Page 90 of A Scoring Chance

I’m relieved he doesn’t believe the bullshit they were spewing, but I need to know if he knows everything about what happened to Dad and Imani. “Did they tell you what happened?”

“No. I stopped listening after the shit they were saying about you using Darius. Anyone with a pair of goddamn eyes can see that you believe he hung the moon. If anyone is using Darius, it’s me. He’s the only way I can force you to see me at least twice a week at practice.”

I pull my hands from his grasp, turning my back to him. I would love nothing more than to laugh this off and pretend like it never happened, but he needs to know. I have to tell him my deepest, darkest secret and hope that he’ll still be here with me after he finds out the type of person I really am. “This isn’t a joke, Cooper.”

“And I’m not joking, Beauty. Thea and Trina are a bunch of miserable bitches who love nothing more than to bring everyone down to their level.”

“Damn, tell me how you really feel about them,” I chuff, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of laughing.

“I can’t take complete credit for it. Tyrees’s mom said it first.” Cooper moves in front of me, cupping my face in his hands. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t feel comfortable telling me. We have all the time in the world to get to know each other better, Beauty.”

“Thank goodness, because you apparently thought I was old enough to have a twelve-year-old son.”

He plants a kiss on my forehead, running his hands down my arms before gripping my hands in his. Cooper pulls me to my feet before flopping down on my bed, patting the space next to him. “It was an honest mistake. You act very mature for a twenty-four-year-old.”

“So you’re saying I act like an old lady?”

“No, but you’re practically the same age as my brother Cole and only a few years younger than Beau. You’ve met that knucklehead. Now you tell me if you’d honestly think you were closer in age to him than me?”

He’s right. According to the internet, Beau turns twenty-eight right before the end of the year. There’s no way anyone in their right mind would believe that we were anywhere near the same age. “Fair enough.”

I could ask him how old he is, but I already know. That’s probably one of the first things I found during my Google expedition after our first official meeting. There’s a six-year age gap between the two of us, which obviously isn’t a problem for me.

Cooper rolls to the side, pushing me down onto the fluffy mattress. He smiles down at me, tucking a loose loc behind my ear. “Do you have an issue with being with an old man, Beauty?”

“You’re not old, Cooper.” I push up on my elbows and press a soft kiss to his lips before yawning loudly. “Shit. I’m so sorry.I didn’t sleep well last night because I was freaking out so badly about my aunt and everyone meeting you for the first time.”

“It’s okay, Beauty. I think we both deserve a nap after today’s events.” Cooper rolls off me, toeing his shoes off at the end of the bed. “Left side or right side? You slept on the right at my place, but figured since you're awake this time, I’d give you the option.”

“How thoughtful of you. I usually sleep on the left.”

“Good, because I prefer the right.” Cooper unbuckles his jeans, dropping them to the floor and stepping out of them. His Henley is pulled over his head next and added to the pile on the floor. “If you keep looking at me like that, we won’t be sleeping much.”

“I can’t help but appreciate my man. So sue me.” I pull back the covers before shucking my own pants and climbing in.

“Hmmm. I love the sound of that.”

“The sound of what?”

“Being called yours.” Cooper pulls me tight against him, his body molding around me like a cocoon.

The only sound is our combined breathing. The silence is comfortable, giving me all the time I need to muster up the courage to tell Cooper the truth. I know he told me I could wait, that I didn’t have to tell him anything today, but I feel like I owe it to him.

“My Dad and Darius’s mom, Imani, died in a car accident. They were T-boned by some drunk driver coming out of The Pit Stop.”

Cooper gives my waist a squeeze but doesn’t say anything. His silent support is enough to convince me to keep talking. “I know it was an accident. That the man who drove drunk that night was at fault, but a portion of my family doesn’t agree with that. They blame me for their deaths, and I’d have to agree with them.”

Tears blur my vision as I curl into myself, gripping tightly on to Cooper’s arms like it's a lifeline. And it is. I feel my chest tightening as those same feelings of guilt threaten to swallow me whole. Instead of fighting to keep control, I let go for what feels like the first time since everything happened.

“No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to forget that it was my fault they were even out. They were driving around, looking for me. But I didn’t want to be found. I was so angry at them for not supporting my dream of moving to New York and becoming a chef that I said things...” My voice cracks, but I force myself to continue, needing him to know everything. “No amount of therapy is going to help me forget the horrible things I said to them before walking out the door.”

Tears stream down my cheeks as I relive that night, giving Cooper every detail I can remember, not glossing over it or leaving out a single thing. It sounds strange, but it’s freeing in a way, sharing my darkest secret with someone else. Someone who cares for me and would never use it against me. I usually try to shove everything back into a box deep in my mind, which I keep clamped shut at all times, but today I let it all out.

“It wasn’t your fault, Beauty.” His hand brushes up and down my back as he murmurs, “I know it feels that way, but there was no way you could’ve known what was going to happen that night.”

“Logically, I know, but emotionally is a different story. I’ve been in therapy twice a week for years, and it’s getting better, but there are days like today where it’s thrown in my face.” I sniffle loudly, pulling his arms tighter around me as I try to keep myself from falling apart completely.

“I want to beat the shit out of anyone that made you feel like that.”

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