Page 48 of Chasing Elliott
Before I could retort, Johnathan leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek. Istayed on the pier as he walked away, taking a deep breath before I screamed into my hands as they covered my face.
I took a few minutes to gather my bearings, to get my emotions and thoughts together before I turned and made my way off the pier. I stopped on the sidewalk, glancing out at theocean before looking back at the parking lot, trying to decide what I wanted to do.
Noticing it was now three in the morning, I slipped off my shoes and started to walk through the sand, heading towards the water. As I walked, it suddenly seemed as if I was being pulled by some imaginary string as my eyes drifted over to a small fire.
Once my eyes focused, I realized that I was staring at the hammock that Cooper and I had slept in that night I met him. Well, officially met him. I bit my lip and walked over to it before Ifroze, noticing that there was someone laying in it.
“What on earth are you doing here?” I questioned as I came to a stop a couple feet away.
“Ever since that night, whenever I can’t sleep, I come out to this spot,” Cooper said with a small smile as he sat up. “What are you doing here?”
Sighing, I walked over and sat in the hammock beside him. Cooper immediately put ahand on my leg as I kept my eyes averted down, refusing to make eye contact.
“I don’t want to hide anything from you,” I choked out, squeezing my eyes shut tightly. “But I’m scared, Coop. I haven’t ever talked about my feelings this much, let alone this often over a few days. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
“Hey,” he said quickly as he reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t be. You can tell me anything, no matter how bad it might be.”
I took a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for what I was about to say. “I don’t know if I ever told you this, but do you remember that night when we played do or drink and Benjamin told me to text the last person I slept with? Well, it was Johnathan. Before you, Johnathan was the guy I couldn’t seem to let go of, the one I kept going back to. I know you know a little bit, or at least assumed we slept together once, but that’s the truth.
“He called me tonight and asked me to meet him here, where we used to once he was offwork. I didn’t tell him no, in fact I was talking to him just now, but I realized something. There’s something different with you than I ever had with him, which is why I was still sleeping with other people at the same time as him, but I haven’t been with anyone else but you.
“I’ve never put this much of myself into another person before and I’ve never felt so unlike myself. I don’t do this kind of thing, Coop. I don’t stick with one guy for this long, even if it’s just as friends. So much of myself has become wrapped up in you and I’m terrified that oneday I’m not going to be able to handle that and I’m going to ruin whatever it is we have here.”
I felt my eyes start to well up and I knew I couldn’t keep talking. The minute I stopped, Cooper wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his side, my head resting in the crook of his neck. One of his arms was around my shoulders while the other cupped the back of my head and kept me against him. I let a few of the tears escape, not caring about how pathetic it mightlook.
“Elli, you have no idea what this means to me. I really appreciate you telling me and not hiding this. But baby, even though you didn’t tell him no, you still didn’t do anything, and I think you realizing the things you haveis amazing.”
Cooper pressed his lips to my forehead before he kept talking. “I know how difficult this has been on you, to be with someone like this, but I appreciate that you've given me a chance. I don’t want you to be scared. As long as we continue to have open communication about this, wecan work through anything. No secrets, no lies, okay?”
Nodding, I wrapped my arms around Cooper’s neck and held him tightly as his arms moved to hold me around my waist. Once we pulled apart, I placed a kiss on his lips beforereleasing the grip I had on him. Turning my attention back to the water, Cooper put his legs back up on the hammock and laid down behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw him smiling at me.
“Lay with me,” he said softly as he held an arm out. Putting my entire body into the hammock, I curled into his side with my arm resting on his chest. Cooper rubbed small patterns on my arm and not long later, I fell asleep.
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” I told Benjamin as I held my Seagrams tightly in my left hand.
“The hell it’s not,” he fired back as he narrowed his eyes on me. “You can’t even pretend that you can fight me on this.”
“Try me,” I spat as I pushed myself off the couch to stand over him. Benjamin cocked abrow as he stood, his large frame now towering over mine.
“Alright, let’s ask Coop to break the tie.” Benjamin looked over my shoulder at him as hecame strolling over from the kitchen. “Who knows baseball better? Me or her?”
Rolling my eyes, I crossed my arms over my chest when Kara spoke up. “That’s not really fair to ask him. He’s your best friend and technically, even though you may hate me for this, your boyfriend.”
“Which is why it’s fair,” Benjamin fired back as his whole body screamed of confidence. “So, who’s it going to be?”
I turned around to look at Cooper, watching as he fell into the recliner with a conflicted look on his face. A small smile tugged at my lips as I watched him squirm in his seat, Benjamin and I both staring intently.
“I don’t want to choose,” Cooper mumbled as he leaned back. “No matter what, I'll havesomeone mad at me.”
“Who’s going to make your life worse if you don’t pick them?” Benjamin questioned as he took a small step forward so he was now in front of me and one step closer to Cooper.
“Don’t you try and intimidate me,” Cooper said as he pointed a finger at Benjamin. “We’re both too good at pranks so unless you want to be sleeping with one eye open, I suggest backing down.”
I laughed loudly as I shook my head and sat back down on the cushion I had sitting on the floor. Taking a sip of my drink, I craned my neck to look up at Benjamin.
“I’m not going to argue anymore,” I told him pointedly as I turned my attention back to the game. “You’re a sore loser, anyway so you can have this one.”
“I’m the sore loser?” He scoffed as he fell back onto the couch next to Kara. “I’m not theone who broke the Monopoly board when I lost.”
