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“Your pick, bro.” Jackson saunters over, gaze sliding to me for a beat. “You partnering up with me, or—?”
“I’m playing with T,” he says. “We play together all the time.”
Jackson nods slowly, smirking. “Cool, that just means I’ll kick your ass.”
“Not if we kick yours first,” I shoot back.
My brother snorts. “You’ve never even played this, have you? Piece of cake.”
I frown. “You play, so I doubt it’s that hard to pick up.”
“Ohh,” Simone drawls, shadow boxing a one-two combo. “She got you, Jackson.”
He narrows his eyes at her and lays off with a muttered, “Whatever.”
I glance between my brother and Cooper to gauge if there’s any lingering hostility between them after the way Jackson blew up at him for kissing me. As far as I can tell, they’re back to hanging out. Jackson has kept to himself around our house, but I’ve heard them playing basketball in the driveway.
Cooper squeezes me in a half hug. “Ready? We’re up first against Jackson and Ty.”
I nod, latching on to the bubble of determination rising within me. “Bring it.”
He grins. “That’s my girl.”
We move to one side of the table while our opponents move to the other. “How does the game start?”
Picking up the ping pong ball, Cooper positions me in front of the pyramid of cups on our side and puts it in my hand. He stands behind me. “The first shot is taken at the same time. Jackson usually does it when we play together. Stare him down and sink your ball first.” His lips are warm, brushing against my ear as he lifts my arm and takes me through the motion of a practice throw so I get the feel for it. “You just stay loose and guide the ball like this.”
Across from us, Jackson and Ty talk shit, but none of their words register past Cooper’s rasped advice.
“You’ve got this, Tate.”
His belief in me is palpable, boosting my confidence. It occurs to me I’ve come so far from the girl at the beginning of the summer so desperate to live my life, longing to fit in. All of my worries earlier were for nothing. A grin spreads across my face while the ocean air whips through my hair and I meet my brother’s eye as he prepares to throw.
The crowd counts us down as a group, led by Simone. “3…2…1…go!”
I don’t blink or take my eyes off my brother as we both send our balls sailing. My heartbeat stutters when his hits between two cups and bounces off the table. Ty and Harris groan in unison. Mine rebounds off the edge of a cup, then circles the rim of another before sinking in. I forget to breathe for a second, until Cooper’s rowdy whoop startles me.
Holy crap. I actually did it!
Cooper’s arms circle around my waist and he lifts me off the ground. I can’t stop smiling, soaring high on the feeling of success. We still have an entire game to play, but that first shot felt amazing.
“Damn, babe. You’re a natural.” He sets me down and cradles my face, hovering his broad grin over mine. “The more you show the world who you’ve been hiding, the more I can’t help myself.”
Before I can ask what he means, he seals his mouth over mine in a deep kiss that makes my brain gooof. People cheer around us. I savor the feel of him smiling into it until we part. He tucks my hair behind my ear, his piercing gaze stealing my breath.
“Are we playing or what?” Jackson calls.
“We’re playing,” I assure him. “That was fun and I want to do it again.”
Cooper holds up his hand for the ball Ty tosses his way, catching it deftly. He drags his fingers through his messy hair and winks at me before taking his turn, sending the ball sailing smoothly into one of the other team’s cups. Jackson hangs his head back.
My competitive spirit kicks in as the game continues, bolstered by discovering I have a knack for this. The first throw wasn’t a fluke. Simone, Jenny, and I victory dance each successful shot while Cooper watches with a sexy smile that has me warm all over. Not long into the game, I find myself having fun.
I was afraid it would be hard to pretend in front of everyone because it would be obvious we were forcing it, but the fear evaporates. Pretending to date Cooper isn’t that different from how we’ve always been. It’s easy and natural to hold his hand, to hug him every time he sinks a shot, and to kiss him when we crush Ty and my brother. In every way, we feel like we fit together.
TWENTY-NINE
COOPER
