Page 23 of Liberty
That was when I decided it was time to talk to Cooper.
I put on a swimsuit and headed down to the beach, eager to take a dip in the ocean. He was out there, wrapping up a surfing lesson.
When he saw me, he smiled and waved.
I waved back.
He came to shore soon after, approaching me. “Hey. Is it cool if I chat for a second?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I actually wanted to talk to you.”
“What’s up?” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.
I hadn’t seen Cooper look nervous yet. It was a little jarring.
I sighed. “I really like you, Cooper.”
He nodded. “I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming.”
“There is. I really like you, but we have to slow down.”
“Okay. Slow down how?”
“No more sex.”
“Oh.”
“It—it was good. It was really good. But it was too soon. I need to back off.”
“Okay.”
“But I want to hang out with you more. Get to know you and see if, you know. There’s something real here.”
“Okay.”
I nodded. “Yeah. That’s all.”
“That’s not so bad.”
I smiled. “It’s not. It’s really not.”
Cooper smiled, too. “So, can I ask you to be my ride-along in the parade?”
I’d forgotten all about the parade. I nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to! What should I wear? What are we riding in?”
He grinned. “A ‘66 Chevelle.”
I had no idea what that was, but it sounded impressive. “Okay. Um, the other part? What should I wear?”
“I liked that outfit you wore for our date.”
I liked it, too. “Okay. I’ll wear that again. It’ll be fun.”
“It will be. The Cruise-In is awesome. You’ll love it.”
I was sure I would. After all, it was more time with Cooper. There was one issue, though. Kylee.
“What are you thinking about?” Cooper asked, his brows pulling together in concern.
