by Nia Arthurs
She tucked a curl behind her ear and walked regally toward him.
Don’t be nervous. He’s just a guy.
“Erin.” Ryan smiled warmly and wrapped her up in a hug. “It’s good to see you.”
Erin’s eyes fluttered closed. He smelled like sweat and sunshine. It wasn’t an unpleasant fragrance. “Hey.”
Ryan released her and blinked with his deep, entrancing brown eyes. “Is… that for me?”
“Yeah.” Erin got a hold of herself and thrust the bottle at him.
“Thanks.”
“I really enjoyed your game today. You did great.”
He tilted his head. “Nah. Cooper did all the work.”
“No way. He was setting those balls way too low. You had to dive just to get them off the ground.”
Ryan chuckled. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but I appreciate it anyway.”
“I’m being completely honest,” Erin insisted.
Ryan studied her with a look so intense, her toes curled. His plump brown lips curved up in a confident smile. “You wanna hang out after the ceremonies?”
“Just… you and me?”
He nodded.
Her heart skipped a beat. “I would love that.”
Ryan slightly bit his lower lip as he looked at her. “Great.”
“Great,” Erin replied breathlessly.
“Hey, Ryan!” A broad-shouldered man waved him over. “If you’re done flirting, think you can head over here for a group picture?”
Erin ducked her head. “Go on.”
“I’ll see you later.” Ryan trotted away.
Erin’s heart thundered in her ears as she walked aimlessly back to the Student Center. She pulled out her cellphone, debating calling Peggy and sharing the news of her date when her phone buzzed with a message.
PEGGY: Come to the Student Center now.
She rushed up the stairs and sailed inside.
Her gaze scanned the room, taking in the rows of tall windows, the pool table, and cluster of chairs. Iron fans whirred overhead. Colorful posters covered the walls, urging the students to ‘Reach For The Stars’ and ‘Say No To Drugs’.
Ten people waited in line at the other end of the room. A photographer snapped pictures with a dull expression.
“Bingo,” Erin said. She took a step toward the line when someone appeared in front of her, blocking her path. Erin got a whiff of sandalwood and stiffened.
Cooper.
“Thanks, Erin.” He reached over and grabbed her water bottle.
“Hey!”
Cooper tipped the rim to his lips and drained her water.
She bristled. “That was mine.”
“Was it?” Cooper arched an eyebrow.
“The next time you’re thirsty, ask one of your groupies to help you out.” She stalked toward the photographer.
“Groupies?” Cooper followed her, casually slipping a hand into his pocket. He had changed out of his jersey and back into his shirt and jeans. “Are you jealous?”
“In your dreams.”
“Did you watch the game?”
“Yes.”
“What did you think?”
“That Ryan couldn’t shine thanks to a crappy setter.”
Cooper’s pink lips puckered. “Was that aimed at me?”
She whirled on him. “Why are you bothering me, Cooper? Don’t you have better things to do?”
“Of course.”
Erin swept her arms toward him. “Yet you’re still here.”
“So are you.”
“Do you train to be a jerk or does that come naturally?”
“I’m the jerk? You’re the one insulting me.”
“When did I do that?” Erin gawked.
“You called me a crappy setter.”
“Because you are.”
“Ehem!”
Both Cooper and Erin froze. She swung her head and found the photographer glaring at them. Erin wheeled back. She’d been so caught up in Cooper and his annoying self she hadn’t paid attention to where she was going.
“Excuse me,” the man said, “could you take your lovers quarrel elsewhere?”
“L-lovers? You’ve got the wrong idea. We’re not together.” Erin coughed. “Tell him, Cooper.”
But Cooper didn’t say anything. Instead, he pulled her arm and tugged her into the line.
Erin wrenched her hand away and glanced over her shoulder to shoot him an icy glare. “Don’t ever speak to me again.”
“Sorry, darlin.” Cooper hovered over her, his breath hitting her ear. Her body shivered. Again. Reacting to him when she’d given it no permission to do so. “Shall we kiss and make up?”
Erin huffed and stared straight ahead, praying that today was the last that she would see of Cooper Lawson.
7 Cooper
He watched Erin take her picture. He’d pissed her off so much that she could barely smile.
She was adorable. Even when angry. Her brown eyes blazed with passion beneath her eyebrows. Her fingers curled into fists.
“Miss, don’t look at your boyfriend,” the photographer said. “Look at me.”
“He’s not my—”
The click of the camera’s shutter cut her off.
“Next!”
“Wait!” Erin begged. “I wasn’t ready.”
“Miss,” the photographer wiped his brow, “you look fine. Really.” His chin arched higher. “Next!”
Erin grudgingly stepped out of the way. As he passed her, she shot him a scorching look that would have melted all the ice caps in Antarctica. Cooper repressed his smirk and kept his expression neutral.
Anything he said or did at this point would be used against him.
As Cooper posed for his picture, he wondered why he couldn’t have one decent conversation with Erin. Back in primary school, he picked on her because that was the only way he knew how to get her attention.
Now he was older, and he wanted more than a reaction. He wanted a connection.
It was time to up his game. Find a way to interact with her that didn’t involve Erin staring at him like she was mentally stabbing his body.
“Oh, yes!” Cooper heard shutters flashing at a rapid pace. “Just like that. And that.”
He frowned and focused on the photographer. “Am I done?”
The balding man rose and let his camera flap to his chest. The straps around his neck held the expensive device up. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but your face is inspirational. Have you considered modeling?”
“No.” Cooper grabbed his knapsack and searched for Erin. He saw her curly hair swishing behind her as she stormed to a separate room inside the center.
“Wait!” The photographer offered his card. “If you ever need an extra job, stop by my studio. I’ll pay you.”
Cooper slipped the card into the side of his bag and took off after Erin.
The room she entered was small and seemed out of place, as if it had been added recently. Two of the three walls were pure glass. A black placard above the doorway read ‘Student Council Office’.
He recognized Peggy sitting on a desk inside, laughing with her friends. His eyes slid around the room until they landed on Erin.
She saw him spying and mouthed, “Go away.”
“What are you looking at?” Peggy asked her sister. When she glanced up and spotted him, a welcoming smile grew on her face. Peggy hopped off the desk, her short skirt flaring around her. “Come in, Cooper!”
“It’s fine.” He lingered in the doorway. “I just need to see Erin.”
“Oooh,” the group teased.
“Erin,” one of the girls sitting in the sofa yelled, “where did you find him and where can I get one?”
Laughter erupted as Erin shook her head. “Cut it out.”
“Why are you still sitting down?” Peggy asked. “Cooper’s waiting.”
“So what?”
Cooper walked in. “I came for my jacket.”
“Here.” Erin unzipp
ed her bag to offer his hoodie back.
Cooper turned away before she could return it. “Let’s talk. Outside.”
The student council made kissy faces at them.
Erin frowned.
Laughter followed him as Cooper led Erin through the door. Her footsteps thudded behind him. She was still angry. It didn’t matter. He had to tell her.
It was now or never.
Cooper closed his eyes and mouthed, “Will you go out with me? Will you go out with me?”
Erin flounced in front of him and shoved the jacket at his chest. “Here.”
His eyes burst open.
“My arm’s about to fall off.” She shook the jacket.
“I don’t want it.”
Erin’s jaw dropped. “Then why did you bother me about it?”
“I changed my mind.”
Erin huffed. “What am I supposed to do with your jacket?”
“Toss it or keep it. Whatever you want.”
“I’ll throw it away then,” Erin threatened.
“Will you…?” He studied her. Decided she would shoot him down if he asked her out now and changed directions. “Are you going to tell Peggy what that guy did to you?”
Her eyes flickered. “You mean Vinnie?”
He nodded.
“No. It was just a misunderstanding.”
“Do you want me to tell her then?”
She rose on her tiptoes, finger pointed in his face. “Don’t you dare.”
Cooper covered her finger with his hand and lowered it. “What if he tries something again?”
“Then I’ll handle it. He’s Peggy’s boyfriend. I’ll get to know him better before I judge him.”
Cooper frowned, thinking of the way Vinnie had tried to unzip Erin’s jacket when she told him repeatedly to stop.
“Just… be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Erin raised her chin. “Are we done here?”
“Wait.” He licked his lips. The seconds stretched between them.
Erin tapped her feet against the ground. “Well?”
“What are you doing after this?”
Erin looked uneasy. “Why?”
“Because.”
“Because what?”
His temper rose along with his embarrassment. “Just answer the question.”
“Don’t yell at me.”
“I didn’t.” He realized his voice was louder than he expected and softened it. “Tell me.”
“If you must know I have a date.”
His eyebrows shot up. “With who?”
“None of your business.” Erin stuck her tongue out at him. “Since you gave me the jacket, we don’t have anything else to discuss, right?”
He caught her hand when she tried to walk away. “Don’t go.”
She wrenched her arm free, her eyes narrowed to slivers. “Don’t touch me, Cooper Lawson. Don’t look at me. Don’t breathe my air.”
He blinked. How did she expect him to do that?
Erin took a step back. “Pretend you don’t know me and I’ll do the same to you. Goodbye.”
“Erin!”
She spun on her heels, ignoring his call.
Cooper wanted to chase her, but he knew better than to push his luck. Erin was stubborn when she wanted to be. He had to find another way to get through to her.
But first things first. Who was she going out with tonight? Jealousy speared him. He hoped it wasn’t Ryan.
Cooper had seen when Erin walked up to Ryan after the game. He’d wanted to get to her, but he was trapped by the girls congratulating him on the win.
Cooper felt his pocket vibrate and pulled out his phone. He was prepared to ignore the call when he saw a familiar number flashing across the screen.
The blood drained from his face.
It was his dad.
He stumbled outside and found an abandoned bench drenched in the shadows. “Hello?”
“I heard you came back.” His father’s voice was cold, hard.
“You heard right.”
“Did your mother send you?”
Cooper placed his hand flat on the bench’s surface. “I wanted to come.”
“My circumstances haven’t changed,” he said.
Cooper took in a breath. “I know.”
“Do you need anything for your living expenses?”
“No. I’ll handle it.”
“Where are you staying?”
Cooper hesitated to answer.
“There are ways for me to find out.”
“It’s the Seaside Apartments. Close to the school. You don’t need to visit.”
“I’ll stop by when my schedule clears. Be prepared.”
Cooper straightened. “Yes, sir.”
“Do well in school and focus on your studies. You don’t have time to mess around.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.” His father hung up.
Cooper held the phone to his ear, listening to the dial tone. Brandon Lawson continued to scare him, even now when he was twenty-one years old.
Growing up, his father kept Cooper at arms-length. There were days when Cooper questioned whether he was adopted. As he grew older, the possibility of that seemed less likely.
Brandon Lawson would never acknowledge him—even in the limited capacity that he did now—if Cooper was not directly related to his life or business.
The day he finally accepted that he wasn’t adopted was a sad one. Cooper had been hoping that the DNA test he sent through Josiah would come back negative. There was something freeing in the thought that, somewhere out there, existed a happy family that would welcome him.
Now those dreams were shattered.
This bleak, dysfunctional reality was his for life.
“Hey, Cooper!” Someone plopped into the bench across from him. Kay stuck her feet beneath the bench and offered him a large smile. “You keep getting away from me.”
He groaned. When would this girl take a hint?
“The ceremony’s starting,” Kay said. “Do you want to sit together?”
“No.”
Kay’s smile did not waver. “We can ditch then. I don’t mind. It’s hot in there anyway.”
A group of students walked out of the center. Cooper saw Peggy at the front of the crowd. Erin strolled behind her. She was smiling brightly. The kind that seemed to sparkle from her eyes.
His throat tightened. She was so freaking beautiful. He couldn’t get her out of his head. Out of his heart.
Cooper had met plenty of girls in the states. Buxom blondes. Flirty brunettes. Black girls. White girls. Hispanic girls. They all threw themselves at him.
When Cooper was bored, he let them entertain him. Even hooked up with them when he was feeling especially rakish. But no matter how many women he met, they just never compared to Erin Marshall.
“Cooper?” Kay said softly, placing her hand on top of his.
He wrenched his gaze away from Erin and focused on Kay. Why couldn’t he like someone like her? Someone who worshipped the ground he walked on. Someone who thought he was flawless.
Kay would never yell at him.
Or call him a crappy server.
Or fling a jacket in his face.
Kay’s eyes softened the longer he stared. “What is it?”
If he were in the States, he’d probably drag her to an empty classroom and use her to forget about Erin. Even if it was just for a few minutes.
But he couldn’t bring himself to treat Kay that way. Most of the women he’d slept with understood they were just his playthings. Those relationships meant nothing because there were no hearts involved.
Kay liked him. Her feelings had spanned for almost a decade. As someone who was currently pining for a primary school crush, he understood her. Empathized with her.
Cooper was the first to admit he could be a jerk, but that was a depth he didn’t particularly feel like sinking to.
“It’s nothing.”
Erin was already a distance aw
ay, heading for the buildings on the opposite end of the campus. He let his eyes linger on her back and then sighed. “You should go.”
“Are you coming to the ceremony?”
“No.” He grabbed his knapsack and moved away from the bench.
Kay jumped too and scrambled to keep up with him. “Let me come with you.”
“I want to be alone.”
“Then give me your phone number. Maybe we can meet up tonight.”
“I don’t have a phone.”
Kay’s expression fell. “I know you do, Cooper.”
He quickened his steps until he was almost running. “I’ll see you around.”
“Cooper!”
He ignored her cry and jogged toward the parking lot. Josiah was probably waiting at the apartment, tidying up and putting his things away.
Sometimes, that man was more like a mother than his own mother.
He didn’t feel like answering Josiah’s questions right now. Josiah would know something was up the moment he saw his face. Instead, Cooper jogged in the opposite direction.
Didn’t matter where he was going. He didn’t care. He just had to run.
The wind slapped against his chest. His breath came hard and fast as he kept up a steady pace and pushed his body to the limits.
It was only his first day back in Belize. His first day seeing Erin again.
If he kept on trying, maybe… hopefully, he’d find a way to make everything work out.
8 Erin
“You look great,” Ryan said. The lone candlelight on the white-dressed table flickered over his dark skin. His brown eyes gleamed with sincerity. “Did you know that yellow is my favorite color?”
“I did,” Erin admitted softly. And then she froze. “I mean, I remember. From school. You mentioned it once. It’s not like I looked it up or anything. I just have a really great… memory.”
Erin realized she was babbling and clamped her lips shut.
Ryan chuckled. “You’re cute. You know that?”
Cute? Like a koala bear? Like a puppy?
“Thanks?” Erin put a fist to her mouth and scrambled for something else to say. Something that wouldn’t make her sound like a stalker. “How’s your pasta?”
How’s your pasta? Really? Is that all you could think of?
“It’s great.” Ryan smiled, his white teeth a gorgeous contrast to his flawless skin.