Page 109 of Clinch'd

He backs away without comment and once he’s out of view, I sit on the bed and bury my face in my hands. The truth is, I don’t want him to go. But what if he doesn’t want to stay?

I won’t know if I don’t ask but it’s hard to be vulnerable in light of the situation. He fucked me to get information and the fact that I wasn’t much better hardly soothes the sting.

Still, I can’t imagine being alone right now. I’m willing to take the blow later if it comes down to it.

Resolved, I stand and say as he pauses at the front door, “Coop?”

“Yeah?” he rasps.

“I don’t…I don’t want to be alone.”

His hand slips from the handle and he turns to me with a weird expression before saying, “Okay. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Nodding, I grip my hands together. I don’t want him to sleep on the couch either, but I don’t know how to breach the divide between us.

“Okay,” I say and drop to the bed where I proceed to sit and stare at the wall.

I’m not sure how much time passes but eventually, I sit up from where I’m curled on top of the covers because I know I’m not going to be able to sleep.

When I search for Cooper, I find him lying on the couch. His eyes are wide open, and he turns to me when I loom over him.

“What is it?” he asks, and I shrug as he sits up.

He touches my hand resting on the back of the couch and without speaking, I round the corner and climb on top of him.

The ball in my chest unfurls when he wraps me up and pulls me close.

We exist that way for a while before I say, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” His breath tickles my ear and I shiver, burying my face in his chest.

“For what Min?”

“For what I did,” I say into his shirt.

Sighing, he smooths his hand down my hair. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

I snort and look up, meeting his gaze. “I’m not exactly innocent. Even if I was being played from the start.”

Flinching, he ducks his head. “I didn't do any of this the right way. But I did…do like you, Minnie.”

“Do you?” I say with a wry twist of my lips, and he grabs my cheeks.

My heart clenches when I search his beautiful gaze as he says, “Yes.”

“Prove it,” I breathe, my skin tingling.

He leans back with a furrowed brow and my heart melts when he says, “I don't want to hurt you.”

Instead, I lean forward and nip at his lip, gasping out as he growls, “Make me feel, Coop.”

“Min,” he groans, turning us over and pushing between my legs. “Are you sure?”

I nod, arching into him and laugh when he says, “Thank fuck.”

When I wake, I’m alone and after taking a long hot shower, I painstakingly cover the bruises on my face, images of my mom doing the same dancing over my vision.

I vowed to never be my parents and here I stand, having failed on both counts. Even worse, I failed my sister and I think that’s what hurts the most.

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