Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“No. I didn’t tell anyone, but, honey, one look at the way the two of you look at each other, and everyone is going to figure it out.”
“Good to know. I should avoid Coop as much as possible tomorrow.”
This time her laughter is loud and boisterous as she throws her head back. “Like that boy is going to let you avoid him.”
“He’s not a boy,” I say, feeling my face heat. I know all too well that Cooper is all man.
“That—” She points at me with a huge grin on her face. “That look right there is going to give both of you away.” Her comment is smug, and I don’t reply because I have a feeling she might be right.
“You sure you want to do this?” I ask Cooper as we pull into Bill’s Billiards.
“Are you kidding? I had to get out of the house. I love my parents, but I’m used to being on my own.”
“To be honest, that’s the only thing that got me here. I feel the same way,” I confess.
“Come on. Let’s go have a drink and catch up with some old friends.” He pulls the keys from the ignition, and begrudgingly, I climb out and meet him in front of his truck. With his hand on the small of my back, he leads me inside.
My eyes scan the room, and I spy a small table in the back. Perfect. We can people watch, and hopefully not be seen. It’s not that I don’t want to see my old friends. It’s more that I know what my mom said is true, and there is no way I can hide what Cooper means to me. The more I think about it and worry, I wonder why I need to? We’re adults. We can do as we wish, with whomever we wish. My shoulders relax as we reach the table and take a seat.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Surprise me.”
He winks, gives my shoulder a squeeze, and heads off toward the bar. I watch him until he gets lost in the crowd, and then I fight the urge to pull out my phone and scroll through random apps and my emails. My theory is if I don’t make eye contact, then they will not engage. I’m being ridiculous, and I know that, but it doesn’t stop me from reaching for my phone just as someone slides into the seat across from me.
“Reese!” Janie Henderson, my best friend in high school, says, wearing a grin. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
She didn’t know because we lost touch when Cooper and I left for college. I also still have a hard time with the fact that she and Cooper slept together. She was his first. It’s irrational, but it should have been me. More than that, she knew how I felt about him, and she was my best friend. It’s wrong and petty, but I’ll never forgive her for that. I’m well aware that if it wasn’t Janie, it would have been someone else, but for me, she was my best friend. That made Cooper off-limits.
“Janie,” I greet her.
“Are you here alone?” she asks.
Before I have a chance to answer, Joey Patrick, who coincidentally was my first, takes the seat next to her. “Reese Latham.” He grins. “Didn’t know you were back in town.”
“I’m not. Just for the weekend visiting my parents.”
“You should have called,” Janie says, faking a pout.
“I’m only here for the weekend. Lots of family time. You know how it is.”
“What’s a gorgeous girl like you sitting here all alone?” Joey asks.
He’s changed a good bit since high school. The beard he was always trying to grow back then now covers his face. It’s not a sexy beard. It’s more ‘I’m too lazy to shave so I leave it there’ kind of beard. Looking at him now, I can’t believe that eighteen-year-old me slept with him. What in the hell was I thinking?
He reaches out and places his hand over mine, where it rests on the table. “You look good, Reese. Real good.” He winks, and it takes everything in me not to roll my eyes.
Joey’s eyes widen, and Janie’s do too, so I know Cooper is back. “We should have known Cooper wasn’t far behind. The two of you have always been thick as thieves,” Joey says.
“Cooper,” Janie purrs. It takes everything in me not to kick her underneath the table.
Cooper takes the seat next to me, places my drink in front of me, and pulls my hand from the table, placing it on his thigh. His arm goes around me, and he takes a sip of his beer before he addresses them. “Long time no see,” he says. His voice is tight, and I know he’s not impressed with their presence. I smile inwardly at getting to say I told you so later.