Page 28 of Charming the Cowboy
“I’m doing this for us,” he said.
“There wouldn’t be anything wrong with you doing it for you,” Hank pointed out. Cooper stopped. “What do you mean by that?”
“It’s just you, Coop. Everything you do seems to have to serve some kind of greater good. Or you have to be doing it right, or all for the best, and what if you were just doing it because you like her? Because you think she’s pretty.”
“I… I can’t do anything about it.”
“Is your penis broken?”
Cooper stared at his brother, slack-jawed. “No, thank you. Works just fine. I used it about a month ago.”
Hank pulled a face. “A month. Damn, buddy.”
“Self-serve doesn’t count.”
“Okay,” Hank said. “I’m not asking for a dissertation on the history of your orgasms. But, I am saying, if you like her, you could do something about it.”
“No. I can’t, because I don’t intend on getting married or having a family or anything like that.”
“What does that have to do with having a good time?”
“Icannothave a good time with mybest friend’s little sister.”
Who is a virgin. Who thinks she’s cursed. He didn’t finish that sentence.
“Why not?”
“You know perfectly well why not. What would you do if one of your friends hooked up with Lindsay?”
Hank scowled. “Well. One of my friends, I’dmurder, because they’re ten years older than her.”
“Fair.”
“You’re not ten years older than Eliana. And you hang out with her more than you hang out with Marcus anymore. She’s practically your friend.”
“Yeah. Fair enough. But that doesn’t make her any more of a reasonable hook-up.”
“Because?”
“Because, what’s the point of wrecking a good relationship with sex?”
“Again, is your penis broken?”
“Stopsaying penis.”
“I don’t see why it would ruin the relationship if she knew exactly what you were doing. There’s nothing wrong with just having fun, that’s actually my point, that’s the point I’m trying to make, and I can make it without saying penis, I guess.”
“You just said it again.”
“Have fun, Cooper. Kiss a girl because you think she’s pretty. Not because you think it contributes to some greater good.”
“You should talk, Hank. The only thing you do is stuff that might benefit the ranch.”
“You don’t know what I do in my spare time.”
That rocked him. He stared at his older brother. They pretty much lived on top of each other, so he always had the feeling that he knew exactly what Hank was up to at any given time.
The idea that he might not was… Well. He didn’t like it. He really didn’t like it.
