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)
I find myself smiling despite my pesky misgivings.
It might be a bumpy ride before I finally feel truly at home here. But people like Toby in my life sure make the transition that much easier.
I sure wish Cooper was with me right now.
I don’t know what time it is when I say goodnight and break away from what remains of the bonfire. The wind is crazy strong as I walk down the coast by myself, my eyes jumping from house to house, looking for Cooper’s beach-facing porch as my hair gets yanked in every direction. When I finally find the porch (and the plethora of potted plants that make it so easy to identify), I notice only one light on inside: his bedroom, its window facing the shore. I head up the sand to his steps, kick off my sandals, then let myself in through the back door.
In the dark living room, I hear the sound of his typing from the bedroom. After setting down the cardboard tube on the couch (which contains Vann’s artwork, rolled up neatly courtesy of Toby, to be hung up later) I pass through the dark living room and down the short hall, stopping at Cooper’s door. He’s at his computer still in his clothes, a pair of glasses at the end of his nose. He turns. “Sean?” He swipes off his glasses and gets a look at me. “Are you okay? Is everything alright?”
The concern in his voice. The care in his eyes.
I smile. “It is, now.”
He doesn’t seem to read too much into that. “Did you go to the bonfire?”
I nod. “Sure did.”
“Great. Made some new friends?”
“I don’t remember any of their names.”
He chuckles. “Well, at least you’re getting around and meeting more people on the island.”
“Did you handle the emergency at the bar?”
He stares at me, completely lost for a moment. “Oh.” He laughs it off suddenly. “That. It wasn’t an emergency. It was just … an overreaction. Chase has a tendency to, uh … to overreact. I wasn’t actually needed.”
The amazing and terrible thing about my ability to read people is it never shuts off. I feel the tension in his voice. “Why do I get the feeling you’re pushing me away?”
His smile drops. “What? I’m not.”
“Did you use the bar as an excuse to let me be on my own? Is that what really happened?”
“Sean …”
“Just tell me what’s going on.”
He deflates. “Let’s be real with each other here, okay? Things between us … It got very intense, very quickly. We have only known each other for a few days. I put a roof over your head. However long you want that roof is up to you. I don’t want you to feel obligated to me just because I’m the guy who gave you a hand. There are many men your age on this island.”
“So? Do you like me or not?”
That causes him to finally look me in the eye. “What kind of question is that?”
“A simple one. Give me a simple answer. Do you like me or not?”
“I …” His voice softens. “Whether or not I like you is not the point I’m trying to make here, Sean.”
“Then what is the point?”
He leans forward with his elbows on his knees, head hanging. After a moment, he decides to tell me something else entirely. “Someone … came to the bar tonight.”
My heart jumps. “Someone …?”
“Someone from my past.”
For an unsettling second, I thought it was Ice. “Who?”
“I … hesitate to call him an ex. I’m not sure what to call him. He was your age when I knew him. He had needs, too, but … they were nothing like yours.” His face tightens up, turning dark and heavy. “He had a need to win me. He saw me as a conquest. He pursued me to prove himself to his friends he came here with, to score the local bartender, to become the coveted hot new shit of Dreamwood Isle. What he called ‘love’, it was like a game of throwing darts to him. My heart was the bullseye. It was ten years ago.”
“Ten years?”
“Seems like yesterday, the way the years fly by.” Coop looks off, appearing bitter. “After he left me, I told all my friends he was just going back home. I told them it was the most beautiful summer I ever had. I painted this fairytale picture to them of how our love just happened at the wrong time. I … was too ashamed to admit I got played by some fucking teenager.” He shakes his head. “His kind of game, it was an efficient one. It gutted me like a fish, from one end to the other, leaving nothing. It’s the reason I am the way I am. On one hand, I like taking care of …” He shuts his eyes. “I like taking care of people. But I also need to protect my heart, what’s left of it. I’m at constant war with myself. I feel like if I ever dare to let someone in …”