And fucking smiled at the devil they knew.
Chapter Twenty-Two
valentine’s day 2024 - miami
Nico didn’t understandhow people cooked before technology. His tablet was propped up against the backsplash with one recipe on it while his phone sat on the counter with another recipe. Nico did the best with what came with the rented condo, but the advertising stating a fully-stocked kitchen was what he considered to be a fib.
By the time he was done cooking, he was a sweating mess.
He slid his plate of shrimp scampi onto the table in front of his open laptop, sat down in front of it, and smiled. The diamond necklace Cooper had bought him for Christmas sparkled from the light of the candle beside the computer.
On the screen, Cooper smiled back. “Are you finally done?”
“I told you, I’m not a chef. I can barely put together scrambled eggs and a breakfast patty.”
Cooper stabbed his fork into his plate of scampi, and Nico couldn’t help but notice how much better Cooper’s plate looked. The food was neatly piled atop one another and centered perfectly in the middle. Nico’s noodles piled off the edge of the plate and burnt shrimp lay in a pile on top.
“Should we pray before we eat?” Nico joked as he poured a glass of what was supposed to be dry red wine, but was actually grape juice because he hated dry wine.
But Cooper was already stuffing a bite into his mouth. He chewed quickly, swallowed, and reminded Nico, “It’s midnight and I’m well past the point of being hungry.”
“The sun just went down here.” Nico swirled his fork in the overcooked noodles. Suddenly, he didn’t have much of an appetite. “I can’t believe you abandoned me to spend two months in Europe.”
“I needed to get away. You know I don’t like losing.”
Nico hated losing too, but he didn’t run all the way to the other side of the globe when the Cobras knocked the Knights out of playoff contention. “If it matters at all, you would have won that game if the refs weren’t blind. They literally handed the Oilers the win when they glanced over Damon’s ball that clearly grazed the ground.”
Cooper lowered his fork and stared. “You’re not helping.”
“Sorry,” Nico corrected himself. “You deserved to lose and should play better next year.”
“Tell me, Rook. Is this what you do?” Cooper folded his hands together as if he was about to pray. “You play the part of the good boy to get what you want, and then whenyou rope the sucker in, you suddenly think to yourself, that’s enough good boy shit.”
Nico pointed ahead. “That look on your face is priceless. If you were here, you could punish me but you’re off frolicking with your fiancée in the City of Love.”
Cooper pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled sharply behind closed eyes. “We talked about this.”
That they had, and Nico understood the who, what, why, when, and how of it all. Didn’t mean it didn’t bother him, though. It was a casualty of living in the closet and being in a secret relationship-esque thingy with another closeted player. Cooper’s engagement checked all the boxes but every checked box cut away at Nico’s heart.
“I just don’t get why you didn’t tell your mother to fuck off.”
Cooper furrowed a brow. “Would you ever say those words to your father?”
“No,” Nico admitted. “But my father also isn’t a psychotic power-hungry she-hulk.”
Cooper nodded. “Are you done?”
Nico nodded back and took another bite of his noodles—making sure to avoid the shrimp that was so burnt, he was sure a dog wouldn’t eat it. The noodles were chewy, overseasoned, and somehow… watery? He forced himself to swallow and dreaded the next bite. To be polite, he’d at least eat a little bit. After their long-distance date was over, he figured he’d order some real food.
This was supposed to be a nice dinner. Their very first ever Valentine’s Day date, but Nico couldn’t stop putting his foot in his mouth. He looked past his computer at the teddy bear that sat on the other side of the table. Cooperhad shipped it to him a week prior. It was one of those toys that had a beating heart in it and was supposed to keep you warm. It was a kind gesture, but what the fuck was Nico going to do with a stuffed animal?
At least Nico had gotten something practical for Cooper… A selfie of his hole with a heart drawn around it.
Quiet settled in between the two men as Cooper plowed through his plate of food. Must have been bulking season. Nico envied every bite of Cooper’s food and hoped someday the other man would cook it for him so he could know what the recipe was actually supposed to taste like.
“So, I know you lie and say you like reading,” Cooper said. “Tell me, what is your favorite book?”
“Firstly, it’s not a lie. Secondly,Catcher in the Rye.”
