Chapter 4 #2
Jack was one of my closest friends, and there was no way that I wouldn’t have noticed him talking about Cooper at some point if they’d worked together for that long. Unless…
“What does Jack call you?”
“Ugh… Piper.” He scrunched his eyes closed like he clearly didn’t appreciate the nickname.
“Even I can’t follow that one.”
“Cooper… copper, copper pipe, pipe, Piper.”
I chuckled because even for Jack, that was a reach. Suddenly being called Morgan didn’t seem so bad.
“So, do you want me to take a look?”
“Oh, sorry. Yes, please.”
I stepped to the side and led him in. “The fuse box is down there in the cellar.” I pointed. “Can I get you a drink?”
“I’m okay, thanks. I’ll go see what’s up. Hopefully it’s an easy fix.”
When Cooper headed down to take a look, I entirely ignored his wishes and began heating up milk on the gas stove to make him a hot chocolate.
Because I had a fucking problem, I didn’t even leave it at normal powdered hot chocolate; I chopped and melted the best chocolate I had into the milk before topping off his mug with whipped cream and fucking marshmallows.
Just as I’d almost talked myself out of giving it to him because it was clearly a ridiculous gesture, Cooper reappeared.
“Looks like something chewed through a wire, probably just a field mouse, because there’s no sign of any more down there. I should have a replacement in my van. I’ll be back in a minute.”
When he returned, I sort of just thrust the hot chocolate at him. “It’s cold down there. You should have a hot drink.”
“Oh. Um, thank you? It should only take me half an hour or so to fix.” He took the drink and returned to the cellar while I held my face in my hands, questioning every life decision that had brought me to this point.
In what felt like both no time at all and forever, my cottage came back to life. The lights flickered on, and I could hear the faint buzzing of the fridge-freezer in the background.
“All done. Jack said you only pay for parts, but it was only a bit of wire, so don’t worry about it.” Cooper smiled at me from the doorway.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it. Can I get you a drink? I have beers in the fridge that shouldn’t be too warm.”
“I’m still on call until tomorrow, but thanks.”
“Soft drink?”
I wasn’t entirely sure why I was trying to force the issue of Cooper staying for longer. I mean, I was sure… Something about Cooper compelled me beyond reason, and I didn’t want him to leave right away.
Cooper glanced at my front door like he thought he really should leave, but then he surprised me. “Um, sure. Okay.”
I poured us both an iced tea while Cooper took off his work boots, and then we made our way into my living room.
“Can I ask you something that is none of my business?” I scratched at my stubbled cheek.
“I guess?” Cooper replied, eyebrows scrunched together.
It had been bugging me all day. “When you had breakfast with your brother… you looked upset,” I said.
He nodded. “Where’s the question?” He smirked at me, looking cheeky.
“What did he say to upset you?” I asked this time.
He sighed and leaned into the comfy sofa cushion, tipping his head back to look up at the ceiling. My brain got momentarily fixated on his beautiful square jawline shaded with just a few days of scruff.
“He didn’t really. It was my fault. I kept some… big stuff from him because I thought that was what he wanted and that I was doing the right thing, but as usual, I got it wrong.”
Cooper seemed to have such low self-esteem, and I didn’t get where it came from. I wanted to understand, though. “I’ll listen if you want to talk about it.”
He swallowed like the subject still upset him.
“I suppose it doesn’t really matter now they’re together but a couple years ago, Dylan admitted to having feelings for Axel, like deep feelings, and he said he needed to stay away from him to move on.
I took it seriously because it’d created this huge chasm between us.
Dylan lived across the country at uni, and when I called, I stopped telling him things about Axel, and in turn, stopped giving Axel updates about Dylan.
It had been the right thing. I just hadn’t realised there were exceptions to that. ”
“What didn’t you tell him?”
He winced. “Axel’s dad died. I had planned to tell him. But when it happened, Dylan was in the middle of some exams so it seemed like bad timing, and then too much time had passed and I just… didn’t.”
It was easy to see how that’d played out and left Cooper not exactly sure where the lines had been drawn. He liked things to be black and white, but sometimes they were grey.
“Things okay between you all now? It doesn’t sound like any of that was out of malice. You were trying to respect his wishes.”
“I think so. Dylan doesn’t really hold grudges, at least. He just gets everything off his chest and then bounces off again.”
“He is way too bouncy,” I said, frowning. I’m sure Dylan was perfectly nice, but chipper people had always irked me.
Cooper smiled, and I was unreasonably happy to be the person who put it there.
“Do you have to be anywhere while you’re on call?” I asked.
“Just local and available,” he replied, twisting his face to look at me.
Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.
“How about a film. To kill some time?”
I did it anyway.
He looked a little uncertain but nodded his head.
Once I’d popped some popcorn in the microwave and topped up the wood on the fire, we sat down on the sofa with an ocean of space between us. Too much space. I wanted less space. Truthfully, I wanted him curled up in my lap or laid out next to me, warming my cock with his mouth.
On second thoughts, space was probably for the best.
About ten minutes into the film, Cooper broke the silence. “Do you ever feel like you take up too much space? Like you just want to be small for a day?”
I really thought about it before I replied. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve always liked my size. Like it reflects how I feel inside.”
“That must be nice,” he whispered.
“Do you shift much? You could be a little fox and get carried around in a backpack,” I chuckled.
The comment just seemed to make Cooper curl in on himself, though, and he began biting at the edges of his fingernails.
Without overthinking it too much, all my Daddy Dom instincts kicked in, and I grabbed a cushion from the sofa and put it on the floor by my feet. “Sit on the floor, Cooper. Cross-legged on this cushion,” I suggested… forcefully.
He paused for a second, glancing at me like I might remove the offer, before quickly getting situated on the floor between my legs. I nudged his head so it was resting against the inside of my thigh and began to card my fingers through his hair.
The brown waves were so soft under my fingers. I could smell his shampoo—sandalwood and vanilla—and I fought the desire to bury my nose in his hair and inhale him.
And that was how, once again, I ended up with Cooper Bailey at my feet, while we… watched Shrek.