“Come on, let’s hit the showers.”
“Together?”
“You’re going to love it. There’s plenty of things I can do in there that don’t involve anything being inserted into your sore vagina.”
I bet there are.
If there’s one thing I’ll give Coop when it comes to sex, it’s straight As for creativity and a perfect score for execution.
* * *
I can’t believe how the two of us have been spending the day together. I have Coop’s complete attention. He barely looked at his phone all day, yet he miraculously seemed to have planned the perfect day.
First, we had a late brunch at a restaurant on the Upper West Side that I swear I’ve only mentioned once to Jane. You pick a main entrée and then you can choose from a dozen gourmet sides. All for one overinflated price. I had the crab cakes and Coop had the steak. It was scrumptious.
Next up was a visit to the Natural Sciences Museum to see an exhibit on Australia. A continent I’m dying to visit. I’m not sure how Coop knows that. I guess he was paying attention to some of the decorations in my room. The exhibition took us inside the Australian experience. Meeting its people, exploring its landscapes, and encountering its rare and unusual species. I think we both felt a little smarter after we finished our tour.
Now we’re walking around downtown at a late night Arts in the Park Festival. There are artisans with tables all up and down ten city blocks featuring their wares. There are local bands playing music and food trucks too. Coop grabs my hand as we continue walking and stopping to look at different vendors. We look like a real couple. We feel like a real couple. It feels almost surreal. One minute I couldn’t wait to get away from him, and now I don’t think I ever want to leave him again.
“I can’t wait for you to meet my whole family, Coop.”
“I’d like that. It’s not fair that you’ve met my parents and I haven’t met your dad and Evelyn.”
“Well, you have at least met Monica already.”
“Yeah, but I think I should meet her sober.”
“Well, she pretty much acts the same drunk or sober.”
I chuckle. “Sounds like a fun girl.”
“She is and so is Carla even though she’s pregnant.”
“Actually, Carla and I have already met.”
“When was that?”
“It might have been one of the days I was sniffing behind you like a puppy dog and she caught me.”
“What does that mean? You’re not making sense.”
“She and I met outside of your apartment not too long ago.”
“Why am I just hearing about it now? Why didn’t she mention it?”
“She asked me to let you go, Owens, and I actually considered it for a moment. The chickenshit part of me was ready to use what she said as an excuse not to be real with you, but then I manned up and the rest is history. Here we are.
“But I need you to know that just because we’re together now doesn’t mean you can’t go pursue whatever it is you want. In fact, I want you to quit being my assistant. Go be an actress. Go start a business. Do whatever you want. I will help you and support you in any way I can.”
“I’ve been thinking about things a lot over the last few days, and I don’t think that I want to leave.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s not one day that I’ve woken up in the last three years and said to myself that I missed being on stage. Not one. I wanted to leave this job and pursue acting because I thought that I was supposed to, because that’s what everyone expected me to do, because that’s what my mom did. I felt like I was disappointing my family if I didn’t. But truth be told, I really like what I do, and I’m good at it. So as long as you’re on board, I really want to stay. Plus, I think you need me.”
“I definitely need you.”
“And I think there’s enough work for us to do that you can keep both me and Jane on.”
