Because Of Cooper

by Nia Arthurs

  “Here. Let it cover you too.”

  “If you’re so concerned about me, come closer.”

  Her breath hitched. “What?”

  Cooper arched an eyebrow.

  “It’s fine. My apartment is right there. I’ll make a run for it. You can take the umbrella.”

  “I’ll walk you.” Cooper jerked his chin toward the building. “Let’s go.”

  Erin took one trembling step. Cooper remained beside her, holding the umbrella up. The rain was hitting his neck now. Tiny rivers formed along the slope of his throat. What if he got sick?

  She finally gave in and scampered closer to him until they were pressed together. “Hold the umbrella steady.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The rain hammered the top of Cooper’s umbrella. The wind howled. Though a storm raged, Erin felt safe and warm by Cooper’s side. It was strange. Two weeks ago, she would have never imagined this.

  Had he changed? Or had she?

  “Is this it?” Cooper asked.

  Erin glanced up and realized they were right in front of her building. She nodded.

  Cooper stuck his hand into his pocket. “Get some rest. Broker pushed you hard. You might not feel the pain now, but it’ll come tomorrow.”

  She nodded.

  Cooper’s gaze softened. “Go.”

  “Thanks… again.”

  He made sure she got in and then left. Erin stood by the window and watched his tall form disappear from sight before she bounded up the stairs to the room she shared with her sister.

  The moment Peggy heard the front door opening, she waddled out. “How was your… date?” Peggy gasped. “Erin, why are you so wet? What happened?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Dry off first.” Peggy scrambled into her bedroom and returned with a dry towel. She tossed it at Erin who caught it cleanly. Her big sister raked her fingernails through her blonde hair. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “What happened?” Peggy sank into the sofa, her blue eyes pinned on Erin’s face.

  “Ryan and I got into a fight.”

  “So he let you walk in the rain?”

  “No. That was earlier. We parted at the gym.”

  “Then…” Peggy turned her wrist over to reveal a delicate watch, “what were you doing till now?”

  “I was with Cooper.”

  Peggy almost fell out of the chair. “You’re kidding! How did that happen? I thought you hated him?”

  “I did. I mean… I do.”

  “Oh.” Peggy wiggled a finger in her direction. A silly grin spread on her face. “You’re getting red.”

  “It’s not like that. Cooper was hungry so we went to eat burgers—”

  “Like a date?”

  “It wasn’t a date,” Erin corrected.

  “Then what was it?”

  Erin couldn’t think of an answer. “That’s not important.”

  “Did you have more fun than when you went out with Ryan?”

  She snorted. “Ryan is completely different.”

  “How?”

  “I like him. I wanted to impress him so it was hard for me to relax.”

  “While with Cooper,” Peggy said, “you’re free to be yourself because you don’t care about impressing him.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Then Cooper wins this round!” Peggy cheered.

  “Shut up.” Erin tossed her pillow at her. “You didn’t even hear the whole story.”

  “There’s more?”

  Erin shared the details of her run in with William Broker and Natasha. Peggy’s jaw dropped further and further until it hovered just above the ground.

  “The police came and that’s when we left,” Erin finished.

  “Cooper Lawson coming in to save the day? That must have been so sexy. How can you not fall for him?”

  “I like Ryan.”

  “But Cooper—”

  “I said,” Erin rose, “I like Ryan. We made things official this afternoon.”

  “What do you mean?” Peggy scrambled to the edge of her seat. “Like… you’re dating?”

  “Yes.” Erin raised her chin, speaking to herself as well as to her sister. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep. Ryan is my boyfriend. I’ll be faithful to him. No matter what.”

  “But…”

  “I’m tired. See you tomorrow, sis.” Erin walked into her bedroom and shut the door behind her.

  14 Cooper

  He skated into the lecture hall on Wednesday afternoon. His gaze scanned the room. Looked like Erin hadn’t arrived yet. Cooper wiped his sweat with the sleeve of his shirt and chose a seat in the middle row.

  It was his last class of the day, but instead of feeling drained, Cooper could barely hold in his excitement. His knee bounced. He placed a hand there to keep it steady.

  “Hey, Cooper!” Kay appeared in front of him.

  He pulled out a book and rifled through it. “Hey.”

  “Haven’t seen you since Monday.”

  That was intentional. Unfortunately, he couldn’t completely avoid Kay. They had class together every Monday and Wednesday.

  There was no way he was giving up this lecture though. Not unless Erin dropped out too.

  “I heard you joined the volleyball team,” Kay said.

  “Yeah.”

  She placed a hand on the desk. “That’s cool.”

  Cooper glanced at the door. Students were streaming in. They chatted and laughed, clutching thick textbooks to their chests. Cooper’s sharp eyes flitted through each face. Erin was not among them.

  He frowned at his watch. She’d be late if she didn’t hurry.

  “Are you going to the dance on Friday?” Kay asked.

  “Not sure.”

  “I might not go either.” She waved a hand. “Dances are so lame, you know? It’s not like we’re in high school.”

  Cooper didn’t bother responding.

  Kay shifted her purse off her shoulder and slid into his row. “Could you move your bag?”

  Cooper’s gaze zipped to hers. “Why?”

  “I want to sit here.” She blinked at him as if it were obvious.

  “My bag’s sitting there.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What?”

  Cooper spotted Erin walking in and shot to his feet. She swayed down the stairs, wearing a crisp white blouse, a black leather skirt and tennis shoes. She took his breath away.

  “What are you looking at?” Kay murmured.

  Cooper barely heard her.

  Erin’s gaze collided with his. She stopped mid-stride. Her eyes pooled with an emotion Cooper couldn’t name. He raised his hand in a quiet greeting. When Erin’s lips curled up in a small smile, Cooper started breathing again.

  She bounced down the rest of the stairs to his row. “Hi, Kay.”

  “Hey…”

  Cooper moved his bag to his other side. “Sit here.”

  “Thanks.” Erin slid into the seat beside him and pulled out her books. She glanced up at Kay who hadn’t moved since she walked in. “I’m sorry. Did I take your spot?”

  “No.” Kay shook her head.

  “Sosa’s here.” Cooper jerked his chin toward the front of the hall where the professor had just entered.

  “Yeah.” Still acting like she was in a daze, Kay spun and found another seat.

  “Is she okay?”

  Cooper shrugged. His gaze lingered on Erin’s face. She was wearing some type of shimmer on her eyelids today. It drew attention to her sharp brown eyes. Gloss coated her lips. He wanted to kiss her. He pulled his fingers into his lap to keep them from touching her skin.

  “You didn’t get sick, right?” Erin whispered as Sosa started his lecture.

  Cooper tilted his head, puzzled.

  “You got drenched in the rain Monday.”

  “Oh no,” he whispered. “Have you heard from Natasha?”

  “She texted yesterday. Said she slapped Broker with a restraining order. If he viol
ates it, he’ll find himself in jail.”

  “Good.”

  “Yeah.”

  Cooper remained quiet for the rest of the lecture, but he was in tune to everything Erin did. Her slender fingers gripping the pencil was pure art. When she brushed her hair behind her ear, he melted. All she had to do was blink those thick eyelashes and he just about had a heart attack.

  When class was over, Cooper realized he hadn’t heard a thing.

  Erin stood. He rose as well, studying her thoughtful expression. Her gaze landed on the ground. Why was she being so quiet? It was unlike her.

  “You have one more class after this, right?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She glanced up, eyebrow arched. “How did you know?”

  He shrugged, unwilling to tell her that he knew her schedule by heart.

  “You have volleyball practice with Ryan now,” she said with a bop of her head.

  Ryan? Why did she mention him?

  “Yeah. We have a game soon.”

  “I know. He was telling me about it yesterday.”

  Cooper stiffened. “Yesterday?”

  “On our date.”

  “Your… what?” Cooper struggled to make sense of her words. “You’re going out with Ryan?”

  “Didn’t you know? I told you that on Monday.”

  Cooper fixed his expression so Erin couldn’t tell that he was flabbergasted. “I saw you two fighting. You were angry with him.”

  “Yes.” She put a hand on his shoulder like a teacher schooling a child. “Couples fight. Then they make up. That’s life.”

  It would have hurt less if she’d punched him in the gut. He thought things had changed between them. Erin had warmed up to him. When he shaded her with the umbrella, she’d leaned close to his side to keep him dry.

  She cared about him.

  So what was this nonsense with Ryan again?

  “I’ll see you around, Cooper.” Erin walked away.

  He sank into his seat. What just happened? She’d brushed him off. Put him in his place. All without saying those words directly.

  So… Erin didn’t hate him anymore. If she did, there was no way she would have sat next to him in class.

  But she didn’t like him either.

  Frustrated, Cooper headed to the gym. He was glad to find the place empty because if he saw Ryan in this frame of mind, he’d probably murder him.

  Cooper spent fifteen minutes running up and down the court before he heard the door squeak open. Dennis strode in, already dressed in a jersey and basketball pants. His afro was braided back in three neat cornrows.

  “Cooper!” He greeted walking nearer. “You’re early.”

  He stopped and put both hands on his hips as he caught his breath. “I didn’t have any other classes so…” He shrugged.

  Dennis rummaged in his bag and tossed Cooper a Gatorade. “Take a breath. We don’t want you exhausted before practice.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Cooper said before plopping to the ground.

  To his surprise, Dennis joined him on the floor. He spread his long legs out in front of him and leaned back. “Something wrong?”

  “No.”

  “So you just like exercising that much that you’d start an hour early?”

  “So what if I do? That against the rules?”

  “No.” Dennis blinked. “Look… I’m not just a captain that bosses you around on the court. I can help you out if you have a problem.”

  “You can’t help me with this.”

  “Try me.”

  Cooper studied Dennis. He thought about rejecting the offer, but getting a second opinion on this mess wouldn’t hurt. He cleared his throat. “There’s this girl—”

  “Erin.”

  “I didn’t say it was Erin.”

  “You didn’t have to.” Dennis flicked his fingers. “Continue.”

  Cooper sent him a dark look. “She’s dating this punk—”

  “Ryan.”

  “Would you stop that?”

  Dennis winced. “Sorry.”

  “Me and this girl hung out on Monday. We got closer you know? But now she’s acting like nothing happened. And she’s still dating the punk.”

  “How close did you get? Did you kiss her?”

  “No.”

  “Good.” Dennis threw imaginary sweat off his forehead. “She’s technically still someone else’s girl. No matter how much you like her.”

  “Whose side are you on?”

  “The team’s,” Dennis said matter-of-factly. “Face it, Cooper. You lost. Take it like a man and move on.”

  “There’s no one else. Not for me.” His jaw clenched.

  “You sound like a serial killer in the making.”

  Cooper shot Dennis a hard look.

  He squirmed. “Okay, that joke did not land well. What I mean is, why don’t you let things simmer with Erin? She’s obviously the stand-by-your-man type. If you say you got close on this date—”

  Cooper nodded. “We did.”

  “Then go at her pace. Just be friends.”

  “I don’t want to be her friend.”

  “You can’t get everything you want. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that?”

  “No.”

  Dennis stared at him in shock. “Geez, you really mean that.”

  “She’s the only thing I’ve wanted that I never got.”

  “Then… maybe this isn’t about you liking Erin. Maybe this is about you possessing her.”

  “You’re wrong.” Cooper stood.

  “How do you know that? You don’t even want to be friends with her. You just want to have your own way so you feel good. Does that sound like a love story or a Lifetime movie?”

  “Enough with the serial killer jokes.”

  “Sorry.”

  Cooper internalized Dennis’s words. He hated to admit it, but the captain had a point. Erin was all he’d ever desired. He’d never stopped to think about things from her end.

  “But what if she wants trash?” Cooper grumbled.

  “Erin’s a smart girl. She’ll figure it out eventually. If you’re meant to be, she’ll give you a shot. There’s only one thing I can guarantee.” Dennis slapped Cooper’s back. “If you try to force her to admit she likes you now, it won’t go over well.”

  Dennis’s advice stuck in Cooper’s brain like an annoying burr. Thanks to the captain, he managed to keep his temper in check and didn’t bash Ryan’s face in when he trotted into practice a few minutes later.

  But just because he had agreed to respect Erin’s decision didn’t mean he could be friends with her. Cooper understood where Dennis was coming from, but the intensity of his feelings for Erin bound him.

  He’d rather watch her from afar, than watch her up close knowing he couldn’t have her.

  On Friday, Cooper skipped his last lecture of the day and slept in the library. When he woke up, it was after three. He grabbed his backpack and headed to the parking lot.

  It had been a long, tiring first week—with practice, his drama with Erin, and keeping up with his schoolwork, all he wanted to do this weekend was lounge in bed.

  Ryan and Rolando could handle the back-to-school dance prep.

  He rounded the hood of his car and dug into his pockets for the keys when he spotted Peggy leaning against the door. “Going somewhere?”

  He startled. “What are you doing here?”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be helping me set up for the dance tonight?”

  Cooper glanced away. He’d been busted.

  “Come on, Big Guy.” Peggy grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind her.

  “Wait, Peggy.” He tried to wiggle his way out of the job. “I have an appointment.”

  “Cancel. You made a commitment to me first. How do you expect Erin to fall for you if you can’t keep your word? She never goes back on her promises. She deserves someone like that too.”

  “I didn’t agree to come.”

  “Dennis wrote your name down. That means he expected you
to be there.”

  “Hey, Peggy!” A group of girls passed them by, giggling when they saw Peggy hauling him around.

  “Ladies!” Peggy smiled.

  Cooper yanked his arm back. “I’m coming.”

  She stopped and eyed him. Her blonde hair billowed in the wind. She wore a pink shirt and white shorts. “Can I trust you?”

  “Yes.” At her look, he added. “I don’t break my promises either.”

  “Fine.” Peggy spun and sashayed down the walkway.

  Cooper followed grudgingly. Looked like his plans of falling into bed and sleeping until Saturday would have to be pushed back a couple hours.

  “Are you coming to the dance tonight?” Peggy asked as they neared the spacious lawn at the back of the campus. Workers were already flitting around, carrying cases of soft drinks and hanging tapestry.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Not my thing.”

  Peggy scoffed. “You’re just like Erin. Her version of a fun evening is watching TV and eating popcorn.”

  That sounded like heaven to Cooper. No hassle. No fuss. Just holding Erin close as they enjoyed a movie.

  And… he shouldn’t be thinking about that.

  Cooper stuck his hands into his pockets. “You’ve got an hour. What do you want me to do first?”

  “You’ll go home when we’re done,” Peggy said. She had a sweet smile, but there was an edge of steel beneath her voice. Cooper could see the family resemblance. “You can start by helping your teammates with the tent.”

  Cooper groaned when he saw Ryan. “Can’t I do something else?”

  “Why are you being difficult? They’re your friends.”

  Cooper chose not to respond to that.

  “Fine. You can go inside and help Erin with the balloons.”

  Cooper remained still.

  “What?” Peggy threw her hair over her shoulder. “You don’t like that either?”

  “I’ll go.” He walked toward the center.

  He and Erin were just friends. He could handle that for a couple hours. Right?

  15 Erin

  “Need some help?”

  “Hey, Cooper.” Erin smiled. “That would be great.” She handed the balloon to him and watched as he brought it to his lips. “Wait! I have a pump for that.”

  He pinned her with his entrancing golden eyes. “I’ve got it.”