Rise (26 page)

“Well, I hate to tell you this, but you’ve got to date people to get to the point of marrying them. So, if guys don’t want to date virgins but they want to marry them, then how on earth do they get to that point if they haven’t dated them?”

“The guy just knows. When he first gets to know her, he knows.”

“He knows what?”

“She’s different. She could be the one.”

“The one?”

“The one worth waiting for. The one worth … everything.”

“You actually believe there’s one worth everything?”

“I sure do, and I’d bet she’s closer than you think.”

“Have you come across anyone you thought might be the one?”

“Once.”

“And?”

“She was in love with someone else.”

“Well, then she must not have been the one.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Circumstances change. You should know that better than anyone.”

“Things have a way of working themselves out, Coop. If two people are meant to be together, they will be.”

Resting the side of his head on the dashboard in front of him, he looked over at me with a grin. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

“Look at that, we agree on something.”

“So is Riley the only guy you’ve ever kissed?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“You asked me how many girls I’ve been with.”

“And you never answered me.”

“I’ll tell you if you tell me.”

“Fine.”

“Two,” he said quickly. “And Tiffany wasn’t one of them.”

“Only two?”

“Only? Just a second ago you were telling me that I shouldn’t be doing it at all.”

“I know, but you made it sound like it was a lot more than that.”

“I didn’t make it sound like anything.”

“Two, huh?”

“So how does hearing that make you feel?”

“Disappointed but relieved.”

“How’s that?”

“I think I’m disappointed that you don’t see the importance in waiting, but I’m relieved that it hasn’t been more than that.”

He gave a solemn nod but quickly perked up. “I answered your question, so you answer mine.”

“Riley’s the only boy I’ve kissed. But don’t laugh at me or anything. You have to understand, I wasn’t allowed to date before my junior year, and then I spent the majority of my junior year either in a hospital or recuperating at home, so it’s not like I had many opportunities to go out or anything.”

“I wouldn’t laugh at you. Why would you think I would?”

“Because I’m seventeen years old and I’ve only kissed one boy. You’re only three years older and you’ve been with two girls already. I’m sure I look like a complete prude.”

“I don’t think you’re a prude. You know what you want and what you don’t. I certainly can’t laugh at that. And as a guy who may or may not be interested in you, it’s nice to know that I wouldn’t have a lot of competition.”

“Aw, there it is!”

He laughed. “What?”

“I knew you had ulterior motives.”

“Who, me?”

“Yes you. You still sort of have the hots for me, don’t you?”

“What?” The smile on his face was so large I thought it would swallow his entire head.

“Don’t ‘what’ me. You just got busted.”

“Hey,” he squeaked as he squirmed in his seat. “I … I … ”

“Don’t ‘I … I’ me. You’re done. You’re dead to me.”

“What?”

“You better not make a move on me this weekend, Cooper Truman. I’ll kick your butt if you do.”

“I won’t be making any moves. I’ll be leaving that all up to you.”

“Then you’ll be waiting forever and ever.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Your dazzle techniques don’t work on me.”

“We’ll see.”

“You’re a little overconfident, don’t you think?”

“We’ll see.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You think I dazzle?”

“Enough.”

He nodded wildly. “You do. You think I dazzle.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I better be careful around you or I’m going to have to peel you off of me.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“I’m going to turn the dazzle factor up so high there’s no way you can resist me.”

“Trust me, I can and will resist you.”

“We’ll see.”

“If you don’t shut up right now, I’m going to turn this car around and take your pompous butt right back home.”

“Fine. I’m shutting up.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

We sat in silence for several minutes until I noticed him waving his fingers in my direction.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m dazzling you.”

“You’re such a huge dork that I can’t even imagine that any girl would want you.”

“They’re after my money,” he said with a laugh.

“Oh, now that makes perfect sense. Too bad for you I don’t care about money.”

“I know. Why else do you think I hang out with you?”

“My brilliant and uplifting personality?”

“Okay, I think we can both agree that we’re equally delusional. You thinking you’ve got an uplifting personality and me thinking I could dazzle anyone, least of all you. Truth be told, we’re both imbeciles that don’t have anyone but each other.”

“Very sad, but also very true.”

“We might as well make the most of it and just agree to get along.”

“Also true.”

“So we’re all good?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” He lowered the chair back, lay down, and pulled his ball cap until it almost completely covered his eyes. A few seconds later he lifted the hat rim and smiled over at me.

“So what’s with this whole ‘crying loud’ thing?”

“Crying loud?”

“Yes. You say it a lot.”

“Oh, you mean ‘for crying out loud’?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“It’s just a phrase that Riley used to say when he was exasperated with me.”

“Then I’m assuming he said it a lot.”

“All the time.”

“I can see that, you being exasperating and all. You’re wearing me slick and we’ve only been in the car for an hour.”

“Get used to it, Coop. If you’re going to be hanging out with me, you’re going to spend a lot of time on your very last nerve. It’s just how I am.”

“I’ll prepare myself.” He lowered the ball cap again. “So you really think I dazzle?”

“Coop!”

chapter 35

I’d never been so out of breath in my life. My chest heaved up and down with every labored breath, and I concentrated on keeping myself from passing out. “I can’t believe people think that’s fun.”

Cooper gave me a sympathetic but glowing smile. “It takes some getting used to.” His face was flushed, which caused his white teeth to shine more brightly than normal, and he seemed to have no trouble catching his breath. Just as he’d said, he was much more experienced than I was. Therefore, he was used to the extra exertion on the cardiovascular system.

“I’m going to have sore muscles I never even knew I had. It can’t be natural to move your body like that.”

“It’s natural; you’ve just never done it before. It’ll get easier the more you do it. Trust me, eventually you’ll even start to like it. You were getting the hang of it there toward the end. After a few more tries, you’ll be incredible.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. I don’t know if we’ll be doing it again on this trip. I can barely move.”

“I really enjoyed it.”

“That’s because you’ve done it a lot. How can it be fun for somebody who knows what he’s doing to be doing it with someone who has no clue what they’re doing?”

“You aren’t going to hear any complaints out of me. I had a great time.”

“It’s the hardest work I’ve ever done. Just walking is complete torture. Who the heck designed these stupid boots anyway? I feel like a Transformer dressed up like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. And these skis weigh a ton.”

“Give them here,” Cooper offered. “I’ll carry them.”

“No, I can carry them. They’re just heavy, that’s all … and awkward. I’ve got to get them balanced on my shoulder just right or something.”

I lifted the skis and laid them across my shoulder, but they were off balance and caused me to tip backward and fall.

“You’re tired. Let me help you,” he offered once he stopped laughing.

“No, I’m not a weakling,” I screamed, catching him off guard. “I don’t need some guy running in and rescuing me all the time.”

“I wasn’t trying to rescue you; I was trying to be helpful.”

“Well, I don’t want your help. I don’t want anyone’s help.”

“Fine.” He stomped ahead of me toward the car and left me sitting there with all my equipment scattered around me.

I rolled over onto my knees, gathered my poles in my hands, and pushed myself back to standing before glancing toward the car. Cooper leaned against the car watching me as he hid a smile behind his hand.

“Okay, fine. You can help me.”

“I don’t want to. Like you said, you aren’t a weakling. You can do it yourself.”

“Cooper—”

“I’m not helping.”

“Fine!”

It took about five minutes, but I finally collected everything and managed to make it to the car. I threw the skis to the ground in disgust, and our once fun day came to a screeching halt as the loading of the equipment and drive back to the cabin were filled with nothing but awkward silence. I didn’t feel like talking, and I was certain that Cooper was afraid to say anything for fear I’d bite his head off.

As soon as we pulled into the driveway, he jumped out of the Hummer and quickly made his way into the house, leaving me outside alone.

I stood there for several minutes before the front door flung open.

“For the record, I’ve never treated you like a weakling, Attie. I was trying to be nice.” His blond head tucked back inside, and the door slammed closed, leaving me alone again. Within moments it sprung back open. “And I’ve heard that you can be overly dramatic, but this is absolutely ridiculous.”

“Who told you I was dramatic?”

“Everyone!” The door slammed shut again.

Prepared to defend myself, I stomped up the porch stairs and barged through the door, but Cooper was nowhere to be found.

“Coop?” I frantically searched the house until I finally spotted him through the glass doors in the rear of the house. He was starting a fire in the outdoor fireplace.

I opened the door to give him a piece of my mind, but he spoke before I could get a word out.

“Do you like S’mores?” he asked.

“Yes.” I crossed my arms in a tiff. If he thought I could be dramatic, he hadn’t seen anything yet.

“Do you want some?”

“Yes.” I felt my mood soften a little.

“Are you going to be nice to me?”

“Yes.” I was practically whimpering. What in God’s name had happened to me giving him a piece of my mind?

“Good, because I’m the only friend you’ve got. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I cried. He was right. He was the only person in New York who’d put up with me.

“I’ve done nothing for the last month but sit by your side while you lay there like a blob on your bed. Most of your homework wouldn’t have even gotten done if it weren’t for me. I’ve been a good friend to you, Attie.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” I slunk to the ground in shame and immediately regretted it. The muscles of my legs shot such an immense pain through my legs that I wanted to rip them off and end the pain as quickly as possible.

His frustration dissipated as he made his way toward me. “You were tired. It was a long day, and skiing isn’t easy, especially for a beginner. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

I watched as he sat down next to me. “You were just trying to be nice. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I haven’t been myself—if I even know who ‘myself’ is.”

“You know who you are. You’ve just lost track of her, that’s all. You’ll come around and be back to normal before long.”

“You’re assuming I was ever normal.”

“Of course you’re normal.”

He had no idea. Other than Riley, Joshua, Nicole, and Tammy, nobody knew about my nightly visits from Jesus, and I sure wasn’t about to tell the only friend I had left. He’d think I was crazy for sure. And seeing as how I hadn’t seen Jesus since I’d returned to New York, even I was starting to doubt my sanity. Maybe I’d never really seen him after all. Maybe it was just a coping mechanism of some sort. I didn’t know.

I didn’t know anything.

“ … I mean, it’s only been a few months or so since you got out of the hospital.” Cooper had continued talking, and I hadn’t been paying any attention. “Maybe your body wasn’t ready for that much strenuous activity. I hadn’t really thought about it until now. How about tomorrow we take it easy, hang out at the cabin, maybe take the snowmobiles out for a drive or something?”

“That sounds like fun.”

“We’ll just play it by ear. Whatever you’re up for, we’ll do, and whatever you’re not, we won’t. Sound like a plan?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He slapped his knees with his hands as he stood. “Time for S’mores. Get up and grab a hanger.”

“What, you’re not making it for me?”

“I hate to tell you this, my dear, but no. I am not making your S’mores for you.”

“What?”

“You said it yourself; you aren’t a weakling. I figure you can make your own S’mores.”

“Whatever happened to chivalry on a date?”

He dropped back onto the step and gave a small laugh before leaning toward me and grinning. “I never said this was a date.”

“No,” I said, moving toward him, “but you sure hoped it would be.”

“Don’t flirt with me unless you plan on following through with it.”

“Is what I just did considered flirting?”

“Absolutely.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“For someone who doesn’t know, you did it very well. You’ve definitely gotten my attention.”

And he had mine. His piercing blue eyes became a blur as I felt myself lean closer toward him until my lips finally made contact with his. Within seconds he slid his hands through my hair and held my head in place as he leaned over and gently led me to lie down on the porch. His upper body partly covered mine, but the majority of his weight rested on his hip, which was on the ground.

Kissing him was very different than kissing Riley. Cooper’s kiss wasn’t better or worse, it was just different, and while I was in the middle of trying to compare the two, Cooper pulled away from me.

“Why did you kiss me?” He was slightly short of breath as he looked down on me. “Is this some sick attempt to get over him?”

“I … ” Truth was, I didn’t know why. I did it without thinking.

He shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t have to know. I don’t care.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely.”

His thumb gently skimmed my bottom lip just before the distance between us evaporated.