“Just after nine. We have practice. I didn’t want to leave without telling you. We’ll be back in a few hours. You girls stay. We’ll grab something to eat when we all get back.”
“I have laundry to do and need to start packing.”
“I’ll help you pack. Stay.” His voice is soft, not really pleading, but I can tell by his tone of voice that he really wants me to be here when he gets back. I’ve never denied Cooper anything, so why start now? “Fine, but you’re buying lunch or dinner or whatever we’re calling it. And we have to start packing after.”
“Deal.” He leans in and kisses my temple. “Go back to sleep, Reese’s Pieces.” He stands and walks out the door, shutting it softly behind him.
I can hear the guys as they clamber up and down the hall, and their heavy footfalls as they march down the stairs. The front door slams, and then silence surrounds me. I close my eyes and will myself to go back to sleep. However, that plan is short-lived when Cooper’s bedroom door flies open, and Tessa is standing there, hands on her hips, still wearing one of Nixon’s T-shirts that I assume she either slept in or slipped on for this little intervention we’re about to have. I don’t need her words. I can tell by the look on her face she has questions, and she’s going to expect answers.
She doesn’t wait for an invitation. She saunters into the room, and slides into the bed, slipping under the covers, then turns on her side. I feel her stare, and I know I’m not getting out of this, so I turn to face her as well.
“Morning.”
“Morning. You ready to spill?” She jumps straight in to the good stuff.
“It’s too early for an interrogation, Tessa.”
Her eyes soften. “It’s not so much an interrogation as me being worried about you.”
“I’m fine. I had to use the bathroom, and then I was exhausted. I decided to just go to bed.” I’ve delivered my story perfectly.
“You can play that card with the guys, and maybe even Cooper, but I’m not buying it.”
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. Maybe she’ll sense my anguish and decide to leave it alone? Slowly, I open my eyes, and she’s still lying next to me with a look of worry on her face. “It took me by surprise, that’s all.”
“Janie, I assume, was your best friend, Janie?”
“Yeah, I mean, we still talk. She went to college in California, so we don’t see each other. She never let on that it happened. Literally, she was his date that night. I went with Joey, the four of us hung out and then stayed up in my parents’ basement watching movies and listening to music. I had no idea.”
“Sounds like he had no idea either?”
“Yeah. I thought that Janie went up to my room to go to bed, and the guys were staying in the guest room. Joey and I were finishing a movie. We started talking, confessions were made, and it just kind of happened.”
“Janie didn’t tell you about it?”
“No. And I couldn’t tell. Nothing changed in our little group. Joey and I talked before it even happened that it was just us getting it over with with people we trusted. He and I didn’t harbor any feelings for each other, and nothing was weird between us. We were friends.”
“Best friends?” She raises her eyebrows.
“No. Cooper has always held that title.”
“What about Janie?”
“She was my closest girl friend, but still, Cooper and I were closer.”
“Yet you didn’t tell each other about two monumental moments in your lives? Why do you think that is, Reese?”
“Because I wanted it to be him.” My words are barely audible even to me, but the way her eyes widen, I know she heard me.
“You need to tell him.”
“No. No way. It’s not worth the risk. I can’t lose him. He’s been the biggest part of my life since I was eight years old. No way am I willing to lose that.”
“What happens if you don’t lose it? I think he feels the same way.”
“Right.” I laugh. “Look, I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but I’m not even close to the girls he dates. You’re more his type than I am.”
“You’re wrong. I see the way he looks at you.”
“Like a girl who has been his best friend since childhood?”
“No, like the girl he wants but thinks he can’t have.”
“We’re just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.” My mind is already all over the place after last night and this morning. I still can’t believe I saw him… all of him. I don’t need this to confuse me even more.
“What’s that blush about?” Tessa asks.
Damn, my best friend doesn’t miss anything.
“Nothing.”
“Lies.” She pokes me in the arm. “Come on, I need details. Did he kiss you? Did he make a move?” Her eyes sparkle with excitement.