Page 18 of Starring Role

Inside his apartment, which was small but nice, and certainly bigger than a hotel room, Coop wandered around restlessly, lookingat things, wondering where they'd fuck (if they did, if this was more than food). His mind was going a mile a minute. Behind him, Jimmy rummaged in the freezer.

"I'm assuming you like chicken barbeque?"

"If it's lean, I can eat it," Coop said, not directly answering the question. He was so tired of eating chicken, but he was hungry enough to eat nearly anything tonight. And if he had tokeep having shirtless scenes, he'd suffer through chicken as long as he had to. There was only so much that ab makeup could do.

"Are you into fitness?" he thought to ask, returning to Jimmy in the kitchen.Keep the conversation rolling.Be casual.Be interested in the guy for more than what he can do for me.Be classy.

"Heh. No, I just like meat." Jimmy bit his lip. "I mean, I like barbeque!"he said desperately. His face was slowly turning brick red.

"Absolutely. It's so nice of you to feed me."

"I like cooking for people," Jimmy said simply.

He seemed calm as he got to work, although he cooked quickly, moving with a lightness on his feet and a speed that were a surprise from such a big guy. He looked like the kind of guy who would lumber, but he didn't. He moved like cookingwas a dance of kitchen ingredients, and he was good at it.

"If you don't want to talk, it's okay," he said, concentrating on something he was doing. "But I thought you were amazing today, and they shouldn't have been so hard on you."

"Thanks," said Coop. He really didn't know what to say; he didn't have enough distance yet to be cool about everything, and complaining wasn't going to fix anyof it. "Is there something I can do to help?"

Jimmy nodded. "Wash that lettuce and tear it up. We'll have a salad with the protein."

"Sounds great," Coop said, only slightly forcing his cheer. He would try to like whatever Jimmy served him, but it was hard to get excited about meat and vegetables. What he wouldn't give to be able to sink his teeth into a bowl of carb-heavy, cheese-coveredspaghetti and some fatty meatballs.

Soon, the food was ready, and Jimmy laid out a surprisingly big feast: turkey chili, barbecued chicken breasts with grill marks from the freezer and only a little bit of sauce, carrot and celery sticks with dip, a salad with lots of radishes, mushrooms, and tomatoes in it, corn chips and three kinds of salsa.

"This is amazing," Coop said after his firstcouple of bites.

"Thanks," Jimmy said, clearly embarrassed. "I try to keep enough things frozen that they can be assembled quickly, but really, the chicken's from the weekend, when my mom made it, and I used her recipe for the chili. I just made it less greasy."

It didn't taste like quick cooking. It was so good that Coop ate a lot of everything except the corn chips and salsa. It was thebest meal he'd eaten in ages—possibly because he was eating with a cute guy, but it didn't feel like that. It felt like he'd been eating bland, tasteless food for months, and now, finally, it had some flavor and color.

"You're a really good cook."

Jimmy looked down at his plate, his face getting red again. But he smiled a little, too. Clearly, he wasn't the best at taking a compliment,but he liked it.

"So, what do you do when you're not protecting the studio or cooking amazing meals?"

Jimmy shrugged. "Hang out with my brothers and cousins, I guess. Not as much as I used to, but I still like being around them. They're a little more grown up now, and they don't constantly dare me to do things that get me in trouble. I mean, they haven't totally stopped—it's just not asbad as when we were younger."

He stopped and looked at Coop nervously, then added hesitantly, "By the way, I'm supposed to ask if you wouldn't mind meeting my family. My dad was so impressed by your work on the show, and he'd really love to meet you. You could come over when we're barbecuing. I'll make sure there's things you can eat. The pack would enjoy meeting you."

"The...pack?" Coopnearly dropped his fork. The odd reply about hanging out with Jimmy's family suddenly made a lot more sense. As did how effortlessly fit and hot he was, and how much food he'd cooked. How he'd sensed Coop's distress. Coop's heart was beating hard, though, with surprise and something like fear. He spoke as casually as he could. "You're a wolf shifter. I didn't know."

"Sorry. Should I havesaid? I didn't think it mattered."

"No, of course it doesn't." Coop swallowed. "Your pack isn't...um...offended by what I'm doing?"

"What, acting? No. You're amazing. They all loved you." Then Jimmy blushed again. "I mean, you did a great job. It was great to watch, you know, a wolf on TV being a good guy, and not like a superhuman, faceless guy who doesn't feel pain. I don't know,it just felt real, and it meant a lot, seeing someone like us on the screen, and not as a bad guy."

His words blew Coop away. He'd been privately concerned that his portrayal would end up being offensive no matter how hard he tried or how much he loved the character. The news that he'd created someone wolves liked, identified with, and rooted for was genuinely moving.

"Thank you. Wow. Yes,I'd love to meet your pack." It wasn't a hard decision at that point. "Maybe they could even give me some pointers."

Jimmy smiled. "I think you've got the acting stuff covered."

His expression was so warm and soft, it was hard for Coop not to be rocked to his core. He tried. For a moment or so. Then he smiled back just as hopelessly.

Jimmy cleared his throat and got up. "Do you wantanything else to eat?"