezed back reassuringly.
Just when he thought Cooper was going to turn and bolt the silence broke as Janette and Callie shrieked and Callie punched Redd's arm. He grunted, rubbing his arm as he shot Callie a look that she completely ignored. Still shrieking, she launched herself at Cooper. "You goddamn asshole! I'm going to murder you. All this time you've been sleeping with Forever and a Dai and you ain't told us 'til now?"
"Woman, I'm not sleeping with the whole band," Cooper said, while Dai's band howled with laughter. Even Jason cracked a smile.
"That's not what I meant!" Callie said and punched his arm. "Oh, my god! Are you serious?"
She didn't wait for his answer, instead rounded on Dai. If not for Cooper's hold on him, he might have taken several steps back and hidden behind Jet. "I would have thought you'd have better taste than this lug."
"Hey!" Cooper said.
She smirked briefly at him then turned back to Dai and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you. Name's Callie, though you probably already know that."
Janette stepped forward and shook his hand next. "Nice to meet you, I'm a huge fan, too. How'd you meet Coop?"
"At dinner one night, when we met up with some mutual friends," Dai said, shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you." He motioned his band and brother forward and introduced them around.
Jake stepped forward and clapped Jason on the shoulder. "And Jason here has tentatively agreed to represent us now that I've fired the others. Sorry I held on to them so long."
"Forget it," Henry said. "Even I didn't know they were as crummy as my useless ex." She smiled brightly and shook Jason's hand. "Your parents sure made pretty babies. Thanks for having us."