Page 1 of Covet (The Red #3)

Chapter One

Elle

Listen to Terrible Love

by Birdy

M y jaw dropped as I stared at the screen.

Landon looked exhausted. Her beautiful blue eyes were puffy and showed dark circles.

Golden strands of hair lay limp and matted.

But there was a glow of satisfaction that practically vibrated through the phone as she slumped on a balcony chair, the sunny outline of LA in the distance.

“You actually left Dumped and flew away with Adam?”

My high shrieked voice caught the attention of Coop, who came over with a furious expression. “What did she do?” he demanded, brows lowered in a fierce frown.

I waved him away, needing this to be private. Coop was ready to tear apart Adam and thought Landon should be ostracized from our friend group. I understood his loyalty to Max, but there was no way I was letting Coop tell me who my friends were.

Landon filled me in on the details while Coop silently fumed behind me.

When she was finished, my head spun. “Babe. I’m kinda in shock here. You gave it all up for him?”

Her laugh sounded almost musical to my ears. Like it contained a hidden relief and excitement that was brand new. A touch of longing bloomed in my stomach. How odd that such a familiar sound gave off so much about Landon’s state of mind. The same thought kept repeating in my mind.

Landon had dumped Max, blown up her career, moved across the country, and she was…happy.

If Cooper asked me to drop everything and follow him on the road while he grew his photography career, I wouldn’t hesitate with my answer.

Hell, no .

Somehow, amidst the drama and betrayal, Landon and Adam found something special.

I’d always assumed Coop and I shared the same type of love.

I compared our relationship to Landon and Max because it was similar.

With Landon by my side, I never questioned my doubts because both of us pushed forward together.

The four of us were supposed to be immune to breakups.

We’d planned to move in together and party together.

This was supposed to be the time we dug in and achieved our dreams with our men by our side.

But now?

Everything had changed. My best friend was now supposed to be our enemy as we tried to figure out how it all happened. Adam and Landon engaged in a secret affair; Max was broken and on a revenge quest; and Coop began treating me like I’d betrayed him.

It was a clusterfuck of mega proportions.

I’d hoped Landon and I could work together to calm things down, but now she was in LA, and I had to try and have her back.

A pang of hurt coursed through me, but I knew it was ridiculous.

She loved Adam. Of course, she wouldn’t think of me when she made her decision to run.

I refocused my attention on Landon. “It was all worth it,” she said with her usual self-assurance.

“I know it sounds like I flipped out and followed my impulse, but I know this was the right decision. I don’t want to be on television or fight Gabby for followers.

I focused on that path because I had no idea what else to do, but now it’s time to figure stuff out.

Being here gives me an opportunity to explore, without pressure. ”

I nodded. “Got you. It does make sense. Besides, who’s going to say no to an airport rom-com ending? Did you say you chose him?”

Her wince made me laugh. “Maybe?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. “I ran straight from the set and called Gabby to see when his flight took off. Thank God I made it or this would be a different conversation.”

Another flicker of hurt whipped through me, but I tamped it down.

Gabby again. Somehow, Gabby had jumped between us.

She seemed to help out when Landon needed it most, and claimed to know secrets only I’d ever been told.

I liked Gabby, but felt a bit on the outside of her focus.

Would it change since Landon was no longer here?

Would our group be able to put back all of our broken pieces?

I didn’t know. It was too early to tell.

For the first time, I didn’t have Landon to lead and there was an empty pit in my stomach I never noticed before.

“Listen, I better go,” Landon said. “I need to shower and get settled. I miss you already.”

“Miss you, too. Make sure you text me updates.”

“Same with you.” Landon paused, and I caught the flicker of regret on her face before smoothing out. “I’m sorry to stick this on you, Elle. I love you. I would’ve never done this to deliberately hurt anyone, especially you.”

My insides softened. Landon emanated cool bitch vibes to the world, but I knew her heart and how hard she loved her friends and valued loyalty. Somehow, we’d figure it all out. “I know. Talk later.”

I clicked off and turned my head. Coop was pacing the small kitchen, guzzling Vitamin water and muttering under his breath.

I braced myself for another confrontation.

We’d been struggling since Landon and Adam got together.

Coop had been using all his spare time to stay with Max, so he hadn’t slept over my place in a while.

I thought a cooling off period would be good, but maybe we needed to fight it out. He was obviously still pissed, and blamed me.

Coop knew exactly how to get me riled up.

Many times, it led to amazing, edgy sex so I hadn’t complained.

Other times, our volatility made me want to crawl in a corner and hide.

I’d grown up with a family who were nice to each other.

Confrontation was something I used to avoid, but dating Coop pushed me to become a new person.

He’d refused to let me hide under the covers or ignore a situation.

He prodded and poked until I lost my temper, snapped back, and then the cycle began.

Did I think it was healthy?

No.

Was it easy to ignore because the majority of the time Coop fulfilled my hidden sexual fantasies?

Yeah.

God, I was fucked up. I was a walking cliché of good girl gone bad.

Landon loved to tease me, but even I had stopped telling her every dirty detail of what Coop and I did together.

Too bad that type of closeness wasn’t following us into real life.

The thought gave me a pang of sadness, but then Coop stomped back in and I returned to defense mode.

“What did she try to tell you? That Max paid for some random guy to attack her just to get her back? Adam is lying his ass off and she’s believing all of it. I bet she’s blaming me, too,” he said bitterly.

I took a breath and tried desperately to stay calm.

Landon and I were close, but the way Coop defended Max no matter what bothered me.

I was beginning to question if Coop had also strayed when Max did.

If they were that close, did they cheat together, too?

Was Coop also a master denier? Or was this whole situation creating doubt that was slowly eroding our relationship?

“She’s not blaming you for anything,” I stated. “As for Max, I’m not sure what happened. She told me Adam had proof that Max paid someone to fake attack her at Red.”

“Bullshit. You don’t actually believe that, do you? I mean, you know Max!”

“I thought I did! Now, I’m confused,” I shot back.

His eyes narrowed. The force of his personality struck me full force; the same aura that had immediately attracted me to him at first sight.

Coop was the picture of a hot fitness model, with just enough bad boy energy to make women do a double take.

He didn’t try to take the lead or emanate smooth, golden boy charm like Max.

He didn’t use his looks as leverage, or weave a spell with his words.

Instead, he owned a raw power and clear-eye determination to get what he wanted.

Where Max would use subtle seduction to get women, Coop would offer a shocking proposal, then calmly wait for a yes.

With his thick, wavy russet hair, pale blue eyes, and bulging muscles, he had an intense presence that fascinated me.

Besides the crackling sexual energy that immediately connected us, I enjoyed the way he was a go-getter.

He was rough, but had a creative viewpoint with his photography that I loved.

He believed in action on all things to succeed.

He hated coddling, or showing too much emotion because he put all his softness into his photographs and had little left for me.

Coop was the opposite of everything I was, and the contradiction hooked me hard. Even when things were bad between us, I was never bored. Even when I tried to leave, he showed me all the ways he could keep me happy if I stayed.

The air tensed and I groaned, burying my head in my palms. “I’m tired of fighting over this. Can we just leave it alone? You believe Max and I believe Landon. We can treat this like our politics. Agree to disagree and move on.”

His eyes iced in warning and I knew I was in for it. “No, we can’t, Elle. Because that’s playing pretend and I’m more than that. So are you, if you’d just step up for once instead of letting everyone else make your decisions.”

Anger flared and churned inside. He’d been a dick lately and I was getting tired of it. “Fine. I decide to believe Landon and think Max is an asshole. That good? Are we done?”

“You want to believe her before you even talk to Max? What about listening to his side?”

“What about listening to Landon’s side? Or Adam’s?”

His white teeth flashed in a mockery of a smile. “Sure, if they want to talk to me with all their facts in order. I’ll listen.”

I knew he was mocking me but couldn’t prove it. He was a master at making me look like the irrational one. “Fine. I’ll ask Landon, okay?”

“Great. And you’ll talk to Max?”

I grit my teeth. “Sure.”

“I’ll text him and we can meet at the diner? I can loop in Daisy and Gabby, too.”

This time, I smiled with teeth. “Sounds like a fun party. I’ll be there.”

We glared at each other. Within the angry tension an awareness built, but I was tired of hate sex and letting my body rule my mind. This time, I refused to play our game.

“Elle—”

I spun on my heel, grabbed my purse and headed for the door. “I have an audition. Lock up before you leave.”

His quick indrawn breath made satisfaction curl in my tummy. “What? I thought you were focusing on music?”

I flung open the door. “Too bad you don’t remember. I like variety.” I tossed my hair like I tossed the insult, taking in his clenched jaw. “I’m working late shift tonight.”

Coop hesitated. “Want me to be here when you get out?”

I knew he was throwing me a compromise. This whole week, we’d been fighting and sleeping apart, with no sex. My body screamed to give in and just make things better, but my other parts just wanted some space to think and figure out what was wrong with Coop and I lately.

“No.”

Silence. Then he spoke with a hard edge to his voice. “Fine. Don’t forget I like variety, too, Elle.”

My fingers gripped the knob so hard it hurt. I dragged in a breath.“Funny, you sound just like Max.”

With my retort flying through the air, I slammed the door behind me.