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Somehow, I landed on, “You’re a weirdo.”
Shoving off the bed, he gave my ass another slap, and this time, I couldn’t mistake the heat for anything other than want. I shivered as he grinned at me, split lip and all. “That, too.”
As much as I’d have liked to shrug off the day, we had school. Coop showed up by the time we were getting breakfast, and my cereal was on hold while I got my good morning kiss. Then he turned me around, breathless, and Jake kissed me again. I was pretty sure they were intent on melting my brain before the day got started. Only, Coop never backed off. Jake kissed me while my back was pressed against Coop’s chest, releasing me only to spin me back to Coop, and then holy hell.
Burning up and panting when Coop lifted his head, I forgot what I’d been doing before this started. “You know,” Coop told me. “That just gets hotter every time we do it.”
Jake wrapped his arms around me from the back, and I leaned into him as Coop drew a finger down my cheek.
“I wish it was tomorrow,” he admitted.
“For a birthday kiss?” I asked.
He grinned. “Well, that too. But I was thinking the no school part and heading up to Six Flags for a day away from everything. Just us being us.”
My smile didn’t falter, but in the craziness of all of it, I’d forgotten about that part of the plan. A whole day of us. Which meant Ian, too.
I could handle it. I firmed my smile. It was Coop’s birthday. I would handle anything to make it a good day.
He tilted his head when I gave him a gentle push and wiggled out from between them. I still had to finish my breakfast. The fact that the two of them shared a long look wasn’t lost on me, but Jake and I had covered a lot of uncomfortable territory that morning. I’d skip the rest.
Besides, I was getting low on groceries. I needed to hit a store this week. After making sure the cats had water and dry food, we locked up and headed out. I rode with Jake, but Coop claimed bringing me home after school.
At school, Jake was the one pulling all the looks when we came in. Ian was at the table with Arch and the coffee. I settled in the chair next to Archie while Jake dragged out the chair next to me.
The conversation was awkward. Made more so by the number of eyes pointed in our direction. When Ian asked me about calculus, I was proud of my answer. I kept it pretty straightforward and neutral, and even offered him my notes, but I just slid them across the table. I didn’t hand them off.
Maybe it was the bruising on his face, or maybe he just felt like crap in general, but every time our gazes clashed, I swore he looked in pain.
Rachel said she and her friend had never been able to go back. There had to be a way to make it work. Thankfully, we had to split up for class.
The reprieve was brief.
Archie didn’t say much as we walked to calculus, distracted by some project he was now behind on. I told him to go on, I could make it on my own. Of course, he didn’t take me up on the offer.
I kind of figured.
Math class promised to be a blast, but Ian just gave me a small smile when I took the same seat I’d taken since the beginning of the year—the one right next to him.
“Hey,” I said, smile firmly in place.
“Hey.” He tried. I’ll give him that. He did try to smile, but if anything, his face looked worse today than it had yesterday. Guilt stabbed at me again.
“You doing okay?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Just tired.”
I nodded. The silence stretched out. “Ready for Friday?”
“Yep.”
I’d never been so grateful for a pop quiz in my life as when the teacher passed out those calculus tests.
Never.
After class was over, he fell into step with me. “Frankie…”
I glanced at him, but he stared down the hall and went mute. Following his gaze, it wasn’t hard to miss what captured his attention. Sharon had her phone up and pointed right at us.
