“Ah, yeah,” Val says like it’s obvious. “I might not have any chance in hell, but I do have eyes.”
“Don’t let her get to you.” Ellie lowers her voice, bumping me with her shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about. He only has eyes for you.”
My head snaps to the side. “What?”
“Oh come on.” Ellie giggles. “You two might not feel the need to tell us just yet, and I understand that. But it’s obvious you’re dating. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”
My lips part and I blink at her like an idiot. “No.” I shake my head. “No. It’s not like that. We’re not dating.”
“You’re not?” Her brows lift. “I’m sorry. I thought...” She looks out to the field. I follow her line of sight. Cooper is there at the bench, taking another drink of water. As if he can feel us watching him, he looks over. When his eyes find mine, he smiles that big bright smile that melts me into a puddle, and winks.
“Are yousure?” Ellie laughs softly. “I’ve known Cooper for years and I can tell you that he’s never acted like this with anyone else. I’m not sure what your feelings are for him, and it’s none of my business. But if it’s not something more than friendship, I’d break it to him now before he gets crushed. I love you, Blake, you’ve become a good friend of mine, but Cooper is mybestfriend. I don't want to see him get hurt.”
“Me, hurt him?” I gape at her. “No, I’d never hurt Cooper. He’s the best person ever. I love him. I wouldn’t dream of hurting him.”
Ellie’s smile grows and my cheeks burn like the sun when I realize what I just said.
“Shit.” Panic starts to set in. “I mean, I didn’t mean, well I did mean.”
“It’s okay.” She puts her hand on my arm. “Breathe.”
Nodding, I take a few deep breaths in and out.
“I’m glad I have nothing to worry about then.” She leans her head against my arm. “If you ever need to talk, want some advice or help, just let me know. I’m here for you.”
“Thanks,” I whisper, my heart thundering in my chest.
I spend the rest of Cooper’s game with my eyes glued to him. What Ellie said before was the push I needed to tell Cooper how I feel about him.
Everyone seems so confident that he feels the same way, so I have nothing to worry about, right?
But what if they are misunderstanding the situation? What if they have it all wrong?
The crowd cheers, snapping me out of my racing thoughts. I look around, realizing our team has won.
A smile finds my face and I search for Cooper. He’s cheering with the rest of his team.
“That's our boys!” Val shouts. “Come on, let's get out of here.”
I follow the girls out of the crowd and down toward the locker room, where we usually meet Cooper after games, whether it’s to congratulate him or to tell him ‘good game, get them next time’.
That’s another thing I love about his friend group. They are always supportive, no matter what.
I guess they’re my friend group now too.
“I know the football house is going to be partying up a storm tonight. Good thing it’s Friday because I have a feeling everyone is going to be hungover as fuck.” Val laughs.
“Not to mention the Halloween party they’re having tomorrow. That place is going to be trashed. Cooper isn’t going to be too happy about that come Sunday morning.” Lexie sighs.
“He should make the rest of the team clean it up. Not his party, not his problem,” Ellie says. “He hasn’t been to any of the parties in months.”
“I know.” Val groans. “It sucks because who else is going to tell the weirdos to get lost for me?”
“Really?” Lexie mutters. “Girl, you have no issue doing that yourself.”
“You’re right.” Val grins. “It’s fun.”
“I’m glad he doesn’t party as much. Means he’s over at my place more.” Ellie laughs. “The kids do love their uncle Cooper.”
