Page 15 of Forget Me Not

“Come on, Copper. Don’t hold out on me. Should my friend be worried?”

“It’s Cooper.”

She looks confused. “What did I say?”

“Copper. Like, the metal. My name is Coooo-per.”

“Fine, Cooper. Whatever.” She dismisses my corrections with a flick of her wrist, then returns to her previous eyes-boring-into-my-skull stare.

“Not that my experience withskin irritationsis nearly as extensive as you think, but I’m going to say that unlessyour friendwas havingsexon said carnival ride, it’s not likely she got asexually transmitted diseasefrom being on one.”

Shockingly, this basic use of common sense answer seems to appease her.

“Okay, good. That’s what I thought.” Her face tightens. Apparently, my response didn’t rule out whether or not she got herpes as much as it helped narrow down the source of it. “I need to go make a call.” Then she spins on her heel and disappears as fast as she stormed in here a few minutes ago.

“Sorry,” Reed grumbles, reaching for my hand and massaging my palm with his thumb. I love when he does that. “There are days I wish I could slap a mute button on her.”

“Or a pause button,” I suggest, jokingly. “Then you could just freeze her anytime she’s about to do something stupid. Like get herpes on a merry go round.”

He cracks a smile. And just like that, all’s right with the world again. “How do you do that?” he asks, still stroking my palm with tender care.

“What?”

“Find the humor. She was totally rude and obnoxious, and you just let it all roll right off your back.” There’s a hint of admiration in his tone I’m not accustomed to hearing. From anyone. Ever.

My shoulders slack and I relax in my chair, sort of awestruck by how someone like him could find someone like me even remotely impressive. “Trust me, Kerri and her slightly insulting insinuations were harmless compared to some of the stuff I’ve heard from people over the years.” Even if every foster home I’d been in had turned out to be a warm and fuzzy place, starting a new school with new kids every couple of months certainly gave me plenty of asshat exposure.

He watches me, concern growing in his beautiful blue eyes. “Did you really? Live on the streets...with that Gunnar?”

My head tilts sideways as I contemplate what he’s asking me. We don’t talk much about my past. It makes him uncomfortable, I can tell. I’ve convinced myself it’s because he cares so much about me, he can’t bear the thought of my suffering in any way, but now, the way he just said Gun’s name, I’m not so sure that’s really the reason.

“Yeah.” I smirk. “He never gave me herpes though.” As soon as I see his expression I know the joke was timed badly. “I’m kidding. I mean, not about not having herpes. About it even being possible.” I’m rambling. This is so bad. “Gun and I are just friends, I swear. That’s all we’ve ever been. And not the kind who give each other STDs at the carnival. Clothed friends. Non-touching friends.” Well, now I’m lying, but for the sake of my point, I don’t think I need to get technical about the way we do and do not touch. “I wish you two would just get over this weird guy thing you have and get to know each other.”

The mere suggestion they could possibly be friendly, not friends –just friendly, seems to make him agitated. “I don’t know, Coop. I think maybe it’s best if your past thing with Gunnar just stays in the past.”

I can feel my face scrunch up and do my best not to imagine what it must look like. “My past thing? It’s nota thing, Reed. He’s my best friend. That’s never going to change.”

Reed starts to shift around in his seat, growing increasingly uneasy as this conversation progresses. “Look, I know you have a different perspective because you two started out in the system together and that probably bonded you guys in some way, but...from the outside looking in, that dude is bad news. Whatever he was like when you guys met as kids, he’s different now.”

“And how exactly would you know that? How would you know anything about him at all?”

His shoulders droop and I almost feel bad for him. “Cooper, please don’t be mad. I’m just trying to look out for you. The last thing I want is for you to end up in jail because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time...with the wrong person.” He tries to twine his fingers into mine. “Just trust me on this, okay?”

I yank my hand out of his embrace and drop it into my lap and out of his reach entirely. Then, I’m on my feet, stuffing my books and folders into my backpack without giving any thought to care or fit. They just have to go in so I can get out.

“You want trust, Reed? Trustme,” I say, zipping up my bag and preparing to complete my dramatic exit. “Whatever you think you know about him, whatever you’ve heard, should mean nothing to you when I’m sitting here telling you Gun’s a good person. I’m the one who knows him. I’m the one who has been there with him at all the wrong times, in all the wrong places and I’ve got some bad news for you, we were usually there because of me. Not him. So, if you want to avoid dealing with the messy past of a kid who’s been arrested, who’s run away and who will likely screw up a million times more before they figure out how to play the shitty hand they’ve been dealt in life and win, well, then Gun’s not the one you’re looking to get rid of. I am.”

I huff loudly, turning to storm from the room, but his hand flies out to catch my wrist and stop me. Suddenly he’s standing as well, bringing me to him, holding me close. All the anger screaming inside me is calmed in an instant, being soothed by his strength and realizing his instinct is to hold me tight when mine is to bolt.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs softly, his lips touching my ear through strands of my hair. “I shouldn’t have said that. I just...worry about you. I know you’ve had it rough, but I want to change that. I want a better life for you. For both of us.” His fingertips trail gently up the side of my neck until his thumb hooks under my chin, pulling it upward where our eyes meet. “I love you, Cooper. The last thing on earth I ever want to do is get rid of you. I want to keep you. Forever.”

My knees just turned to Jell-O. All my life I’ve imagined hearing those words from someone and never once did it come close to sounding as beautiful as it just did coming from Reed’s lips.

“Good,” I whisper, trying not to choke on my excruciatingly dry throat, “because I love you, too.”

He smiles. But I don’t see it as much as I can feel it as his mouth comes down on mine, connecting us, sealing our words into reality with a perfect kiss.

CHAPTER TEN

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