Someone to Love (6 page)

He leaned in toward her but she put her hand in front of his face to stop his lips from descending on hers. “Stop flirting with me and trying to get into my pants. It’s not going to happen. I’m not one of those girls that falls easily for manufactured charm from a handsome face on a hunk of muscle.”

“You’re obsessed with my muscles.” He chuckled at the frustrated expression on her face. “I know you’re not easy, that’s why I’m interested. You may not fall easily, but you will fall. They always do.” He extended his arm towards her as if he were going to touch her but moved towards a paint chip in her hand, brushing his fingers against her hand.

“This is the color,” he said.

“Cooper’s pretty hot isn’t he? He’s kind of sexy.” Diane said as she drove Noli to The Smithery the next morning. Cooper was going to play junior wedding planner again.

“What?” Noli didn’t think she’d ever heard her prim and proper use the words hot and sexy in the same sentence. She would usually say ‘handsome’ or ‘attractive’ and occasionally she’d acknowledge that a guy had ‘an admirable physique’.

“Cooper, he’s kind of sexy?”

“That’s what I thought you said. Does Jack know you have a thing for his best friend?”

“I don’t have a thing for him,” Diane denied, “but you do. Don’t you?”

“No,” she said but thought maybe. “Why would you even say that?”

“He’s so your type.”

“I don’t have a type.”

“Yes you do. Tall and muscular just like every single boyfriend you’ve ever had.” Diane said.

“He’s also cocky and overly self-confident.”

“That’s redundant, which is a dead giveaway that you think I’m right. If I remember correctly, that’s a quality that both DeJuan and Andre shared.”

“And that’s why I’m not with either of them.”

“You’re not with them because they were immature and thought multiple girlfriends was the status quo.”

“That could be Cooper too.”

“Not from what Jack’s said. He may not be the kind to settle down, but he’s not the kind to play around. That rhymed, I think I’ll be a rapper.”

They both chuckled. “Aunt Catherine would love that.”

The soft whispered tone from the NPR deejay on the radio filled the car as they rode in silence.

“What do you know about Kayla?” Noli asked.

“I think she moved here about a year ago from somewhere down south to attend Indiana University. She started working at The Smithery and over the summer she started helping Cooper brew the soft drinks.”

“What about her and Cooper? Do you think they have something going on?”

“No, why would you think that?”

“She was pretty upset that first night when she saw,” Noli paused when she realized she was going to reveal the drunken kiss. She knew Diane had already planted the seed that she and Cooper would make a great couple and she didn’t want to nurture its growth in any way. “She didn’t seem too happy when she saw Cooper and me together. Plus, they spend a lot of time together.”

“Is that jealousy I hear?”

“No. Not at all. Just trying to prove a point. He’s been flirting with me and has something going with Kayla. I think he’s a player.”

Diane nodded. “Umm huh. If there was more than an employee and employer relationship going on it would have been over with by now. According to Daphne, his longest relationship was with a gold fish that died after a month.”

“So all the time Kayla and Cooper spend together is platonic?” Noli asked with a doubtful tone.

“This is sounding a lot like jealousy,” Diane said.

“Or does it sound like the girl in love seeing things that aren’t there? Cooper is just helping me pull your wedding together. That’s all.”

“Cooper helping you with my wedding, plus flirting with you, equals something.”

They had arrived at the restaurant and Cooper was at the bar talking with Kayla. Trevor was leaning on the bar, but didn’t seem that interested in the conversation. Kayla on the other hand, was fully into every word falling out of Cooper’s mouth. He said something that made her throw her arms around him. Trevor simply smiled and nodded.

“See, that’s not quite platonic,” Noli said.

“She’s a very excitable girl. I’ve been on the receiving end of my fair share of unwarranted hugs from her. What I saw was Kayla being Kayla and you being jealous.”

Noli looked at her watch-less wrist. “Won’t you be late for your study group?”

Diane looked at her watch and realized she did need to go. They hugged and Diane left with a wave at Cooper and the other two at the bar. Noli refused to let the thought of jealousy seep into her head. Just because she didn’t like him sharing his charm with anyone else didn’t mean she was jealous. Kayla was once again laughing and Noli broke in before there was another embrace.

“Are you ready?” Noli asked.

“I’m almost done and then we can head out.”

“Coop is leaving me and Trevor in charge,” Kayla said almost jumping with excitement. Noli took note of the abbreviated use of his name but ignored the fact that it bothered her. No one else called him Coop, not even his mother.

“I’m leaving Trevor in charge,” Cooper said. “You’re just supposed to help.”

“That’s what I said,” Kayla said not seeing the difference. “We won’t let you down, Coop.”

Noli felt compelled to add the missing “er” to his name for the girl. Her face must have expressed her irritation because Cooper gave her a perplexed look. She shifted her face back to neutral.

“Just call me if anything comes up,” Cooper said to Trevor. “I’m ready. Let’s head to Indy.”

***

He unlocked his truck with the remote and was about to open the door for Noli, but she beat him to it. She made it difficult for him to be a gentleman. Perhaps traveling alone for so long had made her too independent. Or maybe she was mad. She’d had an irritated look on her face before they came out, and now she was being quiet. She remained that way for most of the ride as she tapped on her tablet.

Her silence made him feel like an actual chauffeur, minus the cap and black suit. She didn’t even mind when he said he’d prefer to stay in the car when they arrived at the first second hand store on her list of stops. He’d only said it because he thought she’d make an idol threat to get him in, but he got nothing but an okay over her shoulder as she walked away.

A few minutes later she stood in the store’s door waving for him to come in. Her full lips were spread across her face in a big smile.

Whatever was bothering her was forgotten.

“Shopping isn’t as much fun when you don’t have someone to bounce ideas off of. I found the perfect old secretary, but I don’t know how I’d use it.”

His stroll was too slow so she grabbed his hand and began to pull him along to see her great find. He didn’t know what a secretary was, other than someone that answered phones, but he liked that it excited her.

“Isn’t it great?” she said rubbing the piece of furniture.

“That’s a secretary? All this time I’ve been calling those things a desk.”

“Why did I ask you to come in?” Her smile softened her words.

“And it’s old and rough looking,” Cooper added.

“Seriously, why did I ask you in? You should be the last person to criticize it for looking rough.”

“You like rough looking though.”

“If only you were as irresistible as you think you are. Anyway, it is very rough and there is some damage to the wood, but I was planning on stripping it and whitewashing it. What do you think?”

The word stripping distracted him for moment. “Could you put those little name tag things on it?”

By the look on her face she must have liked his idea. The sway of her hips as she did her happy dance made his mind return to her stripping. She tore the bottom half of the tag to indicate to other shoppers that this item was taken.

“This will be perfect for the place cards, that’s what the name tag things are called.”

“Is that it? Are you all done?”

“Of course not, silly lumber jack,” she said patting his arm like a mother does a child that just said something naive but cute. “I still need picture frames, chandeliers, horseshoes and Christmas tree lights. That means a few more stores.”

Out of habit he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He did hate shopping, though it was a different experience with Magnolia. It wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t torture because she made it interesting. It was the way she got excited by the smallest things, and how she would sing and sometimes dance to the overhead music that made him forget what he was doing (shopping). The fact that she saw potential in the most tattered things gave him a hope he didn’t know he wanted. It gave him the hope that his heart could be restored from the damage his father’s abandonment caused.

By the time she got all the things on her list, it was early afternoon and he was starving. A quick search on his phone let him know where the food truck he went to whenever he was in the city was located. Fry Oh My! was a bright yellow truck that served nothing but french fries. There weren’t the boring run of the mill fries, but various cuts of fries, with unheard of toppings and every dipping option but plain old ketchup. He was happy that it wasn’t too far from them.

Noli stood in line with him studying the menu. He didn’t need to look, he would get the Greek style. They were golden crispy fries, topped with bits of lamb meat, feta, diced tomato, black olives, shredded lettuce and a cucumber dipping sauce. It was like a gyro but with fries instead of a pita.

He placed his order and chatted with the guy in the truck for a minute. “You decide what you want?” he asked Magnolia.

“It all looks so good, but I’m not hungry.”

“You sure? ‘Cause I’m not sharing.”

“Oh, I’m sure I could persuade you to share,” she said biting her bottom lip.

He imagined nibbling on that lip as he kissed her. He was right, it wouldn’t take much from her to persuade him of almost anything. “Make that a large.”

He was glad he’d gotten the large. If he hadn’t, he may not have gotten even a taste. Despite her claims of not being hungry, she hadn’t stopped eating since the first delicious bite.

“I think you should get your own.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Then stop eating my fries,” Cooper said. He moved the food to his other side and blocked her from getting to them with his body.

“You are so selfish. I had a bite or two.”

“If you want more, it’ll cost you a kiss.”

She opened the door and hopped out his truck. “I’ll just go get my own,” she said slamming the door behind her.

She waited in the brief line at the food truck. When it was her turn she tried to order the Greek style too.

“You’ve already tried those. I have something else in mind for you,” the truck owner said. He tossed some fries in one of those cardboard trays and then drizzled a sauce on before grinding some sea salt on top. “Something sweet and spicy, just like you.”

She took a bite and closed her eyes in delight. “This is good. What is this?”

“It is honey and habanero sauce.”

“It is spicy, can I get a water?”

He handed her the water and she tried to hand him money but he shook his head. “No charge for you. Any friend of Cooper’s gets them for free. I try to give them to him but he insists on paying, so if he asks you, I charged extra.”

“Why does he get special treatment?”

“Because he helped me out when I was first starting out. He sold me his used fryers at a steal and let me make payments. He’s a good dude.”

“He is, but if you ever tell him I said that, I’ll hurt you.”

“See, sweet and spicy.”

Noli sat on the floor in front of the bed in Cooper’s tiny apartment above the bar, gluing strips of paper to the front side of clothespins that already had a magnet attached to the back. Cooper sat on the bed cutting strips of paper to make sure she had a steady supply. Every now and then she’d sneak a look up at him to marvel at the sight of how intently he was cutting. It was obvious he was trying to make sure they were perfect. There were a few that he sat aside because they didn’t measure up, but she’d use them when he wasn’t looking because they were just fine.

“Thanks for helping.”

“You’d never get it done if I didn’t.”

“You’re welcome would have sufficed.” He smiled and kept cutting. His hands were almost too big for the scissors. She wondered what those hands would feel like on her. Would they be firm and demand pleasure by kneading the soft flesh of her thighs, butt, and breasts until she begged for them to touch her most intimate place? Or would they caress along the length of her body, teasing it with the promise of release.

She shouldn’t be thinking about those hands doing anything but cutting paper. After all, it wouldn’t be just the hands touching her, it would be the man attached to them. That man was dangerous to her plan of keeping her heart safe. Her defenses had already began to wane. He was smart, and charming, and kind. She presumed that underneath that forest of hair, he was handsome. Who was she kidding, he was even handsome with the hair.

Diane was right, she did find him quite sexy. There were those broad shoulders, all the muscles- especially those abs, and those large hands she was sure would feel so good. She was back to those hands touching her. She needed her mind elsewhere.

“How was your meeting?”

“Promising.” A smile broke out on his face then he continued “The guy said he would likely be able to get the brews into a chain grocery store, at least in Indiana.”

The rerun of the show they were watching went to a break as Cooper continued to discuss the meeting he’d had with a potential distributor. A commercial for a personal injury attorney came on which showed a series of mangled cars and video of a truck screeching to a halt. A gasp escaped from her and she knocked the glue over onto the floor.

“Crap,” she said hopping up avoid getting the glue on herself too.

***

Cooper left the room and came back with some cleaning wipes and paper towels. He was glad she’d knocked over the glue. He’d needed the distraction to stop him from putting his thoughts into action. The thought kept running through his head to give in to temptation and pull her up on the bed for a kiss and to try for more.

He was about to start cleaning up the glue but Noli took the paper towels from him and began cleaning up. Tears began to drip onto the mess on the floor. She stopped wiping as her hands began to shake.

“It’s okay Magnolia, it was just an accident.” The word accident turned her silent tears into a gut wrenching sob filled cry. Cooper took the wipes out her hands and joined her on the floor. “What’s wrong, Magnolia?”

She wiped her tears, but they were replaced with more. “The car. That commercial.”

Cooper strained to hear the incoherent words that sounded like they were struggling to get out her throat. He thought back to the commercial from moments ago and realized it showed several images of totaled cars. He turned the TV off then pulled her into his arms and lifted her onto the bed.

Her legs were stretched on the navy and green plaid comforter, with the rest of her body on Cooper and her face hidden in his shirt as she continued to cry. He just held her there for a few moments, letting her cry. His hand rubbed her back as it heaved with sobs.

Eventually she’d composed herself enough to speak again. “I saw it,” her words muffled as she spoke them into his chest. She turned her head and looked up at him. There was no pity in his eyes, just concern and warmth.

“Saw what?”

“The accident. I saw my parents’ accident.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“No one knows. My parents were headed home after my graduation. I got caught up talking to a classmate and left a while after my parents did. Traffic was flowing fine, then all of a sudden there was a back-up. I thought it was construction because 65 is in a perpetual state of construction. But I never saw any cones or signs.”

She sniffed and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. He pulled her close, holding her tightly against his torso as he reached down to retrieve the paper towels. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck to prevent her from toppling over onto the floor. He tore a couple of paper towels off and dabbed the tears off her cheeks with one and handed her the other.

She let out a shaky breath and returned to her story. “Eventually, I saw the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles in the distance. When I came to the scene of the accident I saw a car pinned under the overturned trailer of a semi. I instinctually prayed that everyone was okay. Then I realized the car was the same color as my parents’ car. It was so mangled that you couldn’t make out the model,” her voice cracked and he gave a squeeze to encourage her to continue. “Then I recognized a bumper sticker on the back.

“I tried to stop, but an officer wave me along and gave me a look that reprimanded me for gawking. Then I started hysterically screaming my parents, my parents, over and over again. He moved so I could pull on the shoulder, not because he understood what I was saying, but because he thought I was too hysterical to drive safely. Another officer came over. He was older and must have had more experience dealing with panic-stricken people. He calmly asked me to speak slowly.

“I was able to tell him that I believed the car was my parents’. He asked for my ID and turned and signaled for one of the other officers to come over. I handed him my driver’s license and the officer handed him one. He compared the two and his face changed for just a moment.”

She paused, her eyes looked up at the ceiling to try and stop the tears. It didn’t work and the tears began to stream down her face again. Cooper brushed his thumb across her cheek to wipe them away. He remained silent and waited for her to be able to resume. It was difficult to watch her painfully tell this tragedy, but he knew she had to get it out. Letting it stay inside had to be just as retell painful.

“That’s when I noticed there was a gurney with a sheet draped over it. I heard these heaving sobs and it took me a few moments to realize I was the one making them. He put his hand on my shoulder and said ‘ma’am’. I remember thinking that was the first time anyone had ever called me ma’am and thought it was weird that a thought like that would cross my mind. I guess my brain was trying to distract itself.

“He told me that my father had passed shortly after they arrived on the scene and my mother had been rushed to a hospital in Lafayette. He had one of the officers to drive me to the hospital with the lights and sirens on. I don’t know if they were supposed to do that, but they did. It didn’t matter though because before I could get there, my mom was gone too.”

She leaned into him and he held her there silently. “I didn’t get to say goodbye to either of them.”

Cooper didn’t say anything because he knew his words were useless. He continued to embrace her through moments of tears and silence, trying to absorb her pain so she wouldn’t have to feel it anymore. They stayed there on the bed with her cradled in his arms until her breathing became steady with sleep. He stretched her out on the bed and laid next to her, his arms still around her.

The woman lying next to him was fragile. It wasn’t her slight build that made her that way. It was pain that made her delicate, and just an ambulance chaser’s commercial away from shattering into a million pieces. She put on a good show, acting the part she probably wanted to be. Just beneath her vibrant surface was a broken soul. There was a part of him that wanted to heal her and protect her from breaking anymore. There was another part of him that wanted to run and save himself from the pain falling for her could cause.

There was a very specific part of him that wished she were laying in this bed crying out in pleasure and not sadness. Even with a tear stained face she was flawless. It was not just her beauty that was tempting him. It was her quirky humor. The way her eyes would light up as she found joy in the smallest things. He wanted to keep surprising her to keep that look on her face. He also wanted to see her eyes burn with passion as he brought them both pleasure. These thoughts scared him, because he doubted that a fling with her would be enough.

He began to get off the bed. The movement made Magnolia stir. “Cooper,” she called out in her sleep. He waited a moment to see if she would continue to sleep. Her eyes drifted open. “Cooper,” she said again, reaching her hand out to him. He knew he should leave, but he kicked his shoes off and joined her in the bed. She rested her head on his chest and returned back to sleep.

Normally he avoided cuddling after sex, and had never cuddled fully dressed, with no chance of it resulting in sex. She had him doing many things he’d never thought he’d do, like antiquing and crafting. How did somebody he barely knew have such an effect on him?

It was early evening so he wasn’t tired. He stayed there awake for another hour, trying to think about anything but the woman that found comfort in his arms. He thought of what he had to do tomorrow, and started strategizing to make the distribution deal happen. His mind kept going back to Magnolia and how right she felt next to him. Finally, she rolled on her side, freeing him to move.

Cooper tipped out of the small apartment, putting his boots on once he was safely out. He headed downstairs to the bar to help with the dinner crowd. Kayla caught him at the bottom of the stairs.

“So, what were the two of you doing up there?” Kayla asked.

“I was helping her with some wedding stuff.”

“That better be all you were doing.”

“Or what?” Cooper asked annoyed.

“Never mind, it was far too quiet for you to have been doing anything anyway.”

“Kayla, get to work before I fire you.”

“We both know that’s an empty threat.”

“Kayla,” her named rumbled out like thunder before a storm. He wasn’t in the mood for her right now.

“I think I hear a table calling,” she said heeding the warning.

***

Noli moved closer to the warmth, her eyes still closed holding on to those last moments of sleep. The source of the warm comfort moved forcing her to open at least one eye. Through the small opening in her eye she saw a room that seemed familiar, but wasn’t the guest room at the Sloan’s house. She tried to sit up to figure out where she was, but something warm and hard kept her in place. That forced both eyes opened and she noticed the source of the heat and where she was.

She was in Cooper’s apartment, in his arms, on his bed. She closed her eyes trying to focus on what happened the night before. Her breath caught when the memory hit her like a wayward softball pitch to the chest. Last night she’d revealed her secret to Cooper. She let her head fall back to the bed and wished sleep would return. Instinctively Cooper pulled her closer, and she snuggled in closer to the comfort he offered.

The reason for why she’d opened up to him escaped her and she didn’t go looking for it. She didn’t want to find out what she was feeling about waking up in his arms. More importantly, she didn’t want to examine the fleeting thought that she wished more had happened than just sleeping last night.

“Good morning,” Cooper said bringing her out of her thoughts.

“Good morning.” She tried to get up again, thinking that now he was awake he wouldn’t impede her. She was wrong, he kept his arm around her.

“Are you hungry? I can make you some breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“How are you feeling?”

She turned her head and looked in his eyes. There was genuine concern in his eyes. “Cooper, I need to use the bathroom but you won’t let me up.”

“Sorry,” he said but still held her a moment before letting her go.

In the bathroom she washed her face and gargled with the mouthwash. She’d already cried on his shoulder, she didn’t want to assault him with morning breath too. She felt lighter this morning, like a helium balloon that was free to float through the air no longer tethered to the ground by a child’s hand. It felt great to let go and not have all those platitudes thrown at her. Who knew Cooper would be the kind of guy that just listened? Even Diane had tried to comfort her with words. Oh no, Diane.

“What are you looking for?” Cooper asked when she rushed from the bathroom.

“My phone, I’m sure Diane’s worried I didn’t come home last night.”

“Don’t worry, I let her know you were sleeping here.”

“You what?” That made her search for the misplaced phone more frantic. Diane’s concern would be followed by a million and one questions about why she’d spent the night with Cooper. She didn’t want to answer a single one because she didn’t want to think about the answers.

“You were still sound asleep when I came back up after closing. I didn’t see much reason to wake you that late to take you home so I let Jack know you’d be staying here.”

“What did you say?”

“Just that you’d fallen asleep and I’d bring you in the morning.”

“Diane’s still going to assume we, you know.”

He smiled. “We can make that assumption a fact.”

She knew he was joking, but the glint in his eyes let her know there was some truth to his statement. “Never going to happen Cooper.”

“We’ll see.”