“I already agreed to go,” she reminds me.
“Yes, but can you at least pretend to have a good time?” She’s shy, and it’s my goal to bring her out of her shell these next four years. She was shy in high school too, and I don’t want to say naïve, but she’s one of those girls who doesn’t know how pretty she is. She doesn’t even try. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to warn assholes to stay away from her. I refuse to see her be taken advantage of.
There was a short period of time a couple of months ago when I considered us being more. Then I came to my senses. She’s my best friend, and I value her, cherish our relationship. No way am I going to fuck it up like I do all my other relationships.
She exaggerates her smile. “How’s this?” she says, talking through her teeth.
“Perfect. Can you hold that for the entire night?”
“I agreed to two hours.”
“You’re going to have such a good time, you’ll be there until the sun comes up.”
“Don’t hold your breath, Coop. You ready?” She slides her cell phone into the back pocket of her short jean shorts. She’s wearing a Central U T-shirt and flip-flops. She couldn’t care less about impressing anyone. She is who she is without apologies.
“Finally,” I say dramatically. “I’m getting old over here.” I hold out my hand and have her pull me from her bed. “This thing is actually quite comfortable for a twin dorm room mattress.”
“See.” She throws her hand that’s not clasped with mine up in the air. “All the more reason to stay in and enjoy it.”
“Nice try, Reese. Let’s roll.” With a tug on her hand, I pull her out into the hallway, only stopping to make sure her door is closed and locked.
“Hey, Cooper,” a brunette calls out to me as we pass the common area on the first floor. I toss her a wink and a wave, and I don’t have to look over at Reese to know that those green eyes of hers are rolled back in her head.
She doesn’t comment until we’re in my Jeep and headed toward the bonfire. “We can’t even get out of my dorm without your harem calling out to you.”
“It’s just the hype about the season. Me being a freshman and starting and all that.” It was the same for me in high school—something she’s all too familiar with. She hated it then too.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get this night over with.”
Reaching over, I tap her thigh, resting my hand there. “Cheer up, Reese’s Cup. I got you.” She shakes her head, a grin pulling at her lips.
My phone rings in the cupholder. When Reese sees that it’s my mom, she grabs it, and answers, “Hey, Ann.” She places the call on speaker.
“Hey, sweetie. Did I call you or Cooper?” Mom chuckles.
“Coop. He’s forcing me to go to a bonfire. He’s driving.”
“Hi, Mom,” I say.
“Hi, honey.”
“What’s up?” I ask her.
“I just wanted to call and say hi. The two of you disappear to college and suddenly stop calling your mother.”
“I’m sorry, Mom.” Guilt washes over me. “Classes and football are taking up a lot of time.”
“And the ladies,” Reese adds as helpful as ever.
Mom laughs. “I don’t want to know. Please tell me you’re being safe.”
“We are not having this conversation,” I tell her.
“Fine. I’ll have Dad call you tomorrow.”
“No. Please don’t. It’s all good, Mom. I’m covered, promise.”
“Literally.” Reese cackles. “He already has a harem of football groupies following him around like a little puppy.”
“Keep him grounded, Reese.”
“I try my best.” She smiles over at me sweetly.
“You kids have fun. Be safe. Cooper, call me tomorrow.”
“Will do. Love you.”
“Love you,” Reese tells her.
“Love you both,” Mom says, ending the call.
“Laugh it up,” I tell her. “Just wait until I talk to your mom. In fact, I should call her tomorrow. Just to say hello.”
“Go right ahead. She’s not going to believe anything you tell her. I’m the good one, remember?”
“Oh, I remember. Just like the time we snuck that stray cat into your bedroom. What were we, ten? You had these big tears saying she was lonely and convinced me to help you sneak her into your room.”
“Frisky. She was lonely,” Reese defends.
“Right. Until she had a litter of kittens that you had me smuggle into my house.”
“It’s not my fault you weren’t watching them,” she sasses.
“I was ten!” I counter. “I don’t even like cats. I was just doing it for you, and I’m the one who ended up getting busted.”
“It’s not my fault you didn’t tell them it was my idea.”
She’s right. I never do. I’ve defended her since day one. My buddies gave me a hard time for being friends with a girl—girls have cooties, or so they said. I defended her then, and I’ve spent the last ten years doing the same. I’ve defended not just her, but our friendship countless times, and will continue to do so.
“You’re lucky I love you,” I tell her.
“Yeah, yeah. You got me here, you can stop with the buttering me up thing.”
“Come on,” I say, parking my Jeep in the open field. “I promise you’re going to have a good time tonight.”
“I thought we made a pact. No promises we can’t keep.”
“I can keep this one. Now, get your ass moving, Latham.” Pulling the keys from the ignition and grabbing my phone, I climb out of the Jeep, hitting the lock button on the keyfob once she’s out as well.
Chapter 2
Reese
My palms are sweaty, and I’m pretty sure it’s my shaking knees that have me stumbling, not the uneven ground of the field. I can’t believe I let him talk me into this. Then again, I can. Cooper Reeves and his big brown eyes are convincing. So much so, that I rarely tell him no. Well, I tell him no a lot, but he always talks me into some crazy plan and has me tagging along for something that’s out of my comfort zone. Case and point, this bonfire.
It’s not that I’m anti-social. The opposite, in fact. However, I tend to steer clear of social situations where Coop is the main event, at least in the eyes of the cleat chasers. I have thick skin, but a girl can only take so much. He tries to protect me from it, but there’s always one or five that get their digs in. I could fight back, but really, what’s the point? They’re never going to accept that we’re just friends. It’s as if a guy and a girl having a platonic relationship is unheard of. We’re not abnormal. High school was hard, and I’m hoping college is better. Partly, because I was planning to let Coop do his thing, I’ll do mine, and we can meet in the middle as time allows. My best friend apparently didn’t get my mental memo, which is why I’m walking through a dark field about fifteen miles from campus.
“You sure this is school-sanctioned?” I ask him as I grab ahold of his arm to keep from tumbling over on this rough terrain.