Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

“My mom was barely eighteen when she married my dad and had me. She was a poor girl and he was a charmer. They must have started out doing pretty well because when I was a baby we lived in a house. By the time of my first memories, we were in an apartment. By the time I was in school, we lived in motels.”


Any hint of amusement left Cooper’s face. “Who the fuck lives in a motel?”

“Poor people who can’t afford a deposit on an apartment or have bad credit or can’t be sure they can pay the rent from one month to the next. Basically, people like my family.”

“So since you were, what, five?”

“Yeah. We had a few short periods when my grandma would pay for us to get into an apartment. It never lasted though and eventually she stopped helping us.”

“How do you go to school when you live in a motel?”

“Just like when you live in an apartment or house. We registered at the local school then a bus picked us up. When we moved to a new motel, we sometimes started new schools.”

“Hell, Farah. No wonder you’re such a nerd.”

Rolling my eyes, I grinned at him.

“You want to be a teacher, right?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“How come?”

Without answering, I glanced around. I was a private person. No one except Tawny knew all my secrets. I was proud of this fact because I was raised to be secretive. Even if I hadn’t felt a weird sense of pride in keeping everything hidden, I knew Cooper was my weakness. I wanted him in a way that was dangerous. Worse was how I really wanted him to want me too.

As long as we kept up all of our walls and talked about me naked and him being a scary beast, we had fun. Fun was temporary. As long as I thought of Cooper as short term, the less it would hurt when he dumped me and never looked back.

“Do you want the rest of my salad?” Cooper asked when I said nothing.

I did want his salad, but eating someone’s leftovers was a poor chick move. While technically a poor chick, I wanted to pretend. Cooper though wanted the real me. I wasn’t sure what to do.

Cooper took my empty bowl and set it aside before placing his in front of me. Leaning back in his chair, he shrugged. “I share with my sisters all the time. I can’t help it that I’m a softie.”

“Thank you. I am hungry.”

“But you wouldn’t have eaten it, right?” he asked, studying me again. “Because you think that’s the right thing to do. Well, fuck the right thing. Just do what you want.”

“Spoken like a rich hot guy who always gets what he wants.”

“True, but it doesn’t make what I said wrong.”

Nodding, I ate the lettuce Cooper didn’t want. “I didn’t have lunch today.”

“Why?” he asked, frowning darkly. “I thought you made enough money to at least feed yourself.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t want my girl starving.”

“Do you really think I’m your girl?”

“Hell yeah.”

Smiling again, I ate more lettuce. “I’ve been having lunch with Skye. She usually pays, so I didn’t bring money. I normally would bring a backup sandwich, but she can’t have peanuts around her.”

“Why? I saw her eat a whole container of nuts one summer.”

“She thinks she might be allergic.”

“She’s not allergic,” Cooper muttered. “Why would she even say that?”

I thought back to the day Skye first took me to lunch. Her excuse was how I couldn’t eat the sandwich. Once again, I realized how she hadn’t stumbled upon me, but was likely assigned to be my friend. Watching me innocently, Cooper was oblivious to how Skye lied for his benefit.

“Who knows?” I said, shrugging. “Anyway, I didn’t have anything to eat.”

Cooper studied my face and I knew we were onto each other’s lies. A weird moment passed then he gave me a knowing grin. “You didn’t explain why you want to be a teacher.”

“I just do.”

“No, I sense a story behind it. Tell me and I’ll share my dessert.”

“What types of dessert do they serve?”

“Awesome cannolis.” I just stared at Cooper who frowned. “Don’t tell me you’ve never had a cannoli.” When I shook my head, he sighed. “Man, we could have fun, Farah. I’d show you a million things. Not necessarily sophisticated things, but cool shit nonetheless. Hell, I bet you haven’t even seen the Grand Canyon.”

“We drove past it once.”

Cooper smiled softly then reached across the table and caressed my bottom lip. As soon as he pulled away, I wiped my lips self-consciously.

“Did I have gunk on them?”

A smile spread across his lips and he shook his head. “You’re gorgeous.”

“My lips?”

“And those eyes. Hell, every inch of you makes my jeans too snug.”

“I feel like a princess now.”

Cooper laughed for a minute then sat up with a jerk. Snapping his fingers, he pointed at me. “You know what I forgot to ask?” When I shook my head, he continued, “Why did you want to be a teacher?”

Laughing, I finished the salad then tried to explain. “I had this teacher in third grade. Her name was Mrs. Prescott and she was the best. Lively and funny, smart and tough. The year I had her, she also had a daughter in third grade.”