Chapter 28 Eva
Eva
Cross-legged on the floor, I scanned the maths textbooks strewn around me, broken only by highlighters and parts of my melted brain matter from hours of studying quadratic equations. It was times like this that even I questioned my passion for this subject.
I’d thrown my hair up in a messy bun in a fit of frustration, a pencil tucked behind my ear, and I was mouthing formulas when the door creaked open.
“Did you make this?” His voice came, smooth and confident. Leaning against the doorframe in his dishevelled school uniform, already halfway through a slice of the chocolate cake I’d left in the kitchen.
Cooper Dane.
Caught off guard, I blinked up at him. “Uhh, yeah. Why?” I’d kept my one-sided crush secret for nearly six years now and I had the art of apathy close to perfect. But inside, my stomach was in knots, every possible thing I could say to embarrass myself flying through my mind at record speed.
He took another bite, eyes widening slightly. “This is honestly the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
“Seriously?” I laughed, disbelieving. It wasn’t even close to my best and I only whipped it up because I was procrasti-baking.
“Dead serious,” he grinned, licking frosting off his thumb. “You’re a genius, Evy.”
And then just as fast, at the sound of his name he was gone, heading towards my brother’s room as casual as ever.
Meanwhile, my cheeks were burning and my heart was fluttering wildly.
Forget algebra, Cooper had just called me a genius after licking icing - that I made - off his thumb.
I would bake every damn day if it meant he looked at me like that.
My eyes bugged out as the pounding hit again and just as I was about to ask who it could be, Arna’s voice teetered through the walls.
“Coop, Eva, you’ll have to shag later! We’re freezing.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered, as Cooper pulled out of me slowly. “Who is we and why are they here?”
“I don’t care,” he said, “but I do care if you’re good.” I paused, and for a fleeting second the world narrowed - no one waiting at the door, just the man I’d dreamed about, asking after me, fresh from giving me the two best orgasms of my life.
“I- I’m better than good,” I admitted, heat flooding my cheeks, because no dream had ever come close to this. “But I wish they’d go away.” He grinned as I grabbed my shorts and shoved my legs through each hole trying not to wince at the sharp stinged reminder of him at my core.
“Maybe I could bury them in the backyard,” he replied with that smile I wanted to photograph and frame.
The knocking intensified and I heard Felicity’s distinct guffaw. Her cackle always gave her away.
“Put some clothes on, you two.” Flick called as Cooper handed me the bra I was searching for and pressed a brief kiss to my lips. A kiss I wished I could savour, bottle and keep forever.
“Well, they aren’t wrong.” He grinned, waiting as I adjusted my top and briskly walked to the front door ahead of him and his bare chest. I tried to fix my hair on the way, but it was going to take longer than six seconds, so more curls than order would have to do.
Flipping the lock, I swung the door open to find both women huddled on the front verandah adorning the red and black of the Hearts.
“Ohhhhhhh, you two really were fucking,” Flick said with glee, raking her eyes down my body so lasciviously I was sure she could see the come dripping down my legs.
“What she means to say is,” Arna began, “we’re sorry to disturb you.” She waved a finger from my head to my toes, and I felt the blood seep from my face. “But you didn’t answer your phone, so we figured we’d stop by to see if you needed a lift to the match?”
Fudge. Shizz. Crap. The game tonight. I forgot.
“Oh, hey Coop.” Felicity’s eyes flicked to something behind me at the same time an arm wrapped around my waist.
“Hey,” he answered simply, and I could picture his boyish grin without even turning my head. My hands hung awkwardly at my side and before anyone noticed, I placed them over Cooper’s, trying not to overanalyse the way he gave my stomach a small squeeze.
He just came inside of you, and you’re focused on his forearm wrapped around you. Makes sense.
“Where’s Marls?” I asked, desperately attempting to appear casual despite everyone here knowing exactly what we’d just been doing.
“She’s meeting us at the ground. Then we’ll see Seb at Nexus after the game. Marls’ literally just told me she messaged you.”
“Oh, I haven’t had my phone on me,” I answered, realising my mistake the second they both erupted into a chorus of giggles. Even the warm, bare chest currently pressed against my back was shaking.
“No surprises there,” Flick said with a wink, and I shot her a narrow-eyed gaze. “But seriously, can we please come inside before I turn into an icicle?” She prompted.
“Oh, yes, sorry,” I answered, stepping aside to let them in before closing the door.
“Can you give us fifteen though?” Coop asked. “Or we could just meet you there?” Thank God he could think straight because I was having a hard time keeping up, the blood from my body still lingering somewhere much further south of my brain.
“Fifteen we can do,” Arns answered, stepping around both of us. “Flick, can you please tell Winter to come inside. I’m busting.” She called as she made appreciative noises as she took in the house, popping her head inside doors as she searched for the bathroom.
“Second door on the left,” Cooper replied at her look of confusion before pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. Again, asking if I was okay, I nodded and his earnest expression was enough to hit pause on my minor freak out.
I needed a week to unpack that gesture alone, let alone the last two minutes and the hour before that but with him standing this close, I was good for now.
Nodding, I turned my head until my cheek pressed against the bare skin of his chest wanting something tangible for just a second before I headed off to get ready.
When we walked into the private box Andy reserved for family and friends, Cooper and I still hadn’t spent even a moment alone.
While I’d raced in to get ready in record time, he’d graciously kept the girls hydrated and when I scrambled out, still buckling my heels, he disappeared for the three remaining minutes I’d spared him out of the fifteen Felicity reminded us we had no less than four times.
Time anxiety was a real thing for some, and it meant we were shuffled out the door with barely even a second for Coop to again check if we were okay and me to nod - a more than okay if we get to do that again.
However, while he hadn’t ventured more than a metre from my side since then, I kept the rest of my thoughts on lockdown - what happened, what it meant, how I felt - all of it shelved.
There was still the matter of everything before, and the way he shut me out, made assumptions and allowed his emotions to prevent him from communicating.
Only there was no space to unpack that now, especially as Marlee made a beeline for us, enveloping me in a hug.
“Both Xavier and Arna have messaged me, so you better fake a stomach ache at half time because I need details,” she whispered quickly before turning to greet Cooper.
Those traitorous shits, I thought, taking the glass of wine Arna was holding towards me. I wasn’t a drinker, however, the nerves I was suddenly feeling needed dampening.
“Thanks,” I said, downing a sip as I listened to Arna regurgitate facts about the team the Hearts were playing tonight while Marlee corrected her on almost all of them.
It was never more apparent than now who had grown up loving football and who was trying her best because she was engaged to the captain.
Arna explained how she was wearing red and black underwear because it was a new superstition she was trying, given the only other game the Hearts had won this year, she’d been wearing that same bra and pantie set and Marlee talked about how she wore the same outfit to every match for two years straight because it was the one she was wearing when the Hearts won the premiership one year.
“Yeah, can’t relate,” Cooper’s deep inflection brushed against my ear, quiet enough that no one else could hear and I tried not to purr like a kitten.
He appeared entirely unaffected by what had transpired this afternoon.
His presentation so far removed from the angry, ferocious lumberman as well as the rough rugged bed partner I’d just met, that if I wasn’t still feeling the burn from having him buried inside me, I would have questioned my memories.
“Maybe if you wore black and red panties, the Hearts might win a match,” I threw over my shoulder, enjoying the way his mouth lifted on one side.
“Can you two please stop living in your disgustingly sweet love bubble, some of us are very single,” Arna said, pointing towards Felicity who was halfway through what looked like a raspberry soft drink.
“I’d be offended right now if it wasn’t sadly true,” she said, with a slurp. “Although, I’m not really giving off sex appeal these days.” She flung her long amber braid over her shoulder, and I shook my head.
“Flick, you’re unbelievably sexy,” Marlee said. “Isn’t she Cooper?”
I heard Coop’s sharp intake of breath, and I bit back a laugh.
“As a newly engaged man, I think I should play it safe here and ask my fiancée to answer on our behalf.” Cooper Dane oozed charm when needed and right now, he was the public persona everyone loved - charismatic, easy-going and carefree.
His lackadaisical swagger was contagious, and the girls all laughed as I very nearly swooned.
My fiancée. If I wasn’t already wet…
“Marls is right, Flick. We both think you’re gorgeous.” I agreed. “Right, honey?” I clarified with a grin.
“Whatever you say, baby.” He replied, pressing a kiss to my temple.
“We should ask Jay,” Winter piped up uncharacteristically and everyone except Felicity erupted into laughter.
“We should definitely ask the coach,” Cooper said animatedly.