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“Oh, Cooper, don’t tease me with a good time unless you really mean it.”
“I don’t say anything I don’t mean. Come with me, though; I want to show you something else you might enjoy.”
“Well, color me intrigued,” I mutter as I follow him through his house to discover what other secrets he’s hiding.
33
COOPER
“Okay, this might just be my favorite day ever,” Garrett announces from the other side of my hot tub. “Hockey, waffles, hot sex with a hockey player who then cooked for me, and now this…I have died and gone to heaven.”
I can’t help but laugh as he rests his arms across the back of the tub and tips his face toward the sky.
The sun is making its final descent for the day, casting everything in an orange hue. It’s pretty, but it’s no distraction from the man opposite me.
He’s not the only one enjoying a day full of surprises.
I never thought we’d end up here, but I’ve got to admit, it’s pretty perfect.
“You must have had some really dull days before now, then,” I tease.
“You’ve no idea.”
“You were in New York, right?” He’s only briefly touched on his life prior to living with his sister over the past month or so, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.
“Yeah. I landed what I thought was my dream job straight out of college. Moved my entire life to the East Coast and…well, it fucking sucked.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. The job itself wasn’t bad. It was entry-level, so it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. But I was prepared to work my way up.”
“So what happened?”
“My boss happened.”
I raise my brows, waiting for him to explain.
“He was a condescending, homophobic jerk.”
I physically jolt at his words, acid swirling in my stomach.
It’s everything I’m terrified of, and it happened to Garrett only recently.
“I was overlooked for everything, belittled at every turn. It was a fucking joke.”
As he speaks, his voice gets louder, his anger rising.
“He was selecting less-qualified people for jobs that were perfect for me, all because he didn’t agree with my lifestyle.”
“I’m sorry. That really sucks.”
It pisses me off when he just shrugs.
“Don’t do that,” I warn.
“What?”
“Shrug it off like it’s okay.”
