by Ryan, Kaylee
I wait for the backlash of my comment, but it never comes. Instead, a deep chuckle greets me. “That’s more like it,” he says with a smile.
“I’m confused.”
“This ‘we’re taking it slow’ business. I’ve heard it, Eve’s heard it, your parents have heard it, and none of us are buying what the two of you are selling.” He laughs.
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you. We are taking it slow. I’m sleeping in the spare room, but she’s mine. She knows that. We’re just not rushing into anything.”
“She’s her own woman, Cooper.”
“I get that. I would never hold her back, but she’s also the love of my life. That makes her mine. Yes, I’m aware she’s not a possession, but she owns my heart.” I shrug.
“There, you should have started with that.”
“Is there something in the water? You and my dad both have cornered me, and we haven’t been back an hour.”
“Usually we get the gossip from our wives, but they’re slacking in that department lately. Glad to see Trevor agrees with me, and it was time to just find out for ourselves.”
“Is there anything else that you want to know?” I ask.
“No. I know you, Cooper. I know you’re a man of your word, and I know you love my daughter. I’ve seen it for years. I’m just glad you finally pulled your head out of your ass.” He grins.
“You and me both, Garrett. You and me both.”
Chapter 14
Reese
Mom ended up calling Ann and asking her if she wanted to ride with us. I assumed that meant they were both going to grill me about what’s going on between Cooper and me. I was shocked, though, when neither one of them mentioned him, or our current situation. They talked my head off about the party they’re having tomorrow night, and that they’re glad Cooper and I could make it, but that was it.
The fact they didn’t mention it made me want to. Sounds crazy, right? It’s not even that I want to talk about him or us, because I don’t. I know how I feel about it. I know that even with the best of intentions, and wonder woman efforts, I wasn’t able to keep my heart from latching on to hope. The thing is, he’s still holding strong on his declaration that he’s in love with me. He’s touching me and kissing me, and in front of our parents, and that’s not who we are. Well, that’s not who we were. This is altogether different, and I don’t hate it.
Not even a little.
“So, I know that you don’t want to talk about it,” Mom says as we pull into the driveway. She glances at the passenger seat at Ann. “We both made up your rooms. We know you and Cooper are adults, and we don’t care where you sleep, our place or theirs. We’re just glad the two of you are home, and well, we’re glad you’re together.”
“Th-anks,” I say slowly. “Cooper will be staying with Ann and Trevor, and I’ll be staying with you and Dad. He sleeps in the spare room at my apartment,” I say again, even though I know they don’t believe me.
“Oh,” they both say at the same time. I’m in the back seat, but I can picture both of them with their mouths forming the perfect Os. These two have been best friends just as long as Cooper and me. In fact, so have our dads. Our families just hit it off, and the rest, as they say, is history. Well, it was until Cooper and I decided to complicate things. However, I must admit, our parents seem to be on board. I make a mental note to tell Cooper about this conversation.
Mom and I help Ann carry her items to her place and then unload ours. “How many people are coming to this party, anyway?” I ask.
“Well, we combined it again this year, so between the two houses, probably a hundred or so,” Mom says nonchalantly.
“Do you know that many people?” I ask.
She laughs. “Yes, and that’s combined. Your dad and Trevor are manning the grill over at their place, and Ann and I are doing the sides and desserts here. We plan to meet in the middle in the tent between the yards so everyone can gather together.”
“Sounds like a lot of work.”
“Parties usually are, but it’s fun to catch up with people. Life seems to keep too busy during the year. Besides, you and Cooper are home for the first time since you left college for Memorial Day. We’ve stepped up our game, as you kids would say, since you’ve been gone. I’m sure everyone will be glad to see the two of you.”
“Mom,” I groan. “Please tell me that you didn’t tell everyone we were dating. We don’t even really have a name for what we are right now. We don’t need all that added pressure.”
“No. I didn’t tell anyone, but, honey, one look at the way the two of you look at each other, and everyone is going to figure it out.”
“Good to know. I should avoid Coop as much as possible tomorrow.”
This time her laughter is loud and boisterous as she throws her head back. “Like that boy is going to let you avoid him.”
“He’s not a boy,” I say, feeling my face heat. I know all too well that Cooper is all man.
“That—” She points at me with a huge grin on her face. “That look right there is going to give both of you away.” Her comment is smug, and I don’t reply because I have a feeling she might be right.
* * *
“You sure you want to do this?” I ask Cooper as we pull into Bill’s Billiards.
“Are you kidding? I had to get out of the house. I love my parents, but I’m used to being on my own.”
“To be honest, that’s the only thing that got me here. I feel the same way,” I confess.
“Come on. Let’s go have a drink and catch up with some old friends.” He pulls the keys from the ignition, and begrudgingly, I climb out and meet him in front of his truck. With his hand on the small of my back, he leads me inside.
My eyes scan the room, and I spy a small table in the back. Perfect. We can people watch, and hopefully not be seen. It’s not that I don’t want to see my old friends. It’s more that I know what my mom said is true, and there is no way I can hide what Cooper means to me. The more I think about it and worry, I wonder why I need to? We’re adults. We can do as we wish, with whomever we wish. My shoulders relax as we reach the table and take a seat.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Surprise me.”
He winks, gives my shoulder a squeeze, and heads off toward the bar. I watch him until he gets lost in the crowd, and then I fight the urge to pull out my phone and scroll through random apps and my emails. My theory is if I don’t make eye contact, then they will not engage. I’m being ridiculous, and I know that, but it doesn’t stop me from reaching for my phone just as someone slides into the seat across from me.
“Reese!” Janie Henderson, my best friend in high school, says, wearing a grin. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
She didn’t know because we lost touch when Cooper and I left for college. I also still have a hard time with the fact that she and Cooper slept together. She was his first. It’s irrational, but it should have been me. More than that, she knew how I felt about him, and she was my best friend. It’s wrong and petty, but I’ll never forgive her for that. I’m well aware that if it wasn’t Janie, it would have been someone else, but for me, she was my best friend. That made Cooper off-limits.
“Janie,” I greet her.
“Are you here alone?” she asks.
Before I have a chance to answer, Joey Patrick, who coincidentally was my first, takes the seat next to her. “Reese Latham.” He grins. “Didn’t know you were back in town.”
“I’m not. Just for the weekend visiting my parents.”
“You should have called,” Janie says, faking a pout.
“I’m only here for the weekend. Lots of family time. You know how it is.”
“What’s a gorgeous girl like you sitting here all alone?” Joey asks.
He’s changed a good bit since high school. The beard he was always trying to grow back then now covers his face. It’s not a sexy beard. It’s more ‘I’m too lazy to shave so I leave it there’ kind of beard. Loo
king at him now, I can’t believe that eighteen-year-old me slept with him. What in the hell was I thinking?
He reaches out and places his hand over mine, where it rests on the table. “You look good, Reese. Real good.” He winks, and it takes everything in me not to roll my eyes.
Joey’s eyes widen, and Janie’s do too, so I know Cooper is back. “We should have known Cooper wasn’t far behind. The two of you have always been thick as thieves,” Joey says.
“Cooper,” Janie purrs. It takes everything in me not to kick her underneath the table.
Cooper takes the seat next to me, places my drink in front of me, and pulls my hand from the table, placing it on his thigh. His arm goes around me, and he takes a sip of his beer before he addresses them. “Long time no see,” he says. His voice is tight, and I know he’s not impressed with their presence. I smile inwardly at getting to say I told you so later.
“There he is,” Joey boasts. “Good season, my man.”
“Thanks,” Cooper says, taking another drink of his beer.
“Reese, save me a dance.” Joey points at me as he stands.
“That won’t be happening,” Cooper says coolly.
“So, what? Are the two of you together?” Janie asks as if she can’t believe it.
Cooper looks over at me and smiles. “If you call Reese being the love of my life us being together, then yeah. We’re together.”
I should be mad at him, but it’s not a lie. We are dating, just a little unconventionally. He lives in another state, and things just sort of progressed from that first night when I agreed he could stay with me. He’s still there, and I’m not the least bit mad about it. In fact, I can’t imagine my apartment without him now. We’re still keeping it low key, or at least we were. No doubt these two will spread that little nugget of information to the entire town.
“Oh, so you told him that you pined for him all through high school?”
“She didn’t have to,” Cooper answers before I can. “I told her first.”
I pick up my bottle of beer and tilt it back. I drain it before setting it back on the table. I give Cooper a look that screams “save me,” which he understands. Without touching the rest of his beer, he stands and offers me his hand. “Ready, baby?”
“Yes.” I take his offered hand and let him pull me to my feet and into his arms.
“We’ve had a long day. We’re going to head home. It was good seeing you both,” Cooper says, even though we both know it was anything but.
I feel his lips press against the top of my head, and together, with his arm around my waist, we make our way out of the bar. “Well, that was a bust.”
“Oh, the night’s not over. We’re just going to have our own party.” Instead of guiding me to his truck, we walk next door to the gas station, and he buys a twelve-pack of beer.
“Where is this party taking place?” I ask him once we’re back in his truck.
“The backyard, yours or mine, doesn’t matter to me as long as you’re there.”
“Where was this idea earlier?” I inquire, loving this new development of our evening.
“You were right, dear,” he says, teasing.
“Wait.” I grab my phone from my purse and pull up the camera. “Okay. Now, say that again.”
He chuckles and leans over the console, kissing me softly. “You were right, babe.”
He’s been touching me more since our night in the kitchen, pushing the boundaries. It’s definitely not a hardship to have his hands on me. “Well, you better put this thing in gear. We have a party to get to.”
Reaching over the console, he rests his hand on my thigh as we head toward home. Much like him, I don’t care if we end up in my parents’ backyard or his. As long as I get to spend time with him, that’s all that matters.
Fifteen minutes later, we’re pulling into his parents’ driveway. “Where we headed, beautiful? Left or right?” he asks, removing his keys from the ignition.
I glance between the two houses and see all the lights off in my parents’, where a soft glow still shines through the living room window of his. “Right,” I answer, choosing my parents’ place. “I’m going to run in and change,” I say, looking down at my jeans. “Meet you out back?”
“Yeah, I’m going to do the same. I’ll bring the beer.” He grins, and we both climb out of the truck, heading our separate ways.
As quietly as I can, I enter the house. It’s dark, but that’s okay. I have this place memorized. I slowly make my way upstairs to my old room and change into a pair of sweats and toss a hoodie over my T-shirt. It still gets cool at night this time of year, and tonight is no exception. Making my way back downstairs, I grab a quilt from the hall closet and quietly open the patio door and slip outside.
“I thought maybe you changed your mind.” Cooper’s deep voice greets me.
“Not a chance. I did stop and grab a blanket though.” I hold it up so he can see.
“I got the fire started.”
“It’s a gas fireplace, Coop.” I chuckle softly.
“But there’s fire,” he counters. He takes a seat on one of the lounge chairs and pats his lap. “Come sit with me.”
I hesitate for a fraction of a second before giving in and doing as he asks. At this point, I’m tired of fighting it. It’s what we both want. I settle on his lap, and he drapes the blanket over both of us, wrapping his arms around me.
“This is so much better than Bill’s,” he says, his lips next to my ear.
“Yeah. You should have started with this plan.”
“Noted,” he says with a low chuckle.
“It’s so nice out here. I forgot what it’s like to have a backyard this peaceful.”
“We had the house in college,” he reminds me.
“Peaceful, Coop. There was always so much going on, it was hard to just sit and chill like this.”
“So, when we look for our place, a big quiet backyard is a must. Got it.”
“Our place?”
“Yeah, I mean eventually, we’re going to need more space. My condo is just a stepping-stone.”
“You live in Indianapolis,” I remind him.
“About that. I was hoping that maybe you could move there with me?” We’re both quiet for a few minutes, and he keeps going. “I could keep my condo and stay there during the season, and then come home to you when I can, but that’s long-distance, and I just don’t think that I could do that with you.”
I don’t say anything as I process what he’s saying. He’s planning our future together. Not as my best friend, but as the love of my life. Not once since the day he walked into that banquet hall has he wavered on his feelings for me, and what we are, or what he wants us to be.
“The only other option is for me to walk away.” I tense at his words, and his arms tighten around me. “You weren’t listening to a damn thing I said. I’m not walking away from you, baby. If you were listening, you would have heard me say I would walk away from football.”
“What?” I sit up and turn to look at him. “Cooper, are you crazy? You’ve worked your entire life to be where you are. This is your dream. To play in the professional league. You can’t just walk away. Not without good reason, and by good reason, I mean an injury or your health.”
“Or the love of my life.” With one hand still around my waist, he places the other against my cheek. “I mean it, Reese. I would give it all up if it means I get to be with you every day. To come home to you at night, to lie next to you as we fall asleep.”
“Cooper, do you hear what you’re saying?”
“I hear it, and I feel it. If that’s what you want, for me to stay with you in Columbus, I’ll do it. I spent a year of my life without you, and I never want to do that again. Never. If it takes walking away from football to achieve that, then so be it.”
“You can’t just walk away.”
“Then come with me.” Gently, he pulls my face to his. “I want it all, Reese. Every single moment life gives us, I want to spen
d it with you. I don’t care what that looks like, or where we live, as long as we’re together. You are what’s important to me,” he says before softly pressing his lips to mine.
I allow myself to get lost in the kiss. In the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms, knowing he wants me. Just me. It’s a feeling of bliss I want to chase, and it’s getting harder and harder not to. We spend hours, if I had to guess, in that chair, kissing and touching one another. Nothing overly sexual, but something you might do when you first start dating someone. When the dew and the chill of the night air set in, I know we need to head inside. Cooper pulls back from the longest kissing session in history and rests his forehead against mine.
“You should get inside.”
“Yeah,” I agree. Reluctantly, I untangle my body from his and the blanket and stand. He does the same, and we both stretch before Cooper turns off the fire pit.
He wraps his arms around me in a hug, burying his face in my neck. “Sweet dreams, beautiful. I’ll see you in the morning.” He pulls back and takes a hesitant step back.
“Coop.” I hold my hand out for him.
“Yeah?” he asks, placing his hand in mine.
“Come with me.” I begin to walk toward the house, the blanket in one hand, and Cooper’s warm hand in the other. Quietly, we step inside, and he follows me upstairs to my room. I drop the blanket on the floor, pull off my hoodie, and climb into bed. Cooper just stands there in the moonlight, waiting for me to tell him what I want.
“Will you hold me?” I whisper into the dark quiet of the room.
I hear him exhale. “Nothing I want more,” he murmurs. The bed dips and I’m in his arms, snuggled under the blankets.
I don’t think about what it means or how our parents are going to react when they find out we stayed together. No, the only thing I’m thinking about is how tonight has been one of the best I’ve ever had. Just me and Cooper. Together. Not hanging with my best friend, but a man who loves me. With each passing day, with each tender caress, my heart begins to heal, and the love I have for him grows.