Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

“Ditch me?” I asked full of disappointment.

Cooper wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Just for lunch then I’ll meet back up with you and we’ll have more fun.”

“Where are you going?”

“You know I’m not telling so why ask?”

“Because I don’t want you to leave and I’m hoping that if I seem clingy enough you’ll stay.”

“Not working, but it’s really sexy how you’re trying.”

Rolling my eyes, I saw how we were nearing one of the food tents. Skye stood next to Bailey who was counting out a wad of cash without any concern for someone stealing from her. Maddy sat at a picnic table nearby, looking lonely without Tucker. I knew how she felt.

“How long will you be gone?” I asked just to make very clear how I didn’t enjoy getting ditched.

“As long as it takes. When I get back, I’ll kiss you until you can’t stand.”

“Stop with the threats. I’ll miss you even if you’re a jerk.”

Cooper laughed then gave me a long sloppy kiss until his sister heckled him from the tent. When his lips left mine, he smiled then walked backwards for a few steps before disappearing into the crowd.

I joined the girls who were arguing over what to eat. Tacos made them fart. Burgers made them fat. Chili made them fart. Hot dogs made them fat. It dragged on like that for a while before fattening won over farting.

Eating our burgers at the picnic table, we could hear a band playing from the other side of the food tents. At first, we didn’t speak, just enjoying the music. The whole time, Maddy held a piece of paper in her left hand while eating with her right. Bailey finally snagged the note away.

“Don’t,” Maddy muttered, but she didn’t put up much of a fight. No one ever did with Bailey. “It’s from Tucker.”

“A Dear Joan letter?” Bailey asked, barking with laughter. “Oh, gross, it’s a poem.”

Skye leaned over, took a second to read it, and laughed. “It’s a really bad poem.”

“He was drunk when he wrote it,” Maddy said, crossing her arms tightly. “I think it’s sweet. He calls me his flower.”

“Original,” Skye said, sitting back in her seat and playing with a fry.

Bailey rolled her eyes and returned the paper to Maddy. “Tucker doing his drunken poetry shit is as expected as Cooper and his singing during sex. Man, it’s nasty how much I know about my brothers’ love lives. Of course, between them, they’ve fucked everyone I know. Cooper alone has fucked every girl I’ve been friends with except for you two,” she said, motioning towards Skye and Maddy.

“Sings?” I asked, ignoring the part where every girl I met was someone who had spent time with Cooper inside them.

Maddy smiled. “Hair of the Dog.”

“I don’t know that song.”

“Don’t go messing…” Bailey began.

“With a son of a bitch,” Skye finished then they high fived.

“Oh.”

“He doesn’t sing it with you?” Bailey asked like maybe I would be dumped any minute and she should start saying goodbye.

“No. Not yet anyway. Why would he sing though?”

“It’s like a countdown,” Skye said, laughing.

Even smiling, I felt weird now. Why hadn’t Cooper sung to me like he’d sung to the billions of girls he’d nailed before?

“You two have had sex, right?” Skye asked, suspicious now, though still laughing.

“Oh, they have,” Bailey announced. “When they weren’t, Cooper worked out with weights so much I thought his arms would fall off. Now, he’s calm. Though he could be calmer.”

Again, I smiled awkwardly because there was nothing like having your friend encouraging you to fuck her brother more.

“Maybe you’re special,” Maddy said, rubbing her tiny baby bump. “Tucker treats me different than the other girls.”

“Doesn’t come in your face then?” Bailey asked, causing Maddy to glare at her.

“Whatever,” Maddy said, ignoring Bailey now. “The point is when Cooper sang to those other girls, he was telling them their time in the sun was almost over. Maybe he doesn’t want you to leave?”

Bailey and Skye watched me like they figured I was on my way out. I sensed they might be sad about this fact, meaning they really liked me and weren’t enduring me on Cooper’s orders.

“Tucker and I started talking names,” Maddy said, breaking up the awkward silence. “We went shopping for baby stuff, just looking mostly, and he got super psyched. Now, we’re big time looking for baby names.”

“If I have a boy, I’m naming him Steele,” Bailey explained. “For a girl, it’ll be something tough like Ryan or Logan. I don’t want my girls having sissy names.”

“Fuck that,” Skye muttered, slurping her drink. “If I could get a guy to agree, I’d name my girls Princess and Precious. For a boy, I’d name him something cute like Axe.”

“Axe can play with Steele,” Bailey said, grinning. “They’ll grow up nailing chicks together.”