“Can you give us fifteen though?” Coop asked. “Or we could just meet you there?” Thank God he could think straight because I was having a hard time keeping up, the blood from my body still lingering somewhere much further south of my brain.
“Fifteen we can do,” Arns answered, stepping around both of us. “Flick, can you please tell Winter to come inside. I’m busting.” She called as she made appreciative noises as she took in the house, popping her head inside doors as she searched for the bathroom.
“Second door on the left,” Cooper replied at her look of confusion before pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. Again, asking if I was okay, I nodded and his earnest expression was enough to hit pause on my minor freak out.
I needed a week to unpack that gesture alone, let alone the last two minutes and the hour before that but with him standing this close, I was good for now. Nodding, I turned my head until my cheek pressed against the bare skin of his chest wanting something tangible for just a second before I headed off to get ready.
When we walked into the private box Andy reserved for family and friends, Cooper and I still hadn’t spent even a moment alone. While I’d raced in to get ready in record time, he’d graciously kept the girls hydrated and when I scrambled out, still buckling my heels, he disappeared for the three remaining minutes I’d spared him out of the fifteen Felicity reminded us we had no less than four times. Time anxiety was a real thing for some, and it meant we were shuffled out the door with barely even a second for Coop to again check if we were okay and me to nod - amore than okay if we get to do that again.
However, while he hadn’t ventured more than a metre from my side since then, I kept the rest of my thoughts on lockdown - what happened, what it meant, how I felt - all of it shelved. There was still the matter of everything before, and the way he shut me out, made assumptions and allowed his emotions to prevent him from communicating. Only there was no space to unpack that now, especially as Marlee made a beeline for us, enveloping me in a hug.
“Both Xavier and Arna have messaged me, so you better fake a stomach ache at half time because I need details,” she whispered quickly before turning to greet Cooper.
Those traitorous shits, I thought, taking the glass of wine Arna was holding towards me. I wasn’t a drinker, however, the nerves I was suddenly feeling needed dampening.
“Thanks,” I said, downing a sip as I listened to Arna regurgitate facts about the team the Hearts were playing tonight while Marlee corrected her on almost all of them.
It was never more apparent than now who had grown up loving football and who was trying her best because she was engaged to the captain. Arna explained how she was wearing red and black underwear because it was a new superstition she was trying, given the only other game the Hearts had won this year, she’d been wearing that same bra and pantie set and Marlee talked about how she wore the same outfit to every match for two years straight because it was the one she was wearing when the Hearts won the premiership one year.
“Yeah, can’t relate,” Cooper’s deep inflection brushed against my ear, quiet enough that no one else could hear and I tried not to purr like a kitten. He appeared entirely unaffected by what had transpired this afternoon. His presentation so far removed from the angry, ferocious lumberman as well as the rough rugged bed partner I’d just met, that if I wasn’t still feeling the burn from having him buried inside me, I would have questioned my memories.
“Maybe ifyouwore black and red panties, the Hearts mightwin a match,” I threw over my shoulder, enjoying the way his mouth lifted on one side.
“Can you two please stop living in your disgustingly sweet love bubble, some of us areverysingle,” Arna said, pointing towards Felicity who was halfway through what looked like a raspberry soft drink.
“I’d be offended right now if it wasn’t sadly true,” she said, with a slurp. “Although, I’m not really giving off sex appeal these days.” She flung her long amber braid over her shoulder, and I shook my head.
“Flick, you’re unbelievably sexy,” Marlee said. “Isn’t she Cooper?”
I heard Coop’s sharp intake of breath, and I bit back a laugh.
“As a newly engaged man, I think I should play it safe here and ask my fiancée to answer on our behalf.” Cooper Dane oozed charm when needed and right now, he was the public persona everyone loved - charismatic, easy-going and carefree. His lackadaisical swagger was contagious, and the girls all laughed as I very nearly swooned.
My fiancée.If I wasn’t already wet…
“Marls is right, Flick. We both think you’re gorgeous.” I agreed. “Right, honey?” I clarified with a grin.
“Whatever you say, baby.” He replied, pressing a kiss to my temple.
“We should ask Jay,” Winter piped up uncharacteristically and everyone except Felicity erupted into laughter.
“We should definitely ask the coach,” Cooper said animatedly.
“I’d rather spiral about how it’s already July and I’ve done nothing this year than ask him anything even remotely related to my looks,” she scoffed, looking appalled.
“Sure, sure,” Arna replied at the same time the siren blared, and Marlee squealed, yanking on the Hearts scarf draped around my neck. “Okay, no one talk to me until quarter time, got it?”
“Wow, Marls, has Seb seen you this obsessed with othermen?” Cooper asked jovially, taking the now empty glass from my hand and replacing it with a full one. Marlee didn’t even flinch, already lost in the field of players finding their place, the crowd on the other side of the glass taking their seats as the siren went one final time.
“Winter, can you pass me those liquorice bullets?” Arna called, already seated. From what the girls said, this year had been brutal for the team and much to Andy’s frustration they were the headline fronting each news outlet most weeks. Even the positive stories coming out from Urban Pulse - a direct result of Arna’s position as Senior Editor at the large media platform - wasn’t enough to wash away the vitriol.
“We should sit,” I said to no one in particular, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl Flick held out before I headed for the front row of the box.
“Maybe I should get myself an AFL player,” Flick said.
“You definitely should,” Winter answered. “I can ask Jack if any of his teammates are single?”
“Oh, hell no. I prefer to imagine what it would be like to date and then complain how unlucky I am when it comes to love.”
