Chapter 16 Lucy
Chapter 16
Lucy
“I’ll drive,” Cooper says, dead serious as we all walk out to my little white Honda Civic. He holds out his hand as if it’s nothing out of the ordinary.
I hold my keys a little closer to my chest. “Why? You don’t trust my driving?”
“My mom is a very good driver,” Levi says, stepping in betweenus.
“Thank you, babe,” I say, ruffling his hair.
He turns his face up to Cooper. “She only hits the curb sometimes now.”
My smile falls, and Cooper’s lips press together suspiciously. He extends his hand for the keys again. “I trust you, Lucy. I just want to drive you around today so you can relax.”
Right. I shouldn’t feel a surge of emotions at that tiny statement, and the fact that I am feeling them probably means I’ve set my bar way too low in the past. Either way, I hold out my keys with the ring pinched tightly between my thumb and index finger, as if they open the locks to a kingdom rather than my little Honda Civic.
“I don’t trust many people to drive when Levi is going to be in the car,” I say when he looks to where his open palm is waiting beneath the keys that I’m reluctant to drop.
“Do you trust me? It’s okay if the answer is no. I’ll ride shotgun.”
I narrow my eyes. “Depends. How’s your driving record?”
“Two tickets. No wrecks.”
“How fast were you going?”
“Ten over the speed limit both times.”
I drop the keys into his hand and give him the sternest look I can muster. “No speeding with us in the car.”
His grin pops. “Yes, ma’am.”
After helping Levi get buckled into the car, I climb into my passenger seat and then stop short, covering my mouth to smother a laugh. Cooper—sweet Cooper—is situated in the driver’s seat and barely fitting inside the vehicle. His long legs are scrunched up so his bent knee is pretty much beside the wheel, and he has the window down so he can hang his elbow out.
“Something funny?” he asks with raised eyebrows.
And yes, the sight is hilarious, but it’s also something else. It’s…hot. Don’t ask me how it’s possible, but the fact is, seeing this huge man packed like a sardine into my tiny old car, with his hand draped over the steering wheel like it’s the most normal thing in the world, is doing things to my body. Good things. Delicious things. Things that make me want Cooper to do things to me too. But not before he takes off his shirt and turns his hat around backward and drives me around town with a trunk loaded down with groceries. Do I need better fantasies?
“Do you maybe want to scoot your seat back a little, Cooper?”
“I already did,” he says gravely.
“You look like you’re heading to the circus.” The sexy circus, but still.
“He doesn’t have a clown nose, though,” Levi says pragmatically.
Cooper looks over his shoulder to Levi and then shrugs. “You’re right. I guess we’ll just have to go on to the park like we planned. Everyone buckled?”
After confirming we’re all safely secured, Cooper puts his hand on the back of my seat, biceps and forearm muscles on full display as he looks over his shoulder and reverses. I’ve never been more turned on in my life.
—
I didn’t think it was possible to feel more attracted to Cooper after the car reversing situation, but it turns out my desire for this man knows no bounds. Because here at the park, as I lie on the blanket spread over the grass watching this ridiculously attractive man chase my son and his kite across the lawn, my ovaries turn into unruly hellions, bent on making sure I lust after this man in every possible way.
The grass is green and crunchy, a perfect contrast to the soft blue sky overhead. And although the sun is on full blast today, there’s a constant breeze pushing through, making the heat more bearable. It’s a perfect day for flying a kite. So perfect that everything feels surreal at this moment. Like how Cooper is smiling from ear to ear as he hoists Levi onto his shoulders so they can work together to retrieve the kite they just got stuck in a tree. Or a few minutes ago when Levi finally got the kite in the air. He had several failed attempts before, so when it finally started flying behind him, he was so excited he ran all the way to Cooper, who was cheering so enthusiastically that Levi forgot about the kite completely, dropping the string to run straight into Cooper’s arms for a big bear hug.
My heart quakes at the sight, and a nonstop bubbling sensation has been filtering through it ever since. After a minute, Levi frees the kite, and Cooper carefully sets him back on the ground. I see him point in my direction while telling Levi something.
Levi takes off toward me in a full sprint, the kite dragging behind him and getting snagged on several sticks along the way until he reaches the blanket and barrels into me with a huge hug. “Can we get ice cream?!” he asks, his little face hovering over mine with big fluffy clouds in the sky behind his head. “I asked Cooper, but he told me I had to ask you. Can we?”
Levi’s joy is contagious. “Okay, we can get ice cream,” I say and then start gently poking him in the ribs, making him laugh and squirm. “But you have to promise me you’ll eat all your veggies with dinner. Promise?”
I hold up my pinky, and Levi locks his around mine, a look so eager and solemn you’d think he was pledging to save the world. “Yes. Promise.”
“What are we pinky promising?” Cooper asks, crashing down on the picnic blanket beside us. His eyes are sparkling, and his skin is flushed from the sun. God, I could easily get used to more days like this. And that thought terrifiesme.
“To eat all our veggies with dinner! Are you going to eat yours?”
“I never skip my veggies,” Cooper says, matching Levi’s enthusiasm. He then makes a big dorky show of lifting his arm and flexing his biceps. “That’s how you get muscles like these.”
Levi is all spellbound wonder, and I’m trying not to die laughing at Cooper’s cheesiness.
“Mom!” Levi suddenly yells, as if I’m clear across the park and not sitting directly beside him. “You know what Cooper told me? Airplanes feel like roller coasters! Do you think it feels like one?” He asks, not shocking me in the least by the abrupt change in subject but clearly leaving a stunned Cooper in the wake of his topic shift. Welcome to life with a four-year-old.
I grin lightly at Cooper over Levi’s shoulder. “A little bit. The airplane goes really fast at takeoff and sometimes makes my stomach have butterflies. But that part doesn’t last long.”
“Well, I think it sounds fun! Can we go on one? And maybe we can bring Cooper with us!” he says, like it’s just as simple as getting ice cream. It’s sweet how quickly Levi has taken to Cooper, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t worry me a little too. Because there’s a possibility that Cooper will disappear by tomorrow, and we’ll never see him again. And this is exactly why I don’t usually introduce men I’m dating to Levi. I don’t want him to get attached when there’s no reason for himto.
I notice Cooper watching me with furrowed eyebrows and realize I’ve taken a long time to respond to Levi’s question. Suspiciously long. “Uh, yeah, I’m sure we’ll go on an airplane sometime soon, buddy!”
“But can Cooper come too?” Levi is relentless, clearly not deterred by my attempt to sidestep his question. And by the stubborn look in his eyes, he’s not going to quit asking unless I addressit.
But I’ve been a mom for four years now—so that means I’ve got a couple of tricks up my sleeve.
“Tell you what,” I say with sparkling eyes. “Why don’t we take an airplane ride with Cooper right now?”
I lay down on my back, hearing the sharp blades of grass crunch under the blanket, and then tell Levi to stand at my feet. My four-year-old looks at me like I’ve lost all sense but eventually stands. I then lift my feet up in the air and extend my arms toward the sky. “Here, take my hands and then lean your stomach against my feet.”
He does but looks skeptical, like this might be one big prank. I can’t bring myself to look at Cooper and see what he thinks of me. Maybe he’ll take one look at me like this and the fact that I’m a mom will really hit home for the first time. I’m not sure if there actually is anything between us to lose in the first place, but if this is the thing to turn Cooper off from me, then good riddance, because I’ll never stop being a goof for my kid.
Once Levi is in place, I begin the entertainment. “Hello, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Please buckle up and remain seated until the aircraft is at a cruising altitude and the seatbelt sign is turned off. On behalf of Mom Airlines, we hope you enjoy your flight.”
Levi laughs, and in the next moment, I’m hoisting him up in the air by my feet and whooshing him in circles. A wide sparkling smile beams across his face as he laughs and laughs and laughs. This is the kind of smile from my son that I live for.
I’m laughing too, letting joy overtake me as I tell myself to let loose with my son and not worry about what the man beside me thinks. And after a few minutes, when my leg muscles are burning and my lungs are exhausted from laughing, I set Levi back down and brave a glance at Cooper James.
He’s sitting back, long legs stretched out in front of him, with one ankle over the other, and staring at me with a smile so warm and content it makes my insides melt.
“Lucy, stand up,” Cooper says suddenly, making my smile drop and a wave of self-consciousness roll over me. I thought it was a nice smile he was giving me, but maybe it was pitying instead?
But no…that can’tbe.
My heart races, waiting for any hints that he’s about to say something rude, and I’m going to have to ask Levi to look away while I dropkick Cooper in the crotch. But then a playful smile splits his mouth, and he lays back, lifting his feet in the air just like I did with Levi.
“What are you doing?” I ask, mystified and chuckling.
“Climb on,” he says, gesturing toward his feet, but my stomach swoops as it interprets his statement in a completely different way that is not at all park appropriate. I shove that thought away and watch silently as this man who I once thought was nothing but a token flirt raises his hands up in the air, waiting for me to stand and take them.
“You’re kidding,” I say, darting a nervous glance around the park at anyone who might be watching. Not to mention my little boy, who is chanting for me to doit.
“Don’t look around. Look at me. I’m not kidding.” He wiggles his big fingers at me. Wiggles them! I didn’t even know a man like Cooper was capable of such a silly movement. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of airplanes too?” he asks, a small, teasing grin on his mouth.
I can’t help but chuckle at this whole situation. “I love flying in airplanes.”
“Okay then, hop on. You shouldn’t have to miss out on all the fun.”
Again, that emotional fizziness hits my heart because I’m so used to providing everything for everyone around me that I do miss out on a lot. And it’s in this moment that I know Cooper would never be the type of man to take the sweater from my back to keep himself warm.
“Go, Mom!” Levi urges, looking at me like he’ll disown me if I don’t do this.
Cooper kicks off his shoes and then shoots his socked feet up in the air once again. I want to snap a picture and post it on social media. I’m willing to bet no one would believe this sight.
And then, because I want to experience fun too, I do it. I go over to Cooper, intertwine my fingers with his, palm to palm, and situate my abdomen against his feet. I get one delicious smile from Cooper, his head half on the blanket and half in the grass, before he tenses his abdominal muscles and flies me into the air.
I’m hovering above Cooper, squealing like a little baby girl and cackling with laughter. Cooper holds me up there until my stomach is aching and he tells me to let go of his hands and balance. I don’t even hesitate this time. I let go and do as he says, because I’m high on dopamine. Because I trust him.
I’m sure we look like the most ridiculous, annoying people in the world, but I don’t care. I’m having the time of my life, and Levi is enjoying the sight of me being silly so much that he rolls onto the ground, laughing so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if he pees his pants. It’s the best sound I’ve ever heard. A close second, however, is the sound of Cooper’s full deep laugh filtering through the breeze. I turn my gaze down and take in the sight of the most attractive man I’ve ever seen. His mouth is creased on either side from his deep smile, and his bright white teeth shine up at me, not a hint of the smooth flirty guy with lines from the boat in sight.
And somehow I know, this is the real Cooper James. This is him at his absolute happiest. It’s right there in his eyes. And as he sets my feet back on the ground but doesn’t immediately let go of my hand, I feel it in his touch too.