Page 2 of Cooper & Jake
“What should we do for the rest of the day? Wanna head to that coffee shop?”
“Sure.”
Peyton and I step into Fresh Brews, and we notice immediately that the aroma of coffee beans has permeated the entire space. I’m such a coffee slut, I need it all day, every day, and sometimes at night too. We walk up to the counter, noting that they have a variety of fresh coffees and a few types of pastries in the glass containers. After ordering our drinks, we take a spot at one of the two-seater tables in the corner.
“Okay, so who do we have to look out for? Who were the enemies, the friends, the ones we need to avoid?”
“Wow,” I say, trying to think back to everyone I ran into in high school. “I wouldn’t say I was an outcast. But all of us here grew up with one another, so while I had buddies, I wasn’t friends with every single person in the school. I was on the baseball team, so I knew a few of those guys. They can be on the list of people we talk to. Don’t think I had any enemies.” Cooper flashes in my mind, and I wonder if he would consider us friends now.
“What just happened to your face?”
“Huh? What?” I question, looking at Peyton. “What are you talking about?”
“Your face. The smile slipped off it, and it was like you just watched someone run over your dog.”
“Ugh,” I say, scrubbing my hand down my face. “Cooper.”
“Cooper? Oh shit, Cooper! How the hell did I forget about him? Do you think he’s going to be here? Damn, I remember what a mess you were back then. Wasn’t he supposed to come visit you? And ghosted you? Shit, man.”
“Thanks for bringing it up,” I mutter, taking a sip of my drink. “We were eighteen. It’s not ghosting when you’re a teenager. It’s growing up.”
“Ghosted. Growing up. Same thing. Damn. I bet he’s going to be here. Does he still live here? Is he married? Does he have any kids?”
“Dammit, Peyton. I don’t know,” I growl, getting irritated at his questioning. To be fair, he’s only inquiring questions I’ve been asking myself every minute since I received the invitation in the mail. Hell, I even tried searching for him on Facebook, but he doesn’t have a profile. Or at least one I could find. It’s like he really disappeared.
“Ohhhhh,” he says, smirking at me. “I get it now.”
“Get what now?” I huff, rolling my eyes. I love Peyton to death, but fuck is he ever annoying right now. Which I knowis only because my mind is on a constant loop of hoping I see Cooper and wishing I don’t, and he keeps drawing more attention to something I’m trying not to think about.
“You’ve been antsy since the second we walked off the plane. Which was hella confusing because you’re always so rock solid. Never let anything faze you. But it makes sense if you’re expecting to run into someone from your past.”
“But I’m not,” I lie, my eyes darting away so that I don’t make eye contact.
“Yeah, sure, man.”
He’s right, though. From the second I felt the invitation in my hand, my mind went straight to Cooper Dalton. I know we were young, but I loved him with every inch of my being. He was the one person I could be myself with. Moving every three years was hard as hell. Constantly having to start over and make new friends was disastrous. But moving during high school? Fuck, that was the worst. But he made my four years there bearable. And I truly thought we would go to the same college together and navigate life with one another. But things happen. One minute we were Myspace friends and the next, we never talked again.
So yeah, my mind has been constantly racing, wondering if he’s going to be here. Hell, I don’t even know if he still lives here. For all I know, he’s moved away, or he’s married with kids in a two-story house with a white picket fence.
Goddammit. Suck it up, Jake.
It’s been twenty years, for fuck’s sake. Being hung up on your high school boyfriend is ridiculous. And embarrassing.
“All right, what should we do since we’re a few days early?” Peyton asks, his eyes widening as he looks behind me. “Holy fuck. Don’t look now, but one of the sexiest men I’ve ever seen just walked in the door.”
Twisting in my seat, I turn around to see who’s caught the attention of my best friend. My eyes lock on a familiar set of emerald-green ones, and my heart stops. Gaze locked on the gorgeous woman in front of him, is Cooper Dalton. He must sense our stare because his head flips up, first making eye contact with Peyton before shifting his eyes my way. His eyes widen, his jaw drops open, and the next few things happen all at once. Someone bumps into him from behind, and he trips over their foot, sending him crashing to the ground.
I’m up and out of my seat in record time, my chair skidding across the floor as I make my way to him.
“Oh my god, Coop,” the brunette woman says as she leans down next to him. “Are you okay?”
I don’t know who this woman is, but I use the moment to take Cooper in. He’s still just as gorgeous as he was back when we were eighteen. He has fiery red hair, and freckles dot his face. Freckles, I used to trace with my fingers while he lay on my chest. But there are also changes from the last twenty years of living. There are hints of gray peppered through his hair, and he has smile wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. He’s still on the lean side, but just as perfect as I remember.
Cooper opens one eye and sees me hovering before closing his eye and muttering, “Just peachy.”
2
COOPER
