Page 23 of Make Me

When I look inside his fridge, there are two copper cups, and I grab both and return outside.

“It’s a Moscow Mule,” he says, taking his cup from me. “I hope you like it. Margie gave me the recipe.” I smell it before I sip, and the cold liquid is refreshing on a hot day.

“It’s good,” I say. “Thank you.” I can’t help my smile at the thought of being with a man who is not only making me dinner, after spending most of the day with me and my child, but also had a drink waiting for me when I got here. “Trying to get me drunk?” I tease.

He smiles back and offers me his hand. When I take it, he pulls me to him and says, “Trust me, I’m going to make sure you remember every second.” His words are low and filled with promise. His now cold lips kiss mine. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol that makes me bold, but I wrap my arms around his neck and slide my tongue inside his wet mouth.

He welcomes me inside, and I taste the alcohol on his tongue. My hand slides down and slowly strokes the nape of his neck. I hear him whimper, and I move closer. It’s only when I feel how hard he is that I take a step back and break the kiss. Too embarrassed to meet his gaze, I sit at the table. He clears his throat and finishes his drink, putting his cup down before returning to the grill.

This steak is even more delicious than the one he made last week. He paired it with potatoes, and we give each other gazes filled with promise while we eat. Sam sits underneath the table, eagerly waiting on scraps.

When we finish eating, I offer to wash the dishes, and when I’m done, I’m disappointed to find him wearing a plain blue tee shirt. He must sense my disappointment because he smiles and says, “They won’t let me in the ice cream shop without a shirt.”

Instead of driving to the local ice creamery, we walk. We spend a lot of time together, but we are either at his place or mine. The fair today was far enough away that we didn’t run into anybody from Oak Bend. This is only our second attempt at being out in public and this time, with our fingers intertwined as we walk down Main Street, there’s no mistaking that we are together.

We get looks from several people, and a few of the nosier ones stop to say hello to Cooper, all the while eying me. Each time, Cooper introduces me as Laci Hogan, his girlfriend. Each time, I blush.

The ice cream shop is filled with people, from families to teenagers, but we manage to find a table right in front. I take a seat while Cooper gets our dessert. He returns with cookies and cream for me and mint chocolate chip for himself.

“That’s gross,” I say, pointing my spoon at his ice cream. “It tastes like toothpaste.”

“More toothpaste for me,” he says back.

We laugh and Cooper eats from his cup and mine. I try to block his spoon each time he reaches for my cup, but he always manages to swipe some of my ice cream.

“No fair,” I whine.

“You can have some of mine,” he says.

“But yours is disgusting.”

We’re so busy giggling that I barely hear the scraping of a chair. When I look away from Cooper, it’s to find a middle-aged woman sitting there, looking from me to Cooper.

“Well, hello there, son,” she says. The minute she says that, the similarities between them become obvious. She has the same dark hair and dark eyes. And when she smiles, she looks just like her son.

As soon as Cooper makes the introductions, she reaches across the table and pulls me into a hug, surprising me. She pulls back, looks into my face, and hugs me again. “Laci. You’re Mae Elston’s niece. And Ivy goes to Margie’s daycare. My daughter told me about you.” She points out the window, and Margie waves at us before she walks inside and hugs each of us.

“I’m Jackie Stevens, and welcome back to Oak Bend. We won’t interrupt your date,” his mother says with a wink.

“Too late for that,” Cooper grumbles. Jackie reaches over and playfully slaps him upside the head. Margie does the same.

“Cooper, bring Ivy and Laci over for Sunday dinner. Margie and I are getting our cones to go.” She hugs me one last time, hugs Cooper, and whispers something in his ear. He must find whatever she says funny because he laughs and pretends to push her away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the daycare, Laci,” Margie says with her usual friendly smile.

“Oh, Margie.” She steps closer to me, and I say, “You did get my rent check, right? It still hasn’t cleared,” I whisper the last part. Cooper starts to cough, and I reach over and absentmindedly rub his back.

“Coop, you didn’t deposit it yet?” Margie waves a dismissive hand at her brother and says, “Coop said he’d deposit it himself. I handle the rental properties, but Coop is the one who owns your house.” Jackie calls Margie over, and she walks away after saying another goodbye.

I turn to Cooper, who is now busy looking at the ceiling as if it’s the most interesting thing on earth. I look at him until he looks into my eyes.

“You’re my landlord?” I ask, stunned. He nods. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It never came up.” He reaches into my ice cream again, taking a big spoonful this time.

“You’ve had plenty of opportunity to tell me. Why haven’t you cashed the check?” He flushes and drops his eyes. This time, when he reaches for my ice cream, I move it away. “You need to cash that check, Cooper, do you hear me?”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he says with a chuckle.

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