Chapter Fourteen
By the time Cooper came back from his shower, Kayla was a nervous wreck. He’d seemed…done. As if he wanted to leave her. And then…he had.
He’d walked away without a word.
The bathroom door opened, and he came out. He didn’t have a towel on, but he was scrubbing his head with the one he’d used to dry off with. He was gloriously naked and the black tribal tattoos on his chest danced with every movement he made.
He came to his side of the bed, then lay down beside her.
“Hey,” she said softly.
He turned his head toward her. His green eyes sucked her in, like usual. “Hey yourself.”
“You okay?”
“Yep.” He looked at her with a wrinkled brow. “After what we just did, why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“I don’t know. I just got a feeling—”
He rolled his eyes and laughed, but it sounded a little forced. “This isn’t a real relationship. You don’t have to worry about my mood swings. I’m fine.”
“But we should talk about whatever you’re thinking. I know there’s something on your mind, so don’t pretend otherwise.”
“You’re right. There is. But that’s where it’s staying—in the privacy of my own mind.” He turned over and cupped her cheek. “But if you want to talk about feelings, let’s do this. Tell me. Why do you feel the need to lie to your parents?”
She blinked at him, totally confused. “What do you mean?”
“They love you. Even I can see that. I think if you just explained that you’re perfectly happy single, or that you just haven’t met the right guy, they’d back off. Have you ever considered just talking it out with them?”
She pulled away from him. Was he trying to lecture her about her parents? Please. She knew them much better than he did, thank you very much.
She cleared her throat. “You know what? You’re right. Let’s not do this.”
“Oh, so now you’re on board with the not talking thing?” He rolled to his back, folded his arms behind his head and smirked. “Typical fake girlfriend behavior.”
Anger surged through her, red hot. “This relationship might not be real, but I will kick my fake boyfriend’s ass. Consider yourself warned.”
His smirk widened, which only pissed her off even more. “Consider me scared, if it makes you happy.”
“Cooper.” She curled her hands into fists. Where the heck had this fight even come from? Oh. Right. She’d asked him about his feelings. How stupid of her. “This conversation is over.”
“Fine.” He turned his head toward her. “But have you ever considered it’s in your mind—all these troubles you think exist with your family?”
She tilted her chin up. “Are they in yours?”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe your advice applies to your own dad. Maybe if you talked it out with him, you’d see he loves you and isn’t trying to hand you something on a platter. That he isn’t trying to offer you a consolation prize for disappointing him. Maybe he just wants to give his life’s work to his son, crazy as it might sound.”
“That advice does not apply to me,” he said through clenched teeth. “I simply want an even playing field. I’m not lying or making up a fake life to make him happy. I’m not the one being close-minded about reality.”
She flinched. He wanted to attack her where she was weak? Bullshit. “Why does the ground always have to be even? What’s so wrong with using something to your advantage if it’s presented to you?”
“It’s just not how I roll.”
“Yeah.” She studied him, taking in the stubborn cut of his jaw. “I got that loud and clear.”
His nostrils flared. “Let me guess. You think it’s stupid and that I should just ‘talk it out’ with him? As if that will fix the problem of me not taking something I didn’t earn out of principle?”