Page 113 of Can We Just Be Happy Now?

“I’m sorry I didn’t say it when you did. I’m sorry I never told you a hundred times before that day. I’m sorry you felt the need to say it as a way to manage my anger. You deserve more than that.” My thumb rubs against her soft skin and she leans into my palm.

“We’ve both said a lot of things we don’t mean.” My stomach flips, wondering if she doesn’t believe the ones I’m saying now.

“Do you not think–”

She cuts me off by placing her hand over mine. “I love you, Cooper.”

I shake my head with a laugh, my hand sliding to her neck and my fingers threading through her curls.

“What?”

“Do you remember when you were sixteen and you came over for that slip ‘n slide party?”

She nods, her eyebrows pushing together. “Yeah?”

“You were teasing me in the bathroom.” She grins, recalling the memory. “That was the first time you told me you loved me. You didn’t mean it the same way you do now. I remember thinking ‘I can’t wait until she gets there.’”

“You already were?”

“I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, Soph.” I watch another tear slip down her pretty face and brush it off her soft skin with my thumb before it falls off her chin. “I’ve been doing some version of living the past three and a half years, mostly without you. The world kept on spinning somehow. But it’s so much brighter with you in it, Sophie.”

Scanning her face, I try my best to burn the look of adoration she has for me right now into my memory.

“Come here,” I say, tugging her to the bed. “Wait. Are you even comfortable in those? Why are you wearing them?” My fingertips run along the thigh of her jeans.

“Oh, umm. Just trying a new style.” Insecurity laces her voice.

I sit back up, but she remains where she is lying on the bed. “Let’s try that again. You hate jeans.”

“I know. Umm.” She twists a strand of hair around her finger, her eyes locked on it. “JT said . . .” Of fucking course this has to do with JT the jerk. “He said that I should wear clothes that show off my body more. That my sundresses make me look like a child.”

Closing my eyes, I take a breath and tell myself not to ruin this moment getting angry over something JT did that doesn’t matter anymore. A flood of satisfaction rushes through me knowing that he got exactly what he deserved on the other end of my fist. The lack of confidence he’s instilled in my girl over the past year makes me more mad than anything. It’s my fault for letting her go in the first place.

“Sophie.” I try to win her focus. When it’s clear she won’t look at me, I run my thumb along the small sliver of soft skin showing between her jeans and short sleeve crop top. She hesitantly looks at me. Even in the darkness of my room, I can see insecurity seeping out of her. “For starters, you are breathtaking no matter what you wear. You could be wearing a garbage bag and you’d still be the most beautiful girl I know.” She bites into her lip, unsure how to take the compliment. “If you don’t want to wear your dresses anymore because you don’t want to, then okay. But don’t let anyone make you feel like you should give up something that makes you you.”

“I hate these jeans,” she whispers.

“I know you do. So, take them off, and come lay with me.”

“Are you trying to get me naked?” Her eyes are filled with vulnerability like she doubts my intentions.

“No. I’m trying to get you comfortable. Because you’re going to come over here and let me hold you. And once you’re tangled up with me, that’s where you’re staying.”

She moves from the bed and shimmies her jeans down, revealing her toned, smooth legs. I didn’t have much of a chance to notice the other night, but she must be skating on her own. I drink her in, eager to run my hands across her soft skin. The tiny triangle of fabric covering her attracts my attention, and I resist the urge to bite my fist, seeing her half naked in my room again. “Do you want shorts?”

She shakes her head, lying on my bed and scooting closer to me. She cuddles into me, her leg flinging over my waist and her arm wrapping around my stomach. Her head snuggles into my chest. My hand smooths against her thigh sprawled over me, the other cradling her head as I kiss her hair. God, I’ve missed her being close. When she releases a deep breath, she melts into me, bringing us even closer somehow. “This is exactly what I needed,” I tell her.

“You’re all I need, Cooper.” She snuggles in tight, but I hook my finger under her chin, tilting her face. I can’t go another second without my lips being on hers.

The kiss is soft, her lips warm against mine. It’s everything I’ve been missing. Our lips linger, not moving, just pressed together, and I feel more at peace than I have in a long fucking time.

Chapter sixty-eight

COOPER

NOW

The orange glow of the sunset seeps into my room via the living room when I wake up from our nap. I’m hot and a little sweaty, confused for the split second before my heart thumps in my chest. Did I imagine Sophie was here? I close my eyes on a breath, my fingers pressing into my eyes hard enough to erase the dream.

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