“Quinn put Brad Hughes in his place, and it was one of the best moments of the night,” Megan responds.
I feel Cooper’s eyes on me as my cheeks heat up. It’s one thing to feel completely myself when I’m with the girls but my confidence around the whole group is still lacking.
“How’d you do that, Quinn?” Max asks. I look around at the girls as we all start giggling again.
“I just told him I was a lawyer, and if he didn’t want to be sued he needed to stop showing off the minimal junk he had in his pants,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders.
“Oh my god,” Levi says laughing. “I so wish I could’ve been here to see his face when you said that.”
“It was the best thing I’ve seen in a long time,” Sara says.
“His fly was down, and it was really gross,” I add.
The girls finish recounting the story, but I don’t hear much as Cooper’s hand slides up my bare thigh and under the hem of the navy dress I wore out tonight. I feel my breath whoosh out of my lungs, and heat rises in my cheeks. The alcohol I’ve consumed has me wishing he’d slide his hand up just a little further.
A shiver runs up my spine, making Cooper chuckle. He leans forward, running his nose on the outer shell of my ear. “I need you so bad,” he breathes, pulling me down against his lap to feel his hard length. I look deep into his eyes so he can see the lust and love burning in mine. I want him to carry me out of here and take me home.
Nodding his head as if he knows exactly how I’m feeling, we start saying our goodbyes to our friends.
“Have fun,” Natalie sing-songs, wiggling her eyebrows and making everyone laugh. Cooper wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me close as they rib us for leaving early.
People say hello to Cooper as we slowly make our way towards the exit. Not surprisingly, it’s mostly women vying for his attention, but he just nods his head and keeps his arm around my shoulders.
We push our way out of the bar, and the noise level falls drastically. My ears ring a little from the quiet, and I fill my lungs with the smell of fresh summer air and Cooper’s cologne. My head spins as the alcohol moves through my system, and I’m finally noticing its effects.
We walk towards Cooper’s truck, hearing the sounds of our feet crunching on the gravel parking lot and the muffled music coming from the bar. “I don’t think I could be any happier,” I say into the quiet evening.
“And why’s that?” Cooper asks. I can hear the laughter in his voice as if he’s humoring my drunken statement.
“Well, I’m pleasantly buzzed, have the best friends I could ever ask for, and have the arm of the man of my dreams wrapped around me. I don’t think my life could get any better,” I say, looking up into Cooper’s face as we round the hood of his truck and he guides me to the passenger side.
He pushes me back against the door and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. I lift my chin to look at him better, and at my invitation, he takes my lips in a deep, drugging kiss that both fills me with love and leaves me wanting more.
His tongue pushes deep into my mouth, and I moan around it as he guides my head into the position he needs to pull me under his spell. We kiss until we have to pull apart in order to breathe. Cooper presses his forehead against mine as we both catch our breath. “I love you,” he says on a whisper.
“I love you more,” I say, making him laugh and roll his eyes. He opens the door to his truck and helps me in. “Not possible, drunk girl,” he says, kissing me quickly and then shutting the door. He pauses outside and looks around the parking lot as if he heard something and is trying to see what it is.
He shakes his head and walks around the truck getting inside. “Everything okay?” I ask.
“Fine, just had a weird feeling like someone was watching us. I didn’t see anyone though, so it was probably my imagination,” he says, starting the truck and pulling out of the parking lot. His hand on my thigh has me forgetting all about the weird moment and thinking instead about getting my man home and very, very dirty.
30
COOPER
The sun peeks through the curtains lighting the room in a soft morning glow. It’s still early for a Saturday morning, but since I didn’t drink last night, I’m waking up like I normally would. Quinn is completely wrapped around me, her body radiating a warmth I’d never be able to match with any number of blankets or fireplaces. Her legs are tangled with mine, arms around my waist, and head on my chest. My entire arm is asleep but her naked body pressed against mine is definitely worth it.
Last night, when Quinn said she couldn’t be happier, I laughed because I thought she was being silly in her drunkenness but right now, I understand exactly what she was feeling. I’m not drunk but I definitely have never been this happy, and it’s all because of a beautiful woman who’s given me her heart.
I press a kiss to the top of Quinn’s head and untangle my body from hers. She’s still out of it as I head into the bathroom which makes me smile. She’s going to be hurting when she wakes up, so I grab her some water and Advil and put it on the nightstand when I’m done getting dressed.
Piper follows behind me as I go downstairs, her nails clicking on the wood floor as we walk to the patio door. I let her outside and head into the kitchen for some coffee. Despite the fact that it’s a Saturday, I have to go to the station today. There are days when I feel so inadequate at my job. It’s been a month since this girl was murdered, and we’re still not any closer to knowing who did this. I wish it was as easy as they make it look on TV but it’s not, and every day that we don’t know anything, the farther we get from catching this guy.
Blowing out a breath, I do my best to stop my thoughts from going too low. Doesn’t always work, but as I look out the back door and watch Piper chase the butterflies I’m reminded of the good things in life, and that makes me smile. I slide open the door and step out onto the back patio as my phone starts to ring. Reading the caller ID, I answer quickly.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, darling. Am I calling too early?”