AllFreeNovel
Share Us
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 takingmycar 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 Ilikehaving 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 didnotwant to talk about her.
