Page 11 of That One Moment

He’d be just as beautiful as his brother, I think to myself,if he wasn’t so fucking angry all the time.

A few people I've never met before are standing around the side of the house when we arrive at the party. They cheer when they see Caiden, throwing their arms around him and offering him a joint, which he willingly accepts.

I raise an eyebrow at Cooper. “Caiden's friends, and I use that term lightly,” he says. “I guarantee if you asked any of them his name, none of them would know.” Cooper’s shoulders go rigid as he watches the group. “Except that one.” I follow his stare and see Caiden talking to a blond guy dressed in tight black jeans and an oversized hoodie.

Cooper walks over to his twin and grips his arm, marching him away from the guy who watches, his lips curved into a shit eating grin.

“I thought you weren't friends with him any more,” Cooper says under his breath, his gaze looking over Caiden’s shoulder.

“We’re not friends, more like acquaintances.” Caiden blows on his hands and rubs them together, the hot summerlike day giving way to a more autumnal night.

“Fuck's sake Caiden, the last time you were friends with that Oliver guy, you got suspended from school for a week. Please tell me you don’t see him often?”

“Calm down, I see him at parties, we’ve hooked up a few times. And besides, the suspension is old news, we were just kids.” Cooper shrugs and looks over his shoulder, back at Oliver. The guy licks his lips suggestively then grabs the joint from the girl next to him.

Cooper stamps his foot and the little pout he aims at his brother is kind of adorable, though his eyes are flashing with an anger I’ve never seen on him before. It’s probably a bad time to tell him how cute he is when he’s pissed.

“You nearly set the entire school on fire because he dared you to. That was after you skipped three days worth of classes because he suggested it. Please Caiden, for the love of everything good, stay away from Oliver Cross.”

Oliver, having heard his name, saunters over to the twins, his smile like the cat who got the cream as he runs a hand down Caiden’s ass.

“You called?” His voice is deeper than I expected and he’s a lot bigger than the twins. I stand back and let the little riff play out, watching as Cooper steps up to the guy and pushes him away.

“Stay away from my brother.” Cooper grabs Caiden’s arm and pulls him and I follow, running behind them as they enter the house. I have no doubt that Caiden could remove himself from Cooper’s grip if he wanted to but I think he likes it when his brother focuses his attention on him.

It’s crowded inside, and we’re barely able to move around without bumping into someone but we make our way further into the group of partygoers and spend hours drinking, playing silly games and talking to people - some of whom I recognise from campus. We lost Caiden a while back, somewhere between a game of Truth or Dare and refilling our drinks.

As we walk up the stairs from the basement activities, and move to stand along the edges of the makeshift dance floor, I spot Caiden.

A guy almost double his size has him pressed against the wall, taking his mouth in a kiss that borders on violence. He claws at the smaller man’s hips while Caiden tugs roughly on the guy’s short brown hair. My cheeks heat when Caiden looks over the guy’s beefy shoulders and catches me watching them. Why thefuck I am watching? I don’t know. Call it a temporary glitch in my social awareness.

“Looks like he’s not coming home with us.” Cooper’s warm breath ghosts my ear as he leans in closer, his eyes following the direction I'm staring.

Turning my body so my back is facing the two making out, I let my eyes rake over Cooper. He’s glorious. Dressed in tight pink jeans and a black sheer crop top through which I can see his tiny nipples, he’s a picture I never want to erase from my mind. His hair is perfectly styled to one side and he has dark liner on his eyes and shimmery blush on his cheeks.

“No, I guess not,” I say. “Do you think he’s okay?”

Cooper shrugs, “It's hard to tell with Caiden, he’s drunk but not wasted. My guess is he’ll go home with that guy - or someone else, hopefully not Oliver - or he’ll find me when he’s ready to leave.”

I mull over his words, chancing a quick glance back at Caiden before turning towards Cooper again. He steps closer to me, and my mouth goes dry when his hand lands on my hip. “Do you uh… do you want to grab another drink?” I gesture back towards the kitchen.

Cooper looks at me, his lip twitching into a smirk as he shakes his head and places his other hand on my hip. “Dance with me?”

The music blasting through the speakers of the huge mansion is a mixture of noughties pop and newer popular dance tunes. It’s catchy but not my favourite, but when Cooper slides his hands up to wrap around my neck, I no longer care if it's a nursery rhyme playing, nothing will stop me from dancing with this man.

My hands find their way to his slim waist, gripping his bare flesh below the hem of his crop top. His arms tighten around me as he pulls me closer, then moves one hand down my back whilekeeping the other on my neck. A shiver vibrates through me as his fingers toy with the short hairs there.

“I see the way you look at me, Jamie Durand.” Cooper’s blue eyes shine, despite the room being dim and hazy. We sway to the music, completely out of sync with the beat but transported into a song of our own.

“And how do I look at you, Cooper Carrington?”

His smile is wide. The rosy pink of his cheeks darkens and lines appear on either side of his eyes as his forehead comes to press against mine. Though he’s slimmer than I am - lean and lithe with soft angles compared to my more athletic build - we’re a similar height, so in this position we’re nose to nose.

“Like you want to kiss me,” he whispers. The feel of his breath on me tingles and I lick my lips so that my tongue brushes against both of us. Cooper’s breath hitches and he steps closer until our chests meet and I am sure he can feel theboom boomof my heart calling out to his.

“If I said I do, what would you say?” His leg slides between mine and I can feel the outline of his half-hard cock. I circle my hips so he can feel the effect he’s having on me, my own cock alive and awake and very interested in the man pressed flush against me.

“I'd ask what's taking you so long.”

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