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I watched as he opened the passenger door and signaled for me to get in. I climbed in, and he shut the door before going to the other side. Once he slid in next to me, he turned on the car and rolled down the windows. The music was low, and I waited for him to put it in drive, but his hand never went to the shifter.
“My mom used to show up at his hotels when the team traveled. She went to every home game and stayed after, leaving me with a babysitter. When he was too far away and she couldn’t go, she’d call him constantly.”
I didn’t know if he wanted me to say something, so I kept quiet, and he continued.
“He was her entire life. More important than even me.”
“Oh, Cooper,” I said, not agreeing.
“No, he was, and I made peace with that a long time ago. It was good because I would’ve cracked if they both were looking at me under a microscope. She was so paranoid that he was cheating on her.” He looked at me. “I think it’s why I don’t want to be one of those players who sleeps with a bunch of people.”
“You think your dad…”
He nodded. “I do. He cheated on his first wife with my mom—that’s why my mom was so paranoid. But I’ll never know. His friends would never tell me, and I don’t blame them. My dad was the good-time guy, you know? Life of the party.”
I squeezed his hand.
“I never want my wife to feel that way, but I’ve seen the worst in the league. I’ve seen what being married to a player can strip from someone. It stripped my mother of being who she was meant to be, and I never want that to happen to…”
He didn’t finish, and I was desperate to know if he wanted to end that sentence with the word you. Because I wanted to rebut. I wanted to tell him that I would have my career, and I trusted him. But it all came back to our hang-ups that kept us from crossing over that friendship line.
Cooper put his hand on the shifter as the song “Wind of Change” by the Scorpions came on. He drove the car out of the garage through his parents’ rural neighborhood, and we didn’t speak a word. We just listened to music and drove with the wind running through our hair. It was the most freeing moment of my life because I stopped thinking about everything. Nothing mattered more than that exact moment in time.
Chapter 14
Cooper
“Why are we doing this again?” I ask Damon, who hijacked me after practice.
“Because it’s fun,” Miles says from the other side of me.
The three of us are in the back of the smallest Uber in the world since the driver said he didn’t want anyone sitting in the front with him. We sit shoulder to shoulder with no need for seat belts because there’s no way any of us will shift around if we get in an accident.
“Next time get an Uber XL, man,” I say to Damon.
“I forgot, okay? It’s not that long of a ride.” Damon types away on his phone.
“How did I get stuck in the middle?” I grumble.
“Jesus, stop complaining already. You owe us. Your temper got you suspended, which means we might lose on Sunday, so you just need to sit there and look pretty.” Damon taps my knee.
“I’m assuming Elle will be there?” We had all talked about trying curling before, so if they think they’re surprising me with her being there and keeping me locked in the middle seat, they worried for nothing.
“Of course, those are the couples,” Damon says, not looking away from his phone.
“I’m not part of a couple.” I shift in my seat, what little I can.
“You never minded before,” Miles says. “In fact, you were more of a couple with Ellery than any of us at one point.”
“That’s changed.” I’m purposely being an asshole because she’s still mad at me. Granted, I haven’t reached out to her. But I don’t think I have to. I did nothing wrong.
“Don’t we all know it. It’s like we’re the kids caught in the middle of Mommy and Daddy’s divorce.” Damon shakes his head at me, finally looking up from his phone.
We pull up to the big building, and I’m thankful to be here. The sooner we get inside, the sooner I can get this over with.
Heading into the building, I’ll admit I’m a little excited to try something I’ve only ever seen on television during the Olympics. Damon takes charge, heading over to the desk to get us registered. The women come out from the bar. Elle sips her drink, giving me a fake smile around her straw, while Bryce and Adeline both greet me with a hug.
Damon comes back over and joins the group. “Okay, so it’s groups of four, so we’re paired up with another couple. They said we could go down to the curling lane. They’re already there.”
