Chapter Thirty-Two
Kate
I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry…
Glittery streamers surrounded me, dammit. Not to mention the shimmery gossamer. The decorations the prom committee ordered came in today, so we were sorting them and checking to see we had everything. But I couldn’t concentrate on the pretty decorations, or what my dress would look like next to them, because I’d just overheard Paris talking to Minion #1 about how Amber had asked Cooper to prom.
And he’d said yes.
The image I’d had of him in a tux by my side evaporated for good, and I regretted not asking him to go with me, even as just friends. Every pump of my heart spread the misery flooding my chest farther, making it that much harder not to give in to the urge to cry.
While Cooper acted like he hated all things prom, Amber was super pretty, and that no doubt factored heavily into his decision to go with her to the dance he was suddenly okay with attending.
I’m sure he didn’t waste a second before saying yes.
The guy I now needed to ask by default? Not so much on the surety scale. He’d tried to kiss me yesterday at his house. I’d pulled back, and that time it had nothing to do with freezing up or thinking about how many other girls he’d kissed.
It had to do with the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about the cute rower who’d given me kissing lessons under the stars. If those were novice lessons, I definitely wanted to get to the super advanced level—I was all about practice making perfect with Cooper’s lips, even if our kiss had been so amazing I didn’t know how it could possibly get any more perfect.
Mick had been gentlemanly enough about the entire situation. I told him that I was sorry, but I moved slower than he was used to, and while he looked completely befuddled—probably because Cooper implied I just hooked up with guys all the freaking time, which still ate at me—he politely drove me home.
He didn’t talk to me at lunch, though.
Not that I talked to him, either.
I ran into Jaden as I’d been holding my lunch, unable to commit to either side of the cafeteria, and he’d asked, “Trouble in paradise?”
“With me and…Cooper, you mean?” If Cooper had mentioned the tension and weirdness between us to Jaden, then maybe I wasn’t all alone on Sappy Island, missing him while he didn’t think twice about me.
“Oh no,” Jaden said. “I know you guys are just friends. Cooper told me you had a thing for Mick Pecker. But just know that you’re welcome at our table any time.”
Anger had coursed through me, every ounce of confidence I’d gathered the past month melted, and I’d left the cafeteria without talking to anyone else. How dare Cooper tell people about my crush on Mick! What part of top-secret mission was so hard to understand? Who else knew? If Mick found out the level of my obsession he’d run screaming.
For all I knew, he already wanted to.
More and more, Operation Prom Date looked to be a total bust. Maybe I’d sit at home in my beautiful formal gown and re-watch Arrow episodes while mainlining soda and cookie dough. At least the dress would see some action, even if it were onscreen and involved way more fighting than kissing.
When the kissing did happen on that show, though… Tears blurred my eyes, the packing list in my hands swimming in two. If not even Olicity could cheer me up, then I was utterly and totally screwed.
The more I thought about it, the more tears pressed on my eyes. Before I made a fool of myself and made Paris’s day by giving her enough emotional ammo to scar me for life, I dropped the checklist on the pile of decorations and rushed out of the room.
And slammed right into Cooper.
His hands came up on my waist as he steadied me, and the intense desire that automatically flared to life was torture. Like the type of torture where shows flashed-forward and expected you to be cool with the canon couples suddenly not being together anymore.
I blinked away my tears as quickly as he wanted me to row, desperate to stop them. “Ugh, of course you’re here.”
Cooper’s expression hardened. “I see how it is. Once you’ve gotten what you want, you throw away the person who helped you.”
“Were you helping when you told Mick I was a hookup girl? Or when you told Jaden I had a thing for Mick? Was anything we did kept secret?” My voice cracked, so I put more force behind it, making sure it was as sharp as the pain in my chest. “Or did you tell everyone about how pathetic I am, that I needed help to land a prom date?”
Cooper grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the crowd of people who were starting to stare. “Look, I didn’t say anything to anyone, except for telling Jaden that you liked Mick, so not to bother wasting his time with you. But you’re about to tell everyone yourself. Jeez.”
Defeat weighed me down, along with a good dose of sorrow that Cooper and I couldn’t even be civil to each other anymore. That wasted time comment hurt like hell, too, sending the pain deeper, until even my bones ached with it. I clenched my jaw, renewing my chant of I will not cry, I will not cry. “What does it matter anymore, anyway? Might as well just let everyone know. Maybe if I tell them first I’ll at least sound a little less desperate.”
“I don’t understand why you get to be mad,” Cooper said. “You got what you wanted. You’re going to prom with Pecker. If anyone should be mad, it’s me. You bailed on our rowing sessions, leaving me in the lurch. And let’s not forget how you convinced me to talk to my dad. It went horrible, by the way, and then were you there, like you promised you’d be?”
My beat-up heart splatted in my chest. How could I be there when being around him only made me think about what I’d never have? Still, he was right. I’d sent the message about needing space, copping out when I should’ve been there for him. “I’m sorry. He freaked out? Are you okay?”
Cooper made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. “Don’t act like you care now.”
“I do care!”
Mick came over and put his hand on my back. He narrowed his eyes at Cooper. “Is everything okay here?”
“Great. Of course it’s you.” Cooper shook his head. “This is just perfect.”
Mick tensed, and I put my hand on his arm. “It’s okay. We were just talking.”
“She’s right. We were. But now we’re done.” Cooper threw his hands up, like he wanted to wash them of me, and then he backed away.
And I had a feeling that when he’d said we were done, he was talking about more than just our heated conversation.