CHAPTER 2
LIAM
Cooper fidgets with his T-shirt as he sneaks a glance at our bustling living room that’s currently buzzing with noise, laughter, and chatter.
I step in behind him, caging him against the kitchen counter, and wrap one arm around his stomach.
“Are you nervous, sweetheart?”
His lips tip up into a smile as he leans back against my chest and shakes his head.
“No, more like excited.” He lets out a sudden chuckle. “And remembering the last time we were gathered here like this months ago.”
Months ago. Many busy, perfect months, living with my Coop in the apartment that started as only his and is now ours, our moments littering every corner of the space we’ve shared.
Especially that particular moment he’s just mentioned.
“You mean when we got them all here for your birthday?”
“Yep.”
“When, without any sort of warning, you gripped my neck and kissed me in front of everyone?”
Cooper’s smile widens.
“Yes.”
Warmth floods my chest, making it ache in the best sort of way.
I lean closer to his ear.
“When you called me your boyfriend and asked if anyone had a problem with it?”
His cheeks turn slowly pink as he peeks at me, the memory of how boldly and fiercely he claimed me in front of everyone with no idea of how they would react still fresh in my mind, still imprinted on my heart, making it beat harder for him.
He nods, his beautiful, blue eyes peering into mine, sparkling with a happiness I can’t get enough of.
“I wonder why they weren’t more surprised.”
Maybe because it’s difficult to be surprised by a confession like that when, by that point, I couldn’t stop touching him wherever we went, or looking at him as if I’d finally got everything I’d ever wished for. When he smiled at me as if I hung the moon. Like a man in love.
“Yeah, I wonder about that, too. Do you think it had anything to do with the fact that I was supposed to stay with you only until I found a place of my own, but then never moved out?”
“I think that was just the tip of the iceberg. Wanna go see if we can surprise them today?” he asks, stepping out of my arms and nudging me towards the living room.
“Lead the way, baby.”
We don’t make it very far.
“Here we go again,” Cooper’s sister, Ginny, whisper-shouts to her twin sister, Lizzy.
“Yeah, definitely.” Lizzy nods seriously.
“Excuse me?” Cooper scowls at them, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.
“Something’s up, isn’t it?” Ginny says.
Cooper’s mouth opens and closes soundlessly, but before he can answer, Nate pipes in from the couch, where he’s sitting with his girlfriend, Maddy, perched on his thigh.
“Wait. There’s more I’ve missed? Am I living under a rock or something?” He shoots a glare at both of us. He still calls us traitors now and then because we didn’t tell him sooner about our relationship. Turning to Maddy, he says, “Do you know something I don’t?”
Maddy chuckles, kissing Nate’s cheek, which makes him melt.
“No, babe. You’re all caught up.”
“Is there, son?” my dad says with a warm smile from across the room where he’d been chatting with Cooper’s parents, all three of them turning to look at us expectantly. “Something you want to share?”
My heart thunders in my chest when I turn to look at Cooper, at my best friend, whom I’ve loved all my life. It’s him I watch when I speak. Only him.
“I asked Cooper to be my husband.” My voice is rough, my sight filled with his soft smile and bright eyes. “And he said yes.”
A beat of silence follows my words before the room breaks into happy cheers and shouts of congratulations, and we’re both swallowed up in hugs, and hands are clapping our backs.
My dad hugs me extra hard, his eyes suspiciously shiny when he releases me.
“I’m so happy for you, my boy.”
I have to swallow before I can answer.
“Thank you, Dad.”
“Called it,” Ginny whispers.
“No, you didn’t,” Cooper shoots back.
“So, when are you thinking?” comes Lizzy’s voice, interrupting their bickering.
“Soon,” Coop says, his eyes meeting mine. “We don’t want to wait. A few weeks, a month tops.”
Fuck, yes.
“Damn, when you two put your minds to it, you really follow through.”
“A month? Do you realize how many things need to be organized by then?”
“If I’m not best man, I swear, I’m throttling both of them.”
“Are we sure these two idiots will stop staring at each other long enough to actually plan the wedding?”
All their voices float around me, but my focus is only on Coop when I reach his side again and pull him in close.
“Are you happy?”
“Very. You?”
“More than you know.”
Cooper beams at me, and I give in, stealing a brief kiss.
“Do you wish we were alone right now?” Cooper murmurs, a playful sparkle in his eyes.
“There’s never a time I don’t wish we’re alone, baby.”
His breathing is definitely shallower when I release him.
“Later?” he mouths.
“Later,” I promise.
***
It’s hours later, when we’ve slipped into bed that Cooper looks at me with a glint in his gaze.
“What?” I groan, because I know what that glint means.
He’s thought of something, something I’m probably not going to like but that I’m going to go along with anyway since, for the life of me, I can’t say no to him.
He narrows his eyes at me.
“Should I be offended that I haven’t said anything yet, but you’re already groaning?”
“I’m simply being proactive.”
He pinches my side, and I yelp even as a chuckle escapes me.
“You’re a very bad fiancé,” he grumbles adorably, but his lips are twitching.
“You love me,” I say softly, slipping a hand under his T-shirt to rub his tight stomach.
“I do,” he says equally softly.
I smile, and then I smile even more when his muscles jump under my feather-light touch and a tiny shiver goes through him.
Always so eager and starved for my touch.
“Tell me what you were thinking about.”
The mischievous glint is immediately back as he sidles up closer to me and runs his fingers on my chest.
“Well, I was thinking… the guys are not completely wrong. There’s a ton of things we need to do for the wedding. And our honeymoon,” he adds with a devilish grin that sends liquid heat through me.
Fuck, a honeymoon with Coop. Days of him. Of us. With no other distractions.
“You’re thinking about our honeymoon, aren’t you?” comes his low voice, the same thoughts I have, currently swimming in his blue eyes.
“Yeah, sweetheart. That’s exactly what I’m thinking about.”
He exhales shakily, my eyes drawn to his mouth and that perfect exhale as if I’m hypnotized.
“See? That’s the issue, Li. We need to make sure things are done fast and efficiently, but we’re constantly distracted.”
“Can you blame me?” I ask, letting my eyes roam blatantly all over his hot-as-fuck body before I drink in the look and smile he’s giving me. Shy, but incredibly pleased. Addictive.
“We could make a pact.”
I blink at him.
“A pact.”
Cooper nods slowly.
“What kind of pact, Coop?”
He nibbles on his bottom lip.
“A pact not to fuck until the wedding. That way, we’ll be more focused on what needs to be done, as well as on our jobs.”
He says all that, but his voice is unsteady. Probably his conviction wavering by the second while I keep stroking his happy trail.
I sigh internally.
Of all the ideas he could have, of course he would choose one that would torture us both.
Coop’s chest rises and falls slightly faster when I lean closer, brushing my lips against his.
“Is that what you think? That if we don’t fuck for the next few weeks, we’ll be more focused?
” I pull back, but he chases my lips with his, raw satisfaction coursing through me at the instinctive reaction.
“Can you do that, Coop? Spend days without my cock inside you?” And because we both love this game, I add, “I bet you can’t.
” My hand travels up and up, until I reach his nipple and rub it tightly, smiling wolfishly when he visibly trembles.
“I bet you’ll be begging for it long before the time is up, my needy little thing. ”
His icy-blue eyes are blazing, and he never looks away as he stretches his arms above his head, arching his whole body. It’s impossible not to devour the sight of him like this, and, judging by the smirk on his face, he knows it damn well.
“Are you sure, Li? ‘Cause I bet you’ll be the one to break first. We both know you can’t keep your hands off me.”
I chuckle darkly, because he’s so fucking right. My hands are itching to grab him even now, but I want to see him beg even more.
Cooper’s eyes widen beautifully when I crawl over him, pressing him against the mattress, every inch of his warm body splayed under mine.
“Give me the rules of the pact, Coop.”
His arms loop around my neck, his words spoken directly on my lips.
“No fucking until one of us breaks, or until we’re done with all our wedding preparations. Kissing, hugs, and simple touches are allowed.” He smiles cheekily, and I want to eat him.
I can’t wait to call him my husband.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, baby.”