Page 21 of Can We Just Be Happy Now?

“You don’t seem nervous at all,” I say to Sophie, the glow of the sunset framing the massive white screen ahead as we pull past the ticket booth of the drive-in. We’ve done this a hundred times, some of them just the two of us, but never like this.

“Oh, I am. I didn’t sleep like at all last night.” She giggles, and it’s fucking adorable.

“Well, you don’t seem like you are.”

“Oh, sorry, should I call your mom and stumble over my words? Would that make you feel better?” she teases.

“You were eavesdropping, weren’t you, you little sneak?” I raise my eyebrow at her as I continue my one mile per hour pace turning down an empty dirt row.

“I sure was. You’re romance novel main character worthy, Cooper Montgomery.”

“Is that so?” I grin at her as I put my car in park and set it to accessory mode. “Just trying to avoid that miscommunication thing you were talking about.” I was nervous as shit to talk to Diane, and I probably should have talked to Sophie about it first, but as much as it was a risk she wouldn’t want me to be alone with her daughter anymore, I figured it was more of a risk to hide it and have her find out later.

“Are you nervous?” She combs through the tip of a dirty blonde curl with her fingers repeatedly while she waits for me to answer.

“To talk to your mom, yeah. But not about you.” I twist in my seat so I’m facing her now.

“It’s kind of weird this doesn’t feel weird. At least not yet.”

“Not going to get weird. We’ve been friends our whole lives.” I pause. “I was thinking, you know, if for some reason this doesn’t work, we’ll just go back to being friends. Right?” I don’t want her to feel any pressure, and I think I need that confirmation for myself. I’ve only known what it’s like to have Sophie in my life, and I don’t want to even imagine it any other way. Though, I can’t imagine this not working. I’ve already spent sixteen years with her, and we haven’t had a single issue yet.

“Right.” She smiles brightly at me and happiness pumps through my veins. How did I not see before that this is how we are supposed to be? Together.

“Okay, wait here for a second.” When she nods, I pop my trunk and hop out of my car. I already set up the back before I picked up Sophie. I folded down all my seats and covered them with the five huge blankets I pulled from our linen closet and all the pillows off my bed. I arrange all the pillows that have shifted on the drive over and pull the Squirts and candy I got at the store earlier out of the plastic bag.

Sticking my head through the opening between the two front seats, I see Sophie reading her book–the one I got her–using the light on the rearview mirror to read. She hesitantly pulls her eyes away from the words when she hears my laugh. “You brought your book on our date?”

“I bring a book everywhere.” She shrugs. “Plus, his name is Cooper, remember? So, it’s totally okay.” Her smile lights my fucking world.

“I forgot to turn to the radio station,” I tell her to distract myself from obsessing.

“I got it,” she says, already turning to the dials on the dashboard. She clicks it to the correct channel, and I glance back at the screen, noting the Coke commercial lining up with the sound.

“Okay, now get back here.” Instead of getting out of the car and walking around to the back, she crawls between the two seats, almost flashing me as she haphazardly attempts to hold her dress down. That fucking dress. She always wears them, but there’s something different about this one. She looks . . . older, maybe, like she’s no longer the little girl I grew up with.

She settles herself in the back, next to me, with her feet curled under her and her dress safely hitting right above her knees. Damn, Cooper, one step at a time. Just because I’ve never had sex doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it. It’s not that I haven’t had the opportunity either. Being a football player definitely has its perks if you want them. I also happen to have a mother who is very open about sex and has somehow convinced me it’s special and not worth doing with just anyone. Sophie isn’t just anyone, but even if I decide I’m ready, I know damn well she won’t be anytime soon. I can wait for her, though.

“What did you get for us?” she asks, already reaching for her Ruby Red Squirt. She unscrews the top of the bottle and takes a sip.

“What do you want first, Nerds Rope or Fun Dip?”

I watch her eyes light up in the glow of the drive-in movie screen. This girl is so easy to please. All I have to do is get her books and candy you can play with and she’s happy. “Mmmm Fun Dip, please.”

I hand her the red packet–her favorite–before I rip off the top of my blue one. The drive-in screen goes dark, making it nearly impossible to see her for a second before the movie projector rolls. She licks one side of her white stick and dips it into her paper packet. Pulling it out carefully, she licks the other side and then grins before reaching over and pressing the newly wet side into the blue sugar. As she licks her sugar off, I dip my own, biting the end of it as soon as it’s in my mouth.

“Cooper, that’s not how you eat it.” She rolls her eyes as she dips her stick back into her cherry flavored sugar.

I shrug. She moves to lick the sugar off her stick, but I reach out, pulling her hand toward me and sucking it off instead. The roughness of the sugar scratching against my tongue explodes into a sweet cherry flavor. “Hey! Rude!” She laughs, not actually bothered, and dips her candy again.

I dip my own, intending to suck the sugar off this time, but before I make it to my tongue, Sophie’s hand wraps around mine, tugging it to her until it’s close enough to lick. After she’s positive she’s gotten all my sugar, she releases my hand, but her eyes meet mine. Her smile fades into something more serious. I’m sure we’re only looking at each other for a second, but the time that passes before she speaks is like waiting for a pot of water to boil.

“Cooper?” My stomach flips–not from the sugar but from the softness she uses in saying my name.

“Sophie,” I echo, shoving what's left of my sugar stick in the packet and setting it down next to me on the blanket to give her my full attention. She does the same.

She swallows. “I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Immediately knowing what she’s talking about, I search her eyes for confidence in her decision. I wet my lips, tasting residual sugar on my tongue and reach up and rub my thumb across her cheek. “Me either,” I whisper in case she has any doubt. Her breath hitches, but her eyes stay on mine as I settle my hand at the nape of her neck.

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