Page 80 of A Scoring Chance
That’s right. Not only are our mothers friends, but we also grew up practically around the corner from each other. Cooper admitted to knowing this earlier but honestly didn't think it was a big deal, which it isn’t. Just another sign from the universe pushing Cooper and me closer to each other.
“Yes, Beauty. The house didn’t burn down without you.” He chuckles, threading his fingers through mine and bringing my hand to his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make sure your family is safe. That’s one thing I know a thing or two about.”
How do I explain to him that it’s so much more than just wanting to make sure my family is safe? The anxiety can be so suffocating that I have Alise just drive by to make sure that the house is still standing. She’s known me for most of my life, and even she gets regularly annoyed with my worries. How is Cooper going to understand when I’m waking up in the middle of the night, the sheer terror of not knowing what is going on or where Ma and Darius are making it almost impossible for me to move?
It's been a lot better recently, but there are still some days when I wake up in a cold sweat from the panic. Living at home makes it easier because I can just climb out of bed and make sure everything is okay, but what’s going to happen when I beg Cooper to drive me all the way to Ma’s so I can check on them or, even worse, refuse to sleep over because the anxiety has gotten too bad? This is definitely something I’m going to have to talk to my therapist about during my session this week. Now that things between us have progressed further, I need to find the right way to explain all of this to him. I need to tell him about what happened to Dad and Imani, but I’m not ready. Not yet. I don’t want to see the look on his face when he finds out I don’t deserve him. It would shatter my heart into a million pieces to watch him leave, but deep down, I know it’s exactly what I deserve.
“Whatcha thinking about?”
“Thinking about? Nothing.”
“Come on, Beauty. I can see the wheels turning in your head.”
I blink a few times, trying to bring my mind back to the present before turning to Cooper, saying the first thing that comes to mind. “Do you think fate is pushing us together?”
My eyes widen in surprise at my words, but I don’t take them back. I’ve been wondering about this for the last few days nowthat I know how we’ve been connected to each other for years but never met.
“Yes. I actually have beef with fate because it made us wait this long to find each other.”
“Maybe now is the right time for us. If we had met before now, things wouldn’t have turned out well.”
“I never thought about it that way.” Cooper turns into my driveway, pulling his truck to a stop behind Ms. Mel’s car.
“Fate has a way of taking from you when you least expect it, but giving you what you need in return. You might have to wait, but it always gives you what you need when you need it.”
Cooper turns toward me, leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss to my lips before leaning back. A breathtaking smile spreads across his face, and two perfect dimples appear on each of his cheeks as he leans in a second time. His tongue presses against my parted lips, nipping at my bottom lip before deepening the kiss. This kiss is different. I can’t explain how or why, but it just feels different. It's like he’s trying to tell me something with this kiss, something I’m very certain I’m not ready to hear but are words he can no longer contain.
My nails tickle the fine hairs at the base of his neck as I lean forward, giving myself over to the kiss. I want to tell him how I feel, how much he’s come to mean to me in the last month and a half, answering his unspoken words with a kiss of my own. But I pull back, unable to give him that last piece of my heart without him knowing my secret.
“You’re perfect,” he mumbles against my lips, placing one more lingering kiss at the corner of my mouth before climbing out of the truck.
I sit patiently in my seat, having been scolded more than once about opening my door before he has a chance to do it for me. My chin drops to my chest, pulling in a shaky breath. “No, I’m not. Not even close.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cooper
“Auntie Li is going to be pissed she missed breakfast,” Darius mumbles around a mouthful of food.
“Don’t talk with your mouthful, Big D.” I freeze in place, wondering if I overstepped some boundary with Ramona and her family, but no one says a word.
Things between Beauty and me are almost perfect. The last thing I want to do is overstep my boundaries as the boyfriend with her son. Even though I’m his hockey coach, my authority over him stops the moment he steps off the ice. Anything beyond that is Ramona’s territory.
His eyes drop to his plate. “Sorry, Coach. I mean Mr. Cooper.”
“Just call me Cooper. And it’s no big deal. I sometimes forget to close my mouth, too.” I rest my hand on his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.
“He’ll do no such thing.” Beauty leans around me, pinning Darius in place with her stare. “It’s Mr. Cooper or Coach for you, young man.”
“What about Uncle Cooper?” he asks innocently, causing me to chuckle. It seems this family has a thing about making sure Ramona knows I’m a welcome addition to the family. I’d getdown on one knee right here and propose if I didn’t know it would send her running in the opposite direction.
Beauty has been slowly opening her heart to me, but there’s something holding her back. Something that’s stopping her from giving herself to me completely, and I’m not sure what it is. It’s like she is waiting for the other shoe to drop, for me to turn and walk away from her, never to return. I’ve tried showing her I’m in this for the long haul with both my words and actions, but she’s still hesitant. I know this is a perfectly normal response for a single mother because it’s not just her heart that she has to worry about, but tell that shit to my heart.
I lean back in my chair, throwing my arm over the back of Beauty’s chair, waiting to see how she responds. “If it’s all right with Cooper.”
