Cooper arrived back at the fraternity house ten minutes later, pleased that Dr. Warner had agreed to come to dinner. It wasn’t the romantic meal he would have preferred, but it was a start. Hattie hadn’t really been bugging him to have her over for dinner; she had only mentioned it once. It had just popped into his head, so he’d stretched the truth a little and didn’t feel the least bit bad about it. He was still thinking about kissing her—that hadn’t changed—and that night might just be the perfect opportunity if he could get her alone.
He was smiling when he walked in the back door, delicious thoughts filling his brain, and he didn’t see Ryan sitting at the table. “I picked up that book you wanted to borrow from Dean Proctor while I was there today,” he said, making Cooper jump. “Sorry, I thought you saw me sitting here.”
“I was lost in my thoughts,” he said, walking over to the table and picking up the book. “Thanks, I appreciate it, there’s something I want to look up in here.”
“Since when do you read children’s books?” Ryan asked. “That can’t be research for a class.”
“No, it’s got something to do with the ruins,” he said, thumbing through the book. “Do you remember that story theytold us as kids about the shifters who had to go into hiding because they let regular people see them?”
“Sure, they wanted us to be scared about revealing our abilities, but I always thought it would be cool to live underground and only come out at night,” his friend said, shaking his head, a wistful smile on his face. “We had this whole game we played on the playground where we pretended to be living in hiding, it was pretty elaborate. What does that story have to do with the ruins?”
He looked over at his friend. “You haven’t seen them yet, you have to go down this long tunnel to get to them, and the opening of the tunnel is so well hidden you have to know it’s there,” he said, then paused. “If I wanted to hide, that cave is the perfect place to do it, I can’t help but think…”
“No way, that’s just a story, Cooper, a story they tell little kids to make them behave,” Ryan said, shaking his head. “You can’t really think those are shifter ruins down there.”
“I know it sounds crazy, it probably is just a story, but well…” he trailed off, not sure if he could explain what he felt in the cave. “I feel something when I’m in the ruins, an energy that I don’t feel anywhere else. It makes my magic hum in a way it never has before.”
Ryan didn’t say anything for a second, then a smile spread across his face. “Are you sure it’s not Dr. Warner making you feel that way?” he asked. “I mean, she’s pretty hot, and you’re down there alone together all the time.”
“Ryan, I’m being serious,” he said, glaring at him. “And don’t talk about Dr. Warner that way, she’s a nice person, those kinds of rumors could really hurt her reputation.”
“Are you telling me that you don’t have a crush on her?” Ryan asked. “Because she’s all you ever talk about anymore, that and those ruins, we’re all beginning to think you’ve become obsessed.”
He wanted to get angry, wanted to deny it, but couldn’t. “Maybe a little,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ve never felt anything like this before. Sometimes it scares me.”
“Oh, no, we’re going to lose you too,” Ryan said, with a sigh. “First Jackson, then Taylor, now you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they’re happy, but adding women into our group has changed everything.”
“Change can be good,” Cooper said, then jumped to his feet when he saw the clock. “And speaking of change, I need to go shower. Dr. Warner is coming over for dinner.”
Ryan groaned. “Great, it’s already started,” he moaned. “First it’s dinner, then it’s…”
He didn’t stay to listen to the rest of Ryan’s complaints. He needed to shower before dinner, and he wanted to take a few minutes to read the story to see if he’d really lost his mind. But something in his gut told him that he wasn’t crazy, that the story and the ruins were connected, he just wasn’t sure what he would do with that information if it were true. He couldn’t tell Dr. Warner, the risk of exposure was too great, and he couldn’t tell the clan, they’d want to shut the dig down; he might just have to keep the truth to himself and hope no one ever found out.
It took him longer than he would have liked to shower and get ready, leaving him no time to study the little book. Instead, he headed down to the kitchen to warn Hattie that she had one more for dinner. She was standing at the stove when he walked into the room, and a huge smile spread across her face when she saw him, a smile he knew all too well.
“I just invited Dr. Warner to dinner, and that’s all it is, don’t be getting any ideas in your head,” he said, going over and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “What can I do to help?”
“I don’t have any ideas, as you put it, I’m just excited to meet a real archeologist, if you like her, then that’s just a bonus,” shesaid, then grinned at him. “I hear that she’s really pretty, blonde hair, pretty blue eyes, but you probably haven’t noticed.”
“Nope, not at all,” he said, grinning, then became serious. “Promise me that you won’t embarrass me tonight. I want to impress Dr. Warner, not scare her off.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior.” Hattie promised. “Your love life is none of my business, but it would be nice if you boys were all neatly matched up before you graduated. Love only makes you stronger.”
“Hattie…I mean it,” he warned. “No meddling, I’m doing just fine on my own, and so are the rest of the guys.”
“Humph…that’s what you think,” she said, then turned back to the stove. “Go on now, leave me alone to finish dinner. If you want to be helpful, you can set the table.”
***Stephanie***
Freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes, Stephanie pulled up in front of the fraternity house an hour later, wondering if she was making a mistake. After sitting there for a few minutes looking at the house, she shut off the car and got out, then slowly made her way up the front walk to the door. Still unsure whether having dinner with Cooper was a good idea, even though they wouldn’t be alone and it was perfectly innocent, she stood on the porch debating whether she should ring the bell or head back to her car and go home.
Telling herself there was nothing wrong with what she was doing, it was just dinner with one of her interns and his friends, she reached up and rang the bell before she changed her mind. Just because she had a crush on Cooper didn’t mean there was anything wrong with spending time with him, after all, she hadno intention of following through with what she was feeling, even if the thought of kissing him made her entire body tingle.
When the door was thrown open to reveal Cooper with one of those smiles that did funny things to her insides on his face, the tingle turned to full-on desire, and she had to take several deep breaths to control it. Unused to managing that kind of need, she couldn’t help the blush that spread across her cheeks or the smile that appeared on her face, and knew instantly that she was making a mistake, but followed him inside when he held the door open further for her.
“I’m so glad you came,” he said, ushering her into the big entryway. “Dinner is almost ready. Let’s go back to the kitchen and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
“Thanks for inviting me,” she said, hoping her voice sounded normal. “It smells wonderful.”
