Page 38 of Scoop Me Up
Sam
I was distracted by thoughts of Gabe all the next day. I had taken the coward’s way out and gotten up early that morning, leaving the house before he was awake. I knew I’d need to go home and face him at some point, but I was in absolutely no hurry. Instead, I texted Cooper and asked him to meet me at Sparky’s after school.
I found Cooper at our usual booth, scrolling on his phone while he waited for me to arrive. The second I approached, he tucked his phone away, giving me a bright smile. Before I could do anything other than slide into the booth, our server approached.
Cooper leaned in their direction. “Hi, Sage,” he said, giving them the same smile he’d given me.
“Hi, Coop. What can I get for you?”
“Slice of maple cream pie, please.”
“Sure thing,” Sage said with a nod and turned to leave, but I called their name. They turned back to me. “Sam.” Their tone was light and teasing.
“Can I get a slice of pie, too?”
“I wasn’t sure you hadn’t had your fill of maple custard from over at Red’s.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but honestly, I knew how indefensible it was. “I know. I’m sorry. I was just showing the new guy around, and Red’s was his idea.”
Cooper tilted his head. “Red’s? You ate at Red’s?” When I nodded, he muttered one word. “Traitor.”
I’d warned Gabe that the town took its diner rivalry seriously.Veryseriously. “I’m sorry, Sage.”
Without another word, they nodded and turned, heading back to the kitchen, presumably to grab pie. Hopefullytwoslices.
“So, what’s up?” Cooper asked after Sage left.
“Why do you think something’s going on?”
He shrugged and took a sip of his water. “You’ve had a lot going on in your life these past few days. Can’t I check in?”
“Fair.” I hesitated for a moment, and as I did, Sage approached with plates with slices of pie in each hand. They placed one gently in front of Cooper and practically dropped the second plate in front of me.
“Enjoy,” they said directly to Cooper before leaving again.
“As you were saying?” Coop prompted.
I sighed. “Nothing happened.”
He frowned, brows furrowing. “What do you meannothing happened?What exactly didn’t happen?” He picked up his fork and dug in on his pie.
I dropped my voice to a murmur. “Gabe tried to kiss me.”
Cooper nearly dropped his fork. “Hewhat?”
With a nod, I glanced around to be sure nobody was listening. I could just see the headline in the Maplewood Matters gossip blog.Which teacher is making moves on one of Maplewood’s single dads?And that would be a mild headline. “Yeah. He had a little too much to drink last night after you bailed on us.”
Cooper’s smile turned into a crooked smirk. He didn’t look remotely remorseful for abandoning us. “And he kissed you?”
“No. I wouldn’t let him.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious? Why?”
“Cooper! He was drunk!”
“Right. Good point. Consent is important.” He took another bite of pie, looking thoughtful as he chewed. “So now what?”
I sighed deeply. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
