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“Shut up.” Laughter cuts through my words. I elbow him as he leads us from the building to meet up with the others for lunch. “Gross, I don’t want to think about my brother boning my best friend.”
“Who says it’s not Simone boning him?” He waggles his eyebrows, then lets out anoofwhen I attack again with my elbow. “Fair, fair. No more talk of boning.”
“Thank god.” I aim for a stern tone, but I can’t keep the smile off my face.
He leans close, lips grazing my ear. “Unless we’re talking about the things I want to do to you. Because I like thinking about that all the time.”
The low, rasped words send heat spilling through me. It pools between my legs and leaves me short of breath. How can he still affect me so much that I want him all the time?
“How was your marketing class?”
I swiftly change the subject to cool my head, but I’m genuinely interested to hear how he likes the classes I helped him select to achieve his goals.
“It was good.” He pauses to hold open the door to the student union for me. “We only went over the syllabus, but it all sounds interesting. There’s a section on social media which I think I’ll like.”
“That’s great!” To see him looking forward to his classes after he asked for my help in the summer fills me with joy.
Simone, Jackson, and Ty wave us over to a corner table in the back of the cafeteria by the window. We join them and she pops up, grabbing my hand before I sit next to Cooper.
“I’ve already scoped out our new favorite place,” she says. “But we have to hurry, because it’s been popping since I got here and I only have another forty-five minutes before my class.”
The guys bump fists and slouch in their chairs. Cooper motions to the pasta bar before heading that way while me and Simone get in line for a grille that smells amazing. Two more people quickly join the line behind us.
“So my general psych class? It’s awesome,” I gush. “I didn’t get to text you about it, but I already love my professor. She opened today’s introductory class with an open debate on what we think psychology is. I was living my best life.”
“Yeah? Good, I’m glad. I have a bio lab for my first day. Blah.” She sticks out her tongue. “But once I get this class out of the way for the credits, I’ll breathe easier.”
“You know I’ll help in a heartbeat if you need a study partner.”
“Yeah, if you can let me join your little study club with Coop.” Her tone is sly. I snap my head around to make sure no one figures out the double meaning—what my study time with him originated as. She laughs and hugs my arm. “Come on, bestie. That was your opening. I’m living on the crumbs Cooper’s posted online for his simp army. Don’t I get best friend perks here? I’m being patient, but damn, girl. The desert is dry and a bitch is thirsty for details.”
Guilt slams into me again for not telling her this time when I needed her perspective before with the old arrangement. Playing pretend for everyone else is difficult, but lying to my best friend’s face is impossible.
Taking a breath, I search the room for Cooper. He’s back at the table with a bowl of pasta, laughing with Ty and my brother.
“It was after that day on the beach.” This veers from the story we told Jackson and everyone else, but she knew the truth then. “He took me back to his place and—”
My cheeks prickle. She grins, suppressing a little squeal as she pokes me in the side.
“He said he wanted to kiss me anytime he wanted,” I finish.
It’s vague for her sake. Enough of the truth that I don’t feel like crap for hiding this from her when we tell each other everything. She would understand why if I explained, but this isn’t just my plan anymore with Cooper helping, so I don’t want to betray his trust either.
“Knew it,” she mutters in satisfaction. “Okay, split a Mediterranean build-your-own flatbread pizza with me?”
“Yes.”
Back at the table, I don’t make it into my seat before I’m yanked sideways onto Cooper’s lap. Simone takes a seat across from me between Ty and Jackson, nudging our pizza closer.
“Really?” Jackson asks in a flat tone, dropping his sub to the plate.
A strong arm winds around my waist. “Try this.”
I have a fraction of a second to process before Cooper lifts a bite of his pasta. I part my lips for him, meeting his eyes as he feeds me. The tart red sauce bursts with flavor on my tongue and I hum in enjoyment.
“Good, right?” His thumb brushes away stray sauce from the corner of my mouth and he licks it clean. “Knew you’d like it.”
Simone swivels our pizza tray back and forth. “Well, as cute as that was, we have pizza crafted by the combined genius—”
