A smile quirked on Matty’s lips. “So where to next?”
“What?”
“What’s the expression? The night is young.”
“You still want to be out?” Coop couldn’t believe this was the same Matty counting down the minutes until he could leave a party. “You are one crazy motherfucker.”
“Thank you.”
A confident grin took over Coop’s lips. “Follow me.”
“Where are we going next?”
“You will just have to trust me,” Coop said. They were so close that Coop could’ve slipped his arms around Matty’s waist. And would have if he weren’t being paid. The night was getting more dangerous, wearing down what little professionalism he had.
Coop led them back onto the sidewalk. He spun around and pointed his finger at Matty. “You’re wearing underwear, right?”
Chapter 12
Matty
Matty followedCoop through the empty streets without a care in the world that he was just asked if he was wearing underwear. Hours ago, he would’ve been worried, but the night had taken hold of him. He had shown Coop so much of himself already that he was pretty much naked.
While the streets were quiet before, they were a ghost town now. Not a random passerby. Not a single car. To Matty, it felt like they owned this place. He had never trusted someone like this, and it happened without him realizing. Trust must’ve been a feeling rather than a fact, since it snuck up on you.
“We’re almost there,” Coop said.
“Good.”
“Are you tired? It’s way past your bedtime.”
“No,” Matty said, and it was the truth. His body was half helium balloon.
The Park Duncannon, the town’s only high-rise, stretched up to the sky. Each apartment had floor-to-ceiling windows, the better to look down on the rest of the town. While the complex was mostly for the influx of yuppies moving into town, there were a few students who lived here. All thanks to Mom and Dad.
“Is there a party in here?”
“Not quite.” Coop put his arm out to stop Matty from walking any further. The physical contact sent a spark shooting through Matty’s chest.
Coop pointed at the security camera attached to the awning. He nodded for them to turn around, into the alley. They squeezed past dumpsters. Their feet crunched over crinkled cardboard.
Matty didn’t bother asking where they were going. He wanted the surprise.
A tall fence greeted them. Matty looked through the bars. His jaw fell open.
“We are not going in there,” he said.
“We are.”
The Park Duncannon pool was designed to make residents feel like they were in the rainforest. Tropical-looking trees and shrubbery draped out of large planters. Walls covered in plants stood tall around the perimeter, so the poolgoers never once had to remember they were in Pennsylvania.
Coop squatted and cupped his hands.
He wanted me to hop a fence?
“This is trespassing!” Matty whisper-yelled.
“Only if we get caught.”
