Page 121 of Can We Just Be Happy Now?

Gross. What did I ever see in him?

My best friend must be wondering the same because she scrunches her nose as he walks off.

“I need a drink,” I tell her and wave Jess over.

“You have one.”

“More than this. I can’t believe Cooper punched him.”

“You’re not mad at him, are you?”

I tap my phone screen, lighting the lock picture again to look at the man I wish was here. “No. Well, maybe only because I didn’t get to punch him myself.”

“I kind of thought you’d be angry.”

“Me too.” I black out my home screen, deciding to talk with Cooper later and give Jess my attention when she’s back in front of us. “Two shots of tequila, please.” She nods and turns to the line of liquor bottles behind her. “But ever since what went down with Dad, I think I got caught up in the idea that Cooper shouldn’t ever make any decision for me or without me. But most of the time, he really does have my best interest at heart, and I believe he’d think twice before doing something that needs to be talked through with me.” I chuckle. “I think everyone can agree on punching JT without debate.”

“Definitely.” She licks the space between her thumb and pointer finger before shaking salt on it as Jess sets shots in front of us. “Alright then. To my bestie knowing what she deserves.” We clink our tiny glasses together before tapping them on the table and shooting them back.

Chapter seventy-two

COOPER

NOW

Opening the glass door to Jameson’s bar, I pull my phone from the pocket of my joggers to see if Ethan is on his way. We were going somewhere else, but Sophie texted a while ago and invited us to join them. Crashing into someone on their way out, I jolt a step back. Shit. I look up.

“Oh. Hey, Chastity. Sorry about that. How are you?” I glance behind her, checking for Sophie.

With both hands on my chest, she shoves me back through the door and into the cool night air. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you.”

I unlock my phone and click the call log. There’s three missed calls. “Whoops, sorry. What’s up?” All of a sudden it hits me that something might be wrong. “Is Sophie okay?”

“Yeah, I just accidentally got her really drunk.”

I quirk a brow. “Accidentally?”

“I was proud of her for telling off JT–nice job punching him by the way. I’m sad I missed that. And one shot turned into like five.” She’s talking very fast, all her sentences slurred together, making it hard to follow. “She doesn’t drink as often as I do, and I’m not sure she had much to eat today.”

“She had five shots?” My eyes widen as I process. She texted me when she got here only an hour ago. “Where is she?”

“Oh fuck,” Chastity mutters under her breath.

I follow her gaze right as Jack speaks. “Chastity. Where’s Sophie?”

“Oh uuuh. Hey, Mr. Porter. I thought Diane was coming to get her.”

Ignoring her remark, Jack fixes his stare on me. “Cooper. Of course you’re here. I’ll deal with you later.”

“What the hell does that mean?” His problem with me seems more personal than him just wanting to protect his daughter. I don’t fucking get it, but that’s a problem for another day. “What’s going on Chastity?”

“Nothing. Everything is fine. I’m just too drunk to drive, and I didn’t want to send her in an Uber alone.”

Jack chuckles. “See, I’m not the only one who doesn’t think you two should be together. This shit is what happens when you hold onto your past.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Porter,” Chastity snaps, “Pull your head out of your ass. I called Cooper first. Then Diane. Not you. You’re way more of a problem than he is.”

Jack scoffs, and I try to push past Chastity while he tries to push past me.

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