Page 41 of Falling Like Leaves (Bramble Falls #1)

I spend Friday evening with Mom, Aunt Naomi, and Sloane, passing out candy to trick-or-treaters and roasting marshmallows over a firepit in the driveway.

Once we’ve turned off our porchlight and the town has grown quiet, I make my way to my room to study.

I’ve just finished going through my physics notes when there’s a tap at the attic window.

I glance over and scream when I see someone’s face.

I throw my hand over my chest and breathe. Cooper.

I jog over and throw the window open. “What are you doing?” I whisper.

He looks frozen in terror, crouched down in his pajamas and glasses. “I climbed the trellis.”

I grin. “But why? You said you were going to bed. It’s almost eleven.”

“Because I’ve barely seen you since you got your average grade.”

“You mean since yesterday,” I laugh.

He frowns. “Well, you spent lunch in the library and actually focused in class. And I get it. I do. But you’re also leaving soon, so let’s watch a movie.”

“Tonight?” I ask. “You have to work in the morning.”

“Please let me in before I fall off the roof. I’ll be fine tomorrow.” I step back and let him crawl through the window. Once he’s through, he stands and grins at me and whispers, “I just conquered my fear for you.”

“I think you just conquered your fear for you .”

“Fine. I conquered it for both of us,” he says. “But I don’t know how I’m getting back down, because I definitely broke that thing.”

I pull him into me and kiss him. “Sounds like a problem for later.”

He smiles against my lips. “If you keep kissing me, we will not get to a movie.”

I shrug. “I was never one for cinema, anyway.”

He laughs. “Ellis, go pick out a movie.”

I pout. “You can’t just show up here in your glasses and expect me to not want to kiss you.”

He arches an eyebrow. “… this is a glasses problem?”

“Sure is,” I tell him. “You in those glasses are hot, my guy.”

“Huh. I had no idea. I’ll keep that in mind for the future,” he says with a smirk.

He kicks off his shoes and climbs into my bed while I put the old Speed DVD in.

“What is this?” he asks as it starts. He puts pillows behind him and lifts his arm, gesturing for me to join him. I crawl into the space between his arm and his body, snuggling against him with my cheek on his chest and his arm around me.

“You’ve never seen Speed? It’s a classic. The perfect combination of romance and action.”

“Okay.” He pulls the blanket over us. “I’m intrigued.”

For the next hour and a half, we cuddle in my bed, with me fighting the urge to kiss him while the tips of his fingers travel softly up and down my arm as we watch the movie.

When the credits start rolling, I look up at him. “I wish you could stay. I could fall asleep just like this.”

“Me too.” He kisses my forehead. “But we’re already pushing our luck.”

“I know,” I sigh.

I sit up, and he pulls me in for a kiss.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asks when he lets me go. “Do I have to jump off the roof? If that’s the case, just kill me now.”

“I’ll walk you downstairs. Everyone’s sleeping. You can use the front door.”

We climb out of bed, and Cooper grabs his shoes before following me quietly down the steps. We sneak down the dark hallway, then down the next flight of steps.

We’ve just reached the front door when someone clears their throat. Cooper and I whip around to find Mom standing there with her arms crossed.

“Cooper,” she says. “So nice to see you—in the middle of the night.”

Cooper stands there frozen.

“He just stopped by to give me something for the parade,” I blurt.

“Oh? Must have been something very important.”

I sigh. “We just watched a movie. That’s it.”

“Mm-hmm.” She turns to my boyfriend. “Good night, Cooper. Have a safe walk home.”

Cooper nods and quickly escapes the house.

“You can’t have boys sneaking into Naomi’s house,” Mom says once he’s gone.

“I know.”

“I’m putting condoms in your nightstand tomorrow.”

“Mom…,” I groan. “We’re not—”

She holds up her hand. “I don’t care. Now go to sleep.”

I nod and take the steps back up to the attic. If getting condoms put in my dresser drawer is the worst punishment I’m going to get for having a boy in my room this late, I’m not going to argue.

I climb back into my still-warm bed, where it now smells like Cooper, all citrus, sugar, and his laundry detergent, and my phone dings.

Summer Cooper: I miss you already.

Me: Then come back.

I click on his contact and hit the edit button.

Autumn Cooper: I think your Mom would kill us. But at least we have the Pumpkin Prom tomorrow.

Me: Can’t wait.

I bury my face in my Cooper-scented pillow and smile. What even is this life?