My stomach flips and my heart squeezes and my insides melt. “Oh.”
“It didn’t matter, anyway. Turns out, she was just figuring out she wasn’t into meorSlug—or any guy for that matter.” He hesitates before continuing. “Because she likes girls.”
My eyes widen. “Chloe’s gay?”
Cooper nods. “She’s not really out, though. Only her closest friends know. But she said if I trust you, I could tell you.”
“I won’t say anything,” I promise.
“I know.”
“I don’t understand why she’d be okay with me knowing her secret, though,” I say. “We’re cool but not super close….”
“Because she didn’t want our friendship to scare you off. I haven’t really dated anyone since her, and she said she could tell that you and I liked each other.” He shrugs. “She was afraid you’d think there was more between us than there is.”
I cringe thinking of how jealous I’ve been. She was so right.
Too bad this revelation doesn’t make a difference for Cooper and me.
I turn away from him and stare at the sky, thinking about how unfair it all feels, as Cooper takes my hand in his and interlaces our fingers.
I don’t look at him when I say, “You’re confusing me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m trying to give you what you asked for. I’m trying to pretend it never happened. I’m trying to make my feelings go away, and I’m trying to be friends with you again. But you’re making it all really hard.”
“I’ve regretted that night this entire past week,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “Trust me, I know, Cooper. You don’t need to remind me.”
“No,” he says. “I don’t mean the kiss.” I turn my head toward him. Our faces are only inches apart when he says, “I mean I’ve regretted saying we couldn’t be anything. I’ve regretted telling you to forget it happened.” His Adam’s apple bobs. “I don’t want to regret letting you walk away again, letting you leave, knowing this time could have been different.”
“So, what are you saying?”
His eyes dart between mine before he closes them, the small space between us vanishing as he leans in and presses his lips to mine in a soft, reluctant kiss.
I reach up with my free hand and run my fingers along his neck until they’re buried deep in his hair.
He stops kissing me, lets go of my hand, and shifts his body so his weight is resting on his elbow as he looks down at me.
I run my thumb over his ear and trace my fingertips along his jaw and over his eyebrow because I simply cannot stop touching him. I might be obsessed. “You said you don’t trust me,” I whisper.
He slowly nods. “Yeah, I know, but this week was torture.Acting like I don’t want youis torture. You’re a flight risk, and I don’t want to end up hurt. But…” His gaze has me in a choke hold as I wait for whatever he’ll say next. “I think you’re a risk worth taking.”
A million sparklers ignite inside me until I think I might combust. But then I remember one not-so-small problem. “What about Jake?”
Cooper’s expression turns worried. “I honestly don’t know. He’ll be crushed. And probably pissed. I feel like shit about it.”
“Same…” I tug on the collar of his hoodie. “But it also sounds like something we can figure out tomorrow.”
He grins, letting me pull him closer, and kisses me again. His tongue slides along mine, and his weight collapses gently on top of me as he lowers himself. My hands find the small space where his shirt has ridden up, and they memorize the feel of his warm skin as goose bumps erupt across it. They travel the ridges of his back muscles, and heat pools in the pit of my belly as his fingertips skim down my ribs. My back arches of its own accord, pressing me even closer to him; our breaths become ragged as we drown in each other.
Then a bright light hits us.
“What the fuck?” someone says.
My heart stops beating.
