He brushes his knuckles across my cheek. His touch is feather light, almost tentative. Like he’s waiting to see how I’ll react.
Which is ridiculous. This is Cooper-I-can-have-any-woman-I-want-DeLaurentis. The same one who doesn’t do relationships or virgins.
Is it possible he’s willing to take one for the team and ditch the virgin rule? Just for one night?
Wishful thinking, sis.
Yeah, well, if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
Time to pull up the big girl panties and woman up. “Coop. I—”
My phone vibrates in my pocket.
Talk about bad timing.
You could just ignore it.
Not an option. What if it’s Haley? She might be looking for me. Or she could need help. Or, more likely, she and Bryan are fighting and she’s ready to go.
“Just a sec.” I slide the phone out of my pocket and hold it up for inspection. The text is a little blurry on the screen, but that’s probably just because it’s so dark in here, right?
Haley: B and I had a fight, but it’s all good. Heading out for a quick makeup sesh.
Called it. Alcohol and high drama are never a winning combo.
Haley:Do you need a ride or did you find yourself a hottie???
I bite my lip, contemplating. I may have found a hottie, but it’s not like I’ll be closing the deal tonight. Not if Coop has anything to say about it.
Really? Three seconds ago you were ready to throw your panties at him.
That was the alcohol talking. Obviously.
“I can give you a lift,” Coop offers.
I blink up at him. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to read other people’s text messages?”
He shrugs. “You’re practically pocket sized. How am I supposed to not read it when it’s right there in front of me?”
He’s not wrong. The guy towers over me.Wait. Does that mean he can see down the front of my tank top? I glance down. I’m rocking some uber pale cleavage, but I’m pretty sure the girls aren’t on display. Not from my vantage point anyway.
“How about that ride?” he drawls.
My face goes up in flames at the double entendre. Every cell in my body is screaming that it’s a bad idea, but you know what else is a bad idea? Riding with Haley and Bryan. If they step one foot inside the apartment, they’ll never leave. I’ll spend the entire night listening to makeup sex.
Hard pass.
I’m a sexually frustrated virgin, not a glutton for punishment.
I sigh. I’ll probably regret this in the morning, but for now, I’m just going to roll with it. “A ride would be great, actually.”
“Yeah? I thought for sure you were going to say no.” Coop winks and slips an arm around my waist. “It must be my lucky night.”
14
COOPER
“Shiny,”Quinn says, sliding into the passenger seat of the Audi. “And here I’d pegged you for a truck guy.” A wrinkle forms between her brows and she tilts her head. “I thought for sure you’d have one of those big, noisy, gas-guzzling environmental disasters.”
