Chapter Twenty-Six

Parker

It’s been two weeks since Cooper decided that he’s moving here. When I say decided, that is a nice way of putting what we went through.

After making pancakes with Allison while I drank my coffee at the breakfast nook, he told her about the day he had planned. He had many ‘castles’ for us to see. At that point, I wanted to rip his eyeballs out for him telling her.

She was all too happy to go in search of Elsa and Anna’s true-life castle. So I glared at him from across the table while they both went on about what things they should have in this said castle.

Matthew didn’t even look up from his plate. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t taking in the conversation.

So, after cleaning the kitchen, Cooper left to go to his house. According to him, he had to pack his shit for the rest of the week. I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, was he here for a week? Was he staying here till he finished? It was all up in the air. My mind was going a hundred miles an hour when Matthew came into the kitchen.

“So he’s moving here? What does that mean? Are we moving in with him?” He stood in front of me, his hands in his pockets. When did he get so big?

“Umm, yes. Yes, he is. He told me this morning. I didn’t know that was what he was thinking.” I wrung my hands together.

“So what? You just forget about the naked girl in his house? You forget that he lied to you about it? Is that what you’re doing?” He was angry, so very angry.

“Matthew, it was a misunderstanding in what I saw. I believe him. I believe in what he says. I shouldn’t have gone off the deep end before speaking to him. It’s just—”

“It’s just that you thought he fucked you over like dad,” he yells.

“Matthew, I will not tell you again, watch your mouth. I am not discussing this with you.”

“Why would you discuss anything with me? You just put things ‘under the carpet.’ You think I don’t know how my dad messed up? You think I want to sit across the table from him and his girlfriend knowing that he hurt you? That he hurt us?”

“Cooper is not your father. He is nothing like your father. I’m not excusing what your father did, but I think in the end maybe we would be exactly where we are right now.” I move closer to him and lean up to grab his face. “Regardless of what or who your father is with, he loves you. He will always love you. You have to know that.” My boy doesn’t want to cry. He doesn’t want to show me that he isn’t the strong kind.

“He left us, without a second thought. Who does that? Who? He didn’t even try to fight. Cooper...Mom, he came here even though he knew you didn’t want him. He came to you and fought for you, he fought me for you. Why couldn’t Dad?” he whispered, letting a tear escape his eye.

“Sweetie, maybe I didn’t fight either. Maybe I just let your dad leave. Maybe I knew it was over. I love him for giving me you and Allison. I love him for making a life with me. I can’t explain it, but what I have with Cooper is so different than what I had with your dad. Maybe it’s ‘cause I’m older, maybe I’m wiser, but I know that I would fight till my last breath for him,” I say to him, making him look me in the eye.

Just when he was going to say something, Allison runs through the room, looking for her princess shoes to wear to all those castles we are going to see.

Matthew and I end up in a fit of giggles.

That day we visited four houses. Four houses fit for families of twenty. One house had ten rooms. Who in their right mind would need ten fucking rooms?

Just when I thought it was a lost cause, we pulled up on Meghan and Tom’s street, stopping three houses down from theirs. This home was massive, but the weeping willow trees in the front lawn made it look homey.

We started in the back yard. If that was what you called it. It felt as big as a football field. Smack in the middle of the yard was a huge pool with a water slide hidden in the rock mountain behind it. Off to one side sat a hot tub adjoining the pool. At the far side of the yard was the biggest wooden jungle gym you could ever possibly see, but that wasn’t what caught my eye. Next to the jungle gym, it looked like a little house with a door and two windows. The house was of course pink and purple, perfect for Allison, who ran with all she had to that house. Opening the door, she shrieked. It had a fake kitchen, a kitchen table, a miniature couch set, and one bedroom with none other than a princess canopy bed. It was like a house. Allison turned around and looked at Cooper with hearts in her eyes. “Can you pwease buy this house, Cooper?”

I don’t know how I knew, but that was the moment I knew he would be putting an offer on this house without looking at anything inside. So ten days later after everything was signed on the dotted line, his stuff from his condo arrived.

I really didn’t know what he was going to do with this monster of a house. It had seven bedrooms, which considering all the other houses it was like a downsize. Ten bathrooms. How many people will be using the bathroom at the same time that they needed ten fucking bathrooms? It had a theater room, which I have to say is pretty cool. A home gym, three-car garage, and a huge kitchen in the middle of the house. It was everything he was looking for.

I also found out during this time that Cooper hates furniture shopping. By hate, I mean he fucking loathes it. The one thing he wanted was a king-sized bed. He didn’t care about the colors of the paint, the style of the furniture. He hired Meghan to decorate the whole house with one instruction. Show it to Parker. She likes it, you buy it. Only one thing wrong with this. I couldn’t decorate to save my life, so I just told her to make it homey. Whatever the fuck that meant.

But she worked her magic and when it was time for Cooper to move in, it was in fact his home.

He never asked us to move in. But when he did get the keys and brought us over to see, I was shocked to see a room designed for a princess. Complete with the same bed from the outside tree house, just bigger. Next to that bedroom was a hockey themed room. All in the colors of Matthew’s school colors. The touches were something that shot right through me. He was making sure we knew that we were going to be here whenever we wanted.

That night over pizza the topic of the conversation was that of the upcoming season, which was due to start in two weeks. Because Cooper was already part of the team, he didn’t have to go to the pre season training.

“I got everyone tickets to the home game. I also rented a hotel suite right next to the arena so we don’t have to drive back home. We can stay there and celebrate.”

Matthew’s eyes jump open. “All of us?”

He gets up from the table, coming back with three gift bags. One blue, one pink, and one purple. He hands the blue one to Matthew, the pink one to Allison, and the purple one to me.

“I got you guys something to celebrate me moving in here. Go ahead, open it.”

“We got pwesents. I like pwesensts, Cooper,” Allison says while digging into her bag, pulling out a small jersey with Cooper’s name on it.

“I want you to wear that when you come and see me play so everyone knows who my girl is.” He winks at her, making her giggle while she puts on the jersey backward at first and then making it right. It’s almost like a dress on her, but that is the smallest he could get.

She walks over to him, climbing onto his lap, kissing him on the cheek. “I’ll alwabs wear this for you.”

“Thanks, kid,” he says, hugging her close. “Go on, you two, open it up.”

Matthew and I look into our bags, pulling out the same jersey, and smile at each other.

“There is something else in the bag,” he says, making us both look in the bottom of the bag. My eye catches a key chain with a key on it.

Before I ask anything, Matthew speaks, “What’s this key for?”

Cooper puts down his water that he was drinking, answering him, “It’s a key to the house. I want you to know that you are always welcome here. If I’m here or not. You can come and go as you please.” He nods at the key in his hand.

“That’s cool. Do you think I can go watch TV in that hockey room?” he asks.

“That’s your room. You can do what you want in that room.”

We hear a gasp that has come out of Allison. “Can I have the pwrincess room?” she asks.

Laughing, Cooper answers her, “Where else would you sleep when you come over here?” He leans down to whisper in her ear, making her eyes go big. Jumping down from his lap, she runs out of the room, saying something about checking the closet and princess dresses.

When it is just the two of us, he motions to me to come to him with his finger. I get up, bringing my jersey with me.

When I’m close to him, he drags me onto his lap. I am sitting on him with my feet hanging on the sides on the chair.

“I’m guessing you want me to wear your jersey also?” I lean over, kissing him lightly on the lips. “You know what I think I’m going to do?” I whisper in his ear. “After the kids go to bed, I’m going to put this jersey on.” I nip his ear, moving in closer, licking his lobe. “And nothing else but this jersey.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I feel him grow hard under me.

“I think that’s a great idea. I think I would love nothing more than to see you in my jersey and nothing else.” He looks around to make sure no one is around when he grabs my tits, squeezing my nipples. “And after I eat that sweet pussy of yours, I’m going to flip you over and fuck you doggy style all the while you’re wearing my name.”

I groan out and push my core right down on his hard ridge.

“Promise?” I know him enough to know he will do exactly all that.

“You have my promise. I will properly fuck you good.” He nips my lips, and just when I’m going to slide my tongue into his mouth, we hear Allison shriek that she is moving in and bringing all her clothes, making us laugh in each other’s mouth.