Page 97 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls

It’s odd to see Cooper nervous, but he looks very uncertain as he heads to Eloise’s table. His face has lost its color.

“Come on, Coop,” Lexi hisses. “You’ve got this.”

We all watch as he gets her attention and talks to her. Her eyebrows furrow as she listens to him. She nods in confusion and says something back. And the next minute, he’s heading back to our table, face lowered in shame.

The rest of us exchange glances.

“Looks like it didn’t go well,” Dean says.

“Poor Cooper,” Lexi says.

He returns to our table, throws himself down, and continues eating. “Darn it,” he mutters.

Lexi places her hand on his shoulder. “She’s a moron for rejecting you.”

His shoulders slump. “Thanks. She told me to go away and leave her alone. Man. Is there something wrong with me? Am I ugly?”

For the next few minutes, we all try to reassure him that there’s nothing wrong with him. It’s mostly Lexi doing the talking because the rest of us don’t really know how to deal with a sad Cooper. She’s so good at making people feel better. I think it’s one of her gifts. The marine animals will definitely benefit from that special part of her.

I’ll definitely miss it.

“That’s it, I’m done,” Cooper says. “It’s not in the cards for me to have a girlfriend, so I won’t have one.”

“Don’t say that, Coop.” Lexi pats his back. “It’ll happen at the right time with the right girl.”

As she says that, her gaze flings in my direction. Is she trying to hint that she’s not the right one for me? Or is she…hinting that she wishes she was? That things were different? Had I not gone to Boston, would she and I be together now?

I quickly avert my gaze. I can’t let myself think like that. It’ll only make it harder to move on from her.

“And I’m not just talking about Coop,” Lexi goes on. “I’m talking about all of us.”

Theo waves his hand. “Figured it’ll take a special lady to handle this awesomeness.” He gestures at himself.

Lexi and Nate playfully shove his shoulder.

The conversation shifts to the guys’ lame attempt at asking girls out, which makes Cooper feel a whole lot better.

The bell rings. We gather our stuff, throw out our garbage, and leave the cafeteria with the rest of the students.

Lexi and I go to bio class, sitting across from one another. This is the first time since Friday that we’ve been alone. I don’t want things to be weird between us, but maybe that’s inevitable.

Lexi smiles as she places her school things on her desk and I take out my book. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her about her decision regarding Finn, but I hold back. If she wants to talk about it, she’ll talk about it. I’m not pushing.

She tucks some curls behind her ear. “Is that a good book?”

I glance at the cover of a man and woman battling dragons. “Yeah.”

“That’s cool. What’s it about?”

I need to keep my distance for both our sakes, but I don’t want to abandon her. Finn said that it’d crush her if I stopped being her friend. But how can I be her friend when I feel so much more than friendship?

The best I could do is give her a short summary.

She plays with her hair. “Is that all? Where’s your enthusiasm? I mean, you’re talking about books. Your favorite thing in the world other than sharks.”