Page 237 of Something Rad
“Robbie–”
“Andme…” He shakes his head. “I was just trying to play the game. I just wanted to use you long enough so that I could pretend that I fit in with the crowd I thought I was practically the leader of before this school year. I felt it all beginning to slip away…that constructed image I thought I had so perfectly intact… The one that you saw right through.” His throat bobs. “I just wanted to use you long enough to get that back. But then…it started to feel like there wasn’t along enough. Because…things changed, Cooper.”
I squeeze his hand in the way I feel my heart squeeze.
Robbie’s gaze drops to our hands, turning them over. “Things changed in that closet.”
“Which one?” I ask.
“All of them,” he says.
“They changed at the Back to School Dance. They also changed when I saw you get hurt. When I had to take you to my parents’ office. When I caught you listening to my Journey tape in the library. When you gave that absolutely epic speech. When I had to watch you dance with Paul at the Homecoming dance…and then…well, you know.”
I blink, averting my gaze as he trails off.
“They changed when you came to Thanksgiving,” Robbie breathes, leaning closer to me. “When you stood up to my family for me in ways I never could.” I feel the lightest touch of a finger against my chin, and find my head turning back in Robbie’s direction. “They changed when I really got to kiss you for the first time.” Butterflies instantly flutter against my ribcage, working their way down to my stomach. “They changed in the backseat of my car. And they especially changed…when I watched you walk away from me.”
The backs of my eyes burn, but I don’t allow myself to look away from Robbie, my breaths coming out shallow.
“Cooper…you said that I was in everything. But you…youareeverything. At least to me.”
It feels like a dam bursts in my chest, the floodgates of my heart busting wide open.
“You’ve absolutely ruined any type of weather for me,” Robbie says, making me pull back just slightly, giving him a questioning look. “I instantly think of you when it’s cold, wondering if you’re inside or if you have a jacket to keep you warm if not. I feel you in the sun, the brightness in the morning reminding me of your smile when you laugh and the damn thing looking just like your hair when it’s the perfect time of evening and it’s starting to set, glowing bright reddish-orange.” He ducks his head, his nose brushing against the top of my hair. “I smell you in the rain,” he mutters against my temple before he pulls back enough to meet my gaze. “I see your eyes in every fucking storm, and I know for a fact I will for the rest of my life.”
My teeth sink into my lower lip, my blood pumping in my ears. Robbie opens his mouth to continue, and it is beyond me how he still has more to say, how he doesn’t know I’m already a puddle on the floor in front of him.
“I hear you in every love song I used to blast in my Camaro at top volume without ever paying attention to what the words were really saying. I taste you in anything sweet. But…” He reaches up gingerly, just barely brushing the back of his hand against my cheekbone. “I only ever touch you in my dreams anymore. And I don’t want it to be like that. Please, Cooper, just…give me a chance. A real chance. Let me be serious about something for once. Let me be serious about you.”
The last word is barely out of Robbie’s mouth before I’m launching myself at him, my arms wrapping around his neck and my lips crushing against his.
It only takes a second for Robbie to catch up, his arms circling around his waist as he pulls me onto his lap.
The way this began, you’d think we’d have zero restraint, devouring each other and tearing our clothes off like our lives depend on it. But as soon as I’m settled into Robbie’s hold, everything just slows down. We take our time, because suddenly it feels like we have all the time in the world. Like this isn’t something that’s just going to be ripped out from under us at any moment. Like it’s not just an illusion that’s about to be shattered. No, this is different. Because, for the first time, we both know without a doubt that it’s real. That it means something. That it’s not just for show or the result of a heated moment. There’s feelings attached to this. Meaning. Something that doesn’t have an ulterior motive or pre-set expiration date.
This is just the two of us, being together. Giving each other everything we have to give and knowing this time that the other will give it in return.
Robbie slowly leans back, our lips never separating until he is flat on his back, my body parallel and flush to his. And then we both pull apart, our brows pinched together when we register at the same time the intro toTake My Breath Awayby Berlin playing from the speakers, meaning the love scene between Maverick and Charlie is about to begin.
My hand covers my mouth as a giggle bursts out of me. Robbie’s head falls back against the blanket, unable to stifle his laugh either.
“You really planned this evening down to a T, didn’t you?” I ask.
Robbie brushes the hair out of my face, holding my cheek in his hand. “Cooper, I couldn’t have planned for any of this if I tried.”
My head tilts, a smile pulling at my lips. “Have you fallen for me, Lieutenant?”
Robbie’s tongue presses against his bottom lip, his head shaking. “You’ve always seen right through me.”
He lifts his head off the ground and I lower mine, our eyes searching each other’s. When our lips are just a breath apart, Robbie surprises me, suddenly rolling us over so that he’s now on top of me. I let out a small gasp as my back hits the blanket, but it’s quickly swallowed by Robbie’s mouth back on mine.
One of Robbie’s hands stays holding my face while the other trails up my side, just slipping under the hem of my blouse. He trails circles against my skin, leaving goosebumps in his wake as he continues pressing bruising kisses against my mouth. My face feels warm, but pure liquid heat is pooling in my lower belly as the languid seconds go by. When Robbie’s hand slides up further, his fingers gripping the side of my ribcage at the same moment his tongue tangles with mine, I find myself arching against him. Robbie responds immediately, letting out a groan against my mouth as he presses against me, making my legs automatically spread apart for him to settle between them.
I continue to kiss him back, but release my hold where my hands have been fisted in the front of his shirt, slowly pulling my arms back until they are fully extended, lying parallel to my head. Robbie finally takes notice, hesitantly pulling his face from mine as he looks down at me with a furrowed brow.
“Are you okay?” he breathes.
I nod, smiling. “Do it,” I whisper.
