Me: Fine. But if you make me hunt you down, I’m bringing Rachel. She’s meaner than I am.
Biting my lip, I waited. I mean, I could ask Rachel. I wasn’t sure we were at the ride or die stage of friendship here. To be honest, it had been love/hate for years. The fact Rachel had turned out to be Mr. Thorns and said she thought I needed a friend had been a rather shocking, if delightful surprise.
She had a crush on me, but not an unrealistic one. I didn’t swing that way, and if I did, she’d have totally won me over with the way she’d sent the roses and the gifts. The last of the roses had already wilted. I’d pressed some of the petals into a book to keep them. I had all the notes, too.
But I thought if I called Rachel and said I needed her help, she’d do it. She liked giving the guys shit. To be honest, I thought she’d liked doing it because she’d had a crush on one of them and they’d blown her off or something.
Nope.
My mistake.
Ian: Wow. You took that to mean right away. I promised, F. I won’t let you down. Gotta go, Mom hates phones at the table.
Well, he was talking to me again. That was a good start.
Flopping back on the bed, I stared at the ceiling. I should be doing homework or something, but I kind of just wanted to lie there and savor my two huge successes of the day.
I got a scholarship.
Ian answered me.
Good things.
Ian might be waiting to break up with me for real. Maybe he wanted to tell me he didn’t want to ask me to not date the other guys. Or maybe he wanted me to just choose him. That was the stitch, wasn’t it? At some point, I’d have to choose between them?
How did I choose between my best friends? I adored all of them. It would be like asking me to pick only one of my cats.
Okay, the guys weren’t cats, but the idea was essentially the same. Tiddles leapt onto the bed as if summoned by the thought, and he rubbed along my arm. I’d found him when he was a kitten, hiding under a bush in a downpour. He’d been a miserable little thing.
He’d also bitten the hell out of me when I scooped him up and carried him inside. The vet had said he was young, maybe ten weeks—if that. I couldn’t figure out if he’d just gotten lost or if someone had let him go. It didn’t matter. From that day forward, he’d been mine. He was the first cat I found. Tabby and Tory came along later.
But I loved all three of them.
The cat rolled over and purred as I stroked him. My phone buzzed, and I picked it up to see Jake’s message.
Jake: What are we doing?
Me: Takeout. Mom isn’t here. It would be just us.
Jake: Sold. Preference?
Me: Surprise me.
Jake: See you in fifteen.
I smiled, even if he couldn’t see me, and glanced at Tiddles. “We’re having company tonight.”
To say my cat wasn’t impressed was an understatement, and I laughed. Then my phone buzzed again.
Mom: Dinner tomorrow evening. You. Me. No boys. No excuses.
I made a face.
Ugh.
I flopped back against the bed and stared at the ceiling. How many weeks until I turned eighteen and this wasn’t my problem anymore?
Chapter Three
I Would For You…
“You didn’t have to get up,” Jake chided me as I yawned at my cereal for the third time in as many minutes. Somehow, I’d failed to make the connection between Jake sleeping over and crack of dawn football practice. Another reason to avoid sports.
Sports bad.
Sleep good.
“I know,” I said. He was already dressed. Normally, he wore his practice gear, but since he had at least another week of sitting it out, he didn’t bother. “But you have your first session with Diane today.”
I was half-dressed, sitting there in a bra, shorts—his boxers too, because Jake had lost his mind a little bit when he’d peeled off my shorts last night and found me in them.
A little shiver went through me. Sex was a hell of a lot of fun. Even better was the fact Jake could make me laugh, even when he was blowing my mind.
He made a face. “I know. Hopefully, it’ll be quick.”
The mandatory sessions were going to cut into some of our time. His first session after lunch since we had study hall.
“She said twice a week. I didn’t start last week because she had other crap going on, and I kind of hoped she’d forget about it.” He shrugged. “Coop said to just agree with her, listen to her questions, act contrite, and I could probably bounce after a couple of sessions.”
“Yes, because Coop’s had anger management before.” I didn’t roll my eyes, but I thought about it. “Not that his advice is bad, but just be careful.”
Jake grinned. “Don’t worry about me, baby girl, I got this.”
Every time he called me that, I got a little flutter. It was ridiculous how much I enjoyed it. “I’m going to worry,” I reminded him before I drained the milk from my cereal bowl and he did the same. It was great that we could both sit there and slurp up the milk without missing a beat.
“Because you’re you,” he said, and kissed me before grabbing the bowls. “Archie’s going to swing by to get you and Coop, and I’ll see you after practice.”
I sighed a little. He’d kiboshed the idea of me going to see Ian before practice. They needed to focus on the game, and while Ian might be acting like a jackass—Jake’s word, not mine—distracting him could cause injuries.
“I’ll make sure Bubba shows up, too,” he promised, and I made a face.
“Don’t.”
“Excuse me?” He paused in pulling on his backpack as I stood. I still needed to go grab a shirt and finish getting my shit together to go to school. The cats had been fed, and I’d take out the trash on my way to Archie’s car. I kind of hated not being able to take my own. The guys were awesome, but even if they were willing to pick me up and drop me off for the rest of the year, I wasn’t.
I liked having independence.
Exhaling, I said, “Don’t make Ian come to coffee if he doesn’t want to.”
Jake squinted at me.
“I told him how I felt. I told him I wanted to talk to him. He promised he would talk to me today. If he wants to avoid coffee, that’s on him.”
“Hey,” he said, wrapping an arm around me. “Bubba just needs to get his head out of his ass. That requires assistance sometimes. But this isn’t your fault, Frankie. You know that, right?”
“It feels like my fault. Everything seemed—crazy but all right, and then he left and he didn’t talk to me. I guess I owe all of you a bigger apology for when I ghosted you.”
“No you don’t,” Jake told me. “We’re good. We talked, we worked it out, and you know what? We’re in a much better place. Maybe we had to get our heads out of our asses too before we could appreciate the good thing we almost screwed up.”
“Keyword there,” I reminded him as I nuzzled a kiss at his smooth jaw. It had been fun to watch him shave this morning. “We. If I had talked sooner, maybe we would have figured it out sooner.” Now I was whining, because instead of four boyfriends, I might only have three. Only. Ian said we were still friends. So maybe I shouldn’t complain. “I guess it all worked out.”
“Yep, and this will, too. You wait and see.” Then with a groan, he gave me another kiss. “I really gotta go. Even if I don’t do shit, I’ll catch hell if I’m late.”
“I know, see you later.”
Then he was gone.
I hadn’t told Jake about my mother’s text. The only thing she hadn’t included was a time for dinner. To be honest, I hadn’t decided whether I was going to listen to her or not. Archie wanted to celebrate my scholarship, and so did Jake and Coop.
It would be a double celebration, ‘cause Jake had gotten a scholarship we both applied for, and I was thrilled for him. He’d been worried about telling me, because he really hoped I’d gotten one from them, too. He was sweet, but I wanted to celebrate his news. This was great.
I glanced at the clock and smothered another yawn. I could actually go lie down for another hour if I wanted. But then I’d have to do my hair again. Bedhead and I were old enemies.
Coffee cup in hand, I retreated to my room and my laptop. I had the time, so I went to work drafting my essay. I had an idea, and I decided to strike while the iron was hot. If it fizzled out, well then, at least I could work on homework.
Ninety minutes later, I had two full essays written. I’d been half-tempted to send them to Ian, since we’d been reading each other’s, but I sent them to Ms. Fajardo instead. Until I knew what was going on with Ian, it was probably better to not assume. Ms. Fajardo would give me feedback.
Backpack on and trash bag in hand, I let myself out and locked the door just as Coop was jogging up the steps. He pouted at me. “Aww…what happened to my good morning kiss?”
I busted out laughing at the forlorn expression he wore. Switching the trash bag to my other hand, I rose up on my tiptoes to kiss him. He gripped the bag to take it, even as he slid his free hand around my nape. The gentle stroke of his tongue against my lips had me sighing against his mouth.
Part of why I’d slipped out rather than let him in was because he’d developed this habit for kissing the ever-loving hell out of me against the fridge and then we had to leave. I was wound up enough.
But damn, Coop could kiss. Everything tingled from my head to my toes. You wouldn’t know I’d just spent the night with Jake, because heat swept through my system and I half-gasped as he deepened the kiss. The stroke of his thumb against my throat just sent my pulse into overdrive.
When he lifted his head, the faint sounds of traffic in the distance, kids calling to each other as they headed to the bus stops, the beeping of a truck backing up somewhere flooded in, and I blew out a breath.
Heat flushed my face, and my thoughts had scattered like the split on a pool table when the white ball struck the others. Coop grinned slowly, but his chest rose and fell rapidly, and there was definitely a flush high on his cheekbones.
“Good morning,” he murmured.
“Wow,” was the best I could do. It worked to puncture some of the tension, and his grin grew wider.
“I can do wow.”
“Yes, yes you can.” I laughed along with him. Then fanned myself. Maybe that was why he saved those kisses for inside. I felt like I’d overheated from running a marathon. Pleasure flashed in his eyes as he clasped my hand and led the way down the steps. Probably a good plan, because I was having trouble getting everything back in order.
All that carefully nurtured focus that let me write up those essays had been utterly decimated. Instead, I was watching Coop’s ass. He was in khaki colored shorts today, and his hairy calves were tanned, well flexed with every step. He wasn’t big like Ian or Jake, but more lean and rangy. But it was a mistake to think he wasn’t strong, he was damn wiry.
How, I had no idea. In all the years we’ve known each other, Coop always seemed allergic to the gym. I used to be able to do more push-ups than him. So, maybe some of it was a blessing of genetics. Hand in hand, we walked together to the dumpster, where he swung the bag up, over, and in without ever letting go of me.
“Hey,” he said, angling us toward the curb where we could wait for Archie. I tried not to look at my car. Apparently, I wasn’t that successful. Even still humming from his greeting, there was a pang at the fact I wasn’t taking my car to school because a few kids had been dicks. “It’s not forever,” he said, then tugged me closer and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. It was nice—hot, but nice.
“I know, but I like having my own car and the freedom to do what I want when I want.”
“Yep,” he said, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I know. But we like to not have people abuse your car, either. We still don’t know what jerk did it.”
“So, now we ride with Archie or Jake, and they’re trapped to our schedules?” That could get tiresome for anyone real quick. Particularly with Ian being so cagey.
“We’ll adjust,” Coop said. “It’s not forever. Besides—you’ve been giving me rides forever, have you really minded going out of your way for me?”
“No,” she said. “I like to give you crap about it.”
“Well, Archie and Jake don’t mind doing this for you. I wouldn’t mind being able to give you rides, either.”
I made a face. “Fine, I’d call you guys overprotective, but last week had some really sucky parts to it.”
“Exactly, we’re going to apply a concentrated effort to make sure this week and every other week improves. Deal?”
Some of my sour mood fled, and I smiled up at him. “Deal.”
“Great, now I congratulated you about the scholarship, and we’re celebrating tonight.”
“Well, after school.” Tonight still had the issue of my mom, but I did not want to talk about her.
“Exactly, but I think I need to really congratulate you because that scholarship is awesome.”
“Coop…” I didn’t get to finish the sentence because he ducked his head and kissed me again. My pulse rabbited, and I was gripping his shirt as he thrust his tongue against mine. The playfulness had turned demanding. Plastered against his side, all I could think was we had on too many clothes, followed swiftly by we were standing out in the open where anyone could see us.
Then he’d suck on my tongue or press more firmly against my lips, and those thoughts fell away. The sharp blare of a horn jerked through me, but Coop shifted slightly and continued the kiss until I relaxed. Then he lifted his head, and I found him aiming his middle finger at Archie, who stared at us with a bemused expression.
“That was congratulations, by the way,” Coop said, grinning. “Can’t wait to celebrate.”
Wow.
“Okay.” That I managed those two syllables was a credit to me. Laughing, Coop caught my backpack and eased it off of me before climbing in the backseat with his backpack and mine before I climbed in the passenger seat. The air conditioning was a relief as it washed over me.
Archie held out a velvet jewelry box toward me, and I blinked.
“Hey,” Coop protested. “That’s cheating.”
“Giving her a congratulations present? I think not. Besides, Frankie and I have a deal.”
We did?
Then he nodded to my wrist, and I glanced at my bracelet and grinned. “We do have a deal.”
“Yep, and I already owed you one new charm, and I picked up a couple more. We can get those added on after school today. I’ve got the tools to do it, or we can take it to the store.”
A little thrill zipped through me as I popped the box open. Archie kept the car idling as he watched me flip it open, and Coop leaned between the seats. Four charms nestled together in the velvet box—a stylized J that matched the A and the F. For Jake. That was both embarrassing and desperately sweet.
A boxed present with a ribbon charm sat next to it, because the bracelet had been one of my very first real jewelry gifts. A movie reel—cause Jake took me to the drive-in. I laughed. The last one was a pair of boxing gloves.
“Why boxing gloves?”
“’Cause you’ve gone a few rounds the last few days, and you’re still standing.” The steady gleam in his eyes made me smile. “I gotta get you one for the scholarship. You’re achieving things fast, babe. I love it.”
“Thank you, Archie,” I said, then leaned over and kissed him. It wasn’t quite the tense, pulse pounding and almost a make out session kiss I’d been sharing with Coop, but there was a thrill and an effortless sweetness.
Through the insane rollercoaster of the last three weeks, Archie had been right there, throwing his hands up in the air and howling alongside me. I leaned back, biting my lip as Coop grinned at me then Archie and back.
“You need a C for that bracelet.”
Archie snorted, but I laughed as I closed the case. I was pretty sure I knew why he’d given me a J. “You do have a birthday coming up,” I teased Coop.
“Hey, you’re right. How could I forget?” He stretched his arms wide. “Eighteen. Woot. Still have to go school.”
Then we were all laughing as I passed the box back to Coop, he secured it in my backpack for me while I pulled on my seatbelt.
“Unfortunately, only Ian got to be born outside of the school year.”
“Eh,” Archie said. “Jake got Christmas break, there are worse times.”
“Yes, but that means everyone gave him combo Christmas and birthday presents.”
In unison, Coop and Archie groaned. “That’s a crime,” Archie declared. “That’s why we make a point to not give him dual presents.”
True.
“And your birthday is in four weeks,” I reminded him.
“Seriously?” Archie pressed a hand to his chest. “You mean it really is on the same day every year?”
Snickering, I slapped his arm, and he grinned. “Ass.”
“Sometimes,” he admitted. “Sometimes.”
We swung through and picked up coffee on our way in. I spotted Ian’s bike after Archie parked. It wasn’t far from Jake’s SUV. Still, it made me sad that he’d parked it a couple of slots away from the yellow vehicle.
Or maybe Jake had. Jake had been irked with him, too. I made a face.
“Don’t worry about Bubba,” Archie suggested. “He’ll come around. Just let him get it out of his system—whatever it is.”
“I told you,” Coop started, but Archie glared at him, and Coop raised his hands.
“Told him what?” I glanced between them as we began to walk. When neither was forthcoming, I repeated it. “Told him what, Coop?”
“Arch is right, let Bubba figure it out, Frankie.”
“That is not what you were saying earlier.” I stared at him, and Coop lifted his shoulders.
“But it is what we should do. It’s Bubba, the guy stops and goes out of his way to buy Girl Scout cookies, even if he never eats them.”
Yes, that was one bizarre eccentricity. Ian had never liked their cookies. I, on the other hand, had never met a Thin Mint or a Samoa I did not love.
Keys and Kisses: Untouchable Book Three Page 4