“Come to dinner with me?” Cooper asks me again.

I shake my head and hold the towel a little tighter.

Cooper takes a few steps in my direction then he reaches out with his big callous hand and tips my chin up. “Please?”

My eyes close briefly. “I’m really ok, Cooper. Just go out with Eli and have a good time. I’m going to grab some ice cream from the store and maybe see if one of the girls wants to watch a movie or something.”

“Jay…” Cooper says in a warning tone. I watch as he works his jaw back and forth.

“Go live your life, Cooper.” I say with a chill to my voice.

His eyes go wide in surprise. I’m hardly ever cold with him but it’s come to that point now. This is what he gets for ignoring me. He did this, not me.

Cooper grips my upper arms and pulls me closer to him. He bends down so his mouth is close to my ear. “You are my life. You’ve been my life for longer then you realize.”

I gasp and feel my legs go weak. He can’t mean those things. “Don’t lie to me, Cooper. Remember our rule? No lies, no matter what.”

Cooper pulls back and stares intently into my eyes, “No lies, ever.”

We stand there in the chilly bathroom, both looking into each other’s eyes. There are so many emotions, feelings, and yet, nothing is voiced. I know I mean something to Cooper, he’s shown me time and time again. We’ve been friends for years and I’ve had a crush for a long time but I never said anything because I didn’t think Cooper was interested in me that way. Plus I didn’t want things to get weird if I told him how I felt, so I stayed in the batter’s box and never stepped up to the plate. After that night back in Boston, Cooper and I talked for hours; he knew I needed a distraction. The timing of the conversation was all wrong but is there ever a good time for confessing your feelings? He told me that he’s always had a crush on me but knew Hunter would have a problem with it so he stayed away. He also said he stayed away because he, like I, thought that I didn’t like him that way. I confessed to Cooper that I followed him to school because I wanted to see if things could work out between us without the rest of the family around. I could have gone to school with my brother, Hailey, and MacKenzie, because I was offered a soccer scholarship as well, but I didn’t want that.

“Promise?” I ask, finally finding my voice. “Promise you’re not lying?”

Cooper replies back immediately, “Promise.”

“Why have you been avoiding me?” I steel the walls around my heart, preparing for the blow.

Cooper looks away for a second before answering, “I’m sorry.” He sighs, still not looking at me. If I had to guess I’d say that he’s afraid to look at me right now. “I’m just trying to get everything handled before pre-season starts. And yes, I have been avoiding you a little bit after that dirty trick.”

I roll my eyes and push Cooper back a step. “There was nothing dirty about it. I knew what I was doing and I knew the consequences.”

Cooper chuckles and shoves his hands in his pockets. “I thought you would have been in here doing it again. That’s why I came barging in.”

I shake my head and walk out into the bedroom, instantly the mood between us shifts and I’m more comfortable. I walk over to the closet that holds the few outfits of mine that I have here. I really need to get back home to my mom’s. I’ve been spending more and more time here and maybe that’s what’s shifting in our relationship. Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually go to my mom’s and stay there for a little while to give us some space.

Cooper walks up behind me and places a hand on my hip. “Get dressed up. We’re going out and Eli’s going to be there.”

I turn to glare at Cooper and he winks at me. Jerk. My walls tumble knowing I’m giving into his request. Plus it wouldn’t hurt to be able to hang out with Eli for a little while, right? You know, just to look at him. That will distract me for a little while at least.

An hour later I’m dressed in my favorite skinny jeans with the fancy designs on the pockets, a hot pink off the shoulder sweater and my grey high heeled boots. I grab my grey shawl to match my shoes and I switch out my purse for my pink clutch. I’ve styled my hair into a high messy up do because I know having my neck exposed will drive Cooper crazy. I can’t help but want to tease him a little more. Just to add smoke to the fire, I’ve done my make-up a little darker; I hardly ever wear make-up but I know that making myself look sultry will get to Cooper.

I hear him barreling up the stairs, probably to tell me to hurry the hell up. I grab my clutch and meet him at the door before he can even say anything.

Cooper takes in my appearance and I watch him swallow hard a few times. “Damn.” He says under his breath.

I smile sweetly, “Guess I’ve got your stamp of approval?”

Cooper rubs at the scruff on his face and a smile breaks across his beautiful lips. “Yeah, I guess you do.”

Cooper turns the light off as I walk past him and down the stairs. He’s already got the truck running and cleared off. I hadn’t even realized it was snowing.

I turn to look at Cooper, “Should we still go? It’s coming down pretty hard.”

Cooper shrugs, “Yeah we’ll be fine. We aren’t going far.”

We climb into the truck and buckle ourselves in. “So where are we going anyway?”

“Oceans,” Cooper smiles. “Cole’s back in town.”

I smile brightly. I love Cole’s music and he’s an overall good guy. I even overlook the fact that he was involved with Lily. The drive to Oceans is slow but we make it safe and sound. The parking lot is full, which doesn’t surprise me. Cole’s band knows how to draw a crowd.

Cooper finds a parking spot and when we pull in I reach down for my purse and place a hand on the door handle but he stops me. “I’ll come around and open the door.”

I smile and nod. He’s being sweet and trying to make up for being an ass these last few days even though going out to a place like this bothers him. Going out with Cooper is sometimes an arduous process - since he’s a hometown player he gets recognized a lot and he doesn’t really like the attention. Well at least not anymore. Mason and he used to eat that shit up.

Cooper wears a simple pair of stone washed jeans that hang perfectly on his slender hips. Under his jacket he’s got a black polo, the sleeves of which strain against his bulging biceps, paired with his black Nikes and his black New York Yankees hat pulled down low. He’s handsome; I watch as he rounds the truck towards me and I get little butterflies in my stomach. I’m one lucky girl.