32. Chapter 32
Chapter thirty-two
Cooper
“ T hat was honestly the best date I’ve ever had.” Sutton squeezes my hand that’s resting on her thigh.
“Are you trying to tell me our funeral date didn’t do it for you?” I ask.
“It was definitely… memorable,” she jokes. But in actuality, that was a day I’ll never forget. It was the day she dropped all pretenses on what she and I were doing. It was the day she let all her fears wash down the drain.
“And here I was believing every date with me was the best date of your life.”
“Nothing compares.”
“Stop trying to flatter me.”
“No flattery. It’s true. Being with you is like nothing else, no one else.”
“That can be easily taken in a negative direction.”
“Could, but it’s not. You are the best man I’ve ever been with.”
“Thank you. You’re the best woman I’ve ever known.”
“I know.”
“Once again, the lack of modesty you have is impressive.”
She winks at me. “It’s a gift. Like my ability to take your cock champion.”
My dick hardens. Today wasn’t supposed to be about sex. But when is it not about sex with Sutton. Her body is so damn addictive. No, she is addictive. I’m obsessed with her wit and mind as much as I am with the captivating curves that come naturally to her.
I groan. “Baby, are you trying to give me a boner while I drive.”
She smiles coyly, wrapping her blond locks around her fingers. “Don’t you like it when I get you all wound up?”
“Not when I can’t do anything about it.” I grip the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.
“Who said you can’t do anything about it?” She unbuckles her seat belt, pushing up the center console before sliding closer to me until our thighs are touching.
“What are you doing?” I glance at her for a quick moment before bringing my eyes back to the road.
“What you and I both want,” she purrs, rubbing a hand down my thigh, then back up and across the crotch of my jeans.
My cock jerks at the graze through the denim.
“Sutton,” I warn, grabbing her wrist to still her movements.
“Cooper,” she mimics me before squeezing my hard length.
I suck in air through my teeth as she leans up to kiss my neck. “Let me make you feel as loved as you made me feel today.”
I smirk, amusement and lust lacing my voice. “By giving me a handy while I drive?”
“To start with, yes. But I was thinking afterward, we might try something a little more special. Something you’ve been dying to try with me.”
“You don’t mean…”
She nods, nuzzling my neck before trailing kisses to my ear. “I do.”
“Baby, I want that so bad.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she yells, her body tensing.
I lean forward, capturing her lips with mine. Pulling back, I stare into her eyes. “You can do this.”
She shakes her head violently. “I can’t, Cooper, it’s too much.”
“The painful part is almost over,” I promise her.
She closes her eyes and nods. “Just do it. I can take it.” It’s like she’s talking to herself more than me, but I push forward anyway.
“Done,” I tell her.
“Really?” she asks in a quiet, strained voice.
“Yes.” I smile. “If you cut back your eating out to two times a week, you could save thousands, and I mean tens of thousands a year.”
Sutton lets out a pitiful cry. “I don’t want to, though.”
“Yes you do. Remember the goals you set, Sutton.”
“Fuck the goals,” she declares, standing from the table. “And fuck financial planning.”
“Sit your soon-to-be financially stable ass back down, baby opossum.”
She crosses her arms and narrows her gaze at me. “Gah, why are you so damn hot when you’re bossy?”
“Because you have daddy issues.” Guilt pangs at my stomach for joking about a potentially sensitive subject. She has opened up a little about having an absent father but made it seem like it was no big deal because she didn’t really know anything different.
She scoffs but then gives me a sheepish grin. “True.”
“Anyway,” I say, pretending like her outburst didn’t happen. “If you cut back on eating out and—”
“ And ?” she screeches.
“—and your spending on clothes.”
“Cooper, be realistic here.”
“I am being realistic, Sut. You don’t need new shoes every month.”
“But they’re pretty.”
“Yeah, a pretty penny. Cut them out of your spending, along with the copious amounts of takeout and cocktails, and you will be able to save enough for a generous down payment on a house within the year.”
“Now you’re just being crazy. I don’t spend that much on clothes and food.”
I look at her bank transactions, then back at her. “Really?”
“Fine,” she huffs. “Maybe I do. But I like those things. They bring me joy. You don’t want me to be joyless, do you, Cooper? Do you?”
“Sutton, you are the strongest, most stubborn woman I know. If you really want to buy a house, you have to save. It might be hard, and it might make you feel down at times, but you can do it. I know you can.”
She lets her head hang forward in defeat. “Fine, I’ll cut back on the shoes and eating out.”
“Good.”
“But what if I see a pair of beautiful pumps that are whispering to me about how much they love me and want to feel my feet?”
“If shoes are talking to you, we might need to take your mom up on that hospital vacation she keeps threatening.”
She smacks my chest. “I’m serious, what if I see something I really want.”
I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Then you wait a week, and if you still want it in a week, you buy it.”
Sutton pops up from the chair, jumping onto me as she wraps her legs and arms around me. She tightens her legs around my waist as she frames my face in her hands and presses kiss after kiss all over my face. “You are the best boyfriend!”
“All I said was you could still buy the shoes if you really wanted them.”
“Nope,” she argues. “You gave your support on the shoes. My precious shoes.”
I laugh. “Okay, Gollum.” Smacking her ass, I grip her waist as she detaches herself from me. “Now let’s talk about retirement.”
She throws her head back with a groan. “Why did I agree to this torture.”
“Because you love me.” I smile, leading her back to her seat at the kitchen table.
“Yeah, yeah,” she mutters but sits and lets me counsel her on the stock market.