20. Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Sutton
L ights flash above us everywhere. The crowd clapping their hands together and cheering at loud volumes. My ears can’t stand it, and I turn to Cooper. “You don’t actually like this shit, do you?”
A grin sweeps over his face as he gazes down at me. “Why? Don’t you?”
I look him over. “You cannot be serious. What about me looks like I love the smell of beer and body odor?”
“I don’t know, something about you screams team sports, like high school cheer.”
“Screw you. They wouldn’t let me on the squad.”
His eyes gleam with excitement as he twists in line to look at me. “Did you try out? Tell me everything. Did you lack school spirit? Could you not do the splits? Not flexible enough? Tell me! Oh, was it the attitude? Not cheery enough?”
I scoff, taking his nasty beer and chugging it down. “I’ll have you know I am plenty flexible. Plenty.”
The past few weeks, we’ve made more of an effort to explore our relationship outside of sex, and that includes date nights. Some I’ve planned and some he’s planned. Tonight is a Cooper-planned night.
The sun beats down on us as we squeeze through row after row of people to find our seats, people standing in the white foam of the beer that’s sloshed over their cups as we pass by. I can’t tell you how many knees I’ve bumped or accidental ass grazes I’ve had.
I say accidental, but I have a feeling some of those men did it on purpose.
Our seats aren’t the best in the stadium, but they also aren’t the worst. We’re smack dab in the middle.
I glance around, finding everyone wearing the same red-and-black gear as Cooper. The same Willow Hill Wyvern logo stamped across their shirts and hats. “This is my first game.”
“I couldn’t tell,” Cooper deadpans as he eyes my tight jeans and stilettos.
“I’m just saying, be prepared to be peppered with questions by the pesky baseball newbie.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” He smiles, leaning down to kiss me just as a voice behind us calls out his name.
“Mr. Shaw?”
Cooper swivels to look at the person.
“Oh my gosh, it is you,” a middle-aged woman with hair that is teased to the heavens and boobs that are too perky to be natural peeking out through her voluptuously cut jersey squeals in delight.
I scowl. This floozy interrupted my kiss.
“Mrs. Weatherby. How are you?” Cooper says with a soft smile that should only be for me tonight.
“It’s actually Ms. now.” She pouts, holding up her very empty ring finger for him to see.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I hope everything is good with Jaxon.”
“He’s missing his favorite teacher, but other than that, he is great. He is going to be starting football this fall. I’m very proud.”
I zone out the rest of what she’s saying as I rest my hand on Cooper’s shoulder. The woman ignores it. Not caring at all that she’s flirting with the wrong man. My man.
I have half a mind to knock Coop’s beer on her overflowing cleavage, but that would bring more attention to her tits, and that isn’t a risk I’m willing to take.
“Coop, baby,” I purr, interrupting the woman mid-story about her son being gone for the weekend at his dad’s.
I see the game she’s playing. Well, two can play that game, MILF.
“Yeah?” He turns back toward me, giving me his whole attention.
The woman frowns and her forehead crinkles as if she forgot I was here.
“Can you explain to me why that man is doing that?” I ask, pointing at the field.
“Which one, Sut?”
“The one in the tight pants.”
Cooper bites his lip to keep from smiling. “They’re all wearing tight pants.”
“Oh, well, why are they doing that with the bat?”
“Batting?”
“Is that what the swinging thing is?” I blink up at him.
He eyes me suspiciously before nodding and turning back to that woman. “I’m sorry, Deb, we will have to catch up another time. My girlfriend apparently needs a major lesson in baseball.”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” she mutters, finally looking to where my hand is on his thigh. She smiles and turns back to the field.
“Happy now?” he asks.
“Very.” I smile, pulling his mouth down to mine.
His lips are cold from the beer, but the kiss still manages to light my skin on fire.
“Do you really not understand the basics?” he whispers.
“Oh no, I do. I was just jealous you weren’t paying attention to me.”
“Oh, my sweet baby opossum, I’m always paying attention to you.”
“Really? Because from where I’m sitting, it looked like you were enthralled by the hot mom’s bosom.”
“The only bosom I’m enthralled with is yours.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“I’m not.” He shakes his head. “Pinky swear.”
“Good.” I slap his knee and turn back to the field.
Surprisingly, I enjoy myself. The game ends up being pretty exciting. The crowd goes wild as the players race around the field, throwing the ball from base to base as a player from the other team sweeps through them.
I glance over to see Cooper’s face lit up with excitement as he stands, shouting at his team.
The player shoots forward to home base as a Wyvern player throws the ball to the catcher. The stadium falls silent as we all watch the opposing player slide into the plate just as the catcher’s glove clamps down on the ball, tagging him out.
I can’t help myself; I jump up too, getting lost in the excitement along with everyone else.
Cooper wraps his arms around me and lifts me up as he screams in triumph.
I laugh as he jumps up and down, jostling me against him.
The rest of the game goes on like that. Cooper expressing his love of the game like a child who got told they are going to Disneyland, and me basking in his excitement and joy.
Our walk back to the car is a long one. My feet and legs ache as I try to keep up with Cooper’s long strides. But I’m failing.
“Ugh, my feet hurt,” I whine.
I slam into Cooper’s back as he comes to a halt.
He spins to face me, crouching as he motions up with his hands. “Piggyback or face-to-face?” he asks with a no-nonsense look.
“Face-to-face. That way I can see how much you regret carrying me.”
“I won’t regret it.”
I bark out a laugh. “I give it one block before you need to set me down.”
“Is that a challenge?”
I shake my head. “More like a bet.”
“And what do I get if I win?” he asks, running his hands down my outer thighs as he squats and lifts me up. A small squeak leaves my lips as my legs instinctively wrap around his waist, my arms doing the same to his neck.
“Hmmm,” I say, pressing a ghost of a kiss to his lips. “Is the knowledge that you were right and I was wrong not enough?”
His left eyebrow quirks up. “You’ll admit I’m right?”
“Only if you can carry me more than one block.”
“I can do better than that, baby. I will carry you the entire way back to the car.”
“Bullshit. There is no way you can lug my heavy ass that far.”
Determination sparks in his eyes as he says, “You’re on. Prepare to sing my praises.”
“Okay, sure.”
We’re halfway to the car when I rest my head on his shoulder. “I never knew you were so into baseball.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Sutton.”
“Like what?”
“Like when I was twelve, I thought for sure I was going to marry Keira Knightly.”
“Solid choice.”
“I thought that if she could only see me, it would be love at first sight for her like it was for me. So I wrote her a letter explaining all of that in extreme detail and sent it off with my phone number and a picture of me attached.”
“Let me guess, she never called.”
“Never,” he sighs sadly, and I can’t help but feel a little joy at his preteen despair.
“Which movie sparked your obsession?”
“ Pirates of the Caribbean .”
“So that’s what you’re into? Delicate woman turned dirty pirate?”
“I think we both know what I’m into.”
I wiggle my eyebrows. “Oh, do we?”
He nods, giving me a wink.
“You best be talking about me.”
“What do you think?”
“I think I need you to say it clear as day. I’m a little insecure after watching that hot mom drool all over you.”
He stops walking and repositions his hands from under my thighs to my ass. “To clear up any lingering ridiculous confusion, I am into you and you alone.”
I glance at his lips for a second. “No hot-mom fantasies?”
“None.”
I smile.
“Unless you count the ones where I knock you up.”
My breath catches in my throat. I know we both love it when he comes inside me, but holy shit. The thought of him actually putting a baby inside me has my pussy throbbing.
“You like that I think about fucking a baby into you?”
What the actual hell?
Why am I getting so turned on by that? Oh, dear God, I have a breeding kink. No, scratch that. I have a breeding kink with Cooper and Cooper alone.
I swallow. “I don’t dislike it.”
“If I dipped my hand into these tight jeans, would I find you wet from the thought?”
“Yes, but not just from the thought, from the way your hold on me has my jeans rubbing me in all the right places.”
He inhales sharply. “God, I can’t wait to get you home.”
“Well, get a move on, then.” I dig my heels into his back, and he starts walking again.
Not five minutes later, Cooper stops again. “I think someone owes me some praise.” He smiles at me as he drops me on the hood of my car.
I look around. “Wow, Cooper. You did it. You carried me. My hero.” Sarcasm laces my voice.
“Excuse me?”
“What would I have done without you?” I ask, tapping my finger on my chin. “Oh yeah, walked a mile in high heels.”
His eyes narrow. “You played me.”
“Like a violin, baby.”
“Ugh,” he groans. “So, you never thought I wasn’t strong enough to carry you a mile?”
“Oh no, I definitely thought these biceps would give out on block number three, but I was desperate to get the toes off the ground.”
“Man, I thought I was doing something.”
“You were doing something. You were saving my feet from complete and total destruction. You are my hero.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he says, pushing out from where he’s standing between my legs.
“Oh, no you don’t.” I grab his shirt and pull him closer to me. “Thank you for carrying me for over a mile. My feet and I applaud you.”
“You’re welcome,” he grumbles, looking over my shoulder.
I wrap my legs around his hips again, trapping him against me as my hands rub up and down his biceps. “It was super hot the way you took care of me.”
“Really?” he asks, still not looking at me.
“Yep. Every woman dreams of a man treating her like you just treated me. Even if you only did it because of a challenge and not out of the goodness of your heart.”
He pins me with a glare. “I was going to carry you before you made it into a challenge, remember.”
I smile up at him. “Did you plan on carrying me the entire way before, though?”
He huffs out a defeated sigh. “I would have carried you until my arms gave out.”
My eyes find his as I curl my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and drag his mouth to meet mine.
There are no words for the amount of gratitude I feel toward him. For the warmth that fills my veins when I look at him. For the overwhelming desire that floods my senses when he says things like that.
My tongue meets his instantly as we lose ourselves in yet another kiss. Nothing can ever compare to his lips touching mine. To his tongue tangling with mine. To his hands kneading my flesh.
I groan into his mouth when his fingertips dig into my hips as he presses us closer together.
My pelvis tilts forward just as a horn blares beside us. Cooper rips his mouth from mine and glares at the person who had the audacity to interrupt us.