Something So Right(10)
He has to understand that this thing, whatever you want to call it, has a deadline.
“We can talk about it inside. I’m starving.” He grabs my hand, practically dragging me inside.
As per their usual stance, Larry, Curly, and Moe are at the exact same spot. They turn around and smile while I give them a wave with the one hand I have free.
“Let’s grab a booth in the back,” I say, hoping to get this dragging me around thing finished.
He slides in front of me, and the waitress, who is new, comes over with the menus.
“Can I get you guys something to drink first?” she asks but just bats her eyelashes at Cooper, making me want to pluck them out one by one.
“I’ll have a beer on tap. Babe, you want one, too?” He looks at the menu while ordering, leaving me with my mouth hanging open. Did we not just have this discussion five seconds ago? What is wrong with him?
“Um, I’ll have water with some lemon, please.”
The waitress doesn’t even address me. She just turns, walking away.
“Did we not discuss you calling me babe?”
“No, we didn’t. You told me. I’m not agreeing, so there was no discussion.”
I’m so frustrated with him I’m at a loss for words, and, trust me, that practically never happens.
“So, let me get this straight. You will continue to call me babe, regardless of if I want you to or not?”
“Pretty much. You want to split nachos?”
“You’re training. You can’t have nachos. It’s enough I let you ordering a beer slide. You can have grilled chicken and some steamed vegetables.” I mean, surely he knows he can’t eat this shit.
“It’s Sunday. It’s my cheat day. I eat what I want. You gotta live, babe!” he says, throwing his eyebrow up.
I, on the other hand, throw my hands up in frustration. I give up.
“Fine, have the nachos and beer. I’ll just make sure we do more skating drills tomorrow, you know, so you can work all those calories off.”
He laughs at me. “In order for me to do more drills you’ve got to show up earlier, and we both know that isn’t going to happen.” He smirks, waiting, baiting. He knows he is pushing my buttons, but I’m on to him.
“True, it’s not going to be earlier, we just won’t have water breaks.” I smirk back, as if I would give him the last word.
The waitress comes back with our drinks and takes our orders. He wasn’t lying about Sunday being his cheat day. He ordered whatever he shouldn’t eat on the menu.
“So tell me about yourself, Parker.”
“Well, Cooper, I’m thirty-four, almost thirty-five. Woot woot.” I throw my hands up like I’m celebrating. “I’ve lived here my whole life. Married my high school sweetheart. Married almost fourteen years till I walked in on him banging his assistant. Isn’t that hilarious? I wish I were kidding. But sadly I’m not. What about you, Stone, how many puck bunnies you got across the globe?” I say, snatching up a nacho when the waitress places it in the middle of the table.
“You caught him banging his assistant?”
“Yes, but now she isn’t just his assistant, she’s his fiancée. So it must be true love, right?”
“He cheated on you?” He shakes his head like he’s clearing something out.
I look into his blue eyes and want to get lost in them. I want to climb over the table and swallow him. All of him.
“Puck bunnies, how many of them are there?”
“I’ve had a girlfriend for the last five years, but we didn’t live in the same city, so I never got how shallow she was till she decided that we needed to live with each other. It lasted a week after that. As for puck bunnies, I don’t have them. Did I have them? Fuck yeah. In my early twenties, I had so many pussies I didn’t know what to do with them. Then I grew up. It’s not me anymore. Have you always trained or is this a new thing?”
“Really, that much pussy, huh? It makes sense how you think people just fall all over Cooper Stone.” I smile because he flat out gave me what I asked for. He didn’t even try to deny the puck bunnies. Point one for Cooper. “I trained when I was younger, learned everything from my dad, went to school, but I really learned everything just by being on the ice. I stopped a bit, with being married and all.” I snatch another nacho, chewing. “But then I was stuck divorced with nothing to do, so I sank all my time into the rink. Have you always played hockey?”
He nods, swallowing the bite of food in his mouth. “I’ve been skating before I could walk. At least that is what my parents say. I’m an only child. My parents were older when they had me. I’m not really close to them.” He shrugs his shoulders. “It’s just the way it is.” He takes a sip of beer. “So the rink is like your baby?”