Page 149 of Something Rad
“Okay,” she nods.
My feet don’t move. Cooper crosses her arms, looking me up and down.
“Uh…you’re not going,” she says after several seconds.
“Yeah, I know,” I respond. “I guess…I don’t really want to.” I glance up at her, seeing her brows raise. “Go home, that is.”
“Oh,” she breathes, her shoulders falling. “That makes sense.”
I run a hand through my hair, and, when I find it still messy, that just makes me want to go home even less. I huff out a breath. “But you gotta do what you gotta do. So, see ya, Cooper.” I start to spin around, but Cooper’s voice makes me pause.
“You know…I’m just going to watch movies until my mom gets home later. I already baked my chocolate cake this morning. So, I mean, if you wanted to…”
“Yeah?” I question her, my spine steeling.
“You can join me,” she offers. “But you have to promise not to talk during the movies. Or to try to make me into atryst, because there’s not a chance in hell.”
My lips pull into a smirk. “I can’t guarantee the first, but we should be safe on the second.”
Cooper rolls her eyes before pushing the door open further, stepping aside. “Deal.”
I step inside her house, letting her close the door behind me.
“I’m just going to get out of my dress,” Cooper says.
“Excuse me?”
She shakes her head, covering her face. “I mean, I’m going to put on something more comfortable.”
“No, I get it. You’re using reverse psychology on me, Cooper. You invite me into your home, telling me I have to keep my hands to myself, just to lock me in and pounce the first chance you get.”
“Robbie, I didn’t–”
“You know, Cooper, I’d like to fight you on this. To say it’s a double standard and wrong for you to objectify me in this way, but, if I’m being honest, I kinda think being objectified turns me on.”
“Oh my God.” Cooper throws her hands in the air in defeat, heading towards her bedroom door. “I’m going to change now. The most recent movies I brought home from Groovy Movie are sitting on the TV stand. Pick one out and please figure out how to stop talking by the time I’m back.”
I open my mouth, but Cooper slams her bedroom door closed before I can say anything else. I let out a chuckle, shrugging off my suit jacket and tossing it onto the couch. I untuck my dress shirt and undo another button at the top of it, feeling like I can breathe a little better as I walk over to the TV stand and crouch down to look at the small stack of VHS tapes sitting on top of it. The first three areFootloose,Grease, andFlashdance.
In a musical mood this week, are we, Cooper?
I almost decide to just go withGreasebefore the last movie on the bottom of the stack that I didn’t see before catches my eye.
“No freaking way,” I whisper to myself, grinning.
I pick up the tape, standing up to my full height right as the door to Cooper’s room opens and she reappears in the living room. “Did you pick something?”
I glance up, finding her in a pair of gray sweatpants and a blue Bay View Bears sweatshirt. “Uh, yeah. I think I did.” I flash her a teasing smile, making her tilt her head at me.
“What?” she asks.
I take a few steps closer to her, holding upThe Outsidersfor her to see.
“Oh…” she mutters, her shoulders dropping. “I– Uh…forgot I got that.”
“I’m sure you did,” I nod.
She narrows her eyes at me, plucking the tape from my hand and moving to TV to get the movie started.
