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“So, are we considering this a date?” I hedge, Sienna’s words from earlier ringing in my ears.
“I’m…uh…I’m not sure. I’ve never really dated, so…”
“Me neither.”
“Do you want it to be a date?” he suddenly asks.
Yes. Say yes, a little voice screams, but I’m terrified that if I do, I’ll scare him away.
“Maybe. Do you?”
It takes him a second to find his voice. But when he does, it makes my chest tighten, and butterflies erupt in my stomach. “Yeah, I think I do.”
Silence falls between us as those words settle around us.
“I’m having fun hanging out with you, Garrett.”
“Me too,” I agree, unable to hide my smile.
Cooper continues eating as more and more questions build up inside me.
“Are we exclusive?” I blurt, unable to contain it any longer.
“I mean, I’m not seeing anyone else, and I don’t have any intention of doing so. Are you?”
“No,” I say quickly. “And I also don’t want to. Why would I when I get to spend time with you?”
His brows pinch as confusion flickers in his eyes.
“Even though I can only give you a small part of me?” he asks, his voice quieter, more vulnerable than before.
“A small part? Are you kidding? I’m pretty sure you’re opening up your biggest part to me. The real part.”
“Fuck,” he suddenly barks, startling me.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“This,” he says, making my heart sink for a moment. “Us. It’s…terrifying.”
I can’t help but laugh at that, and from the wrinkles that appear across his forehead, I don’t think it’s the reaction he was expecting.
“Honestly, this…” I say, gesturing between us. “It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done. But I don’t mean that in a bad way. I’ve just never done this before. I’ve never wanted anything to last before, but right now, I don’t want it to end.”
“Me neither,” he confesses quietly, making my heart sing. “I still can’t promise you what you deserve. I can’t give you what you’re going to want.”
“And what’s that?”
“A future. A partner you can go up against the world with. A family.”
“Why not?”
“Because of who I am,” he says sadly.
“Maybe you can’t offer those things right now. But we can’t predict the future. Who knows what will happen weeks, months, years from now? And even if we could, I wouldn’t want to. I want to enjoy what we’ve got right now. And if that leads to something more, then great. If it doesn’t…well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Life is what we make it, Cooper. You of all people should know that. Look at the life you’ve created for yourself.”
