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Cooper smiles. “That’s very kind of you. Thank you.”
“She must have been so excited to hear that the two of you were back together.” Mom’s smile is back and her gaze flits back and forth between us.
“Oh, um, she actually doesn’t know yet,” Cooper replies. “It’s a fairly new development. I hadn’t gotten around to telling her.”
“Oh, honey you have to tell her. It would brighten up her day so much. And make her last few months so much happier. Seeing our kids happy is what brings us the greatest joy.”
Cooper tries to give his best fake smile but I can tell he’s mulling things over in his head. Probably thinking about the consequences of lying to his mom about us, and shit, I hadn’t considered that either. But if he doesn’t say something my parents will mention it and she’ll find out one way or another. There’s no getting around it. Shoot. This one date plan has just gotten even more involved. Are we going to be stuck fake-dating until the end of time just to keep our parents happy? Ugh. Whycouldn’t I just take Riley’s advice and tell my mom the truth? Because I’m a fucking coward, that’s why.
“Oh, you know what?” Mom speaks up, grabbing onto Dad’s arm, causing him to practically choke on his food. She ignores it, her voice brimming with excitement. “We’re having a family trip to the beach next week to celebrate our anniversary. We’re staying at our beach house. Derick and Macy are coming. You two should join us, and Cooper you should bring your mom. I think the beach would be good for her soul.”
Cooper’s eyes widen, and so do mine. Because what the fudge? I know what staying at the beach house will entail and I’m not prepared for that.
I try to hide the note of panic in my voice when I ask, “What about April?”
“Your sister will have just gotten back from her honeymoon so she can’t make it,” Mom says, waving me off. “It’s perfect. You and Cooper can have your room and Natalie can have the spare room.”
“Oh, um, wow, that’s really nice of you to invite us, but we wouldn’t want to intrude on family time,” Cooper says.
“It’s not a bother at all,” Dad says, and I have to stop myself from glaring at him, because Cooper had just given us the perfect out. But my parents are too goddamn nice. “You guys are family. And it would be a blessing to us to have you there. There’s plenty of room. It’s got four bedrooms which is perfect. Your mom would have her own space but you would still be close to her. There’s a hospital nearby if anything were to happen.”
“Please say you’ll come,” Mom pleads, gently. And, shit. I can’t believe what I’m about to do.
“Hey, babe, can I talk to you for a second in private?” I say, the endearment tasting like vinegar on my tongue.
“Sure.” Cooper wipes his face on his napkin and then scoots out of his chair and follows me into the kitchen.
“What?” he asks as soon as we’re out of earshot of my parents.
“Look, as much as it pains me to say this,” I say, rolling my eyes, “you have to come.”
“Excuse me?” Cooper crosses his arms over his chest and purses his lips.
“Listen, they don’t invite just anyone to come on their anniversary getaway with us. This is a big deal. You have to come.” I poke him in the chest. And god, it’s so fucking firm. Does this guy live at the gym? Okay, focus, Wesley. Focus.
“Look, Wesley, I like your parents, and I get this is important, but this was supposed to be a one and done thing, and it’s already gotten way out of hand. I didn’t sign up for this.” Cooper takes a deep breath and runs his fingers through his hair, and I sigh. “So,” he continues, “if I do this, I’m gonna need to be compensated. If I’m gonna be lying my ass off to my mom and spending a week playing liar-liar-pants-on-fire with you in front of your whole family, you have to make it worth my while.”
And god, if that doesn’t sting. But I refuse to let him see that. He’s not worth it. I can’t let him know that he still affects me the way he does. That apparently I still ache for his affection. For him to want me, to care for me. I narrow my gaze and purse my lips. “Fine. Not like I’d expect anything less from you.”
“Fine,” Cooper replies.
Then we both plaster smiles on our faces as Cooper slides his arm around my waist, and I do my best not to grimace as we make our way back to the dining room.
The rest of the evening goes by smoothly, I guess. Mom manages to avoid asking Cooper any more upsetting questions. We have dessert, and she does ask how we got back together so thank fuck we got our story straight with that one. The lie goes off like a breeze and I’m a little mortified at how easily she swallows it. Shit, I’m a horrible son.
When the evening comes to a close we say goodbye to my parents and my mom gives both of us a kiss on the cheek as we head out the door. They are both waving to us from the front porch as we get in the car and wave back, Cooper once again cramming himself into the tiny space of the passenger seat. I’m cackling and I’m not even a little bit sorry. Ahh, it’s the little things that make life so grand. His head is almost pressed against the roof and he’s slouched so that he has room, which makes his knees touch the dash. It looks acutely uncomfortable. It’s hilarious.
When I drop him off at his apartment, I watch as he struggles to get out and then walks up to the door of his building. I wait for him to turn around and look at me, and then I lower the top down and cackle as he gapes. He’s too far away for me to hear him, but I see him pull out his phone and then I hear my phone alerting me to a text message. I pull it out even while I’m laughing so hard I have tears streaming down my face and my stomach hurts.
Cooper: You mean to tell me you could have had the top down the entire fucking time and you made me suffer the whole way just to be a dick?
Me: It was so worth it, just to see the look on your face. Night boyfriend.
Cooper: I hate you.
I’m laughing almost the whole way home.
When I step inside my phone buzzes and I see that it’s a text from Riley wanting to know how the evening went.
