Chapter nine
Cooper frowned at hisphone.
"What is it?" asked Jimmy. "Something wrong?"
They'd spent the night together, and Coop hadn't needed much convincing to agree to sleep over. He was a snuggly, delightful bed companion even when he wasn't rocking Jimmy's world in bed. He was really, truly delightful: hot, handsome, kind, and...soft. There was something so utterlygiving and gentle about him. He hadn't been all about getting his rocks off and blowing off steam; this had been about both of them, and utterly warm and delightful.
He'd never thought he'd feel comfortable enough with a near-stranger to joke with him and start laughing together while they were being intimate, but there was something so right and proper about it now that it had happened forhim. Jimmy hadn't slept with all that many guys; his brothers tended to be cock-blocks, and they were usually hanging around him one way or another. Plus, he'd lived here all his life, and there wasn't exactly a thriving gay scene. But he'd been with a few guys before, and none of them had been remotely as amazing as Coop. It had been so right. So perfect.
And him agreeing to stay, obviouslywanting to stay and cuddle, had been delightful, too. But now his hair was standing up, wet from his morning shower, and he was staring at his phone with a worried sort of frown on his face. Jimmy had been making them a big breakfast, but his alarm bells were going off because of that look on Coop's face, the sort of look that said, "Oh, shit, I'm in trouble now."
"Did something happen? Isit the studio?"
"What? No. Nothing. I—sorry." For an actor, he did an awfully poor job of hiding his guilty jump. He slid his phone away, but his eyes were larger and his face paler than moments before.
"You can tell me, you know. I'm not going to jump all over you, no matter what it is. Just because you stayed the night with me doesn't mean I'm somebody who gets to judge you." Jimmywasn't sure how else to say that. Of course he liked Coop, and he hoped this might become something closer to dating in time, but if Coop was seeing someone already, obviously that wouldn't happen, and he'd be disappointed. He wouldn't be a jerk about it, though.
"No." Coop sat down gingerly. "I can see you're thinking the worst of me," he said cautiously, "but it's not... I went to a partythe other night, and I met a—a man. I gave him my number. Now he's asking me out. Some fancy restaurant. I'll have to fly there, because it's not close." He swallowed visibly. "Negotiating time off, dealing with jet lag—I'm not excited about it. And to be perfectly honest, I wish I hadn't given him my number."
"Why? Is he a jerk?" Jimmy was still trying his best to suspend judgment,but he was getting the impression that Coop was awfully easy to push around. It wasn't a comfortable thing to notice, especially about the guy he'd already started getting attached to.
"He's rich," Coop said bluntly. "And powerful in the industry. My agent more or less said if I dated him, it would help my career. And I wasn't going to, but I did end up meeting him, and, well... He's funnyand not awful, but I'm not attracted to him. And now I've met you, and—" He flushed. "It doesn't have to be serious, of course. I know that." His gaze pleaded with Jimmy not to take that the wrong way.
Jimmy took his hand instead. "I get it. You don't want to waste time with someone you're not actually into." The fact that Coop was into him, and had more or less said so, was a prettybig boost. Although he'd gotten the impression of that already, it was nice to have it confirmed.
Coop looked relieved. "Yes, exactly. But now I'm not sure how to say no."
"Tell him about your schedule?" suggested Jimmy.
"I will. That will put it off, at least." Coop bit his lip. "The thing is, if he thinks I'm jerking him around, and I weasel out of the date anyway, he'll probably bemore pissed than if I just say no. Maybe he'd be annoyed enough to have a word with someone about what a difficult person I am to work with."
"You think he'd do that?"
Coop shrugged. "I met him once. How do I know? I wish I hadn't gone to the party in the first place." He looked so unhappy about the whole thing.
"Who is this guy, anyway?" Jimmy was getting curious and a bit irritated.Would this guy really try to ruin Coop's career, or was he just skittish because they'd been trying to get rid of him before the first episode aired?
