Page 193 of Something Rad
“What the fuck?” I mutter to myself.
I’m not Denise.
I know that. That’s kind of the whole point.
And this does nothing for me.
Well, I’d like to know what exactlydoesdo something for Cooper. Because, last time I checked, getting publicly serenaded was pretty fucking rad by every standard.
I don’t even remember making the decision to run after her until I’m right behind her again.
“Cooper!” I call to her.
“Leave me alone, Robbie,” she grits, not looking back at me.
“Not a chance.”
I catch her by the elbow, spinning her to face me. The moment she’s turned around, Cooper’s free arm is flying back to slap me once again. I catch her wrist in my hand right before she makes contact, gripping it tightly. I force her to step backwards until she’s pressed against the brick wall of the school behind her, completely caged in by me. Anger flows through me as I watch her grit her teeth, looking up at me with such hatred and breathing heavily through her nose. It only makes my fingers dig harder into her wrist.
She tries to resist me, pushing her hand closer to my face, but she doesn’t have a chance. I have all the control, slowly pulling her wrist down until it’s resting against her hip. I lean in closer to her, using the hand I have on her other arm to draw her closer to me. She looks furious, but she doesn’t back down, meeting my challenge.
“Donotdo that again,” I grit, my voice low and face only inches from hers.
“No problem,” Cooper breathes. “Because I don’t plan to give you the privilege of touching me ever again. In fact, don’t even speak to me.” She’s trying to stay strong, and my first reaction is to fume at her, but I didn’t miss the crack in her voice at the end of her proclamation. Or the moisture currently pooling at the corners of her eyes.
I pull back just slightly, releasing my grip on her by a small fraction. It’s still enough for her to break free, and she doesn’t hesitate, pulling out of my grasp and escaping her cage against the wall.
“Cooper, come on–”
“No.”
“Why not?” I demand, throwing my hands in the air.
She spins around fully, locking eyes with me. “Robbie, what did I ask of you?”
“What?” I rear back. “When?”
“I asked you not to make me look stupid,” Cooper says, her voice strained.
My posture straightens as I look at her.
“I asked this one thing of you, and you agreed,” she continues. “And then, after everything we’ve been through–after everythingyoumade me believe–you announce to Paul and a whole audience that I don’t mean anything to you. That you don’t even want me.”
I shake my head so fast it feels like my brain rattles. “Cooper, you got it all wrong–”
“Do I?” she asks, raising a brow. “So that means that youdidn’tsay you could sleep with any girl in the school if you wanted? You didn’t say that youwould, in fact, do just that?”
My throat closes up. “I…”
“Did you say that, or didn’t you?”
I press my lips together, not sure what to say, knowing she already knows the answer, that she clearly talked to Alice.
“I asked you a question, Robbie.”
I blow out a breath. “Look, I did, but–”
“Right. And then, mere minutes later, after you had just humiliated me and illegitimized everything between us in front of the entire basketball team and a full hallway of our classmates, you let Denise kiss you in front of the whole school–”
