Chapter 23
Madeline
In the bathroom, I took off my dress and was using hand soap to scrub it in the sink like a pioneer woman when Selena called. I’d completely forgotten that I planned to meet up with her at the dance.
“Where are you?” she asked. “I’ve been looking for you. Are you still at dinner?”
“Remember that bingo card you were making of possible outcomes for the dance? I bet you didn’t include one that said, ‘Stripped down to my underwear in a vet’s bathroom washing grass stains out of my dress.’”
She laughed. “Nope. Totally left that one off. So where are you?”
“I am in a vet’s bathroom, stripped down to my underwear, washing grass stains out of my dress. I’m also washing some blood out, but I didn’t want to gross you out, so I left that part out.”
There was a pause. “What happened at the restaurant?”
I gave her a rundown, being sure to add the part where Cooper was my knight in shining no-longer-a-clean-suit coat.
“You’re half naked in a restroom?” she asked in alarm. Of all the pertinent details of my story, that was the one she was fixated on. “What if someone walks in on you?”
“It’s just a single room, not one with multiple stalls.
I wouldn’t have gotten undressed if the restroom had been like the ones at high school.
I would’ve just had to crawl in the basin and bathe as best I could while hoping the sink didn’t break.
It probably would have. So, you see, things could always be worse. ”
I didn’t want to get into Cooper’s car again until my dress was clean. I might also have to pay to have his car interior washed, just in case.
This night was turning out to be so expensive. “And that’s what I get for trying to prove to Cooper that I was cool enough to go to the dance. Lesson learned.”
“Are you okay, Madeline? I feel like you’re babbling.”
“I’m definitely babbling, but I’m also okay.
” I was okay because Cooper was waiting for me in the lobby.
I was okay because he’d, without hesitation, chosen me over Dahlia, and that had to be because he cared about me, not the cat.
I was holding onto that fact and trying not to wonder where the talk about our parents would lead.
“I hope Mascot will be all right,” Selena said.
“I’ll let you know.”
“I’m glad Cooper is with you.”
“Yeah, me too. Are things going well with Boden?”
“Yes. He was so cute at dinner. I guess I’d better get back to him.”
I was happy for her. That would teach her to say I had questionable taste in guys. She liked the last one I picked out for myself.
I hung up with Selena, used the hand dryer multiple times on my dress, put it back on, and went to the waiting room.
Despite my drying attempts, the bottom half of my dress was still damp.
As I sat down, Cooper’s gaze went over me.
“Are you cold? I’d offer to give you my jacket, but I don’t think you want it.
” He gestured to a chair where his suit coat lay in a rumpled, bloody heap.
The receptionist must’ve given it back to him.
“Maybe if I get it dry cleaned . . .” I started.
Cooper cut me off. “I’m going to throw it away. The lining is shredded.”
“I’ll buy you a new one.” I glanced at his pants and remembered that suits came as a set and a new jacket wouldn’t match the one he wore. “I’ll buy you a set.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I told you I would when I asked you for it.”
He looked at me with an unspoken sigh. “I didn’t give it to you because you were going to pay me for it. I did it because I wanted to help you. Let it just be a nice gesture on my part, okay?”
“But—”
“I know you don’t like to be in anyone’s debt. But I’d rather have you be in my debt than have a new suit.”
When he put it like that, I couldn’t argue with him. “What does being in your debt require?” I asked. “I mean, will there be duties?”
“Definitely.” A smile curved his lips and his eyes found mine. Such beautiful eyes. All the hype about them was completely true.
“And what will those duties be?” I prodded because he hadn’t said more. He was just looking at me, smiling.
“I can think of a few things,” he said. “We’ll discuss them later.”
Was he flirting? It seemed like flirting, but maybe he meant things like making him more cookies. I clasped my hands in my lap and peered down the hallway.
No one was visible. Even the receptionist wasn’t at her post behind the front desk. My leg bounced nervously.
After a few moments, Cooper put his hand on my knee to stop my leg from tapping. “Are you cold or worried? If you’re cold, you can sit in my car with the heater turned on. I’ll wait here for the cat’s prognosis.”
“I’m worried.”
“Oh, in that case . . .” He took my hand and wrapped it in his. “Like you said in the car, the vets know what they’re doing. They wouldn’t have paid those high-interest student loans if they weren’t serious about their profession.”
“Right.” I wasn’t really listening to what he said.
I was fixated on his hand holding mine. His fingers were so warm and secure.
This felt so easy and natural. He wouldn’t hold my hand unless he was interested in me, would he?
Had I changed from nemesis status to friend status?
Something else? What exactly did this mean?
The conversation had lagged, and I needed to say something. “So what is the shoe story?” I asked. I wasn’t sure why that question popped out of my mouth. Maybe because he’d refused to tell me earlier, and I wanted to see if he trusted me now.
He shrugged and looked at the ground. “It’s not that big of a deal.
My sophomore year, the sole of one of my tennis shoes ripped, so I needed new pair.
My parents were over budget, but my father had bought a pair for himself the month before.
He gave me his new shoes and went back to wearing his old ones. ”
It wasn’t what I expected in a story. There was nothing funny or endearing about Cooper in it. “Why would Claire think your mother might tell me that?”
Cooper swallowed and continued. “Even though I was shorter than my dad back then, I’ve got big feet, and the shoes were tight. I didn’t tell anyone, wore them anyway, and got huge blisters.
“When my mom saw them, she asked why I hadn’t told my father that the shoes were too small.
I said I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
She thinks it’s a sweet story. But I just didn’t want to be a burden on them, you know?
” He shook his head at his own question.
“It’s not something you’ve ever had to deal with. ”
The money part, no, but I still understood the concept.
“When I was fifteen, I visited my mother in Norway.
For the return trip, she planned to drop me off at the airport five hours early because she had a boat to catch for her next expedition.
But she got the date wrong and actually dropped me off an entire day early.
“When I realized the mistake, I couldn’t bring myself to call her and mess up her expedition.
I could’ve gone to a hotel, but my father would’ve seen the charge on my card, gotten mad at her, and it would’ve caused a huge fight.
So I just stayed at the airport overnight. To this day, neither of them know.”
He squeezed my hand. “Our parents have pretty good kids. At least most of the time. Maybe not so much lately.”
He probably didn’t mean to cause little waves of panic to go through me, but his last sentence seemed like it was an I’m about to end our fake relationship sort of sentence. Could he do that while holding my hand?
Footsteps sounded in the lobby, and the receptionist swept back into the room. “Good news,” she said.
I expected Cooper to drop my hand. He didn’t.
The receptionist strode over to us, shuffling some papers.
Her gaze momentarily landed on our hands before going to my eyes.
“Fortunately, the cat’s injuries are treatable.
He’s got a broken hip, a concussion, and he needs a few stitches.
We didn’t see any internal bleeding that indicated more serious problems, but we’d like to watch him overnight to be sure. ”
She rattled off the treatment for that and the price. Really, at that moment, she could’ve told me anything. Cooper was holding my hand. And not for our parents’ benefit.
He didn’t stop until I had to give the receptionist my credit card. She assured me they would call tomorrow with an update, and then we left the office—not holding hands anymore, even though I wanted to reach over and grab his again.
As we walked to his car, he glanced at my dress. Once chic, now eek. “You probably want to go home and change.”
“Yes.” Most of the grass stains had come out, but traces of blood were still evident.
“Is it ruined?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure what happens to dry-clean-only dresses when you douse them in hand soap and water.”
He smirked. “I guess one of the mysteries of your world will be answered soon.”
I plucked at my skirt like it was something that needed to be revived. “The dry cleaners will think I was involved in a crime scene.”
“That would be my first assumption.” After another moment, Cooper shook his head and laughed.
“What?” I asked, unsure what he found funny.
“You said a homecoming date should be memorable and expensive. I think tonight accomplished that.”