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Outside my door, he’s there, one hand raised to knock and mouth tugged up at the corner.
“Beat me to it,” he says.
I toss a glance over my shoulder and whisper. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m walking my beautiful girlfriend to class.” His smirk stretches. “And to bring you this.”
“Thank you.” I accept the coffee cup he hands me, pausing at the pastel purple heart-shaped paper stuck to the side. “What’s this?”
Plucking it off, I recognize his handwriting. It readsgood morning, gorgeous. Coffee is just an excuse to see you.A thud echoes in my chest and the tips of my ears feel warm. Is this legit, or is this part of our act?
He steps closer while I’m distracted, taking my bag from my shoulder. “Ready to go?”
“I can carry those. You don’t have to.” Peeking around, I check that we’re alone in the hall. “No one’s even here to see you being all boyfriend-y right now.”
“Nah, I’m doing it.” He presses his lips to my forehead under the ploy of being sweet if anyone pops out of their dorm and mutters, “We agreed it’s better to just keep the act going so we don’t slip up.”
It’s the thing we decided last night, but I didn’t think it would start so soon. He’s right though. I close my eyes and breathe in his scent to ground myself.
“Did you sleep good, or stay up too late hyping yourself up for today after I left?”
My mouth quirks. “I slept great. Didn’t you get my homework photo?”
He groans, gripping the material of my dress at my hip. “Yeah. You in bed on your stomach, wearing my shirt with the hem up high to give me a peek of your ass? I had to jerk off again before bed.”
“Your shirt was very comfortable as pajamas.” I need to redirect us before we end up finding the nearest private space to give in to the desire clear in his unwavering gaze. “Come on, I want to get a good seat as soon as the professor opens the door. According to what I could research on student forums, she favors students who show they want to be there.”
“In an intro-level course?” He hums and takes my hand. “Most of my professors last year were pretty lax.”
“And that’s probably how you ended up where you were before we assessed your options.”
“Probably.” He shrugs. “Thankfully I have a secret weapon to keep my ass in line this year. It’s do or die time.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
He gives me that broad grin that makes my heart trip over itself. “You, baby.”
I shake my head with a breathy laugh. We make it downstairs and head into the early morning sunshine splashing across the quad in the middle of the five dorm buildings.
Cooper lifts his phone while we walk across campus and tilts his head in my direction when he begins recording a TikTok. “It’s the first morning of classes. I just picked up my girl and brought her coffee. It’s T’s first year here. Say hi, baby.”
He angles the camera to me, lifting his brows and squeezing my hand when I stare. I quickly wave and hide a blush behind a sip of coffee. He chuckles and swoops in to plant a kiss on my cheek.
“So cute when you’re shy.” He addresses the camera again. “My marketing class doesn’t start until eleven, but Miss Smarty Pants over here loves learning and decided early morning classes across the board were the way to go. Part two of our first day vlog will be linked in the comments in a bit. Catch you on the flip.”
He ends with a hang ten hand gesture, sticking out his tongue and scrunching one of his eyes shut. I wait until he finishes posting before propping my chin on his arm while we walk. “So we’re fake vlogging to your followers, too?”
“Hell yeah. Viral marketing, right?” He shoots me a lopsided smile. “We’ve gotta hit this from all sides. Besides, my followers have been hounding me for an update.”
I sink my teeth into my lip. “Are they so eager to get confirmation South Bay’s most legendary player is single again?”
Cooper stops, his easy smile faltering. Instead of answering, he plays with my hand. “At first, I was worried as hell that was the case.”
My throat tightens at the distant bitterness in his eyes. It’s like they’ve lost their light and I don’t like seeing him like this. I search for something to say to help chase away the melancholic look on his face, but everything I think of feels forced. At a loss for what to do, I step into him and hold his hand tighter. He meets my gaze and those handsome brown eyes regain a spark of light.
Exhaling heavily, his shoulders relax and his mouth quirks up at the corners once more. “But that’s not the case. They’re invested in us, T. They want to hear all about our relationship. Check out the comments and see for yourself.”
“Okay. After class, though. I can’t be late on the first day.”
