Chapter 5
Cooper
Nothing feels better than riding the high of a win. First game of the season, and we killed it.
Right now, I don’t think anything can bring down my mood.
After showering, I stayed back and waited for some of my buddies, catching a ride with Ruben and Zack, although catching a ride with the girls was pretty enticing.
It was exciting to see Blake in the stands. He gave off the vibe that he wasn’t much of a football fan. More like not a fan of jocks, period. I don’t blame him, though. While not all the guys I know are assholes, a good number of them are.
Like Mickey Teller. The asshole is drunk as hell, groping some of the cheerleaders. I’ve already had to tell him to fuck off more than once tonight. If he doesn’t stop, I’m going to kick his ass.
There's nothing I hate more than someone who takes advantage of another person. Emotionally, verbally, or physically.
By the looks of it, the cheerleader in question, Chelsea, seems to be preening over the attention she’s getting, though, so I leave it alone for now.
I might not be captain of the football team, but I still believe in keeping my teammates in check, which is something I wish I did more of when I first got to SVU.
It might have saved Ellie some of the pain she went through.
Thankfully, everything worked out for her, and her boyfriends smartened the fuck up.
Mickey, on the other hand? He’s just an all-around asshole who thinks he’s invincible with daddy’s money.
After taking a swig of my beer, I head back inside. The party is at the football house, and it’s packed. Everyone is here to celebrate our win.
People greet me and congratulate me on the win as I make my way through the rooms.
When I find who I’m looking for, I grin. “Hey V.”
“Coopy!” Val flings herself at me.
I catch her with a chuckle. “I see you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I aaaamm,” she sings happily.
She seems a little more drunk than normal. “Are you okay, babe? Maybe you should slow down.”
“No.” Her nose scrunches up. “I want to drink. Drink to forget.”
“Forget what?” I pull her back to look at her.
Her lower lip wobbles as tears fill her eyes. Oh boy, I know that look. “They broke up with me.” She starts to sob. “Can you believe that? And over a text message!”
“Oh, babe.” I sigh, pulling her in for another hug.
I love Val, but the girl has horrible taste in men.
She hooks up with friends, they make it seem like they want more with her, but it’s only so they can keep sleeping with her.
When they get tired of her, they break up with her.
I try to tell her she deserves better, but she insists on having more than one boyfriend, and this is the only way to get it.
It’s not, but maybe once she’s out of college and in the real world, she’ll stop hooking up with fuckboys and find two men who want something real.
“I’ve got her,” Lexie says, pulling a very weepy Val from my arms. “You go, have fun. You earned it.”
“Take her to my room when she’s had enough. She can sleep it off.” I pull the keys to my bedroom door out of my pocket.
“Thanks.” Lexie takes the keys and slips them into her pocket before walking away.
“Hey, wait.” I stop Lexie. “Where is Blake?”
“Somewhere around here with Tabitha.”
Nodding, I let her go.
Lifting up on my tiptoes, I try to get a look at the room. There’s no point, though, there are too many people here to be able to point out anyone.
I walk around the house, making occasional small talk with people as I try to find Blake.
I’m glad he’s with Tabitha. She’s the best person to hang out with at parties, especially if parties aren't really his thing. She is the most relaxed friend, one who might seem quiet to anyone on the outside, but once you get to know her, she’s fun to talk to.
Eventually, I find them on the front porch. They’re sitting on the swing, talking.
“I’m surprised you were able to snag this spot,” I chuckle as I approach them.
They look over to me. “That’s why we haven't moved,” Tabitha laughs. “We’ve been trading off pee breaks.”
“Smart way to do it.”
My eyes fall to Blake. He looks cute tonight, traded out his navy hoodie for a black one. “You okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” he mumbles.
“Just wanted to make sure no one is giving you a hard time. People tend to get really drunk at these things, and all of their brain cells tend to disappear.”
Blake snorts, making my lip twitch. “Yeah, so I’ve seen.
It’s like a reality TV show here. So much drama.
We saw two guys get into a fight that ended with one of them puking on the other.
A couple broke up. One girl caught another girl making out with her boyfriend, and I’m pretty sure the people over there are fucking.
” He points towards the bushes, and what do you know, they’re rustling, and I’m pretty sure I hear moaning.
“Yeah, sounds about right.” I grin. “Doesn’t get much better in there, just add in dancing.”
“You call that dancing?” Blake asks. “More like dry humping.”
“Again, you’re not wrong.”
“What about you?” Blake asks.
“What about me?”
“What person are you when it comes to parties? Are you the kind to get drunk and fight, the kind to mess around, or the kind who gets so shitfaced they’re puking up their guts?”
“God, none of them.” I grimace. “I’m more of the ‘no more than tipsy, roam around and make sure everything is going smoothly, keep the peace’ kind of guy.”
His brows pull together, his eyes locked on my face like he’s trying to study me.
I don’t say anything, just give him a soft smile and let him do his thing.
“Hey, you mind sitting with Blake? I’m going to grab a drink,” Tabitha asks.
“Can you check in on Lexie and Val while you’re in there?”
Her face falls. “She’s not taking the breakup well, is she? She seemed fine when we left her.”
“It’s Val we’re talking about, babe. She’s fine until you get a few drinks in her.”
“True.” She sighs, getting to her feet. “Yeah, I’ll check in on her.”
When Tabitha leaves, I take her spot. “So. How’s it going so far?”
“What do you mean?”
“Being friends with the girls.” I grin.
“Ah.” He nods, looking away. “They’re... interesting.”
“Yeah?”
“Tabitha is chill. Easy to talk to. Val, on the other hand, she’s a lot.”
“Oh yeah,” I chuckle. “But we love her.”
“She grows on you.” He shrugs. “I feel bad for Lexie.”
“Why?”
“Because that poor girl looks like she should have aged ten years with how much she has to keep Val on a leash.”
That has me snorting. “You’d think, but Lexie loves it. Val is her best friend, like her sister. She’s the only one who can really handle our girl and keep everyone out of jail.”
“Why isn’t Ellie here? Tabitha said she’s part of your friend group.”
“She is. Parties aren’t really Ellie’s thing these days, and I don’t blame her. She’s got two kids now.”
“Two?” Blake looks surprised. “How old is she?”
“Twenty-three. She had Lilly fresh out of high school, and Bennett is just a few months old.”
“Whoa. I can’t imagine having kids this young.”
“Yeah, but she’s an amazing mom. And she’s got a great support system.”
“Are the rumors true?” Blake asks, licking his lips. “About Ellie and what happened to her?”
The thought of my best friend and all the pain she went through has my heart hurting. “Yeah,” I rasp, looking away. “But she’s come out stronger than ever. She’s a badass.”
“Sounds like it. I’m glad he’s in jail,” Blake mumbles.
“Me too.”
We’re quiet for a moment before he speaks again. “I thought you said you were gay.”
My eyes flick over to his. “I am.”
“Then why did Val say you used to date Ellie?”
I grin, shaking my head. “Nothing like that. When Ellie first got here, she had a hard time. People were assholes. I pretended to be her boyfriend so they would lay off. It worked for the most part. Until her now boyfriend, Brody, outed me to the school.”
“What the fuck?” Blake sounds outraged. It’s pretty cute. “And she’s with him?”
“It’s a long, complicated past. He’s a good guy, I swear. Just had a shitty home life. They all did in some way. Not my story to tell, but trust me when I say, everything is good. I wouldn’t sit by and let my best friend be with them if they truly were bad people.”
“Still,” Blake mutters, looking away. “Doesn’t give you the right to treat people badly. If anything, it should make you want to be the opposite.”
“In an ideal world, yes. But sadly, sometimes, hurt people hurt people. No, it doesn’t make it right, but we never know what someone is going through.”
He doesn’t say anything for a long time, and I fear I’ve upset him. “I’m going to find the bathroom,” he says, getting to his feet.
“Go to the one on the top floor.”
“I thought it was closed to guests?”
“It is.” I grin. “If anyone asks, tell them Cooper said you could use it. Trust me, the wait lines for the two down here would be hours.”
“Okay.” He nods. “Ah, thanks.”
I watch him go inside the house, disappearing into the sea of people.
I feel a spark of worry for him. This place can get rowdy, and Blake doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who wants to get into a confrontation.
The urge to follow him and make sure he’s okay hits me. Huh. Careful there, Cooper. The last thing you need right now is to crush on the cute, broody man.
It’s so hard, though. I can see how guarded he is. Something tells me he’s not the kind of person who trusts easily, and I don’t blame him. People can be cruel. I’ve seen it firsthand too many times.
The party goes on, people shouting and laughing, the music blasting. Everyone is getting shitfaced in some way. I just hope my teammates are being careful. The last thing we need is a surprise drug test and have half the team fail.
I play on my phone, scrolling on social media as I wait for Blake. But when fifteen minutes go by, I start to worry.
Screw it, I’m going to see if he’s okay.