“Starved.”
“Great.” With that I stalked out of my bedroom, beelined to the kitchen, and began making a late breakfast. I had no doubt that he picked up on my inner turmoil and ignored it because he was dealing with some of his own. Regardless, he loitered in my room as I kept busy making a batch of pancakes that could feed my entire building.
Once I had them plated and coffee brewed, I found him sitting on the edge of my bed, lost in thought.
He turned at my approach and smiled when I asked, “You okay?”
“Are you?” he countered.
“Yeah.” One brow quirked up in doubt when I shrugged. “Okay, it’s been a while since I had someone sleep over, longer since I slept so well. Either way, it’s not my style.”
“Do you regret I did?”
“No.” The skepticism didn’t waver until I added, “I liked it.”
“And that’s a problem how?”
“I don’t know,” I griped while throwing up my hands. “You’re messing with my head.” For whatever reason, that admission caused a full-blown grin to spread on those damn lips of his. “What?” I barked.
“Who would’ve thunk you would be the one freaking out so much. Go figure.”
“Don’t get too cocky, Stanton.”
“Yeah, no, I intend to bring out my inner cocky as much as possible.” He then leaned in and kissed me hard and chaste. “Now feed me before I find a boyfriend who isn’t so self-absorbed.”
We ate and then fooled around some more. Nothing more than what we’d done, but with each encounter it was harder to keep it status quo in the intimacy department. Mainly because I was now privy to the knowledge that Cooper was insatiable, based on his responsiveness.
Knowing that Rebecca was waiting to be discharged, we realized our experimenting would have to be tabled. I should say, my experimenting… because little by little I would continue to test the waters with Cooper.
A short time later, we headed to Rebecca and Marco’s place to welcome them home. Marco was at the hospital with Antonio, and Cooper thought it would be a good idea to pick up pizzas for when they arrived.
When I pulled into their driveway, the lack of their SUV thankfully meant we’d beaten them. Cooper exited with the pizzas in hand as I got out and grabbed a bag full of salads, sandwiches, and Italian cookies.
Needing to hold the bulging bag with two hands caused him to shake his head. “The pizzas would’ve sufficed.”
“Trust me… I know your sister well.”
“Whether you want to admit it or not, you’re just a big softie.”
“Oh, really?” I placed the large bag on the roof of my car and then took the boxes from him and set them there as well. Gaining satisfaction when his eyes bulged, I pressed my entire body against his. “I guarantee you that nothing about me could be labeled as soft, Cooper.” With that, I kissed him long and hard before asking, “Do you think we have time to put their hot tub to good use?”
“I’ll text her to get an ETA.” That possibility set a fire under our asses as we grabbed the goods and rushed to the front door. While Cooper fished out the house key, I blindly pressed the key fob to lock my doors, waiting for the telling beep, and leaned in for one more kiss.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and we weren’t quick enough to pull apart from our compromising position, faces a breath apart and my arm wrapped around his waist.
In slow motion the smile slipped off his face.
“Cooper?”
And as slow as we’d been at first glance, the exact opposite occurred during our awkward attempt to separate.
Fuck.
“Dad. What are you doing here?”
Cooper’s question was forgotten while Mr. Stanton’s focus flipped between me and his son.
“Welcome home!” Mrs. Stanton’s voice reached us before she did. Seeing it wasn’t her new granddaughter, she amended by saying, “Oh… it’s you, Cooper. Ricky. We were expecting Rebecca any minute. What a nice surprise.”
“I can say the same.” Cooper avoided his father’s questioning expression and added, “You weren’t due until tomorrow.”
“We pushed up our flight to surprise Rebecca. She doesn’t know we’re here. Marco let us in earlier, and I’ve been cooking all day.” First noticing the tension swirling around us, a frown formed on her lips. “Everything okay?”
I remained silent.
“Yeah.” Cooper released his white-knuckled grip on the pizza boxes and ran one hand through his hair. “We, um… let’s get inside and we can talk.”
“Talk?” she questioned. “You’re worrying me, Cooper.”
“Ellen, let the boys in the damn house,” Mr. Stanton finally said… and that was the first indication our day was about to change drastically.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cooper
Just as he had when we were about to enter Rebecca’s hospital room, Ricky gripped my wrist in panic. His eyes cut to where my parents had disappeared into the house, and he growled, “Are you ready for this?”
“Does it matter?” Based on his exasperated groan, I guessed he didn’t appreciate my frankness. “It is what it is. I would’ve preferred to do things my way, but such is life. Regardless, there isn’t a doubt in my mind my father is stunned right now, and I have some damage control to do.” I paused before dropping the bomb I was most curious to know. “Are you, though?”
It took him seven seconds to say, “I don’t know.” I fucking counted.
Clearly frustrated, he released my wrist to run a hand through his hair. I couldn’t fault him for wanting no part of something so very personal. This was my evolution, my awakening. He’d been through his already.
Giving him the out he needed, I placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “Ricky, you don’t have to be here for this.” I wasn’t being facetious, so it was hard to decipher the clench in his jaw. When he remained silent, he left me no choice but to draw my own conclusions. “Go on. I’ll call you later.”
Just as I turned toward the doorway, he said, “I’m not leaving.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, not meaning to throw the ball back in his court. “I don’t want you to feel obligated. I’m fine with this. To answer your first question, I am ready.”
“And to answer yours, I want to be here.”
“Okay. Thank you. I want you to be here.” Surprising me, he leaned in for a soft kiss, causing a feverish heat to spread from my head to my toes. That right there proved that all I was about to endure by coming out would be worth it.
“Just remember, this will be a shock to them. Give them some leeway in how they initially react. It’s what they feel after they have time to digest that counts.”
“I know.” I gave him a smirk and shrugged. “Here goes nothing.” While still holding those damn boxes, I walked past him into the house and found my parents in the kitchen.
My father looked up from where he sat at the table and searched my face. I did the same, breaking eye contact when I placed the pizzas on the island. The way my heart pounded wasn’t from fear they would abandon me. My parents always let me be me. Except the me they thought I was being would now seem like an imposter. Ricky was right… I had no doubt they’d be shocked, blindsided even. Still, I’d been brought up by two very loving, very accepting parents.