Chapter Thirteen
Emma
I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so at ease with a guy, but so nervous at the same time. I restlessly held my purse in my lap to give myself something to fidget with. The entire drive back to the grille, I found myself wondering if maybe, just maybe, Cooper would kiss me. It wasn’t something I made a habit of on first dates, and given how much of a gentleman Cooper seemed to be, I wasn’t so sure it was a possibility. But, still, I couldn’t help thinking about it. I couldn’t help imagining his lips on mine.
Dinner had been amazing. Not just the food or the atmosphere, but the company and the conversation. It was refreshing that I could just be myself around him. Not to mention how adorable it was that he had seemed so nervous, which made the entire date that much more interesting. Tim had never been nervous, in fact, he had been very self-assured, which had always made me very uncomfortable as a result. But with Cooper, it was exactly the opposite and that was an incredible feeling.
Cooper cut the engine and exited his side, walking around the car to open my door so I could get out. A task that one would think would be simple, especially with the assistance of holding on to someone’s hand. But it seemed that simple wasn’t in the cards for me. My foot caught the edge of the door as I tried to get out and my body pitched forward, my arms flinging out in an effort to find some way to brace my imminent fall. Just as I thought I was going down into the gravel for sure, strong arms wrapped around my waist and I was hauled upright against a solid wall of muscle, my palms flat against the surface of Cooper’s chest.
“Whoa now,” he said in my ear, his breath tickling the hair there. “You know, if you needed a hug, all you had to do was say so.”
My breath quickened as I looked up and met the amused expression on his face, his eyes alight with laughter. The heat of his touch seared into my skin through my thin dress, and I immediately found myself wondering what it would be like to have his searing touch all over me.
Clearing my throat against the onslaught of heat that rushed through my body, I forced myself to step back. “Thanks for catching me.”
“You’re welcome,” he responded, his voice tight. “I can’t have you beating yourself up before I get another surfing lesson. It’s my job to get pummeled by the waves and be black and blue, remember?”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied with a smile and rummaged through my purse for my car keys to avoid eye contact, afraid of giving away my thoughts. “Thank you for a lovely evening, Cooper. I really enjoyed it.”
“Me too, Emma,” he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you later then?”
I nodded and walked to my car, a stupid grin on my face. This was really good, whatever we had going on here, really good indeed.
***
After two days of being on opposite work schedules, I found myself wondering when I would see get to see Cooper again other than in passing at the grille. In fact, he had been on my mind far too much since our dinner date and the following day when we’d been able to squeeze in a short surfing lesson before I had to head to work. So when he texted and asked if I was free to hang out, of course I said yes.
“Come on! It will be fun. I swear.” I pulled on Cooper’s arm as I drug him toward the brightly lit building, laughing as he pretended to dig his feet into the pavement.
“That’s what you said about surfing,” he grumbled as we walked through the doors and into the black light show packed with people, the loud music muffling the sounds of them talking and laughing.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never bowled before,” I said, astonished.
He grinned and pulled me to the counter where we would pick up our bowling shoes. “Of course, I have. I just didn’t want to embarrass you when I beat the pants off of you.”
“We shall see about that,” I challenged as we grabbed our shoes and headed to the nearest empty lane. Black light bowling was something I enjoyed doing, sometimes coming out with the crew from Keefer’s for a midnight round when we could all get together after work on a weekend. We had often joked about having a league team ourselves, but someone would always be missing because someone had to man the grille. All in all, I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of the idea. Bowling was the perfect idea for a second date, one that I was already enjoying immensely.
“So,” Cooper started as he removed his Chuck’s and slid on his bowling shoes. “What’s your best score?”
“A lady never tells,” I replied with a smirk, tying my shoes and standing to search the racks for a bowling ball. “You’ll know when I leave you in the dust.”
“Big talk for such a little lady,” Cooper jabbed back as he stood, his hands on his hips. “Shall we make a wager, ma’am?”
“Sure,” I said, thinking it would be fun. “What are we betting?”
“Hmm,” Cooper replied, making a great show of thinking about it. “How about loser has to buy the winner a drink?”
“You’re on,” I agreed, extending my hand. He reached over and took it in his and immediately I felt that same electric connection I’d felt when he caught me from falling, his skin causing mine to sizzle in response. His eyes widened just enough for me to know I wasn’t the only one who felt it and he let go of my hand, leaving warmth in place of his touch. I wiped my hand on my jeans to attempt to get the feeling to go away, my head buzzing with how significantly Cooper’s simple touches affected me. Never in my life had I felt so strongly as I did whenever he was around. It was frightening and exciting all at once.
We gathered our bowling balls and set out to play, Cooper garnering a few strikes and spares while I tried to match him point for point. When the last frame rolled around, it was too close to call. I took in a deep breath and picked up my ball, desperately wanting to win the game. It was the principle more so than the free drink.
“Don’t choke now,” Cooper called out as I took two steps toward the lane. I released the ball perfectly, frowning as it broke out into a seven-ten split. Only I could manage one of the hardest pin positions for my final roll. “Ohhhh . . . that’s not pretty,” he called out.
“Don’t count me out just yet,” I said as I retrieved my ball from the return. He cocked an eyebrow at me. I stepped up, focused and exhaled a breath, positioning my ball just perfectly. With what I thought was perfect form, I released it and, to my dismay, it took a wide left turn and missed both pins completely. I lost.
Cooper came up behind me and settled his hands on my shoulders as I stared down the lane. “Aww. That’s too bad. Oh well, maybe next time.”
Turning around under his touch, I stuck out my tongue like a spoiled five-year-old. “You win, congratulations.”
He laughed and released me, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Do I detect sarcasm?”
“Take it how you must,” I said flippantly, marching over to the bench to remove my shoes. His hand shot out and he pulled me to him before I could sit down. He brushed a strand of hair out of my face with his soft touch and my breath stuttered in my throat at the thought of what might happen next. Everything in me was screaming for him to kiss me.
Cooper’s expression changed, and he cleared his throat. “It seems you owe me a drink, ma’am,” he said as he released his grip on me.
“Seems l do.” I sighed inwardly, the disappointment of not having his mouth covering mine settling into my bones. What was he waiting for? There was no doubt that there was an attraction between us. The question was, when was Cooper going to act on it?