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CHAPTER EIGHT

COOPER

A fter a grueling practice that went longer than expected, I followed JJ through the tunnel and into the locker room with my helmet under my shoulder. “Hey, man.” I patted his shoulder pad.

“Yeah?” He stopped and turned around, his helmet swinging from his hand. His brows lifted. “You want to talk about Myles?”

“Uh…” How did he know? I tensed the edge of my mouth. “Yeah, I do.”

“I was wondering when this was coming.” He sighed and raked his fingers through his wet hair.

Guys passed by, some glancing at us.

“It’s probably not what you think.” I peeked at Casey as he walked by and patted my ass, saying, “Good hustle out there, Hayes.”

I up-nodded at Casey. “Thanks.” Shifting my focus to JJ, I said, “Have lunch with me. Five Guys? We earned it after all those runs Coach made us do.” I knew he’d be down for that.

“Sure. Let’s shower and get the hell out of here. I have a class in two hours.”

I ordered a cheeseburger and fries along with JJ, filled my drink cup with ice and tea and then found an open chair by the windows of the diner-style restaurant.

As my gaze slipped out the window at the students strolling by in the heat of the midday sunshine, my gut twisted in knots. JJ better be okay with my explanation.

JJ fell into the chair opposite mine, slid his backpack off his shoulder, and placed his bag of food on the table. “So, are we shooting the shit first, or do you want to get right to it?” He threw me a glance and hooked his backpack onto the back of his chair.

I chewed my upper lip, gauging his mood. He seemed pretty calm right now. “I’ll just come out with it.” Inhaling deeply, I fisted the end of my food bag. “I wanted to know if it was okay if I started dating Myles.” I tensed my jaw.

Dropping his mouth open, he stared at me, and his gaze grew hard. “We just broke up, like yesterday.” With a thin-lipped smirk, he said, “You don’t waste any time, do you?” He shook his head once. “Fuck.”

They broke up? Were they so serious, he considered what happened yesterday as a breakup? “I, uh, I didn’t know it was so serious between you two.” I glared at my bag. I’d pretend this didn’t bother me and eat. Opening my bag, I pulled out my burger.

“What did Myles tell you?” He fished his fries out and set them on his bag, next to his opened burger, then stopped and gave me a look. “You two live together now. I’m sure you’ve talked about it already.”

“We uh, we did.” Shit, how much should I tell him? My gaze darted across the table. I shouldn’t tell him about the kiss. Or about Myles having a crush on me already. I forced myself to look at him. “He told me you guys decided you were better off as friends.”

“Okay.” With a slow nod, he wiped fries through his ketchup and ate them. “Yeah, it was pretty obvious he wasn’t into me after we started dating, so I gave him an out and told him I wasn’t feeling it either.” He jabbed his finger at the table. “But don’t you tell him that.”

My heart stung. This sucked. JJ had liked Myles. How much would it hurt him to see us together? “Okay. So…Um…” I had nowhere to go with this. But now that I’d had a taste of Myles, I needed more.

“So, what? I’m pretty sure he has a thing for you. The guy was always talking about you when we were together and on top of it, he can’t keep his eyes off you when you’re around.” He ate a bite of his burger.

I sipped my drink. “Okay, what are you saying?” Maybe letting him talk and keeping my mouth shut was best. I unwrapped my burger and bit into it, the juicy meat filling my tongue with flavor.

“I’m saying I won’t be happy about you guys dating, but I can’t stop you.” He licked the sauce off a finger, snapped a napkin out of a holder on the table, and wiped his mouth. “Right? I can’t stop you.”

Nodding, I chewed. I needed an angle here. “You want Myles to be happy, right?” I peered at him.

“Of course I do. I care about him. He’s a genuinely decent guy.” He shrugged. “Even if I’m not the one he wants to be with.” He tensed his brows. “If you guys start dating, just keep it out of my face for a while, okay? I need some time.” With a huff, he sagged his shoulders.

Shit, had he started falling for Myles? “JJ, if I date him, I’ll do right by him.” Holding my burger, I lifted my chin. “You’re right. He’s a good guy, and he deserves the best.”

His gaze locked on mine. “You’re damn right you will. If you hurt him, I’ll be coming after you.” He pressed his lips together.

I widened my eyes. He was serious. “That won’t be necessary. I won’t hurt him.” I obviously had someone special in Myles. “Just to verify, though, I have your blessing to date him?”

Rolling his eyes, he tsked. “Yes, you have my blessing.” With a smirk, he said, “Just keep your happy couple selves away from me for now.”

“How long do you need?” I ate more of my burger, my pulse slowing. Did this mean I couldn’t invite Myles to our games or any parties my friends were at?

“I don’t know. A month?” He drank his tea. “Maybe not that long. I’ll let you know.” A sly grin played over his mouth. “I saw a hot dude at the gym yesterday. Had the tightest ass I’ve ever seen.” He winked at me. “You know what they say. The best way to get over someone is under someone else.”

I choked out a laugh, holding the back of my hand to my mouth. “Yeah, okay.” We were cool.

Later that evening, I made my way into the house.

With JJ out of the way, I was free to pursue Myles.

I was ready to turn on the charm. I strolled into the kitchen, my gaze landing on Ace and Zoma, sitting practically on top of each other on the sectional, watching some hockey game footage on YouTube.

“Hey, is Myles home?” I strutted through the room, stopping at the couch. Would he want a home cooked meal or dinner out? And after, would we hookup in my room or his?

“He’s home. I think he’s in the shower.” With his eyes narrowing, Ace smirked at me. “Don’t get any ideas about showering with him. We’ve got our eyes on you.” He pointed two fingers at his eyes and then at me.

“What? Why?” I shifted my stance. What the hell had Myles told them? Or maybe he was prepping for me? I could only hope. My dick plumped in my athletic shorts.

Zoma straightened on the couch. “Ace is just…being Ace.” He patted the cushion next to him. “Come and have a seat.”

“Okay.” I rounded the sectional and sunk in beside Zoma. I guessed everyone wanted a say in our relationship. I eyed him .

“We, um... know the situation. Myles has been pretty nervous about you talking to JJ.” He tilted his head. “So, do you have good news?”

“I do.” With a grin creeping over my lips, I said, “JJ told me it was okay with him for us to date.” But I’d keep JJ’s secret.

“Good.” Zoma clapped his hands over his heart and leaned in closer. “Just so you know, there’s a very nice restaurant in Tempe with a garden wall. Very romantic. After Myles had told Ace about it, he took me there on our first date. I’m sure you’d score some big points if you took him there.”

Ace huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Babe, why are you giving him a leg up? The guy should work for it.”

“Stop it, Ace.” Zoma slapped at Ace’s thigh. “I just want Myles to be happy and I know how much it would mean to him to go there with Cooper.”

“That’s it. I’ll try to get a reservation tonight.” I glanced at them both. “You don’t think he’s busy with studying tonight, do you?” Shit, I had a paper to start, but fuck it. It could wait.

“Nope, he was home studying all afternoon.” Zoma beamed at me.

“Okay.” I fished my phone out of my backpack and opened the screen. “What’s the name of the place?”

“Society,” Zoma said.

I Googled the restaurant and clicked on the website. “Oh damn, I might have to change.” I checked their online reservation. “There’s an opening at seven.” I typed quickly, securing the table.

“What has an opening at seven?” Myles stood in the hallway, a pair of sweat pant shorts hanging low on his hips, drying his blond hair with a towel.

“Put on something nice. I’m taking you to dinner.” I jumped from the couch, strolled to him and kissed his cheek. “You can’t back out, and JJ gave us his blessing.” I slapped his ass and started toward my room. I needed to change and freshen up .

“Where are we going?” Myles called out.

“It’s a surprise.” I opened my closet and pulled out my best linen button-down shirt. That’d do.

After piling into my truck, I drove down Mill Avenue to the restaurant.

It was a quick drive from home. I raked my gaze over Myles, now dressed in a form-fitting white shirt and jeans that hugged all his assets.

He was amazing to look at and he was all mine tonight. No wonder JJ had liked him so much.

As I pulled into the parking lot, Myles’s eyes widened, and he held his fingers over his open mouth. “Oh my God, Cooper. You’re taking me to Society?”

“I am.” My chest swelled with warmth. I loved making him happy. After parking, we climbed out of my truck.

As I rounded the back of the truck, I snatched Myles’s hand. It was our first date, after all.

He gave me a shy smile, his cheeks pinking. “Did Ace and Zoma mention this place?”

“They did.” We stopped at a set of glass doors under brick arches, and I opened one.

“After you.” Taking a glance at the reddish splashes of the setting sun racing across the sky, I followed him in.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the black ceiling and a scattering of tables rested in front of a wall filled with hanging plants in wooden planters with candles glowing in between.

“This is so cool.” I set my sights on a hostess, who showed us to a table beside the garden wall.

I dropped into a dark wooden chair and rested my forearms on an almost black table. “So, when’s the last time you were here?” I scanned my menu and picked it up, pursing my lips. I didn’t want to hear it if he’d come here with another date.