Page 57 of Can We Just Be Happy Now?

He squeezes my hips then runs his thumbs across my bare skin. Having him touch me like this for the first time in months is almost too much to handle. “I want you here. I always want you, Sophie.”

“You do?” Tears fill my waterline, and I beg them not to fall.

“Yes.” He nods, watching me like he is waiting to see if the salty pools betray me too.

“But yesterday you said you can’t do this.”

“I didn’t mean you and me.” He chuckles. “I meant fight with you, especially in the bathroom of a fraternity house.

“Oh.”

“I didn’t want there to be anyone or anything between us. Kylie. Or alcohol.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” My brain seems to forget that Cooper always has my best interest at heart, even if his translation doesn’t land. God, I love him. “Coop . . .”

“Yeah?”

“I–”

His mouth presses into mine like he can’t wait another second without fusing himself to me. My body melts into his in response, my arms wrapping around his neck and pulling us closer.

Chapter thirty-three

COOPER

NOW

I have no clue what words were coming out of Sophie’s mouth, but my lips are on hers before she can finish her thought. The dark room blurs around us, and all I can think about is being closer to her. She was selfish with her timing earlier. She had no regard for the situation, for Kylie . . . for me–even if she was saying everything I wanted to hear. But now that she’s here, and Kylie is out of the picture, I can’t help but give in to her.

She presses her lips hard against mine, immediately parting them and allowing me to deepen the kiss. I groan at the comforting taste of her. She pulls back enough to speak, her words breathless. “Cooper, I need to feel you.”

Fuck. I groan. The only other time we’ve had sex is the night I took her virginity, and I've been thinking about this moment ever since. My hands grip her thighs as I stand, and she links her ankles around my waist. She brings her lips back to mine in a frantic kiss like she thinks I might change my mind.

I back us through the living room and into the laundry room, wanting something more intense than my bed. She breaks our kiss to take in her surroundings as I set her on the dryer. Reaching behind her, I twist the timer knob and hit start. She gasps at the immediate vibration coursing through her and tries to kiss me again.

Instead, I bury my fingers in the underside of her hair, tugging her head backward, giving me access to her neck as I settle between her legs. I nip at her ear before kissing down her throat, warring between stripping her naked and loving the sight of her in my clothes again. Running a hand beneath the sweatshirt, I’m pleasantly surprised by the fact that she’s not wearing a damn thing under it. I swipe my thumb over her nipple, noting its firmness and eliciting a groan from both of us as I kiss her.

My hands and lips abandon what they’re doing as I drop to my knees. She holds my shoulders for balance as I loop my fingers under the band of both her leggings and thong, slowly sliding them down her legs.

Fuck, she’s perfect. My fingers trail down her soft skin, my lips kissing down the same path as I tug the fabric away from her and toss it on the ground next to me.

I send my fingers and lips in reverse, working their way back up her legs until I’m close enough to wrap my hands around her ass and pull her to the edge of the dryer. Pushing my hoodie up her waist enough to give me better access to her, I drag my tongue across her wet center, my eyes rolling back. Fuck, I missed her.

Over the sounds of the dryer, I barely hear her breath catch as her fingers immediately fall to my hair. I eat at her. My tongue swiping inside. My mouth sucking her clit. My fingers digging into the skin on her hips. Her body vibrating in sync with the machine or her moans–I’m not sure which.

She stretches her legs over my shoulders, her toes barely reaching the corners of the washing machine behind me, spreading herself wider for me. She leans back on her palms, her feet pressing against the metal, her sweet pussy granting me more access with the tilt of her hips. I run my thumbs over the apex of her thighs and dive my tongue inside her again, flicking it over and over and feeling the vibrations pulsing through her body.

Running my hands up her stomach, I smooth them down her sides, over her thighs, reveling in having access to her body this way. Digging my fingers of one hand into the soft skin of her inner thigh to press her wider, my other hand finds her opening. I suck her clit hard as I drive my finger into her easily. “Oh my god, Cooper.” With my tongue still firm against her and a second finger sliding in and out of her, I spare a glance up. Her eyelids are heavy as she watches me, biting into her lip, and it’s the sexiest sight I’ve ever seen. I refocus my gaze on her sensitive skin in front of me, pulling out my fingers and dragging my tongue long and slow over her.

On an exaggerated catch of her breath, she tugs my hair hard enough to stop me. Hands still clinging to her thighs, I stand, pressing my hard length into her through the fabric of my shorts. Fuck. I picture condoms tucked away in the drawer of my dresser as she pulls me into a kiss. I don’t want to let go of her. Not after so long of her being out of reach.

“Are you still on birth control?” I whisper against her lips.

She nods.

“Has anyone else ever felt you bare?” I ask, praying the answer is what I want to hear. I want something from her I know no one else has had. I’ve felt too out of control–like she’s too far from me–and this could reconnect us.

“No one,” she says with a heavy breath.

---