Page 10 of Cooper & Jake
“How do you know that Little Dude is going to be here?” Peyton asks as we take a seat at the bar.
Timbers & Tallboys has changed a lot since I left. Of course, I was never allowed in as I wasn’t of age, but I’ve walked past this building time and time again. Apparently, there are new owners, and from the gossip at the school, many aren’t happy with the changes they’ve made. But I like it. The inside seems similar to a log cabin with wood furnishings everywhere. The stools have wooden seats that resemble cut-down logs, and the lighting is dim. Not too subdued to where you can’t see anything, but dim enough to give a relaxing effect. It kind of reminds me of our bar at home—not too loud with more of a ‘come have a casual drink’ effect.
“I might be in cahoots with his friend Taylor. She told me she could get him here tonight if I wanted to talk to him.”
“Just make sure you actually speak with him, or else I might wake up tomorrow to a crocheted sweater sitting on my bed,” Peyton jokes, turning around on his stool.
“You love everything I crochet.”
“Don’t look now, but Little Dude and his friend just walked in the front door.”
Not being able to stop myself, I whip in a circle on my stool, my eyes going straight to the entrance of the bar. Cooper andTaylor are preoccupied with each other, Cooper laughing loudly at something she’s said. It’s like no time has passed at all. Twenty years? Not according to the wild thumping of my heart or the butterflies that’ve appeared in my stomach. There’s a lump in my throat, and it’s as though I’m fifteen years old again, running into the cute boy on my first day of school.
Taylor looks around the bar, spotting us first. She heads in our direction, dragging Cooper over by the arm. “Hey, look who’s here!” she yells excitedly, grabbing the spot next to Peyton.
Cooper’s eyes bounce between us, unsure of what’s going on. “I didn’t know you would be here,” he tells us, taking a place on the other side of Taylor. Three spots away from me.
“Isn’t everyone coming to this?” I ask, looking around and seeing all our classmates who migrated over from the gym.
“Oh yeah, sure,” he replies, scrunching his eyebrows.
“You know what? I think there’s someone I recognize over there,” Peyton says, standing up from his spot.
Taylor’s stool slides across the floor with a screech as she jumps up from her chair. “Oh! I’ll join you. I love meeting new people.”
The two of them take off, leaving Cooper and me to stare at their retreating bodies. I turn to face Cooper, who’s already looking at me.
“Why do I feel like I’ve been set up?”
“Heh,” I rub the back of my neck before deciding, ‘fuck it’ and moving over two spots to sit next to him. “I might have schemed a tad with Taylor.”
“Oh?” Cooper turns in his seat, his knee dangerously close to mine.
Really, Jake? His fucking knee? Why the hell would his knee be dangerous?
Said knee taps my own, and a shiver races down my spine.
Okay, so yeah, that seems a little dangerous. If I’m getting turned on by his knee, I can’t imagine if he were closer.
“Yeah. Fuck, Cooper. It’s been too damn long.”
“I know. The first time I saw you, I was shocked, surprised, every other synonym for the word. Hence why I fell on my ass.”
“I was just as stunned as you were. Which is dumb as hell because you live here, so of course I would run into you.”
“Uh, actually,” he cuts in, looking at me sheepishly, “I don’t live here anymore. I moved away about fifteen years ago. This is the first time I’ve been back since then.”
The bartender reaches us, and we both give him our orders. I wait to respond until we each have a fresh drink in our hands, and the bartender is out of earshot.
“Why did you move away?”
“It’s a long story,” he mutters, bringing his glass to his lips and taking a sip.
“Oh, okay,” I say, getting the hint that he doesn’t feel like talking about it just yet. I get it; we’re only thirty seconds into a conversation, but I don’t want to stop talking, so I try again. “So, what have you been up to for the past twenty years?”
“I went to school to become a veterinarian. I own a practice back where I live.”
“Holy shit, that’s amazing. You always wanted to do something with animals. How long have you been doing that?”
