Agony (Entangled Hearts Duet 1)
Page 18
“No, you crazy person, he didn’t kiss me or make a move. I just… saw something.” A very well-endowed something.
“What?” She’s confused.
“He just got out of the shower. He didn’t know I was awake.”
“You saw him naked?” I nod. “What are we talking here? Like bare chest? Ass? Full frontal? Talk to me, woman,” she says enthusiastically.
“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” I remind her.
“But I’m not dead. I care about Nixon, but damn, Cooper is hot.” She holds up her hand. “No offense, and I’d never go after your man.”
“He’s not my man.”
“Mmhmm. Let’s get back to exactly what it is that you saw.”
“He dropped the towel,” I whisper, as if someone might overhear us.
“Front or back, Reese. You’re killing me here.”
“Front.”
She pretends to fan herself. “Give it to me straight. He’s huge, right? I mean, all that confidence he walks around with, he has to be huge. It can’t just be his good looks and skills on the field that garner that kind of ‘I’ve got this’ attitude.”
I nod.
“A nod. That’s all I get is a simple nod? Girl, I need more than that. Details, woman. I need details.”
“I don’t know.” Embarrassment flushes my cheeks. “It’s not like I whipped out a ruler and took the exact measurement.”
“The fact that you need a ruler says it all. Nothing under five inches is worth measuring and you can eyeball that.”
“He wasn’t hard, Tessa.”
“Exactly! And you still needed a ruler.”
I can’t help it, I burst out laughing. “Thank you. I needed a good laugh.”
“Girl, what you need is Cooper to give you some of his inches.”
“Is that what works for you? Nixon’s inches?”
“Damn straight. I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
“You made him wait six months.”
“He earned it, now he gets this.” She runs her hand up the side of her body. “Anytime he wants.”
“You’re terrible.”
“You ready to go home and start packing?”
I bite down on my bottom lip. “Coop asked me to stay. Said we could all grab lunch when they get home. I made him promise they would come and help us pack if we did.”
“Oh, my bestie is a genius.”
“Right? Free labor, and he has to pay for lunch.”
“So, what do we do now?” she asks. “Go back to sleep?”
“Nah, as much as I’d like to, I’m wide awake.”
“Me too. Let’s go see what they have to eat in this place.”
Together, we make our way to the kitchen and end up eating leftover pizza from last night. Nothing beats cold pizza for breakfast. We lounge around the rest of the morning. We did pick up from the get-together last night, and tossed all the trash, wiped off the counters, before settling in the living room and watching a movie.
“This is nice to come home to,” Nixon says about an hour into the movie. He bends to kiss Tessa. “Glad you stayed.”
“Thank Reese, or better yet, Cooper. It was his idea.”
“See how this could be? I could come home to you every day.” Nixon bats his eyelashes at Tessa.
“You’re relentless.”
“Just when it comes to you,” he replies.
“How was practice?” I ask Cooper when he sits on the arm of the couch next to me.
“Good. Team is tight this year. Let me grab a shower, and we can go get some food.” He squeezes my shoulder and heads toward the stairs. “Did you all pick up?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
“See,” Nixon says, taking a step back from Tessa. “This could be the life.”
“Me picking up after you all the time? No, thanks.”
“Babe.” He clutches his chest. “You wound me.”
“Go, you stink. Why didn’t you guys shower after practice?”
“We were in a hurry to get home.” He blows her a kiss and rushes up the stairs.
“That’s Cooper’s influence. You know that, right?”
“He probably just felt bad that he asked me to stay and just wanted to get back sooner. That, and I’m sure he’s starving.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Reese.”
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I know Cooper, and Tessa is wrong. Too bad my heart can’t help but wish that I wasn’t.Chapter 7Cooper“How is it possible that two tiny little women managed to pack so much shit into a single dorm room?” Nixon asks.
“They have their own bathroom.”
He stares at me with a blank expression. “They use a ton of shit they don’t need, to get ready every day.”
“And the clothes,” he says, taping a box shut. “I’ve been dating Tessa for a year, and haven’t seen her wear half of this shit,” he grumbles.
“Don’t question it, man. Just roll with it.”
“I don’t understand women.” He shakes his head in utter confusion.
“You don’t have to understand them, but imagine your life without her.”
“I don’t want to. Seriously, Coop, she’s it for me.” His tone is serious, and the grin that’s pulling at his lips tells me that his revelation is not something new.