Page 19 of Can We Just Be Happy Now?

“Let’s go.” I grin, my words forcing him out of the moment.

As he walks around the front of the car, I connect my phone to his speakers. Opening my Spotify app, I scroll until I get to the playlist labeled Summertime–we were obsessed with Kenny Chesney the year we created it, the summer we spent almost every day having picnics and swimming at the creek. There are 719 songs on this list, ones we’ve added over the years that we both love, for our car rides to school or the diner or anywhere else we go. I push play, worrying that navigating this uncharted territory between us will be weird. Do we talk about the same things we always have? Or are there different topics reserved for people in relationships?

“So,” Cooper says over the soothing tone of Darius Rucker’s voice, and I reach to turn down the music. “I was thinking about asking Dad if I can start working for his company while I’m in school. What do you think?”

“Will you have time?”

He chuckles. “I’ve heard enough financial responsibility talks from both our dads to know I can’t afford to not make the time.” He’s not wrong. Dad’s a financial advisor, and he’s always going on about investments and savings and all that.

“I think you should definitely ask him.”

“You don’t think I’m too young to deserve a shot before people who have worked in the industry for a while? I don’t want a job just because I’m the owner's son.”

“Your dad didn’t build a successful company by handing out favors, Coop. He’s not going to give you a job unless he believes you can help. Which you can. He’d be lucky to have you.”

“How do you know I’m capable? It’s not like I have experience.”

It’s not like Cooper to be missing confidence, but when he is, he tends to confide in me. I love being his person, and I try my best to keep that job. “That’s not true. You’ve been around the business practically your entire life. I’d bet you know way more than just the basics.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“And you know he’d love for you to join him and make it a family business. Your last name is on the building already. You being part of it is inevitable, so you might as well start sooner rather than later, you know?”

“Yeah. Okay. You’re right. Thanks, Soph.” He shoots a genuine smile my way, and I add another tally to my column in the “Sophie vs. Cooper’s doubt” chart I’ve saved in my head.

The next hour of the drive flies by, a cool breeze from the cracked window swirling around us, the voices of Keith Urban and Thomas Rhett filling the car more than mine and Cooper’s. My seat is slightly reclined, and I’m relaxed against the black leather. Every once in a while, I feel his eyes on me and spare a glance his way. Whenever he’s caught, he grins. It says more than words ever could, and I soak up being here with him and this moment I never expected.

It’s not until we pull up to the ticket booth that I'm hit with a storm of equal parts anxiety and excitement. Because I'm actually going on a date with Cooper Montgomery. Regardless of how things go tonight, it will change everything. As much as we say nothing will alter our friendship, I know this will. Even if things feel completely normal right now, I know nothing will be the same after tonight.

Chapter eleven

SOPHIE

NOW

Cooper, 21; Sophie, 18

Even though my phone is face down on the nightstand, the glow from a notification seeps into the dark room and wakes me from my uneasy sleep. Expecting the text to be Chastity, drunk at a party, I flip over my phone. The skip in my heart shoots an alertness through me, and I sit in bed, rubbing the exhaustion from my eyes.

Cooper: I just want my heart back.

The time in the upper left corner of my phone screen reads 3:07, which means it's 2:07 in Oregon. We’ve been in Honduras for three days now, and Cooper is all I’ve thought about. I tried my best to have fun exploring the ruins, white water rafting and snorkeling, but my constant restlessness since seeing him on Thanksgiving has prevented me from relaxing.

I miss him so much. I hate that he’s hurting. I hate that we are hurting. I want to fix this. I took Melissa’s advice to heart, and I’m ready to choose Cooper and for things to go back to how they were before. I want to be near him, hold him, let him hold me. I miss the way it feels when I’m in his arms and nothing else matters.

I tried getting his attention before the end of that night, but he kept brushing me off, ignoring me like I was a ghost he could see right through. It feels like he’s slipping away, and that can’t happen. I know if we are going to fix our relationship, it’s not something that can be done from 3,000 miles away in the middle of the night, but I hope it’s not too late by the time we get home.

Staring at his text, I debate my response.

“Sophie, turn off the light.” My brother groans from the other twin bed in our room at the house we rented.

“Sorry,” I mutter, sliding from under the fluffy white comforter, and making my way out of the room. Barefoot, in nothing but my sleep shorts and an oversized Duck shirt I stole from Cooper, I quietly open the sliding glass door in the living room that leads to the patio. The 60° night sends a chill through me, but I lay on one of the lounge chairs anyway. It’s too dark to see much, the stars the only thing lighting the space. In the daylight, our view is beautiful. This porch overlooks a jungle of green, with the ocean in the nearby distance.

Turning to lie on my side, I hit Cooper’s contact and press Video. The FaceTime call doesn’t even ring a second time before he declines.

I try again.

Then one more time.

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