I’m not above using someone to get what I want. But I won’t take advantage of someone who has pure intentions. Fuck. I don’t even know this girl’s last name, and I’ve already decided she needs protecting. From me.
She may be good for my image, but I’m bad for hers.
I get up, needing to get back to my life and out of hers, and check on my pants. They’re still damp, so I set the dryer for another thirty minutes, then return to the desk.
I quietly pack my bag but then sit to wait for my jeans, not sure what to do other than stare at Story while she sleeps, making the most of the opportunity. I lean into it, resting forward to get a better look. Her dark lashes cast a long shadow over her cheekbones, and her lips have a sweet bow at the top that I wouldn’t mind tracing with my tongue.
As much as I want to act like our meeting tonight is a coincidence, more than one event has brought us together. What are the chances that we were in that film at the same time last October? Or that we were within twenty feet of meeting at my party last summer? Unlike what she thinks, I have a feeling fate is telling us we’re not meant to be together.
Since when did I listen to authority?
Story’s lids flutter open, and she stares at me as if she’s still dreaming. When the edges of her lips roll upward, she says, “You’re here.” Her voice straddles the line of sleep and reality.
“I am. I just finished my paper.”
“That’s great news. Congratulations.” Something in her voice and in her sweet expression is so honest, so genuine that I can’t help but wish things could be different between us.
I can’t be the good guy she deserves. Based on what I know about her past dating relationship, I already know she’d be willing to travel the path I’d drag her down if I let her.
No, I need to get out of here before she does my head in by making me doubt my decision. I stand, already packed and ready to go, except my jeans are still drying. I’ll take them wet if it means saving both of us the trouble of what comes next.
But then she asks, “Do you want to stay?”
Fuck.
4
Story
Cooper is different.
I remind myself not to hold my past against him. I hope he can offer me the same favor in return. Some can’t. If I can find out earlier, it’s better for both of us to walk away unscathed.
My nerves kick in because, despite the offer, I don’t normally invite strangers to my apartment, much less into my bed. What am I doing?
Rejection starts blooming in my chest as he stands in front of the door like he’s ready to bolt. Where’s the confidence from earlier? I’d even take a little arrogance right now.
Glancing down at my rainy days are for reading T-shirt and pink flannel pants, I realize they may not be a set or even sexy, but I wasn’t going for either when I put them on. Then I remember he canceled our date for Thursday before I had a chance to accept the invitation. I’ve misjudged the situation and read him all wrong. Embarrassed, I sit up and pull the covers off, ready to send him on his way.
It doesn’t matter that he’s so handsome, and I was flattered he gave me the time of day. Or that talking to him has come easily and that neither of us feels the need to fill in any empty space.
Who cares if holding his hand in the rain made my heart quicken and sent butterflies fluttering wildly out of control in my tummy? I haven’t had this feeling in forever. Keeping myself closed off has a lot to do with it. Not believing I deserve better plagues my psyche.
I have no idea why I’m suddenly feeling hopeful where a guy’s concerned. My mom always said never to trust a man.
Cooper came out of nowhere, needing Wi-Fi and a power source, so I shouldn’t start tripping over myself, thinking it’s more. It’s not like the universe planted him in my path or anything.
“I’ll stay,” he says with a look that can be read as nothing less than genuine.
“Really?” I look at him, the way he scratches the back of his neck, not posturing like other guys do or putting on a front full of masculine pride. Trying to act casual and less desperate for his attention, I quickly add, “Only if you want. Don’t do it for my sake.”
Half a smirk appears like magic, and he chuckles. “Trust me, this is for me.” He clicks the lamp off on the desk, then signals toward the kitchenette. “Light on or off?”
“I trust you, Cooper.”
If I’d looked away, I would have missed the way his pupils narrowed before he moved to turn out the light in the kitchen area. His silence penetrates the darkness as he comes around the bed again. With the shade still open, the rain shines under the streetlamp just outside my building.
Sticking to the other side of the bed, he climbs in next to me, a total stranger, as if he’s done it a million times. Has he? Is this normal for him? Is he a player that I’ve not been warned about?
I swear I can find a troubled soul in a haystack, but Cooper doesn’t give off those vibes. Did I miss a red flag?
I’m lonely.
That’s reality.
But letting just anyone fill the void won’t get me to where I want to go in life. This isn’t sex. It’s kindness. I can’t send him out in this weather, so this is nothing more than two people getting some shut-eye during a torrential rainstorm. That’s all.
Your instincts are wiser than your head. Remembering one of my mom’s favorite phrases, I smile to myself.
“No funny business,” I say, trying to lighten the mood as I crawl back under the covers to settle in for the remainder of the night.
His hands go up in surrender. “Nothing funny going on here.”
“I’m thinking there’s a double entendre buried somewhere in that comment.” I lie back and pull the covers up to my neck. “It’s now or never.”
“You seem tense.” When he lies back, he tucks an arm under his head, then looks my way. “You sure about this, Story?”
I nod. “What am I supposed to do? Kick you out into the flooding streets and downpouring rain?”
“Yeah, and you’d have every right to do so.”
Resignation returns to his features, dragging down the smile that I prefer on his face. I say, “Like I said, I trust you.”
“You shouldn’t trust guys around beautiful women. They’re usually using lines to get you into bed.”
“Well, looks like we skipped a step because I’m already here.”
He grins again, but it’s short-lived. “I think it’s best if we go to sleep.”
I didn’t realize there were other options on the table, but now I can’t help but wonder what they were.
Cooper closes his eyes with a sigh, his hand running from the back of his head over his face where he stops to rub his brow. The whole world appears to weigh him down.
“Finals suck,” I say, breaking the quiet that had fallen between us.
His laughter rocks the mattress, and he looks at me. “I needed that.”
“A good laugh? Yeah, feels good to—”
“Feel good.” The lightness disappears again, and the earlier tension returns. “Where’d you come from, Story?”
I can just make out his eyes in the light that sneaks in from outside. There’s an intensity that warms me, a depth to them that makes me feel like I’m important. If he can make me feel so much with a look in his eyes, it makes me curious what else he can do. I reply, “I’ve been here all along.”
The brush of his fingers against the back of my hand sends goose bumps rippling across my skin, a simple touch that has me silently pleading for more. It’s been so long since I’ve been touched, appreciated in a way that reminds me I’m one among humanity, that I’m not an island left to drift out to sea alone.
“Cooper?” I whisper.
“Yes?” The tension I feel inside has scratched his throat, making his smooth voice rough around the edges.
“Why did you cancel our date?” I roll to my side to face him, but his gaze stretches out the window into the rain. The pause becomes more as it lengthens, causing me to fill with doubt again. I hate that I don’t do this better, that I don’t understand the dynamics of a relationship. “Be honest,” I say. Good or bad, I need him to be straightforward with me.