by Nia Arthurs
Cooper spooned a bit of the soup out and blew on it. “That must have been rough.”
“Nah, it was better for them. They fought all the time. Movies make you think being in love allows you to overcome anything, but that’s not the truth. My parents loved each other, but they can’t stand to be in the same room.”
“What kind of love is that?” Rolando laughed.
“You and your perfect blended family wouldn’t understand,” Dennis said. His tone was light, but his eyes were serious. “Your dad managed to find a good woman twice. My dad… wasn’t so lucky.”
“Family’s always complicated, man.” Rolando slapped Dennis’s shoulder. “That’s why you need friends to keep you sane.”
Cooper slipped the soup into his mouth and brightened. “Wow.”
“It’s good, right?” Rolando grinned wide.
Cooper responded by shoveling another spoonful into his mouth and burning his tongue. As he hissed and coughed, Rolando and Dennis scrambled around to bring him a cup of water.
“Here!” Dennis thrust the glass into his hand.
Cooper stuck his tongue in and let out a breath of relief.
Dennis watched him, lips trembling. Rolando had no such restraint. He thrust his head back and laughed. “You should have seen your face!”
Dennis joined him, bending over as waves of laughter rolled out of his mouth.
Cooper set the cup down and chuckled along with them.
Laughter was the best medicine. He pretty much forgot about his problems with Erin, his dad and the Santino gang while he joked around with his teammates.
An hour later, Rolando and Dennis left after giving him strict instructions to follow their Google-approved schedule of sleep and food.
Cooper walked to his bedroom and spent a few minutes smiling at the ceiling. His heart was light and his stomach was full.
Was this what it felt like to have friends?
21 Erin
“Where are you taking me?” She glanced outside her window at the mansions that littered rolling green hills. The sky was a clear, cerulean blue. The mountains in the distance hunched their shoulders like brooding gorillas. “I thought we were going home.”
“We are.” Peggy slanted her a sly look. “After this.”
Erin leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Peggy, I’m really not in the mood to watch you and Vinnie be obnoxious and clingy. Can’t you take me back to our apartment? It’s been a long day.”
“No.”
“But—”
“Would you stop complaining? We’re almost there.” Peggy slowed their car in front of a large brick building with small balconies. Coconut trees swayed in a meticulously groomed lawn.
“Why are we here?”
Peggy winked. “You ask a lot of questions. Come on.”
They stepped into the foyer. Erin tried not to gawk. The room boasted gorgeous Belizean paintings on the cream walls. The scent of perfume filled the air. Two elevators opened and closed to her left.
“Peggy…”
“Fine.” Peggy sighed as if Erin was getting on her last nerves. “There’s someone I need to see. It’s a part of my student council business.”
Erin walked into the elevator and watched her reflection in the stainless steel glass. She wore a white T-shirt tucked into a flared pink skirt. Her fingers nervously went for her ponytail. She wrenched out the clip and let her hair spill over her shoulders.
Peggy snorted. “What are you doing?”
“We’re probably here to beg some wealthy businessman for money, right? That’s why you look so professional.” Erin ran her gaze down her sister’s plaid blazer paired with brown shorts and heels. “I don’t want to look out of place.”
Peggy preened at her reflection in the elevator doors. “I do look good, don’t I?”
Erin kept her mouth shut. Peggy had an ego that blew up whenever it was even slightly stroked. There was no need to feed it with her flattery.
“But I didn’t wear this for our meeting.” Peggy ran her pale hands down her blazer. “I had a presentation in class today.” The elevator doors opened and Peggy strode out.
Erin scrunched her nose in confusion and followed her sister. “Wait, then… who are we seeing?”
Peggy responded by walking confidently down the hall and knocking at a door with the numbers ‘405’ carved in gold on the post. Almost immediately, the door swung open and a man stepped into view.
Erin’s mouth fell.
“Cooper!” Peggy yelled. “What’s up?”
Cooper’s wide eyes and dropped jaw said he was just as stunned to see them as Erin was to be there. “Hey…”
“Peggy,” Erin grabbed her sister’s arm while pasting a polite smile on her face, “what are you doing?”
Her sister wrenched her arm free and frowned at the place where Erin’s fingernails nearly punctured her pale skin. “Come on, Erin. You know I bruise easily.”
Cooper cleared his throat. “Can I help you with something?”
“Nope.” Peggy shook her head. “We’re here to help you.”
Cooper’s rapidly fluttering eyes told Erin he didn’t understand. Frankly, neither did she.
“My duties as student council president aren’t limited to school dances and event planning. It’s my job to send care packages for sick students as a reminder that we remember and miss them.”
“I’ve only missed a few days of school. It’s not a big deal,” Cooper said. His golden eyes flitted to her face before bouncing back to the wall.
Erin avoided his gaze too. She hadn’t seen Cooper around school—which, if she was honest, had been a blessing. It was easier to focus on her and Ryan when there were no six-foot, broad-shouldered, messy-haired distractions.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re a student at our school and you’re sick. So you qualify. Right, Erin?”
She glanced up. Her gaze collided with Cooper’s. Her heart fluttered again. She winced. “I guess.”
“But…” Cooper tilted his head, his eyes pinned to their empty hands. “Where’s my care package? I thought you said you brought one.”
“I did.” Peggy clamped her arms around Erin’s shoulders and shoved her forward. “You’re welcome.”
A gasp tore from her throat. Erin whirled around, her face reddening with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. “Peggy!”
Her crafty sister pulled out her phone and plastered it to her ear. “Hello? Regina? Yes, I’ll be right there.”
Erin fumed. “I know you’re not talking to anyone, Peggy!”
Instead of admitting to her duplicity, Peggy spun and trotted down the hall. She gave a casual wave to the couple staring at her from the doorway.
Erin’s chest heaved. Something was wrong with her sister. What the heck was she thinking dropping her off at Cooper’s apartment and calling her a care package? Erin might as well have worn a big red bow and made a show of it.
“Ehem.” Cooper rubbed the back of his neck. Erin took a good look at him for the first time. He was paler than usual. His nostrils were tinged red as if they’d been irritated. Every few minutes, he sniffed.
“I’m sorry about this,” Erin said softly.
Cooper shrugged. “You can leave. I won’t tell Peggy.”
Erin should leave. Every brain cell in her body warned her away from this man. But her heart couldn’t allow her to leave him behind. Cooper was unwell, and he’d stepped up for her plenty of times before. She could do this much.
“It’s fine. She’ll know if I leave without doing what she asked. My sister’s freaky like that. It’s best for all of us if I just come inside.”
Cooper didn’t move. “Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“Okay.” He turned around and let her pass. Erin floated into the room, admiring the high ceilings and the open floor plan that allowed her to see to the kitchen and dining room.
Her tennis shoes clopped against gleaming hardwood floors. There was a sofa sitting
in front of a large television screen and rows of video games were stuffed into the stand beneath. It looked like a bachelor’s paradise.
“It’s a little messy,” Cooper said, picking up clothes from the floor. “Dennis and Rolando stopped by yesterday to do my laundry but they got tired mid-way and just left everything crazy.”
“Dennis and Rolando came to do you’re laundry?”
One corner of his lips curved upward. It was a shy, restrained smile. The kind that made her think he would have liked to hide it, but he just couldn’t. “They’ve visited everyday. Bothering me.”
“Why do I get the feeling you don’t mind?”
“Me?” Cooper shook his head and tossed the clothes into, what she assumed was, his bedroom. “No way.”
“So… you already had a human care package. Two, in fact.”
“I guess.” Cooper gestured to the sofa. “Have a seat.”
“It’s alright. I came here to work. So… what do you need?”
“You don’t have do anything, Erin.”
“I want to.” She felt slightly awkward. The last time she and Cooper interacted, he suspected Ryan of assaulting her and she hadn’t exactly cleared that up. It was best if they didn’t talk while she was here.
Erin headed to the kitchen to investigate and found a mountain of dirty pans and dishes in the sink. Flies were buzzing around, and the stench was unbelievably putrid.
She clipped her nose and whirled around. Cooper had followed her into the kitchen. His expression turned sheepish when he realized what she was looking at. “Dennis and Rolando made soup on Monday. I never got around to cleaning it.”
“Cooper, it’s Wednesday. Don’t you smell that?”
He sniffed. “No.”
Dumb question, Erin.
“It’s fine.” She hiked up the sleeves of her T-shirt. “I’ll wash up.”
Cooper looked horrified. “No way. You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s just dirty dishes. I’m not going to die.”
“I’ll wash them later. I promise.”
“Cooper, relax.” Erin smiled. “To be honest, I kind of like doing the dishes.” She migrated to the sink and took all the dirty stuff out, setting them up on the counter. “It relaxes me. Helps me decompress.”
“Let me help you.” Cooper strode forward and took a glass from her hands.
Erin snatched it back and sent him a scolding glance. “You shouldn’t be touching water. You have a cold.”
“So. I still shower when I’m sick. I can handle a few dishes.”
“Fine.” She put her hair in a ponytail and then pointed to the dirty things she had stacked on the counter. “Separate those by cups, utensils, plates, and pots.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Erin smirked at the term, but when she glanced at Cooper to question him about it, she found him working intently on his task. Her smile grew. Strangely, she never imagined that Cooper Lawson washed his own dishes.
In her mind, he had servants for that. Or he just bought new china whenever he’d dirtied the old one. Now that she was here with him, Erin realized how shallow and presumptuous she had been.
Cooper was human. He washed his dishes like everyone else. He got sick… like everyone else.
“What?” Cooper noticed her smiling into the ether and frowned. “Am I stacking them wrong?”
“Nope.” She filled the sink with water and poured in the dish washing liquid. “But you’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
She stopped and looked into his eyes. “Being human.” Erin didn’t give him time to respond. She held her hand out and instructed. “I’ll wash. You rinse and dry. Deal?”
“Let’s do it.”
They worked in silence. Erin kicked her shoes off, falling into the rhythmic routine of washing. She started humming the random songs that popped into her head, closing her eyes and swaying.
When she opened her eyes, she found Cooper staring at her. Erin ducked her head as a sheepish grin spread on her face. “Am I weirding you out?”
“No, it’s…” He focused on the faucet. “It’s cute.”
Happiness danced through her, but Erin didn’t want to analyze why that was. Instead she shared, “One of my old foster mothers used to love eighties soul music. When I went to live with Peggy, I started humming these songs that nobody in their house recognized.”
“Did you…” he hesitated, “were you treated well at those foster homes?”
“I wasn’t abused,” Erin said, recalling those days. “Which is better than a lot of other foster kids can say. There was the usual fight for attention, quarrelling between all the kids, and the anger.” She blew out a breath. “I had so much rage inside. So much hurt. I didn’t understand. Why didn’t anyone want me? What was I doing wrong?”
Cooper nodded, listening intently.
“Mom and Dad helped quiet that rage. They smothered me with love. It was the first time I felt like I belonged somewhere. You know?” She winced, slightly embarrassed. “I mean, of course you don’t know. That was a stupid question.”
“I know,” he said quietly.
Erin’s hand froze and she watched as Cooper peeled away the layers of his indifference. His voice warbled, reminding her of the time at Benny’s when he spoke about his mother. “That rage… it’s still inside me.” He glanced at her and seemed to regret speaking. “Are you finished with that?”
“Yeah.” Erin handed him the plate she was scrubbing. Her curiosity burned up inside.
Cooper took one look at her face and broke out into a handsome smirk. “You want to ask, don’t you?”
“No,” she said quickly. Too quickly.
Cooper dried his hands on a towel and turned toward her, leaning slightly into her personal space. Erin stiffened even as her heart thundered through her ears at such a loud volume she was sure Cooper would hear.
His golden eyes were soft, glowing like an angel’s. His muscled arm flexed as he held onto to the counter. That invasive gaze of his got under her skin, made her want to unveil her soul for him until he was satisfied.
I like Cooper Lawson.
It was a bad idea to come here.
22 Cooper
Looking at Erin Marshall standing in his kitchen, washing his dishes, Cooper wanted to get on one knee and beg her to stay with him forever. He’d marry her. Right this minute. Spend the rest of his life catering to her until she loved him.
But he wasn’t that crazy. Or maybe he wasn’t that brave.
Erin’s thick brown eyelashes fluttered. Her plump lips parted, just begging him to kiss her. He dug his fingers into the counter to keep them away from her stunning face. Tendrils of her black curls popped out of her ponytail and framed her cheeks.
There was not one inch of her cocoa brown skin that he didn’t adore. Not one.
“What?” Erin leaned back so far her back formed a perfect C.
“I like you.” The words poured out of him without his permission. They lingered in the air. Cooper allowed the silence to stretch. He wasn’t taking it back.
“Very funny.” Erin tugged on her ear and spun back to the dishes. “We’re almost done with this.”
Cooper remained in place. Should he push it so she acknowledged his confession or roll over it until she brought it up first? He opened his mouth to say the words again when he paused.
Every time he brought up his feelings to Erin, they fought. For the first time, he’d gotten the words out and she was still here. That was enough for now.
He faced the sink and turned on the faucet to rinse the plate.
“You missed two lectures and a quiz. I’ll type out the notes from class and send them to you.” Erin handed him the plate without looking and it almost crashed to the floor. Cooper used his quick reflexes to catch it, but she didn’t even notice. “Or I might take a picture of the notes.”
“It doesn’t matter to me,” he said.
“You know Mr. Sosa. He’ll assign us reading
to do but all his questions will come from his lecture. His class is more challenging than I expected. We need all the help we can get.” She licked her lips.
Conner studied her from the corner of his eye. She was rambling. Which meant she was nervous. Which was a good sign. The old Erin would have told him off for daring to admit he had any sort of affection for her.
Cooper smiled. He had to thank Peggy for her magnificent care package. With sense like that, it was no wonder she was the most beloved student council president in Balen U history.
“Why are you smiling?” She frowned at him. “You have a test to make up and my limited notes to study from. This is usually where people freak out.”
“I’m too happy to freak out.”
“Happy?” Erin scrunched her nose.
“Because you’re here.”
She pulled her lips in, her eyes darting around the room. Finally, her gaze landed on the stove. “You said Rolando made soup on Monday, right? Would you look at that? He didn’t clean the stove. Those stains are baked on. Do you have any soap powder around?”
He followed her to the other side of the kitchen where she ducked to look through the pantry. Cooper intentionally stooped beside her, allowing his shoulders to brush hers. At the slight touch, Erin nearly jumped out of her skin.
She leapt to her feet and played with the hem of her T-shirt. “It’s fine. I’ll just use baking soda. That should work.”
Cooper smirked. He enjoyed this shy, girly side of her. Erin Marshall was like a porcupine, always bristling when he came around. The fact that he was getting to her softer side made his day.
He was about to hand her the baking soda and insist she leave the scrubbing of the stove to him when there was a knock at the door.
“That must be Peggy,” Erin said, relief clear in her tone. “Tell her I just need to finish up in here and then we can go.”
Cooper was disappointed to let Erin out of his sight, but it wasn’t like he could wrap her in his arms forever. I mean, he could if he tried but…
“I’ll get it,” he said, shaking his head to dislodge the crazy thoughts swirling inside. “Don’t worry about anything else in here and relax.”