“You’re the best.”
“I try.” He wore a fond smile. “If you’d like to give me your backpacks, I can take those out for you.”
Normally, I’d just hold onto mine ‘cause that seemed like an imposition, but I was going to dive into this afternoon and evening with the best mood I could muster.
“Thank you,” I said as I surrendered the backpack. It wasn’t until Coop and I were on the stairs though that I realized Jake and Ian weren’t right behind us.
“They’re coming,” Coop said, putting his hand at the small of my back.
“Please tell me they weren’t fighting.”
“I dunno,” he admitted as he nudged me along, and we headed up the stairs toward Archie’s wing. It didn’t matter that we’d been coming to this house for years. The size of it never failed to kind of awe me. Archie had his own wing, entertainment room, guest rooms, and even an office in addition to his bedroom.
I loved my space in the apartment, but it was contained to my bedroom. If I had all of this?
At Archie’s room, I paused at the open door to glance back at the stairs. Still no Ian or Jake.
“Hey,” Coop said softly, pulling my attention to him. “You really all right? You and Bubba talked?”
I shrugged. “We talked.”
“That doesn’t sound promising.” Worry filled his gray-green eyes.
“It is what it is. Tonight, we’re celebrating, right?”
He searched my face, but I pasted on my smile and lifted my chin.
“Yeah,” he said slowly. “We are. But you don’t have to pretend with me. Ever.”
That made me smile for real. “I want to have a good time tonight. I want to not be—angsty Frankie, and her awful no good bad decision bagel days.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled, and he chuckled. “Bad decision bagel days?”
“Well, it sure feels like that lately. But Ian’s talking to me, so that’s something. I got the scholarship, and that’s awesome. And…I’m here with my best friends.”
“Okay,” Coop whispered after a long moment, then wrapped his hand around my nape and pressed his forehead to mine. “We’re going to celebrate. Talk college apps. Plan homework. See you in that hot bikini. Play in the pool. Have fun. Maybe not necessarily in that order.”
“I like that plan. Even the homework stuff.”
“Of course you do, you’re an overachiever and a workaholic.”
I made a face and pinched him. He stole a kiss and then danced away from my jabbing fingers.
“Go get changed,” he said. “I’ll see you in five.”
He headed to the room next door, and I glanced at the stairs. Still no Ian or Jake.
Shaking my head, I slipped into Archie’s room and closed the door. There was something comforting about being in there. I crossed over and dropped my bikini on the bed before I sat on the edge and pulled off my shoes.
Archie wasn’t messy. In general, he picked up after himself—I’d seen him do it. Though, there were times he just tossed things, too. I would imagine the maids—there were two of them who came in to clean the house three times a week—definitely made passes through here.
Having a maid was weird. Having a Jeremy was cool, but someone who actively cleaned up after you? Eh. Even Mom didn’t do that. I stood and pulled out my phone. There was no message from Mom on the screen.
So far, so good. I put it in do not disturb and dropped it on the comforter before undoing my shorts.
A whisper of air brushed my neck a second before hands settled on my hips. Heart slamming against my ribs, I swallowed a scream as Archie leaned close to me and whispered, “Boo.” As it was, I jerked my elbow back and got him in the stomach. He oofed and then laughed.
“Oh my god, you asshole,” I yelled as I pivoted. He had both hands over his stomach, grimace-laughing.