Page 2 of I’m Fine Save Me (The Spiral Duet #1)

Chapter one

Cooper

Eleven Years Ago

T egan is so beautiful.

She doesn’t see it, but I do. It took me years to look at her in anything more than friendship; but after months of her being a constant support for me, it clicked.

Curvy, tall, vivacious, light brown hair, those mesmerizing as fuck eyes, and a smile that makes the world stop moving… She’s gorgeous.

When I was kicked out of college and had to come back home, I didn’t realize something good would come out of it.

My ex-girlfriend, Leslie, had said we could keep a long distance relationship, but she lied to me on every single phone call about what she was up to.

It wasn’t me being paranoid. She was kicked out of school too after we were caught having sex.

A Christian school isn’t about to let something so scandalous slide.

So when she moved back in with her sister, her sister would overhear us talking. When I got the call from her asking me if I knew what Leslie had been up to, I was shocked to find out she was seeing other guys. I asked and when she said it didn’t mean anything, I ended the relationship.

The thing is, I enjoyed being with someone.

I realized that I wanted something different than other guys my age.

I wanted to settle down. I wanted to have a partner in my life.

I wanted someone to spend my time with and just get through life together.

So when I got back and was spotted by the little sister of an old friend, I didn’t expect that first phone call to lead me to the best friend I ever had.

Tegan sounded so happy to hear from me at that first phone call; and for the life of me I couldn’t even remember what she looked like.

She’d been fifteen when I’d left for school three years ago.

Hell even if I could think up some mental image of her, it was probably not even on point.

My memory is shit on my best day anyway.

She’d been so understanding when I’d called her and told her I got kicked out.

She’d listened to me tell her about Leslie and why I ended things.

We talked about music, how she liked living in a dorm for the first time, how her sister had called because I’d shown up to play drums at the church where we’d first met.

I told her that I wanted to date someone, and how my plan was to treat it like every date was a potential life partner.

There was no point in dragging out relationships if I couldn’t see myself with that person in fifty years.

Tegan had told me that she loved how direct I was, that I was saving time by avoiding bullshit.

Some people liked to play nice in the beginning of a relationship and then change course, but she respected wanting to avoid that.

Even while she agreed with me, she’d been hiding the crush she’d had on me since she was fifteen. I uttered some detrimental words to her about her being like a sister to me after my third failed date with another girl.

I found out later how much it shattered her when I said it.

I don’t blame her for not speaking up. What person would want to put themselves out there when the guy they were crushing on was constantly complaining about being stood up on dates, or girls not being interested in anything more than a quick hook up?

One night my neighbor saw me walking the deserted road where my parents lived.

It was where I did all my walking and talking to Tegan during our hours long phone calls after she was done with theatre rehearsals every night.

He invited me onto his porch for a drink and told me about his wife.

She’d been his best friend for decades. They’d both been married before and one day their paths crossed again.

That was when he’d realized the love of his life, his best friend, had been right in front of him the whole time.

It was some profound moment that I can’t explain to this day, but I’m glad I felt it.

I called Tegan that night and asked her out for dinner.

We promised to lay all our cards on the table about what we expected for our futures and what we wanted in a significant other.

That first date was a few weeks ago and today I’m at the dorms with her.

We both work minimum wage jobs right now, so we keep the dates as cheap as possible.

Today her classes were canceled; and she set up some video games in the rec room.

I brought over take out. Now I’m watching her concentrate on trying to sink the eight ball for the fourth time.

She’s great at setting me up with shit shots on the billiard table, but as pretty as she is, she can’t sink that eight to save her damn life.

She’s got her hair up in a messy top knot wearing a pair of leggings and a long sleeved, Wesleyan Purple Knights t-shirt. She’s not some knockout model type girl. Tegan is curvy in some of the most amazing ways. I know from our conversations that she doesn’t see herself as pretty.

Hell, she was bullied for most of her high school years.

Even her ex told her he left her for someone skinnier than she is.

I know she hates hearing that she carries her weight well, so I’ll never tell her that— but she does.

Tegan is classy and poised, but she also likes to go camping and fishing.

She’s every bit the girly girl, but every bit the outdoor girl too.

She’s fucking perfect.

The doors behind her have windows from top to bottom, so it’s easy to see the courtyard outside of the rec room; and the way the light hits her freckled face is distracting beyond words.

She feels me watching her because she looks up at me without taking her shot.

“Stop staring at me. I can’t concentrate when you’re doing that. ”

“Well, you can’t sink the ball into the pocket when I’m not staring.

. I figured it was worth trying something different,” I say while leaning my hands against the edge of the billiard table, sinking a little lower to try and see just how her shot is lining up.

Her look of mock offense is adorable and makes my grin widen further.

“You’re just rude,” Tegan huffs and lowers herself back down to once again try to line up her shot. She won’t make it. I’ve already done the math in my head. It will bounce off the edge of the side pocket and she’ll playfully blame me.

Before she can make the shot, a loud boom of thunder shakes the whole building and my body tenses. “Shit…”

“You good? Did it scare you?” Tegan giggles, but I’m busy searching my pockets for my keys. “Cooper?” Her brow furrows and she places the pool cue down to walk over to me. “Everything okay?”

“I need my— Ha!” I pull my keys from the zip pocket of my cargo shorts and give her lips a quick pecking kiss. “My windows are down on my truck. I’ll be back.” Then I take off in a mad dash to get to the parking lot.

I know we live in Georgia and the weather can change on a dime, but I really didn’t think it would rain until well after I got back to my grandparents house.

“Fuck!” I hiss as I feel the first fat drops of rain starting to hit and I still have about twenty-five yards to my truck. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Just as my palms hit the hood of the old Ford Ranger, the sky opens up.

As much as I love this little truck, days like today make me wish I’d bought something with power windows and working AC.

Instead, I’m trying to crank the windows up manually, even though the rain is pelting down so hard I can barely see the hood of the truck.

After the driver side is up, I run around to get to the passenger side as well.

The seats are already soaked and I know I’m going to have to find a way to get it dried up once it stops raining.

I can feel my frustration building. Even though my memory is shit, I should’ve known better than to leave my damn windows down. I should’ve remembered just a little faster that my keys were in my zip up pocket or this wouldn’t be fucking happening.

Why can’t I just remember shit? I chastise myself inwardly.

I turn around to head back into the rec room, but as soon as I turn, there she is.

Tegan stands there in front of my truck, light brown hair soaked and plastered to her head, dripping down onto her brightly smiling face.

“Hi.”

It’s a single syllable. One sweet word. That’s all it is, but her smile, those bright eyes, and her soaked to the bone appearance make all of my anger and frustration disappear.

What other girl would follow me out into the pouring rain because I fucked up and left my windows down?

Why isn’t she mad or upset with me?

Why is she smiling so damn hard?

Any of my sisters would have been livid with their boyfriends for being so stupid. My mom would’ve had so many things to say to my dad about how he should’ve known better. I mean… my mom would’ve said the same to me if she’d seen this.

My confusion must be amusing because she places her hands in mine and tugs me back towards the courtyard with a quickly stolen kiss against my lips.

Before I know it, she’s pulling me towards the big fountain where she jumps up onto the edge, walking one foot in front of the other as if she’s on a balance beam.

Like I said, Tegan is curvy. She’s not built like the toned gymnasts I’ve seen in the Olympics by any means; but she moves across the edge of the fountain with the same balance as one. She’s still smiling and I can’t help but smile back.

Whatever stress is waiting for me when the rain stops will still be there when this moment has passed.

Tegan has a way of pulling me out of my head and making me be in the moment rather than mad at myself about things I can’t change.

When she jumps into the fountain, I start to think she’s truly lost it.

She’s literally singing an off key rendition of Purple Rain by Prince while she plays in the rain.

A freshman in college, always studying to keep her grades up for her scholarship, putting up with my dumbass as a boyfriend, and Tegan is dancing, playing, and singing in the rain.

I’ve known her for years, gotten to know her better over the last few months, been officially her boyfriend for a few weeks… but at this moment I know that I’m in love with her. I know at this moment that she’s it for me.

One day, I’m going to call this woman my wife and I’m never letting her go.