Page 16 of Tumbling the Cornerback

When I opened the door, Cooper was smiling like the sun. "Hey. I'm not too early, am I? It didn't take me as long to get here as I thought."

I shook my head, words stuck in my throat. He'd showered, his long hair still damp, the bright auburn muted to a deep red-brown for the time being. As I stepped back and motioned him in, the tang of citrus mellowed by sandalwood enveloped me, a stronger version of the scent I'd picked up from him before.

Unf.

Damn it. Guys who smell good were my Kryptonite.

"Nice place," Cooper said, making me realize I'd been too quiet for too long.

"Oh, uh. Yeah, thanks. I share it, but it's just us tonight." I'm not sure why I was hesitant to tell him I lived with my sister and nephew—I mean, it wasn't hard to see a kid lived in the place. Maybe a bit of embarrassment from being my age and sharing with not just a roommate but family?

Or maybe I merely didn't want to think about my sister and nephew while a very sexy man I had no business thinking very sexy things about was standing in front of me.

Cooper's brows crept up, a small smile on his lips. "Just us."

I reached behind me to lock the door. "Yeah..." Shit, did that come out breathier than I wanted? Judging by the smirk on Cooper's face, it damn sure did. "So! I, um, set up my laptop in the living room. I'll show you what I'm thinking, what Liesel and the board are aiming for, and then we can talk about your part."

He nodded, but when I started to walk past him, I noticed he was staring at something over my shoulder.

Del's picture.

"Who's that?" He peered closer, his smile fading. "That's not you, is it?"

"Ha. No. Del was much taller than me. And blond. And Swedish," I added on a chuckle. "He's my brother-in-law. That's my nephew he's holding."

Cooper nodded slowly. "You're not a dad then?"

I nearly choked on my laugh. "Not even close. I love being an uncle, but I'm nowhere near ready for kids. Come on."

Cooper followed me the short few feet into the living room. "So you don't want kids?"

"I never said that," I retorted. "Just that I'm not ready now. Hell, even if I had a partner, I'm working two jobs just to get by. Never mind living in a state that's not exactly friendly to queer guys adopting or fostering."

Sighing, Cooper made a sort of fair point gesture with one hand. "I keep telling myself that's a problem for Later Cooper, but I can't deny I think about it from time to time. The whole white picket fence and a partner and kids and maybe a dog."

"Ah, sorry, can't be me then," I sighed dramatically, dropping onto the other end of the couch with a practiced sort of fold, tucking my legs under me. "I'm a cat guy. Desmond is my ride or die, BFF, OTL, all that jazz."

Cooper tipped his chin. "I can absolutely be a cat dad."

"I'm sorry, did you just say cat dad? Nope, I can't do this. I'll figure out someone else we can use. Get out of my apartment."

Cooper laughed as I tried to shoo him away. Downright giggling, really. I swatted at him, his mirth pulling me in. We don't have to dive in right away. "What's wrong with cat dad?" he demanded, swatting back. Our fingers brushed. For just a fraction of a second, his giggling stopped, and his breath sharpened.

Or maybe I was imagining it, I decided. Because if he'd really had that reaction to touching fingers, his flirting was more serious that I wanted.

Remember Jimmy. His flirting was serious too, until it wasn't.

I drew back, my own smile fading. "Let me go over this with you. Cass and Liesel are keeping Cait in the loop, but this is apparently my baby." My jazz hands were weak, but he had the good grace to give me an encouraging nod, smiling at my feeble attempt at levity.

As Cooper scooted closer, I opened my laptop, explaining what Liesel and the board had concocted, future plans, and how things stood with my input now. "So this is all contingent on your acceptance, of course, and this will have to involve legit paperwork and contracts and blah blah blah, but ideally, we want to seize the moment here, really leap on the chance to build out and increase the sustainability of Queering Sports, instead of plastering your pretty face on some posts as a social media handjob."

Cooper went still, eyes wide as he stared back at me. "I'm sorry, a what now?"

"Handjob," I muttered with far more confidence than I felt. "Quick, fun, momentarily satisfying but, in the long term, not really what you need."

Cooper shifted a little closer. Not quite close enough to touch, but close enough I could feel the heat of his body through our layers of clothing.

Maybe the A/C was on the fritz, I thought. Maybe I was having a stroke because I was not thinking about Cooper Howard's bare leg, how the rough hair might feel under my hand, how those hard muscles would fit in my palm, in the curve of my grip.

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