Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

Sunday flew by faster than I anticipated. As soon as I got up, I called Tawny. She was still stuck in the motel, but Dad had returned for a few minutes to say they would be leaving soon. Even though I knew she was freaked out, my little sister mostly wanted to talk about Cooper and kissing. We had to keep the conversation short, but I gave her all of the juicy details.

Cramming a long list of required reading into the few hours before work, I didn’t get very far. Amy wasn’t around so I used the busses to travel to work. I hadn’t worked a Sunday in Ellsberg before and it was completely different than the night shift. Table after table of customers and tons of tips, it was so busy I nearly missed when Cooper walked in with Maddy and Tucker.

Unlike his nightly visits to the restaurant, Cooper didn’t stay for more than an hour. He did talk to the manager so I could get my break early. Those fifteen minutes consisted of Cooper taking me outside, pressing me against his truck, and kissing the living hell out of me. Trying to keep up, I even attempted to make my tongue do that slow methodical tasting thing he did. Instead, I just got excited and sucked at his tongue while grabbing him tighter. Though I didn’t improve my kissing skills, I was getting a whole lot more confident.

As bummed as I was when Cooper left, I returned to a very busy shift. I even picked up a few extra hours when a girl needed to come in late. By the time I headed to bed, I was a little behind on my schoolwork. I also missed both Cooper and Tawny, but knew I would see him the next day. If I kept picking up extra shifts, it wouldn’t be long before I saw my sister too.

On Monday, Skye was too busy to hang out. Eating alone, I saw Nick doing the same against a nearby tree. Thinking of how far behind I was with schoolwork, I joined him. We did the basic hellos and small talk then I got to my point.

“Do you think you’d have time to study together? I’m having trouble keeping up.”

Nick patted the ground next to him. “They had me work double shifts at the store over the weekend, so I didn’t have time to do anything either.”

After finishing our lunch, we spent the last few minutes before our next class going over an assignment. Nick might have been falling behind, but I got the sense I was even farther behind than him. A lot of what he said didn’t register like it should. Once in our English Lit, I copied his notes from past classes. Not only were his notes more extensive, his penmanship was excellent. I could imagine him making a great teacher.

When Nick smiled at me, it wasn’t like how Cooper did. Nothing overtly sexual or teasing, he was just friendly. If he still liked me, he wasn’t obvious about it. While I found Nick attractive, I was hooked on Cooper. My whole body hummed whenever I thought of the sexy jerk. If I thought about him for too long, I would smile randomly like an idiot for everyone to see.

By the time Spanish class arrived, I could barely wait to see Cooper. Yet, a little part of me worried he might be cold. What if he lost interest overnight or met someone else? Even knowing this was unlikely, I worried I’d lose Cooper now that I needed him so much.

Standing at the front of the class, I talked with Nick who sat in his seat. Cooper was usually one of the last people to arrive and I didn’t want to sit in the back without him. The stoner and sleeping guy were grumpy and hated when anyone approached them. Cooper could because he was fucking scary.

When Nick dropped his pencil and managed to kick it halfway across the class, the look on his face sent me into hysterics. This was the moment Cooper chose to enter the room. This was also the moment I understood our honeymoon phase was over.

“What’s so fucking funny?” he muttered.

It had been a great day. A great last few days, but all of my joy and confidence disappeared.

“He dropped his pencil.”

Cooper rolled his eyes then took me by the back of the neck and pulled me closer for a really inappropriate kiss in front of the whole class. As a few girls giggled and a guy whistled, I just waited for it to be over.

After letting me go, Cooper pulled me to the back of the room and yanked a chair closer to his. Finally, he sat down and patted hard on it for me to sit down.

“Why are you always fucking hanging around him?” Cooper whispered loudly once I sat down.

“He’s in a few of my classes and he’s helping me study.”

“I’ll help you study. I’m a hell of a lot fucking smarter than that piece of shit.”

Cooper spoke so loudly that people outside the room likely heard him. Wanting to disappear inside myself, I thought to distract him.

“I missed you,” I said softly, giving him the best smile I could manage.

“Didn’t seem like it when I arrived.”