AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thanks, you’ve got my notes and her statement, but I’ve got some stuff to catch up on, so I’ll be there if you need anything else,” Cooper says.
“See you guys tomorrow.” Todd and Derek turn to walk out the front door leaving Cooper and me by ourselves.
“Let’s see if we can get any prints from the door,” Cooper says, grabbing the case he left at the bottom of the stairs.
“Is it okay for me to touch things in my room?” I ask.
“Yeah, should be fine. We’ve searched through everything, and it should be good to clean up now,” he says. I nod my head and walk upstairs to pack my bag.
Pulling together my toiletries and enough clothes for a couple of days, I get myself ready to go. Once that’s done, I pick up a little so it’s not such a mess when I get home. Cooper comes in while I’m cleaning up and helps me get some of my stuff put away.
“This may be a little forward, and feel free to say no, but I don’t feel super comfortable leaving you here alone, so would you want to come and stay with me for a little while?” Cooper asks hesitantly.
“You want me to come and stay with you? I mean, I didn’t feel comfortable staying here either but I was just going to get a hotel room or something.” I wholeheartedly would rather stay with him than in a hotel room.
“Yes, I really do,” Cooper says with his million-dollar smile. Despite my nerves being shot, that smile still makes my knees weak.
“Well then, I would love to come and stay with you. I’m already packed, so I’m ready to leave whenever.”
“Perfect. Let me do a quick walkthrough of the house and see if we missed anything, and then I think we can head out.
* * *
Cooper finishedup his checks and we’re driving to his house now. At my own insistence, I’m driving my car, following closely behind him.
When I first agreed to stay with Cooper I was really excited about getting to spend more time with him. Now that I’m on my way to his house I’m sort of freaking out. What if I do something silly or embarrassing? I can be a pretty awkward person, so there’s a good chance I will make things weird.
Needing some moral support, I call Hailey. It’s late, but being the night owl she is, I know she’ll still be up.
“Hey, is everything okay? It’s late for you,” she answers.
“Everything is fine. Sort of. Long story short, someone broke into my house and rearranged some of my stuff, and now I am on my way to Cooper’s house to spend the night.”
“Holy shit. We’ll get back to the break-in in a minute. Did you say you’re on your way to Cooper’s house?”
“Yes, and I’m freaking out. I didn’t think things through when I first said yes, and now I think I might be losing it.”
“First of all, take a breath because a panic attack would not be helpful right now. Secondly, you go girl. I am all for this.” I do as directed and take a deep breath which helps more than I expected. “Good, now I know you, and I know what you’re thinking. You’re worried you’re going to do something embarrassing and he’ll run for the hills. Am I right?”
“That’s pretty accurate, actually,” I reply, feeling a little dumb now that she’s said it out loud.
“You do realize that if you did something embarrassing and he actually kicked you out, that would make him an epic douche canoe, right?”
“When you say it out loud, I realize how silly it is.” I sigh.
“You also wouldn’t be going out with him if you thought there was even a chance for him to act that way,” Hailey points out.
“Also true. You have officially talked me off the ledge. Thank you,” I say, feeling grateful for my friend.
“You are very welcome. Now, go jump his bones and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Hailey demands, which makes me laugh.
“There isn’t much on that list,” I say teasingly.
Hailey snorts. “Exactly, so go get ‘em, tiger, and call me tomorrow with details.” And then hangs up, not letting me respond, which oddly makes me miss her.
A few minutes after I get off the phone with Hailey, Cooper pulls into the driveway of a two-story traditional house. I think it might be grey, but it’s hard to tell at this time of night.
I pull in next to Cooper and take another deep breath to calm my nerves. I watch him get out of his truck, and Piper jumps out behind him. After getting out of my own car, I grab my suitcase from the backseat as Cooper walks over to me with Piper at his heels. He grabs my suitcase and then takes my hand to lead me inside.
