It wasn't like I could decide he was great and keep him. Forever wasn't an option. Besides, he was the kind of guy who set off all of my alarms. When I saw his tattoos or those dark eyes dissecting me, I felt like I was back in the trailer during the ugly thing never to be discussed.
Logically, I knew Cooper never hurt me, but I also knew he had the power to do whatever he wanted. In this town, he apparently acted with impunity. Could beat up random guys, get me fired, and hunt down someone who messed with him or his surrogates. No fear of the law or any kind of punishment. He didn't even need to show up to class. Cooper's money and family meant Bailey's comment about dumping me in a shallow grave might happen, and no one would care. My mom sure wouldn't.
Hearing Cooper's motorcycle arrive, I thought to go outside and wait, but didn't want to seem too excited. Pretending to be casual was lame too, so I grabbed my bag and opened the door to find him ready to knock.
Wearing a black tee and faded jeans clinging to his strong hips and thighs, Cooper looked hot. He also clearly skipped shaving since Friday and had thick growth, making him appear more menacing and honestly hotter.
His gaze rolled over my body before returning to my face. "You have really great legs."
"Thank you," I said, a little flustered. "Where are we going for lunch?"
Cooper waited for me to shut the door and then he cupped the back of my head and leaned down to give me a soft kiss. His tongue explored my mouth for a second and then he pulled back and smiled.
"You look sexy. Awake too."
"You look sexy too," I said like a dork.
Cooper laughed and then stepped back and raised his arms. "What specifically do you like?"
My face had to be bright red because it was on fire as I lowered my gaze and smiled grudgingly.
"I like your shoes," I said, laughing. "That's what makes you stand out."
Laughing harder, Cooper rolled back on his heels and checked out his black boots. "Yeah, I can see that," he muttered, grinning at me. "Anything else?"
"Uh, that tattoo right there," I said, pointing to his forearm.
"The 'I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die' tattoo? Are you a big Cash fan or do you like murder?"
"Cash fan."
Cooper touched my chin and then lifted my gaze to meet his. "You had no idea what it said, did you?"
"No, I just thought it was cute."
"Cute?" he said, kissing me quickly before sighing dramatically. "It's like pulling teeth with you."
Laughing behind my hand, I followed him out to his motorcycle. "I like to think I'm hot enough that I don't need to flirt well."
"Do you? Fortunately, I agree. In fact, this time, when you walk in front of me and think I'm checking out your ass, it'll be true."
"Cooper, you have such a way with words. A real poet."
"Don't I know it," he said, sliding on his bike. "Hey, we're meeting my sister, brother, and his girl over at Whiskey Kirk's."
"Can I go to a bar if I'm underage?"
"Listen up, nerd," he said, glancing over his shoulder while I wrapped myself against his back. "Man, you feel good like that."
"Your huge brain is working at a wavelength that I don't understand. Repeat what you just said in a dumb way so I'll understand what my being a nerd has to do with you liking this," I said, wiggling my hips against him before raking his back with my breasts.
After giving me a groan followed by a naughty grin, Cooper sighed. "I can't even remember what the hell we were talking about," he said, wrapping my arms tighter around him. "Oh, yeah, you being a nerd. So don't worry about getting carded. The Kirk in Whiskey Kirk's is my pop, and he doesn't care if you get wasted. He doesn't believe in laws."
"I'm not drinking."
"Farah, you need to relax and enjoy life."
"I come from a long line of drunks and addicts, so I'm not relaxing and enjoying life if it means I become like my loser relatives."
Cooper glanced back at me and smiled. "Did you take a shower before I showed up because you're hella feisty?"
"Do they have good food at this bar?" I asked, ignoring his question.
"Burgers, hot wings, only the best bar food in Kentucky. You just keep holding on while I see if I can concentrate with your tits pushed up against me like that."
"I had them pushed up the other night, and you concentrated fine."
"That's because you were wearing your uniform and I forgot you had tits. No forgetting today."
"If you ever want to be friends with them, you really need to stop calling them tits. They don't like that."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, laughing as he pushed off and drove away from the apartment.
Resting my cheek on his back, I really loved the feel of him. I felt happy too. Like maybe I wasn't a stranger in a new place, but a resident of this town. I wanted to be someone people recognized and waved at on the street. I'd never had that before, but I might enjoy it in Ellsberg.
Cooper pulled into the parking lot of Whiskey Kirk's and parked next to another Harley and a red SUV sporting the vanity plate, "PrncsBtch."
Once I was off the motorcycle, I fixed my hair. Cooper immediately messed it back up when he pulled me against him and glued our mouths together. His fingers slithered into my hair, caressing my scalp as his tongue and mine danced to the music playing in the parking lot. As Kid Rock serenaded us, one of Cooper's hands left my hair and cupped my butt.
"Hell, boy, you gonna fuck her right here in front of your little sis?" Tucker hollered, flicking away a cigarette. "Not that I blame you. I remember when I met Maddy and couldn't wait to get inside her."
Cooper let me go and blew upward, so his hair fluttered out of his eyes. He gave me a smile and then glanced at his brother.
"You're creeping out my girl," Cooper said.
"Your girl, huh?" Tucker gave me the once over. "She's sure hotter out of the Denny's getup."
"Fuck Tuck," Cooper growled. "Go leer at your girl."
"She's in the bathroom puking. Turns out that morning sickness thing is real."
I wasn't sure what my face did, but Cooper and Tucker looked at me and laughed.
"What?"
Cooper made an "O" with his lips and then smiled. "You can't know how hot you look when you do that."
"His girlfriend is pregnant?"
Cooper finally removed his hand from my butt and got off the Harley. "Yep. Tucker screwed around with her pills and got her preggo so she'd stay with him."
"She was gonna stay with me anyway," Tucker announced really loudly like maybe he was deaf. "Besides, she was always saying she wanted to be a young mom, so I did her a favor."
After rolling his eyes at his brother, Cooper glanced down at me and smiled. "I told you he was a turd."
"How old is she?" I asked as Cooper took my hand and walked towards the front doors.
"Nineteen. Same as Tucker. They'll be awful parents, and my mom will end up raising the kid. Just a big old crash and burn waiting to happen."
"I get those shots," I said to him with my most serious expression.
Staring down at me, Cooper frowned. "I'm not planning to mess with your pills."
Smiling big, I bumped him with my hip. "Well, duh. If you won't remember my name after we do it, it's not like you'll want a kid out of it."
"Your name?"
"Yeah," Tucker said, coming up behind us. "You always forget their names."
"No, I don't. I just act like that so they'll go away."
"Much classier, bro."
No longer smiling, I kept my head down as we entered the bar. Cooper tapped my chin so I would look at him.
"That's not going to happen with you."
"Because I'm so special," I muttered, imagining how embarrassing it would be for a girl to hook up with Cooper and then have him blow her off so coldly.
"Yeah, actually. I don't take girls to hang out with my family. The last girl I did that with was a chick I knew since I was a kid and my mom liked her more than I did. For me to hang with an out-of-towner at my pop's bar proves you're not like those girls."
"Did those girls know they were those girls?"
Cooper rolled his eyes slightly. "Don't get femi-fascist on me, okay? I'm a dick to girls, sure. I fuck them and then blow them off, and you know what they do next? Move on with their fucking lives and find someone else. It's not a big deal, so don't make it one."
Nodding, I gave him a little smile. "It would hurt my feelings if you did that to me, so I assumed it would hurt their feelings too. Maybe they really don't care, though," I said and then glanced around. "Can I have a soda?"
Cooper gave me a sweet grin. "It really would hurt your feelings, wouldn't it? Man, you're frigging adorable. Like I'm dating a little girl."
Losing my smile, I didn't immediately respond when he gave me a kiss. Soon, he wrapped me into his arms.
"You take things so damn personally. Chill out or you'll have a midlife crisis when you're twenty."
Reaching up on my tiptoes, I kissed him quickly. "I'll try, but I'm used to being high strung."