Page 3 of Craving Cooper

“Hell, no,” he says, shaking his head, although he doesn’t offer an explanation… and I’m not about to ask for one. I might not like what I hear.

“I see,” I murmur and he pushes his fingers back through his dark hair before he steps away, moving toward the back of the reception area.

“I’ll call for you at eight-fifteen, if that’s okay?” he says.

“That’s fine. Have a good evening.”

“You too.” He gives me a perfect smile and disappears out of my sight to the door opposite the one marked ‘Employees Only’. I may not be able to see it, or him, but I know he’ll be opening a door that’s marked ‘Private’, and once he’s done that, he’ll be climbing the stairs to his apartment. I know this because my own apartment is on the floor above… and it’s high time I made same journey myself.

I finish shutting down my computer and check everything’s switched off before I grab my purse from my desk drawer and follow Cooper. He’s left the door open, but I close it behind me, and make my way up the stairs, pausing outside his apartment for a moment or two before I climb up the second flight and pull out my key from my purse, smiling at the plaintive meow that greets me as I open the door, and the pretty feline face that pokes around the side of the couch.

“Hello, beautiful,” I whisper and she comes over, rubbing herself against my leg. I bend to pick her up and she nestles in my arms, all white, and orange, and fluffy, looking up at me with those adorable green eyes. “Did you miss me, Saffron?”

She tilts her head, like she’s thinking about it, and then nuzzles my chin, which seems to be a positive. Her fur feels lovely and soft and I bury my face in it for a moment, which annoys her and makes her squirm in my arms.

“It always has to be on your terms, doesn’t it?” I say, putting her down on the arm of the couch. She jumps onto the seat, then struts to the other end, where she perches and glares back at me. “It’s going to be like that, is it?”

She pounces to the floor, heading for the kitchen area in the far corner, making it clear that food is the order of the moment, and I shake my head and follow her, obedient to her needs, as ever.

“I don’t know why I do this,” I murmur, reaching for her bowl and grabbing some cat food from the shelf. “You’re the one who moved in with me, remember?” She looks up at me, blinking a couple of times, and I have to smile. She doesn’t smile back, because she’s a cat, but I can’t help remembering how she adopted me… and it was definitely that way around, not the other.

I’d only been here for a few days, and was feeling out of my depth, wondering if I’d made the right decision in coming to Hart’s Creek. I was nursing a cup of coffee on a Saturday afternoon when I heard a scraping at my door, and I opened it to find the most adorable cat outside. Heaven knows how she got in here, but she darted past me and sniffed her way around the room before making herself at home on the couch. Despite my protests that she really couldn’t stay, she moved in… and, like I say, she adopted me.

I had to get Cooper’s permission to keep her. He owns this place, after all, but I waited until the Monday morning to ask… not wanting to disturb his weekend. Fortunately, he didn’t object.

“As long as she stays upstairs and doesn’t come into the clinic,” he said.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. She seems very tame.”

“And she doesn’t belong to someone else?”

“Not that I can tell. She’s not wearing a collar.”

“Maybe we should place an ad in the newspaper, just to be sure.”

I wasn’t keen. I’d grown attached to Saffron by then… even giving her a name, as well as buying her bowls, food, and a litter tray. But he insisted, and I didn’t feel I could argue. So, I went to see the editor of the local newspaper. He’s a man called Nate Newton, and I told him what had happened. He agreed to put something on the paper’s website, and follow it up in the next printed edition. In the meantime, I waited. I dreaded someone coming forward to claim my beloved cat, but they didn’t. And so, with Cooper’s consent, I kept her… or rather, she kept me, because there’s no doubting who’s the boss in this relationship.

I put her food down on the floor, and she sniffs it, and then starts to eat, while I lean back against the countertop and contemplate my weekend. I’m excited about tomorrow. The thought of spending an entire day with Cooper, and not having to sit behind a desk and simply gaze at him, is almost too much for words, but I also have to get some laundry done. I wasn’t kidding about that. I ought to tidy the apartment, too. That’s one of the problems with it being so small up here. I have to keep on top of the chores, because there’s nowhere to hide from them. So, the fact that I overslept this morning and didn’t have time to make my bed, means the whole place looks untidy. That’s because it’s a studio apartment, with just one room for everything… except the bathroom, which is tiny. Not that I’m complaining. I’m grateful for anything and everything.

Especially as this place is rent-free.

It comes with my job, and when I found the advertisement on the Hart’s Creek Courier website, it was the answer to my prayers. I was living in Southern California at the time, but was desperate to leave, and had already decided on Hart’s Creek as my destination. All I needed was a job and somewhere to live… and it seemed I’d found them both at the same time.

I applied straight away, and did the interview via video call, trying not to stare too hard at the beautiful man who was asking me questions and telling me about his dental practice. The thought of working for him was another incentive to say ‘yes’, when he offered me the job two days later. Little did he realize he’d provided the escape I needed, and I packed my few belongings into my car and drove all the way here. It took me a week, stopping along the way at cheap motels, but it was worth it. I’ve been here ever since, and in those three months, I’ve not only fallen for my boss, but I’ve gained one solitary friend… my cat. Although if she knew I thought of her as mine, she’d probably leave, so I keep quiet about that.

I turn, grabbing a glass from the cabinet above the microwave, and open the refrigerator to get some chilled water. I’m too tired to make coffee, but water will do, and I gulp it down before heading for the bathroom.

Despite my unmade bed, I’m not too bad at keeping this place tidy, and the bathroom is a testament to that. It’s spotless in here and I smile to myself as I undress, putting my clothes into the laundry hamper in the corner of the room. The shower itself is minuscule, but I manage, and when I come out, wrapped in a fluffy white towel, I drag the hamper with me, leaving it by the washing machine, while I head toward my bed. Saffron is sitting on the couch and barely bothers to look up as I pass before she rests her head on her paws again.

“It’s a hard life for you, isn’t it?” I say, but she doesn’t even acknowledge me and I continue on my way, opening the top drawer of my dresser to pull out some panties. It doesn’t seem worth putting on a bra at this time of night, and I’m just sitting on the edge of the bed when I hear a familiar noise coming from downstairs. I flop backward, staring at the ceiling. “Why now?” I murmur. Meredith can’t have been here for more than ten minutes… couldn’t they have waited? Clearly not. I feel myself tense as Meredith screams for ‘more’ at the top of her voice, and I drop my panties to the bed and clamp my hands over my ears, trying to block her out.

This is the main reason I hate weekends. It’s not just because they’re all about housework and laundry. It’s because no matter what I’m doing, my activities are always interspersed with the sounds of Cooper and Meredith having sex… and believe me, they’re not quiet about it.

They’re being especially noisy tonight, and I can hear them, even now.

“Yes… right there. Give me more,” Meredith yells, and I pull my hands away from my ears, shaking my head. She’s so damn bossy, even in bed. She’s bossy elsewhere, too. I’ve occasionally heard her raising her voice out in the hall, telling Cooper to, “Take this,” or “Leave that,” or – my personal favorite – “Will you stop it?” I’ve got no idea what she could ever want Cooper to stop doing, but they’re not in the mood for stopping tonight. Far from it. Her voice just got louder, her words becoming screams, and I know she’s reached the point of no return. Lucky for her. I also know – from bitter experience – that they haven’t finished, and I’m proved right within a few moments, as the noises start up again.

Does Meredith have any idea how lucky she is to have a man who can keep going like that? Jonah certainly couldn’t. He’s my ex… my only serious boyfriend to date, and the man who took my virginity, although I’ll admit, I gave it very willingly. Which was a mistake. It’s a mistake I refuse to think about right now, though. Not when I can think about Cooper instead. Except I’d rather not… not when he’s with Meredith.

---