Page 13 of Operation Prom Date
I looked down at Klaus, who did look quite disgruntled about not getting all my attention. “Down, boy. Wait to blast him with fire until we hear what movie he’s going to make us sit through.”
Hesitantly, I extended the remote.
Cooper took it from me, his callused fingers brushing mine, and the vibe changed again, this time more electrically charged. Which had to be a mix of anticipation and anxiety over what movie he’d pick—yeah, that was definitely why my stomach crawled up to kiss my ribcage.
He scrolled through the options, pausing on movies I planned on protesting against a few times, only to move on. The cover forTerminator: Salvationfilled the screen. “This was what I was thinking.”
“I haven’t seen it.”
“I think you’ll like it. And I’m saying that as your trusted secret keeper.”
“I guess we won’t roast him quite yet,” I said to my bearded dragon, who simply stared at me. I glanced at Cooper and thought about asking if he’d add the fact that I talked to my pet to my secret list, but figured it was understood. Not to mention awkward to bring up in the first place.
I stood and put Klaus in his cage, tossing in extra food before settling next to Cooper again.
He’d been texting someone, but I didn’t see who and was doing my best not to be nosey. He pocketed his phone, leaned back on the headboard next to me, and hit play…
About thirty minutes in, I went to shift and groaned. Usually I tried to stifle sounds like that, but I couldn’t help it. “Everything hurts whenever I move.”
“So don’t move,” Cooper said, as if never moving again was an effective, realistic solution for having muscles so sore you wanted to cry.
“Does that mean I don’t have to be at practice tomorrow, coach?”
That got his full attention. “Oh, you’ll be at practice, and if you complain, I’ll make you drop and give me twenty.”
“I couldn’t even do one push up, much less twenty.”
“Then I guess you better be at practice.”
I stuck out my lips, not above pouting if it’d give me one day of rest. “But I’ll need time for party prep.”
“We’ll row at noon and go for a couple of hours. That gives you plenty of time to prep.”
I let my head fall back against the headboard and gave a dramatic fake cry. “I need a day off. My muscles need a break, or by the time we get to the party, I’ll just be crying every time I move, and that doesn’t seem like a very casual, cool thing to do.” When he didn’t immediately give in, I brought my hands into prayer position, despite the pain it caused. “Please, please have mercy on my muscles and give me a break, Coach Grouchy Pants.”
His brow furrowed. “Fine. But Sunday at noon, your ass better be on the lake.”
I saluted him, then groaned again, because it hurt my arm, which only made him laugh. Smacking his arm made pain shoot through my shoulder, but it was worth it.
I expected him to launch into a cheesy sports speech about pain and gain, but instead, he handed me the pillow he’d been using. “I’m tough enough to not need any sissy cushions.”
“That’s because your body is used to all the rowing.”
He shot me a sidelong glance, the colors from the TV dancing across his features. “My ripped body?”
“If it wouldn’t hurt, I’d smack you again.” I added the pillow on top of the one cushioning my back. Obviously Cooper was super scared, because when I twisted back around, he waggled his eyebrows. “Okay, adding the eyebrows just bumped you up to a nine on the Kanye Douchebag Scale. I should’ve never told you that you got ripped. It went right to your head.”
“Oh, I already knew.” He cracked a grin and put his hands behind his head as a rest, his elbows out to the side, creating the picture-perfect image ofrelaxed, confident dude.Who was, in fact, ripped.
I crossed my ankles, glad at least my legs functioned without pain. “I like this movie and all, but there’s not really a couple for me to ship. Unless we’re talking shipping me and him, because talk about ripped.”
Cooper shook his head. “Are you one of those people who talk through movies?”
“When it’s not one of mine, yes. Otherwise, I do sometimes talk, but mostly just to Klaus, who completely agrees.”
“Naturally.”
I laughed, but did my best to be quiet through the rest of the movie. I thought nothing was as good as an empty weekend stretched before me, lots of hours to binge watch. But having Cooper watching with me? Well, a girl could get used to that.
