"Yeah, he's so hot though that a girl is bound to stress."
After a few minutes of eating toppings off the pizza and pretending to study, Skye nudged me with her foot.
"Have you and Cooper done it yet?" When I shook my head, Skye frowned. "Why not?"
"We've only been dating for a week."
"So? My friend in Memphis fucked him within three hours of them meeting. It only took her that long because her little brother was around. Once they were alone, she and Cooper swapped fluids. What's your hold up? Oh, wait, are you a virgin?"
"No," I said, fiddling with a pencil. "I've been nervous about being with him, though."
"He thinks you're hot, Farah. Cooper's too shallow to hang around a chick for this long if he didn't think you were really hot. Strip him down and get you some of that sexy bastard. My friend Kacey said he's really good at both redneck fucks and mama's boy fucks. He also has a very talented tongue. Super thorough." Skye sighed. "Tyler and I haven't done oral yet. Hopefully, we will this weekend. I'm a big fan of oral. Well not giving but receiving."
Skye watched me for a minute. "You do like sex, right?"
"Not really. I mean, it's never been that great."
"Oh, well, it will be with Cooper. This isn't me talking. That's Kacey, and she wasn't a virgin, so she had something to compare him to. Cooper's great in the sack."
"What do the redneck and mama's boy things mean?"
Leaning back on her fluffy white bed, Skye laughed. "You don't know anything. What did you talk about in high school?"
"We moved a lot, so I didn't talk to many people."
"Oh, really?" Skye asked, suddenly concerned. "Didn't you have any good friends to bullshit with?"
"Just my younger sister."
"Bummer. I had a solid group of friends, and I miss the shit out of them. Oh, well, the various fucks. Okay, so the redneck fuck is fast and hard. Some chicks dig that, and all guys do. Most guys around here can only fuck fast and hard. They couldn't slow themselves down if their lives depended on it. Tyler's good, though. Real mama's boy."
Sitting across from Skye, I mentally prepared for the fast and hard fuck from Cooper.
"Now, some guys love their mamas so much that they get real sensitive to a girl's needs, if you know what I mean?" When I just stared at her, Skye continued, "Thorough, you know? They take their time and really make the girl come apart. Cooper is known for being really good at fucking a girl until she can't walk and not the way Tucker does. That boy will fuck a girl so hard she'll lose brain function from the head injury she gets from hitting the headboard so much. Cooper's got some moves. And Kacey said the fucker has the best tongue. I'm sure you've enjoyed more than a few major hot kisses by now."
As I nodded, Skye's gaze became distant. "Tyler kisses like heaven. I really wish I could keep him, but my dad wouldn't be cool with it. Even if I could convert Tyler, my mom would still be weird about having a science nerd in the family. She's so weird that way."
"Do you think Cooper is okay with this thing for his family?"
"Sure. He's inheriting the mantle from his dad so he'll need to handle a lot of shit soon."
"What exactly do the Johanssons do?"
Skye studied me in an odd way. "Cooper hasn't told you?"
"No."
"Maybe I shouldn't then."
"If you did tell me, I wouldn't tell him you did."
"Well," she began, sucking in a deep breath, "they're in management. Or sales, I guess. No management of sales."
"I don't get it."
Skye twisted her long blonde hair around a finger and shrugged. "Kirk worked in Memphis for a long time for a powerful business. When he met Jodi, she wanted to move somewhere quiet to raise their kids. She also wanted to be near a college so she could take courses. It was always her dream to do that, so Kirk found this place. Back then, another business managed the area, but Kirk talked to his bosses, and they agreed to help him remove the businessmen. Kirk would take over and give a percentage back to his old bosses. That was obviously a few decades ago and since then, the Johanssons have managed this area."
"Managed what exactly?"
"Do you really want to know?"
Everything about Cooper was something I wanted to know, even the bad stuff.
When I nodded, Skye squinted hard at me. "If you mouth off about his family business or blab to the cops, even Cooper can't protect you," Skye said, snapping her fingers. "Just like that you'd be gone and no one would even ask about you. You understand, right?"
Even with my heart pounding like crazy, I needed to know because I wanted Cooper to be mine.
"They manage everything," Skye said, holding a pillow on her lap as if for protection. "Drugs, whores, guns, gambling. Anything that doesn't fall under the banner of legal, they manage it. They allow people to work in their territory for a chunk of the profit. If someone doesn't pay or starts trouble, the family gets rid of the problem and installs someone new. If this area's criminal activity is a business, they are management. Soon, Cooper will be the new CEO."
"Oh."
"Don't fucking tell anyone," Skye hissed. "Don't think it's cute or cool and talk about it with anyone. Not your mom or anyone. If you do, Cooper will have to cut you loose. I don't think he'd have the stomach to get rid of you himself because he seems really into you, but Tucker would do you in a minute. That's what the idiot's good for. He doesn't care about that shit, so don't fucking talk."
"I won't," I promised, thinking of how I'd have no one to tell even if I wanted to blab. "I wouldn't hurt Cooper or his family."
Skye's angry expression eased, and she sighed. "I just don't want you blabbing and anyone getting mad at me, okay? My dad is an accountant. He's not some badass. If we were in trouble, he wouldn't know how to hide like some other fuckers. Man, you better not tell."
"I promise I'll never tell. I just want to go to school and hang out with you and be with Cooper. I have no reason to start trouble for anyone."
As Skye nodded, I saw both fear and anger in her eyes. After a few minutes of sitting silently, she nodded again.
"You're cool, Farah. It's why I told you," Skye said, calming herself. "I have a good life, though, and my parents worked hard to do well. I don't want anything fucking that up."
"I'll never tell anyone what you said."
Skye looked around the room and then back at me. "You need to fuck Cooper soon if you want to keep him. I'm not trying to be mean, but he doesn't go long without fucking. He shouldn't need to wait for anyone, and no other girl would tease him. If you're teasing to make him like you, just stop. If you're scared or nervous or whatever, get over it. Guys like Cooper get what they want, and he wants you. Either you'll give him what he wants, or he'll stop wanting you. Again, I'm not trying to be mean, but if you want to keep him, then you need to ditch your emotional shit and put out."
"I was thinking this weekend."
"Good. Anything longer and I don't think Cooper would want you anymore. I mean, he likes you for real, but he's got needs," Skye said, glancing towards the door where girls talked loudly. When her gaze returned to me, she smiled. "I know he likes you, so maybe he'd wait. Not wait for sex, but for you. He'll just fuck someone on the side until you're ready. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want Tyler fucking someone on the side because I was too uptight to put out. Not that you're uptight. I mean, if you've had crappy fucks before, then you're bound not to want to jump in bed. Still, Cooper's really good so just put out as soon as possible."
"This weekend," I said quietly, feeling anxious now.
"Look," Skye said, sitting closer and softening her expression. "I get how you're scared. A guy like Cooper can be overwhelming, but he can also be a great friend. Like even after he's done with you, he'd still help you out if you needed something. Like if you were short on cash or if someone's hassling you, Cooper would make things easier."
"I heard he acts like he doesn't know girls' names after he's done with them."
"Oh, yeah, sometimes, but only if they get clingy. Also, a few of those girls were bitches to Bailey. Cooper can't have anyone shitting on his sister. Still, with Kacey, he was always nice. When her ex was hounding her, Cooper busted the guy's head open. Problem solved. They weren't even fucking anymore, but Cooper helped her out. That's what you need to keep in mind. You have a tough life with being poor and having nothing, but Cooper can make it easier. Not just while you're together, but even afterward. It's a long four years you'll spend here and why not have a friend like Cooper? So when you think about how maybe you're not ready or whatever, just think about how being a friend to Cooper is better than being the bitch that teased him and never put out. Don't be that bitch."
Swallowing hard, I nodded. "I won't."
"Of course, you won't because you're cool. That's why you're my best friend. Even better than Bailey who threw a beer at me because I have a boyfriend and she doesn't. You'd never do that, would you?"