AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Coop.” Austin breaks the silence and our staring contest. I keep blinking, waiting for the moment that I open my eyes and he’s gone, but no such luck. Austin takes his hand off my shoulder and extends it in front of us.
“It’s, umm…good to see you,” Coop responds as he shakes Austin’s hand.
Good to see who? Me or him?
When Austin pulls his hand back, instead of placing it back where it was on my shoulder, it now rests on my lower back. Another awkward silence surrounds us, and I wish the floor would just open up and swallow me whole.
“Are, umm,” he stutters again, “you two together?” His eyes bounce between us like one of the many ping-pong matches we had as teens in the Hayeses’ garage. Cooper grips the back of his neck.
Don’t do it, Riley. Don’t look at the flex in his bicep as his muscle tenses with each stroke back and forth.
Sighing heavily, Cooper shakes his head, maybe deciding he doesn’t actually want to know the answer. I could easily fuck with him and say yes so that he feels a smidge of what I’m feeling right now—as if the rug was ripped out from under me. Would Austin throw me under the bus if I did lie? It doesn’t matter, though, because I’m not quick enough in my response because Cooper speaks again.
“I’m just surprised you didn’t say anything the other day.” He pauses. “You know what? It’s none of my business.”
“You’re right, it’s not any of your business,” I snap, finally finding words.
Wait, he said the other day. Not only did Austin know he’s back, but he’s seen him?I think it’s time to revoke his best friend card. And to think he said his job as his best friend was to be honest with me. Where’s the fucking honesty now?
“Mr. Hayes,” someone calls out, and all three of us turn to find one of his students waving him over.
“Excuse me.” Austin slips away before I can grab onto his shirt and tell him,Don’t you dare fucking leave me.
“Coward,” I mutter under my breath.
“So, do you still dance?” My head snaps back from where I was glaring lasers into the back of Austin’s head.
I tilt my head to the side and narrow my eyes. “Really? You want to make small talk after all this time?”
Cooper purses his lips together and shoves his hands into his pockets. “I deserve that.”
You know what I deserve? Answers. However, now is not the time or place for this. I’m sure our current situation is enough to keep all the gossip queens busy for days.
I straighten my back and cross my arms, creating a rigid stance. “For the record, no, I don’t,” I spit out, crossing my arms.
Cooper opens his mouth to speak at the same time the young hostess at the counter yells, “Order for Graham.”
“Right here.” Cooper turns and meets the girl, handing her cash for two pizza boxes and a plastic bag on top. “Keep the change, darlin’.”
The girl smiles at him as if he just promised her the world. I can’t stop the snicker from leaving my lips. He used to promise me the same thing.
I sigh.Fuck this.I don’t bother saying goodbye—he sure as fuck didn’t—or waiting for Austin and push open the door, walking out to the sidewalk. The ache in my chest only eases the further distance I put between me and the restaurant. Weaving through the crowd, I pretend everything is okay and normal as I head to Austin’s SUV.
I’m halfway to the vehicle when a voice calls my name behind me, but I ignore it.
“Riley! Riley, stop!” The voice gets closer. Only it’s not Cooper chasing me; it’s Austin.
He tugs on my hand and forces me to turn around to face him. It takes all the strength in my five-foot-two body to not slap him across his face.
“You knew. You fucking knew. When did you find out?” All the words that were caught in my throat when Cooper was in front of me now flow out of me like vomit the morning after my twenty-first birthday.
I don’t even give him a chance to respond until I talk again. “I can’t believe you didn’t fucking tell me, Austin. If your goal was to catch me off guard and make me look like a fool in front of the entire town, then great job. It worked.”
Austin pulls me against his chest with such a force it almost knocks the wind out of me.
“I’m sorry,” he chants over and over. “I didn’t want you to find out like that. I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you.”
“It’s pretty simple, actually, Austin,” I say through gritted teeth. “You say, ‘hey, Riley. I have something to tell you.’” I deepen my voice to mock his and then twist, pretending I’m a second person. “Yes, Austin, what is it?” I repeat the twist of my body. “Cooper is home,” I twist one last time. “Oh, thank you so much for telling me.”
