As we sat on the top of the Ferris wheel, Cooper suddenly laughed.
"What?" I asked.
"You look like a little kid. The expression on your face is killing me."
"I was just thinking how you were so excited like a boy, instead of a man."
To prove he was all man, Cooper's gaze locked on my chest. "The girls jiggle in the best way every time the car jerks to a stop."
"You're so horny."
"You can't know how much."
Laughing, I glanced around, realized we were high up enough for no one to see, and caressed his crotch. I found him as hard as I expected.
"One day, when I'm super normal about sex," I whispered, "I'm going to do very wicked things with you up here. Then more wicked things down there and over there. I'm going to sex you up all over the fair. Unfortunately, I'm not normal yet, so you'll have to live with snug pants."
"Bitch," he said, grinning.
"Jackass."
"God, you're fucking hot," he muttered, removing my hand. "I'm going to jizz my pants at this rate, and my mom is probably watching. Don't tease me and ruin the lie I tell her about being a virgin."
The very idea of him being a virgin sent us into hysterics. Laughing so hard that we still hadn't gotten ourselves under control when it was our turn to get off, we stumbled from the ride.
"Virgin," I whispered, rolling my eyes.
"I don't remember a girl before you."
"Bullshit."
Cooper paid for a pink heart-shaped balloon and then handed it to me. "Fine, I have vague memories, but they fade every day I spend with you."
"More bullshit."
Pulling me to a stop, Cooper caressed my cheek. "When we broke up for that day, I saw this girl who has great tits. I never knew what the rest of her looked like, but the chick has banging tits. When I saw her that day, I didn't even notice her tits and trust me they were probably right out there for me to notice. It was the first time I noticed she was a redhead. That's how much I love you. I'm noticing girls' hair colors and personalities and shit."
"I find this confession oddly romantic."
Cooper's grin widened until he saw someone. Then his smile was gone. I tried to turn to look the direction he was staring, but he held me in place.
"Do you think about other guys?" he asked, holding me still.
"No. Who are you looking at?"
By the time Cooper let me turn, whoever he was irritated at had disappeared into the crowd. I glanced at him and frowned.
"Who?"
"You love me, so it doesn't matter."
"I do love you."
Cooper's smile was back. "I have a surprise for you later, but first I need to ditch you with Bailey and the girls."
"Ditch me?" I asked full of disappointment.
Cooper wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Just for lunch and then I'll meet back up with you and we'll have more fun."
"Where are you going?"
"You know I'm not telling so why ask?"
"Because I don't want you to leave and I'm hoping that if I seem clingy, enough you'll stay."
"Not working, but it's really sexy how you're trying."
Rolling my eyes, I saw how we were nearing one of the food tents. Skye stood next to Bailey, who was counting out a wad of cash without any concern for someone stealing from her. Maddy sat at a picnic table nearby, looking lonely without Tucker. I knew how she felt.
"How long will you be gone?" I asked just to make very clear how I didn't enjoy getting ditched.
"As long as it takes. When I get back, I'll kiss you until you can't stand."
"Stop with the threats. I'll miss you even if you're a jerk."
Cooper laughed and then gave me a long sloppy kiss until his sister heckled him from the tent. When his lips left mine, he smiled and then walked backward for a few steps before disappearing into the crowd.
I joined the girls who were arguing over what to eat. Tacos made them fart. Burgers made them fat. Chili made them fart. Hot dogs made them fat. It dragged on like that for a while before fattening won over farting.
Eating our burgers at the picnic table, we could hear a band playing from the other side of the food tents. At first, we didn't speak, just enjoying the music. The whole time, Maddy held a piece of paper in her left hand while eating with her right. Bailey finally snagged the note away.
"Don't," Maddy muttered, but she didn't put up much of a fight. No one ever did with Bailey. "It's from Tucker."
"A Dear Joan letter?" Bailey asked, barking with laughter. "Oh, gross, it's a poem."
Skye leaned over, took a second to read it, and laughed. "It's a really bad poem."
"He was drunk when he wrote it," Maddy said, crossing her arms tightly. "I think it's sweet. He calls me his flower."
"Original," Skye said, sitting back in her seat and playing with a fry.
Bailey rolled her eyes and returned the paper to Maddy. "Tucker doing his drunken poetry shit is as expected as Cooper and his singing during sex. Man, it's nasty how much I know about my brothers' love lives. Of course, between them, they've fucked everyone I know. Cooper alone has fucked every girl I've been friends with except for you two," she said, motioning towards Skye and Maddy.
"Sings?" I asked, ignoring the part where every girl I met was someone who had spent time with Cooper inside them.
Maddy smiled. "Hair of the Dog."
"I don't know that song."
"Don't go messing … " Bailey began.
"With a son of a bitch," Skye finished as they high-fived.
"Oh."
"He doesn't sing it with you?" Bailey asked like maybe I would be dumped any minute and she should start saying goodbye.
"No. Not yet anyway. Why would he sing though?"
"It's like a countdown," Skye said, laughing.
Even smiling, I felt weird now. Why hadn't Cooper sung to me like he'd sung to the billions of girls he'd nailed before?
"You two have had sex, right?" Skye asked, suspicious now even though was still laughing.
"Oh, they have," Bailey announced. "When they weren't, Cooper worked out with weights so much I thought his arms would fall off. Now he's calm. Though he could be calmer."
Again, I smiled awkwardly because there was nothing like having your friend encouraging you to fuck her brother more.
"Maybe you're special," Maddy said, rubbing her tiny baby bump. "Tucker treats me different than the other girls."
"Doesn't come in your face then?" Bailey asked, causing Maddy to glare at her.
"Whatever," Maddy said, ignoring Bailey now. "The point is when Cooper sang to those other girls; he was telling them their time in the sun was almost over. Maybe he doesn't want you to leave."
Bailey and Skye watched me like they figured I was on my way out. I sensed they might be sad about this fact, meaning they really liked me and weren't enduring me on Cooper's orders.
"Tucker and I started talking names," Maddy said, breaking up the awkward silence. "We went shopping for baby stuff, just looking mostly, and he got super psyched. Now we're big time looking for baby names."
"If I have a boy, I'm naming him Steele," Bailey explained. "For a girl, it'll be something tough like Ryan or Logan. I don't want my girls having sissy names."
"Fuck that," Skye muttered, slurping her drink. "If I could get a guy to agree, I'd name my girls Princess and Precious. For a boy, I'd name him something cute like Axe."
"Axe can play with Steele," Bailey said, grinning. "They'll grow up nailing chicks together."
"What about you?" Maddy asked me. "You ever think baby names?"
"Sure, but I've never really settled on any," I lied, feeling protective of my names.
"I'm thinking a flower name for a girl," Maddy said, and I nearly sighed with exasperation. "Tucker wants something like Scarlet or Delilah."
"Those all sound good," I mumbled awkwardly, just hoping no one stole Lily or Colton.
"Having a baby young is cool," Maddy said, watching me as Skye and Bailey checked out a few passing guys. "I'm still going to finish school eventually. That way my kids will take education seriously. I don't really want a job though. Not one out of the house anyway. I like babies." When I said nothing, Maddy squinted at me. "Don't you like babies?"
"I guess. I don't really know that many babies."
"Oh. I babysat a lot growing up, so I love babies. I'm really good with them, and I could teach you."
Suddenly, I understood Maddy's interest in babies and me. I had always thought she was embarrassed to get pregnant the way she had or at having people judge her. Instead, she saw it as a way to keep a wealthy guy she actually loved. Now she looked at me with my similar poor background and figured I could ensure Cooper stayed interested.
"I would appreciate the help," I said, keeping my words vague. "No one in my family is very good with kids."
Thinking I planned to ditch my birth control, Maddy smiled. "It's not so weird being pregnant. Like I puked a lot in the beginning, but it was just certain smells that did it. Now I feel fine. I'll probably finish out the semester and then go back to school in a year or two."