Page 20 of Hooking the Captain
The second mygrandparents pulled out of the driveway, I grabbed my phone and sent Coop a text:
Got the house to myself for a bit. Want to come over for lunch?
We’d been texting a lot, but due to some family commitments for Coop, it had been almost a week since our date, and I was desperate to see him again.
I’m not sure that’s a good idea
My brow furrowed and I typed back:
Why not?
What if your grandparents come home while I’m still there?
You’re worried you won’t be able to keep your hands to yourself and they’ll walk in on something?
The second I sent the message, I felt bad for teasing him because it was very likely that was exactly what he was afraid of, but before I could apologize, he responded:
Pretty much ??
The winky face emoji made me feel less like an ass, but still I texted:
I shouldn’t have teased you about that. I’m sorry. I promise no one will know you’re here. They said they won’t be home until dinner, so we have a few hours of alone time
The dots signaling he was texting danced on the screen, and a few seconds later his answer came through:
Ok. I’ll be there in 20
A grin spread across my face, and I raced to the kitchen so I could get a head start on the food. When I’d left Boston to escape for a bit, I never expected to meet someone who would keep my mind off of what had happened the last few months. The more time I spent with Coop, the less I thought about my ex. However, one thing remained on my mind: the NDA.
It wasn’t that I had an issue with him needing to protect his privacy. Hell, I was the last person who could complain about that, but I did wonder if he made every person he dated sign one. He didn’t have one ready to go at the lake when I sucked him off, and instead he mentioned needing to get one drafted. That led me to believe he hadn’t used one before and I wondered if his request was about more than his fear I would run to the media—which would out me too. Maybe he was more bothered by me not being honest about recognizing him the night we met than he let on. While understandable, it still hurt because I never wanted to be the person who someone had to worry about outing them.
I was busy seasoning the burgers when the doorbell rang. Even though I was expecting Coop, I looked out the window to be sure it was him. When he caught me peeking out at him, he grinned and held up a six-pack of beer.
Pulling the door open, I smiled at him. Despite the short time we’d known each other, I was crushing on the guy hard. “Hey. Glad you could come over,” I greeted and gave him a quick peck. The closest neighbor was a half mile down the road, so I didn’t worry about anyone seeing us. “I hope you like burgers.”
“I do.”
I felt his stare on me as he followed me to the kitchen. His watchful eyes made me feel nervous yet exhilarated at the same time.
My grandparents didn’t have a grill, so I placed the burgers in a pan on the stovetop, while Coop popped open a beer for each of us.
“Are you good with your burger cooked medium?” I asked as I leaned against the counter while the patties sizzled.
“Medium is perfect.” He took a sip of his beer. “You didn’t have to go to all the work of cooking for me. I could have picked something up on the way over.”
I shrugged, feeling my face flush. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s sweet.” Coop’s eyes softened, and he took a step closer to me. “I was just excited to get a chance to spend more time with you. Sorry if it sounded like I didn’t want to come over.”
“Like I said before, I understand why you’re cautious, but …” I swallowed hard, feeling my heart race in my chest. “I actually did want to ask you something.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Okay?”
“I know you explained why you wanted me to sign the NDA, but I can’t stop thinking about how you didn’t already have one ready to go.” I took a deep breath and looked down at the linoleum floor. “It made me wonder if you asked previous dates to sign one?”
“No, I never did.”
My head snapped up. “You didn’t?”
