Page 16 of Dancing Hearts

“Shit. Sorry, Emma. I’ll be right down.” He hangs up and before I even have my phone back in my purse, he is opening the door. “Sorry. I should have told you to come around back. I have stairs that lead up to another door.” I push off the wall and give him a smile.

“It’s alright. Sorry I’m late.” I walk through the door he is holding open for me. I hear it close and him lock it. I’m looking around at the bar, and it looks so different with only a few lights on and no one here. I look over at the stage and think about the amazing band that played here, and the huge crowd. I look over at the bar, with all the stools resting on it and think back to the amazing kiss we shared. I jump when I feel Cooper’s hand on my shoulder. I turn around to look at him.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. You look beautiful, Emma.” He takes my hand and brings it up to his lips. Holy shit. I’ve never in my life had a guy do this; it’s so sweet and romantic. After he kisses my hand, he looks at me and winks. I smile because he knows exactly what he’s doing.

“You look great too, Cooper.” I turn my head to look at the bar again and turn back to him. “It looks so different in here when it’s closed.” He grabs my hand and starts leading me to his apartment.

“I know it does, but it will be open soon enough so let’s go enjoy our dinner.” We make our way to his apartment, and I can smell the food before we even go inside. It smells amazing, like sauce and garlic. He leads me in and holy shit, it smells even better.

“Cooper, it smells delicious in here.” He leads me to the kitchen before letting go of my hand.

“Thank you. I hope you like chicken parm, spaghetti, and garlic bread. I also made a salad.” I look at him with wide eyes.

“You made all of that? Where did you learn to cook?” He laughs while he pulls two cups out of the cabinet.

“I’ve been on my own a long time, and after my dad died, I needed to take care of my mom. I just taught myself how to cook. I watched a lot of cooking shows and YouTube, and read cook books. Would you like something to drink? I have iced tea, water, and soda.” I’m trying to process everything he just said. He seems so damn put together and responsible. Taking care of his mom like that, and learning how to cook, it’s just another thing that attracts me to him.

“I’ll have some iced tea, thanks.” He pours us each a glass and pulls out a stool for me to sit on.

“Dinner is almost done. How was work today?” I cock my head to the side and smile at him. It seems like such a ‘couple’ thing to ask. I find that I really like it.

“Work was fine. Much busier than yesterday, so that was good. How was work last night?” He gives me a similar smile while he stirs the spaghetti.

“It was good, pretty busy for a Sunday night. Nothing exciting though which is good.” I watch him as he makes his way around the kitchen. He is so damn sexy. The way his muscles flex when he moves, and the tattoos that are on display. He is fucking lickable. I pull myself out of my thoughts and get off the stool.

“Can I help?” He spills the pasta into the colander before he turns to look at me.

“Nope. It’s all done. Go sit at the table and I’ll bring it in to you.”

“No, you don’t need to do that, Cooper. I can help bring it in.” He pulls me to him and smashes his mouth to mine. It is so unexpected, yet so hot. Once our tongues meet, we both let out a moan. I grab onto his thick arms and he puts his hands on my ass. We kiss for what feels like an hour, but is really only minutes. He starts to pull away but leans back in to give me a quick peck on my now swollen lips. Once he pulls away, we just stare at each other. It feels so intimate.

“I didn’t properly say hello before. I needed to rectify that.” I give him a shy smile once he removes his hands from my ass.

“I’m glad you did.” He winks at me and moves to the cabinet to pull out the plates.

“Now, please go sit down and I will bring dinner in.” How the hell can I argue with him when he asks so sweetly? I make my way to the dining room table and sit down. I look around at how beautiful his apartment is. I know I was only here the other night, but this time the sunlight is shining in the huge windows and it gives it a totally different feel. I notice he has a picture hanging on the wall of what I assume is him with his parents. It looks like it is his high school graduation; both his parents are smiling and looking at him, and he is looking at the camera with a huge smile on his face. It is such a beautiful picture, full of love. My heart breaks for him and the loss he has endured. I’m startled when Cooper puts my plate in front of me. “I scared you again?” He laughs putting his plate down.

“Sorry, I was actually looking at that picture. It is a beautiful picture, Cooper.” I give him a weak smile, but it’s the best I can muster considering how my heart is aching for him right now. He just nods his head and walks back into the kitchen. I look back over at the picture once more before he returns with our salad. He sits down and looks over at me.

“Thank you. It was my graduation. It is the last picture I have of all of us together.” Until this moment, I never understood why people say they feel like their heart bleeds. I can’t even look at him because the pain I saw on his face when he said that was too much. I am looking down at what looks like it is going to be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted before I say anything.

“I’m so sorry, Cooper,” I whisper, still not looking at him.

“Hey, Emma, don’t. It was a long time ago; it’s just hard for me to talk about. I’m alright now.” I look up at him and he is giving me a small smile. I reach my hand across the table and grab his.

“I know we only just met, but if you ever want to talk about him, I’m a good listener.” I don’t know what else to say. He gives my hand a squeeze before letting go to pick up his fork.

“Thank you. Now, let’s eat. I hope you like it.” Alright, that was his nice way of moving on and I’m fine with that. It is obviously a very difficult thing to have to live with. I can’t imagine, so I will not push him to talk about anything. I pick up my fork and begin to eat the most unbelievable dinner I’ve ever had.

&nbs

p; “Cooper, this is amazing.” He finally gives me a genuine smile.

“Thank you. So, Emma, let’s get to know each other better. We know the basics, but I want to know more. I want to know everything.” I laugh and wipe my mouth with a napkin.

“Alright, what do you want to know?” He taps his mouth with his finger thinking. He finally looks over at me smiling.

“Favorite memories.” Damn, that is not at all what I expected. Well, that’s easy.

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