Page 16 of Love Thy Neighbor

Things are going to be just fine.

3

Cooper

Caroline saw me naked.

It was the last thought that ran through my head before I finally passed out around two AM, and it was my first thought when the early-morning sun poked through my blinds half an hour ago as I peeled myself out of bed.

It’s the same thought that followed me into the coldest shower I’ve ever taken.

The thought is still running through my mind as I rinse out the coffee carafe from yesterday, getting ready to start the first pot of the day. First pot, because I’m damn sure I’ll be having another one today.

I chased sleep like I’ve never chased it before just to quiet my head, and the bitch eluded me all night long. I think I got around three hours if you add up all the times I wasn’t wide awake with my mind running wild.

My best friend who has always safely lived on one side of the line we’ve mutually agreed to saw me in nothing but my birthday suit.

Fine. Whatever. So it finally happened? Big whoop.

It was bound to happen given the number of years we’ve known each other. We could have gotten over it after a few days of not making eye contact. She’d say something silly and I’d make fun of her and we’d be fine.

Except Caroline didn’t run. She didn’t hide. Didn’t even cover her eyes.

No.

She stared.

And I meangawked.

Ogling me like I was her favorite ice cream flavor and she was being handed the last scoop.

I can’t remember the last time a woman looked at me like that. It took every ounce of willpower I had to keep my dick down as much as I did. I thought of every awful thing I could conjure, and Istillrose to half-mast just from her stare alone.

Then, she brushed against me.

And I died.

In that short millisecond in the hall, I felt my heart stop beating.

I couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. Breathing was out of the question.

I just couldn’t decide if it was because everything I had with my best friend had just changed…or because it was being challenged.

You’re being dramatic, you moron. Just don’t make a big deal out of it. You made her laugh with your joke last night. She’s over it. You’re over it. You’re both moving on.

Right. Moving on. That’s what we need to do.

Her bedroom door clicks open, and I freeze.

Just like I know she freezes when she sees my bedroom door is open.

She knows I’m awake. I know she does because I can hear her sharp inhale from here.

Time to face the music.

I imagine her pushing her shoulders back, charging forward with all the false confidence she can gather, and padding down the hall.

She appears around the corner, her blonde hair a curly mess, her favorite pair of tattered jammies hanging off her like they always do.

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