Page 47 of Until Next Summer

“Sure,” he says. “You’re in control—nothing happens that you don’t want.”

I let out a shaky breath, relieved. Establishing rules and boundaries might just be my love language. “First rule: we should probably put a time limit on it.”

“Until the end of camp?” he suggests, twirling a strand of my hair around his finger.

“Sounds good. Rule two: no PDA.”

Cooper nods. “How do you feel about sleepovers?”

I make a face. That sounds pretty relationship-y. “I don’t want anyone to know about this,” I tell him, even though it’s probably too late with Dot; but for all she knows, we just had plans to platonically hang out. “So rule three: we keep this quiet. And we should probably say no feelings, right? Keep it casual, no strings attached?”

“Deal. Any other rules?”

“Just one more,” I say, flashing back to how tense I got every time a beautiful camper put her hands on Cooper last week. “As long as we’re doing…this, we shouldn’t do…this with anyone else. None of the campers, I mean. But if there’s someone you like, a woman, just tell me and we end it, no hard feelings.”

“That won’t be a problem,” he says, but I’m not sure I believe him. Like Taylor Swift says, a player’s gonna play.

And like Aaron said, I’m no fun. Case in point, right now: way to take all the excitement out of a hookup by putting a bunch of rules around it, Hillary.

“Sorry, I told you I’m no good at being fun.” I break his stare and look toward the rushing water.

“Hey,” Cooper says, drawing my face back toward him. “Your rules are sexy as hell—nothing’s more fun than a woman who knows what she wants. And I’ve got a rule, too.”

“Something to do with honesty?” I guess.

Cooper nods. “You want something, you tell me. You like something, you tell me.” He pulls me closer, resting his hand on the small of my back. All the blood in my body rushes to the one spot. “And if you don’t, you tell me that, too. None of that ‘yum’ bullshit you gave me when my potatoes were salty as fuck.”

I burst out laughing. “Okay! I’ll be completely and totally honest, even if it might hurt your feelings.”

“Good. So…how do you feel about this?” His finger traces the curve of my jaw to my chin, then rests gently against my bottom lip.

“I like this,” I say. “I like this a lot.”

Even in the dark, I can tell his eyes are sparking with desire.

“That goes both ways, right?” I ask as I reach up and slip the baseball cap off his head. No hair loss. His brown hair is thick and wavy, and I run my hand through it.

Cooper lets out a slow breath, bending his head back with my touch, like a cat. “I like,” he says, so I keep exploring, trailing my hand down his jaw, across his neatly trimmed beard.

More confident now, my finger drifts down to his chin, then up to his lips. I’ve never been this forward with a man—I always let the guy make the first move, initiate the first kiss, the first touch—and it’s thrilling. It’s fun.

With his eyes locked on mine, Cooper takes my finger between his lips and gently sucks. My breath hitches at the feeling of his tongue against the pad of my finger. He releases it with a softpop, and I wait for him to kiss me. But he doesn’t. He just waits, watching me, staying true to his word and letting me be in control.

I remind myself to be brave—and fun—then lean in and kisshim. As our lips meet, he cups my face, gently guiding me closer. He tastes like mint and his lips are warm, his beard tickling my chin. Our kisses are soft, tentative, as we taste and tease each other. He’s being careful, following my lead, which I appreciate, but soon I find myself leaning in, wanting more. I open my mouth, inviting him to deepen thekiss, and he does, wrapping one arm around my waist, pulling me close. His tongue slides more deeply against mine and heat sizzles down my legs. I let out a soft, involuntary moan. He’s kissing me like this is the main attraction, not just the warm-up for something more.

His lips nip my ear, and he trails kisses down the side of my neck. My mind flashes back to our first kiss all those years ago, and I laugh, remembering how awkward and stumbly it was.

“What’s so funny?” he asks, pulling away slightly.

I don’t want to admit it, but I promised honesty. “I was just thinking about how much you’ve improved since our last time doing this.”

Cooper smiles, tilting my chin so I’m looking into his eyes. “Do you remember the camp dance that summer?”

“I think so,” I say, although most of the camp dances have blended together in my mind.

“I asked you to go out and look at the stars with me.”

“I brought Jessie out with me,” I say, remembering how nervous I was to be alone with him, how I wasn’t sure I wanted to kiss him again.

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