Page 14 of Cooper & Jake (Gomillion High Reunion #2)

JAKE

My eyes have been glued to the front door of the gym ever since the moment that Peyton and I first showed up.

When we first got back to the hotel room, I changed within minutes, wanting to come here again so I could be in Cooper’s proximity.

Peyton took longer than me, leaving me to calm myself down by working on my crocheted blanket while he took way too much time in the bathroom.

I peer around one of the people in front of me, trying to see if I can get a glimpse of Cooper again. I saw him when he and Taylor first walked in, but quickly lost them as they disappeared somewhere on the other side of the gym.

“So, you own a bar? That’s cool. Do you have to work crazy late hours? I always imagined those who work in bars crawling home at three in the morning and then sleeping all day.”

I turn back to Aaron, a guy I used to have a few classes with. “I have some late nights, but most of the time, no. My manager usually stays for the late-night shift. Usually, I work during the day, like a ‘regular job’.”

“Right on, man. That sounds like a fun place to work. I work at a bank. Not the funnest place to have a job, but it pays really well and supports my family.”

“That’s awesome. Working at the bar isn’t always fun, but there are times when it beats working a nine-to-five for me.

I also don’t have a family, so I’m sure if I did, it would change the fun I have,” I joke, taking a sip of my beer.

Cooper comes into view, and my attention is now focused solely on him.

“Uh, excuse me,” I say, nodding my head and walking away.

I move straight for Cooper, who’s on the other end of the gym talking to Alice once again.

“Hi,” I murmur, interrupting their conversation.

“Hi,” they both reply in unison.

I give Alice a quick “Hey,” then focus back on Cooper. “I love your outfit. You look so much like Ken from that Barbie movie.”

“That’s exactly what I was going for!” He pulls at the fanny pack and then grins at me. “Taylor showed me her outfit, and I wanted something to match her, but still be different. Then, one day, I saw an ad for Barbie, noticed Ken’s outfit, and bam ! I knew I wanted it.”

“Well, you look hot as fuck. I love the neon colors. Plus, the visor hat is cool too, even if you are inside,” I joke, tapping the bill of his visor.

“You look great, too. I can definitely tell you’re from the eighties.”

Alice is still standing next to Cooper, her eyes ping-ponging between the two of us.

“You both look hot as fuck. I am so thankful they chose this as the theme. So much eye candy. My husband is dressed in a tight pair of spandex, and Momma can’t wait to get him home.

Speaking of… I’m going to see if I can find him. I’ll see you both later?”

“Of course,” Cooper says, waving as she walks away.

“Seriously, though. You look so damn delectable. And if we didn’t have other events happening tonight, I would take you back to my hotel room right this second—actually, scratch that, I would drag you back to your hotel room.

I’m sharing one with Peyton, and I don’t want him walking into a whole sex show. ”

“So, you’re saying we’re going to have sex again? Tonight?” he purrs, dragging his index finger down my chest.

“Uh, I mean, I’m not expecting it or anything. But I wouldn’t mind going back to your room once we’re all done.” I tell him sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. “I didn’t mean to come off as too cocky or overconfident.”

“I’m playing with you, Jake.” He steps up to me, getting right in my space. I lean down as he leans up and whispers in my ear, “I can’t wait to get you back to my room. I want you to split me open again and show me the stars.”

“Goddammit,” I hiss, reaching down to adjust my rapidly hardening cock. “You can’t tease me while we’re in a room full of people, Cooper.”

“Oops,” he chuckles, patting my chest. “Don’t worry, it’ll be worth the wait. I promise.”

“Cooper,” I growl, grabbing his arm as he tries to walk away.

“Hmm?”

“Are you going to be a good boy for me tonight?”

“Fuck yes,” he breathes. “I am going to be the best boy for you.”

“Good. That’s what I like to hear,” I say, making sure no one is looking our way before lightly smacking his ass.

The lights dim, and our old class president, Justin, starts talking into the microphone.

One by one, people start giving speeches, talking about Gomillion High from when we attended to talking about the school as it is now.

Some teachers even get up and speak, which is wild to think that some of the teachers speaking were my teachers twenty years ago.

After all the speeches wrap up, we focus our attention on the screen behind the stage.

The presentation starts with a picture of the school, accompanied by music playing in the background.

The school pictures slowly transform into photographs of us students, and I’m blown away at how much things have changed.

Everyone looks like babies in the images.

Kids without a care in the world and with their whole lives ahead of them.

My eyes stayed glued to the screen, trying to catch glimpses of Cooper and me.

I’m not disappointed when there are multiple images of us scattered throughout the show; one of us during class, and another when we were in the hallway one day before class.

Each time we pop up, Cooper squeals excitedly and slaps my chest.

“This is so exciting,” he says, eyes glued to the screen.

“It’s like looking into a time machine. I wonder where they found all these pictures.”

“Probably people’s MySpace. Was Facebook a thing back then, or was that too new?” Cooper asks, turning to look at me.

“Hm, no, I don’t think Facebook was around during our time.”

Once the presentations and speeches conclude, the awards and recognitions are distributed.

Cooper ends up getting most likely to end up in healthcare, which makes him laugh loudly because they were pretty damn close.

Back in high school, Cooper loved his science classes.

We all thought he was either going to become a doctor or a scientist. Once they’ve passed out all the awards, they lower the lights again and start playing music for the dancing part of the night.

This was the one event I was looking forward to most. Being able to twirl Cooper around the floor.

In high school, he dragged me to every dance the school put on, wanting to dress up and dance the night away.

At first, I was more shy and reserved, and didn’t want to dance in front of everyone, but Cooper had a way of bringing me out of my shell and not worrying about what others would think.

I sucked at dancing back then. I must have stepped on his toes a million times throughout each dance, but he never complained once.

He would just smile brightly at me and encourage me to just keep dancing.

“Wanna go take some pictures while they finish getting everything ready?” he asks, his eyes set on the photo booth on the far side of the dance floor.

“Let’s do it.”

On the other side of the room, they have a huge Etch-a-Sketch.

It’s exactly like the toy I used to play with as a kid; the one with the two white circles on the bottom, where you turn them to create a picture, and then once you shake it, it all vanishes.

There’s a small line in front of it, so Cooper and I follow suit, lining up behind everyone.

“Damn, they really went all out with the eighties theme, didn’t they?”

“They did really well,” I tell him, looking around. “I bet it took so damn long to get this all together, which I’m grateful for.”

It isn’t long before we’re up, and Cooper and I take our positions in front of the backdrop.

“Okay, prom pose first,” he says. Turning around and putting his back to my front.

I place my hands on his waist, and we both turn our heads, flinching when the bright flash goes off.

“Damn, that’s bright. Okay, next pose.” He spins in my hold, putting his arms around my neck and smiling brightly at me.

Neither of us looks at the camera this time, both of us far too focused on one another.

The flash goes off again, Cooper bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet.

“Last one, I promise, Charlie’s Angels style. ”

“Oh god,” I mutter, turning around and crossing my arms over my chest.

“Don’t smile, though. I want a serious picture.”

“Fine.”

The photographer takes another picture, and Cooper and I finally step away. “Thank you. I can’t wait to see them.”

The person taking the pictures tells us we’ll be able to look at them a bit later if we want to come back to check them out.

Or we can wait, and they’ll email them to all the attendees at a later date.

Cooper and I walk away from the dance floor, the music blaring loudly throughout the room.

There are a ton of people dancing nearby, while others are sitting at the tables, and many are just milling around, having multiple conversations.

I probably should have spent more time talking with my classmates this weekend, but honestly?

I didn’t care. Cooper was the one person I cared about seeing, and being able to spend the whole reunion with him has been beyond my wildest dreams. I, for sure, thought we would be like two ships passing in the night, only waving ‘ hi ’ to one another.

But I’ve spent almost every extra second I’ve had with him, and I’m not complaining one bit.