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Reese: You’re impossible.She follows her message with a line of laughing emojis. It’s not a confession of love, but it’s not a denial of one either.Me: Enjoy Mexico. Stay safe.I follow it up with some hearts. My emoji game is on point.Reese: Damn it. Cooper, please don’t come here. I need some time.Her words sting a little, because all I want to do is be with her. All the time. However, I know she needs this time to work out what’s going on in her head. Just like her mom said, Reese is a thinker, and a lot has happened in a very short amount of time.Me: I won’t. Not unless you need me. I love you, Reese.Reese: Thank you.The microwave dings, and I pull out my plate of food, taking it to the living room. I turn the television to the sports network that’s talking about the upcoming draft. I get lost in the sport I love, all the while still thinking about Reese and the possibilities of our future.Chapter 6ReeseI’m on my flight back to Ohio. Tessa and I said our goodbyes at the airport as she’s flying home to Louisiana. I already miss her.
I’m so grateful she was able to come with me this week. It was nice to just catch up and talk about her wedding, while trying to forget about mine. There’s a churning in my gut for what I did. How I acted. I was unsure after hearing Cooper’s confession. However, if I’m honest, the doubts were there long before Cooper ever confessed he loved me. I just didn’t know how to handle it. I’d let it go too far. Hunter is a great guy. He didn’t deserve to be treated that way. I should have been upfront and honest with him.
I need to talk to him. That’s something I was able to work out while I was in Mexico. He deserves to hear from me. It’s going to be a hard conversation, but it needs to happen. Hell, I’m not even sure he’ll talk to me. I might have to get creative, but he deserves an apology. I’m following my heart, but in the process, I trampled all over his. That’s not okay. I don’t expect him to ever forgive me, but it’s important he knows I will forever be sorry for the way I treated him. For the way I hurt him.
As for Cooper, I still don’t know what to do.
I love him. I’ve always loved him. I just don’t know if I can trust his declaration of love. I know he loves me, and he’s never lied to me. I’m just worried about him changing his mind about what kind of love he has for me. Tessa told me all week I was being irrational. That I need to give him a chance to prove it to me. She’s convinced he loves me.
I want him to love me.
Closing my eyes, I rest my head back against the seat. I’ve tried to read this entire flight, and I keep reading the same line over and over again. There’s no use in trying. Eyes closed, the first thing I see is Cooper. The way he hovered over me. The look in his eyes when he entered me for the first time, and when he told me he loved me. I want so badly to believe him. I want to jump right into this with him, full-speed ahead, but I know that’s not the best way to handle this.
Tessa said to let him woo me, and although I’m not sold on the wooing, I do feel like we need to take things slow. We could easily get swept up in one another from our history alone. I don’t want that. I let us take things too far that night in the hotel room. We should have talked, and nothing else. Maybe then I might not be so conflicted as to how to proceed. When I told him I needed him, I meant it.
Looking back, I’ll never forget that night, but I feel as though we need to take a few steps back. Ease into this… whatever this is.
The rest of the flight is spent reliving that night we spent together just one short week ago over and over in my head. My imagination all these years has nothing on the real thing. No matter what happens between us, I have that night. It’s one I will always cherish.
I’m walking through the airport with my carry-on wheeling behind me when I hear my name called. I stop and look around but don’t see anyone I know, so I keep walking.
“Reese!” I hear it again, and this time, I know the voice.
Cooper.
Following the sound, I turn to my right, and there he is. Standing tall, with a Defenders hat pulled down over his eyes. My breath hitches at the sight of him. He appears to be bigger than life with his arms crossed over his chest, his muscles on full display and his face, well it’s lit up with a smile all for me.
