Page 12 of Cooper & Jake
“Now, have a blast. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Actually, no, I’m lying. Do alotand then come tell me in the morning so I can live vicariously through you.”
“It’s not like that,” I mutter.
“Not like what? You’re about to go off into the dark with your ex-boyfriend. Your sexy-as-hell, thick-as-fuck ex-boyfriend who I bet could make you forget your own damn name.” Taylor drags on explaining, in detail, just how good she expects Jake can fuck, and my eyes widen when he walks up behind her, hearing every word she’s saying.
“Uh, Taylor?” I try to cut her off, but my best friend is on a roll.
“Those muscles, ugh, I bet he could easily toss someone in the air, maybe shove them up against a wall.”
“Only if they really wanted it,” he cuts in, letting her know he’s heard all of it.
Taylor spins around, her hand flying to her chest. “Damn, I didn’t know you were there. What I said still stands, though. I’m married, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a little freaky. My husband loves that side of me.” She winks at Jake, then her face gets serious. “Don’t make me call the cops on you. I expect him back in his room in the morning.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he salutes, tossing a wink my way. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah.” We head toward the exit, waving goodbye to Taylor and Peyton, who are staring at us as we leave. “Do you happen to know where we can find some flashlights this late at night?”
“Uh, no. But we’ll figure it out.”
We step out onto the main road, which is illuminated by streetlamps all up and down the road. Jake pulls out his phone, fist-bumping the air. “Ah-ha! There’s a hardware store nearby that’s still open. At least for the next…” He squints at the screen, then jerks his head up at me. “Ten minutes. And it’s an eight-minute walk, so we need to hustle.”
“Wait, what?” I ask, my body being pulled roughly as Jake bolts down the street.
“Come on. If you want flashlights, we need to run.” Jake takes off, his hand grabbing hold of mine as we rush down the street.
“Slow down,” I tell him, trying to keep up.
“Put those legs to work, Cooper.” He laughs, turning his head to look at me. Fuck, he’s breathtaking. Even in the dark of night, under the lights of the barely lit street, he’s gorgeous. I’d follow him anywhere, just like fifteen-year-old Cooper.
We hurry down the street, making it to the store with a few minutes to spare. The doors slide open as we reach the entrance, and Jake runs up to the young person working the register. “How can I help you?” The cashier is one hundred percent annoyed we just barged in here at the last possible second.
“Flashlights, where are they?”
“Aisle seven,” he replies, not giving us another look.
We locate aisle seven and grab two huge flashlights that will illuminate the entire space around us. We also end up grabbing two shovels, and Jake finds a small blanket we can use to sit on when we’re there. Once we pay for them, we stand on the street while Jake looks left and right.
“So, uh, I didn’t think this through. I don’t have my car,” he chuckles, flipping the flashlight around in his hand. “I left it at the hotel. We walked to the school.”
“I do. Taylor and I drove here. Come on, I’m parked at the school.”
We walk back down the street, toward the school, making small talk about the changes in the different shops we’re passing. A lot of things have changed since either of us was here, and talking about what we’re seeing is helping make things not turn awkward. We reach my jeep when Jake chuckles loudly.
“Ah, a red jeep? How did I know you would have a jeep?”
“I’ve never not had a jeep since my first vehicle. Different colors each time, though.”
“You were always obsessed with jeeps.” I unlock the doors, and we slide into the seats when Jake laughs again. “Ah, yes. The signature ducks.”
“Hey, stop hating on both my ducks and my jeep. What do you drive?”
“A Chevy pickup. Pretty much everyone in Cedar Creek owns a pickup truck. It’s kinda hard to drive around on dirt roads in a small car.”
“Tell me more about where you live,” I ask him.
“It’s a small city, a few hours away from Austin. Sometimes I’ll take the drive to out there just to remember why I don’t want to live in the city. My parents are still there, as well as my grandparents. I didn’t expect to go back, but once I finished school, I didn’t know what else to do or where to go. So, I went where my parents were.”
“How is your dad enjoying retirement?” I ask, remembering how excited his parents were when his dad finally decided to retire. He was over being in the military and wanted to live a quiet life with his wife.
