Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
We’re halfway to the front door when: “Coop?”
I stop and turn. “Yeah?”
“I … I just wanted to say …” Seany is staring down at my chest, like he’s ashamed to look me in the eye. “I need to tell you something. Confess something.”
I try not to assume the worst. “Alright. What is it?”
He folds his arms over his chest as tightly as he can. “The thing is … I won’t be getting any ‘okay’ from home.” He closes his eyes. “I lied. My mom left when I was nine. My dad hates me. He doesn’t want me back. He probably doesn’t care if I’m alive or dead. He’s an abusive asshole. I should have left with my mom somehow, but I was scared, and she was a pill-popping coward. I … couldn’t stay there another day. I couldn’t stay there another second. I wasn’t even able to finish my senior year. I … I-I had to go.” His voice shakes. “I don’t have a …” He fights back tears. “I-I don’t have a home anymore. At all.”
It breaks my heart, hearing him say all of this.
Yet somehow, I think I already knew.
“I understand if you—” He almost chokes. “—if this is all too much for you, more than you’d bargained for. I’m sure the last damned thing you want is s-some problem like me sitting on your doorstep. I just—I don’t have anywhere to go. I-I can leave if you want me to. I’ll understand. I’m sorry I lied. I’m sorry I—”
He flinches when I come up and bring my arms around him, hugging him to my chest.
He grows still, seeming unsure what to do.
I stroke the back of his hair. “You’re okay, Seany.”
“I … I just …”
“You’re safe here.” I bring my hand to his back, which I gently start to rub. “You don’t have to leave. Not until you’re ready. Not until you want to. Not until—”
“Really?”
“Really.”
He swallows. “And … what if I never want to leave?”
I don’t know what his fate is. Whether I’m a stepping stone on his path to finding himself, or I’m the safe nest he finally discovers a home in. Regardless, the outcome is the same: I’ll have helped him find his place.
“Then so be it,” I reply, still rubbing his back. “Stay.”
Chapter 9 - Cooper
Seany clenches me tighter.
The silence of the warm night air wraps around us, filled only by our deep breaths as we stand in front of my house. Not even a car appears to disturb the peace we’ve found in each other’s arms.
He stirs in my arms. “Can I sleep with you again?”
I glance over his shoulder at my dark, unlit house.
This afternoon’s time on the beach flashes before my eyes. The sun. The sand. The feel of his body against mine. His mouth engulfing me. The look of curiosity in his eyes. His determination to make me happy.
Why do I get the sense he wants to take care of me as much as I want to take care of him?
Every single one of my expectations of who Seany is has been shattered.
Could this really work between us? Whatever it is?
Whatever it’s becoming?
In another hour, the pair of us lie on my bed, cuddled together just as we were the night before. This time, Seany is facing me, nuzzled into my chest with my arms wrapped around him like a blanket, safe and snug. Now and then, he shifts and squirms in my hold, as if trying to press his body more tightly against mine. I respond by tightening my hold on him, holding him close. I’m in a tank top and a pair of clingy boxer-briefs. He’s in just a pair of gray boxer-briefs himself, insisting he’s more comfortable in his underwear. The ceiling fan is on a low setting, sending waves of cool air over our bodies as we lie here in the semidarkness, just a slit of porch light coming in from the window.
“I know it’s just the second night,” he says, his voice soft and quiet, “but I love being in your arms.”
I smile against his hair. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“But I feel happy with you, too. I feel like I finally met someone who genuinely cares about me. I …” He lets out a soft sigh. “I like you, Cooper.”
I slide a hand up and down the smooth, soft skin of his back, gentle and soothing. “I like you, too.”
“I mean … really like you.”
My hand stops. “Seany …”
“Please don’t tell me I’m just a kid or don’t know what I’m talking about. I know what feelings are.”
“Okay, but—”
“I’m not confused. I know you’re a good man. I know you truly care about me. And I know …” He tightens up. “I know this is a lot. Sorry. I’ve always been like this.”
“Like what?”