Page 148 of Something Rad
Cooper’s cheeks flush, and she starts to turn her head away, but I reach out, catching her chin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at me.
“And for what you said. And how you said it.” I swallow. “Really. It was…”
“Insane?” she asks.
“I was thinkingbadass.”
She blows a breath out of her nose, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. It suddenly occurs to me how close we are, and I drop my hand away from her face, taking a slight step back. An odd look passes over Cooper’s face as I do so, but she hides it well, clearing her throat.
“Well, I just…” she stammers. “I couldn’t listen to your dad talk about you like that. I might have said some things to you in the past…I mean we’ve both said things…but I would never really…I don’t mean…”
“I get it, Cooper.”
“Yeah?” she questions hesitantly.
“Yeah,” I nod. “Only we’re allowed to give each other shit.”
Her mouth falls open, and she shakes her head, chuckling. “Close enough.”
I have to laugh as well.
“Really though,” Cooper says, “you may get on my absolute last nerve, and you may act like an entitled jerk sometimes, and you may be a lot better at the whole playing thing than the working thing…but I’d never call you worthless.”
My lips roll into my mouth as I try to meet Cooper’s eyes, but fail. As much as I’d rather not let her–or anyone– know, the wholeworthlessthing really strikes a chord with me.
Maybe because you’ve heard it your whole life.
“I know I’ve judged you before,” she continues. “I’ve made a lot of assumptions about who you are and the family you come from–”
“I’ve done the same for you, Cooper.”
“Yeah, and you were wrong,” she nods. “But so was I. And just because your life looks a whole lot shinier on the surface than mine does, doesn’t mean that you can’t have a whole lot worse happening on the inside than I do.” I blink at her, unsure of how to respond. “I’m just trying to say that I’m sorry, okay?”
My throat bobs as I slowly dip my head in agreement. “Yeah. I’m sorry too, Cooper.”
“For what?” she asks.
About a hundred things fly through my mind to apologize to her over, which is surprising to me. Before a few months ago, I could probably count on one hand the times in my life that I was genuinely sorry for something. I try to pinpoint one specific thing to say, or try to think of a way to summarize all of it, but, because I’m me, I decide to go with the route I know best.
“I’m sorry my dad referred to you as atryst.”
Cooper practically snorts, her head falling back. “Oh my God,” she chuckles. “If only he knew.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “If only he knew you were the least exciting tryst to ever exist.”
“Hey!” Cooper scoffs, feigning offense as she swats at me.
“I’m sorry, baby. But there isn't muchtryst-ing going on here. Especially not enough to warrant everything else that comes along with you that I have to endure.” She tries to swat me again, but I dodge her. “Hey, at least you can say you’re definitely not a cheap date.”
“I hate you,” Cooper says, shaking her head.
“See what I mean?” I raise my brows.
We both laugh, but eventually, as the sound fades away, we’re both left in silence.
“Well…” Cooper sighs, glancing over her shoulder inside her house.
“I guess I should get going,” I say.
