Let Me Love You (Love #4) (9 page)

An hour later I’m dressed in my favorite skinny jeans with the fancy designs on the pockets, a hot pink off the shoulder sweater and my grey high heeled boots. I grab my grey shawl to match my shoes and I switch out my purse for my pink clutch. I’ve styled my hair into a high messy up do because I know having my neck exposed will drive Cooper crazy. I can’t help but want to tease him a little more. Just to add smoke to the fire, I’ve done my make-up a little darker; I hardly ever wear make-up but I know that making myself look sultry will get to Cooper.

I hear him barreling up the stairs, probably to tell me to hurry the hell up. I grab my clutch and meet him at the door before he can even say anything.

Cooper takes in my appearance and I watch him swallow hard a few times. “Damn.” He says under his breath.

I smile sweetly, “Guess I’ve got your stamp of approval?”

Cooper rubs at the scruff on his face and a smile breaks across his beautiful lips. “Yeah, I guess you do.”

Cooper turns the light off as I walk past him and down the stairs. He’s already got the truck running and cleared off. I hadn’t even realized it was snowing.

I turn to look at Cooper, “Should we still go? It’s coming down pretty hard.”

Cooper shrugs, “Yeah we’ll be fine. We aren’t going far.”

We climb into the truck and buckle ourselves in. “So where are we going anyway?”

“Oceans,” Cooper smiles. “Cole’s back in town.”

I smile brightly. I love Cole’s music and he’s an overall good guy. I even overlook the fact that he was involved with Lily. The drive to Oceans is slow but we make it safe and sound. The parking lot is full, which doesn’t surprise me. Cole’s band knows how to draw a crowd.

Cooper finds a parking spot and when we pull in I reach down for my purse and place a hand on the door handle but he stops me. “I’ll come around and open the door.”

I smile and nod. He’s being sweet and trying to make up for being an ass these last few days even though going out to a place like this bothers him. Going out with Cooper is sometimes an arduous process - since he’s a hometown player he gets recognized a lot and he doesn’t really like the attention. Well at least not anymore. Mason and he used to eat that shit up.

Cooper wears a simple pair of stone washed jeans that hang perfectly on his slender hips. Under his jacket he’s got a black polo, the sleeves of which strain against his bulging biceps, paired with his black Nikes and his black
New York Yankees
hat pulled down low. He’s handsome; I watch as he rounds the truck towards me and I get little butterflies in my stomach. I’m one lucky girl.

Cooper opens my door and holds a hand out for me. “Thanks.”

We walk hand in hand up to the door where a bouncer sits just inside. “What’s up Manny?” Cooper greets the man that’s sitting on a stool, dressed all in black with the club’s logo on the front of his shirt.

“Nothing much,” Manny looks in my direction and gives me a smile. “Eli’s already here. He said to tell you he’s waiting for you in a booth near the club.”

Cooper shakes Manny’s hand in that guy hand shake way that they do.

We weave around the crowd and spot a drop dead gorgeous Eli sitting in the booth by himself, looking all mouthwatering. When he spots us he tips his beer towards Cooper and me, and then stands to greet us. He shakes hands with Cooper, “’Bout time you showed up.”

Cooper laughs and pulls me closer to him. “Waiting on this girl, you know how they are.”

I jab Cooper a little with my elbow and he chuckles. Eli looks in my direction and I know when he recognizes me. His lip pulls up in a half smile. I divert my eyes towards the stage, looking for a distraction and to keep the blush at bay. I swear I hear Cooper growl and Eli chuckles.

“What’s up Jaylinn?” Eli’s raspy voice wraps around me and it feels like I can’t breathe.

I look up to Cooper who’s trying his hardest not to let on that he hates the fact I think Eli’s hot. When you’re in the presence of the guy it’s like he’s got this confidence about him that just draws you in. He’s tall, handsome, with a beautifully proportioned body. His olive skin contrasts pleasingly with his white teeth and his compelling blue eyes, and he has the perfect smile. His short brown messy hair gleams in the dimly lit bar. There is not a damn thing wrong with this man.

I lick my lips and Cooper reaches over, gripping my hand tightly in his. I raise an eyebrow at Cooper and give him a pointed look. He wants to stake his claim on me in front of Eli but when I want him to commit to me I get the ‘I’m keeping you at arm’s length’ speech.

I focus my attention to Eli, “Nothing much. How are things with you?”

He shrugs, “Good. Cooper and I are working hard to get this new club up and running.”

I nod because I know they have been. Eli takes a seat and Cooper nudges me to slide into the booth and then he takes a seat next to me. The waitress stops over and Eli orders another drink while Cooper orders one for him and me. I send a silent prayer up that she doesn’t ask for I.D. but sitting with these two is a sure distraction, especially with Eli eye fucking her.

“So I spoke to that real estate agent when I stopped home to change.” Eli says to Cooper. “The building’s ours if we want.”

Cooper nods, “That’s great. It’s going to be a good location. It’s close enough for the college crowd and the summer crowds.”

Eli takes a swig of his beer and looks out over the crowd. “Yeah, man. You think we should jump on it?”

Cooper looks over at me and I give him a little smile. I have no idea where this place is that they were looking at, so I have no feedback.

“Let’s do it.”

Eli nods his agreement, “I’ll call her first thing in the morning.”

The waitress comes back over and places our drinks down at the same time the crowd starts cheering and the band walks out on stage. I watch as a confident Cole saddles up to the mic. “How’s everyone doing?”

The crowd all whoops and hollers.

“Well I hope you all enjoy the show tonight.” Cole scans the crowd and spots Cooper and I and he nods his head in greeting.

Cole sits on the stool and the crowd quiets. He strums his guitar, testing it out. “I’m going to start off with a popular cover song. Sound good?”

Everyone cheers and a girl screams that she loves Cole.

Cooper reaches over and pulls me a little closer to him. Eli catches him and winks at me. I bite down on my bottom lip and try to focus back on Cole singing.

After a few songs, Cooper excuses himself to use the bathroom, leaving me at the table with Eli. When Cooper disappears into the crowd Eli asks about our relationship. “So…you and Cooper?”

I shrug, not really sure how to answer that question so I answer it the best way I know how. “It’s complicated.”

Eli laughs bitterly, “Aren’t they all?”

I sense a bit of hostility in his tone. I wonder if Eli’s been burned, and then quickly dismiss that idea. There is no way that could happen. Who in their right mind would walk away from him?

“You guys were always close, huh?” Eli asks.

“Yeah, we’ve got a lot of history.”

Eli brings his beer to his lips but before he takes a sip he says, “And he hasn’t put a ring on that finger yet?”

I’m thrown off guard a little bit by his question. “Um, no.”

He mumbles something that sounds like ‘stupid move’.

I look towards the bathrooms, hoping Cooper would be coming back in our direction but no such luck. I feel slightly awkward sitting here with Eli, feeling like he wants to say more about my relationship with Cooper. With each song that Cole plays the beat picks up. The crowd is eating it up and really enjoying themselves.

Eli stands and holds a hand out, “Dance with me?”

My eyes go wide in surprise. I don’t think this is a good idea but for some reason I do it anyway. I place a hand in Eli’s and let him lead me off towards the dance floor and I pray Cooper doesn’t freak the fuck out when he finds us.

When I come back to the booth it’s empty. I scan the crowd and spot Eli and Jaylinn dancing. I can tell it’s friendly by the way Jaylinn is keeping a safe distance but it pisses me off anyway. Who the hell does Eli think he is asking
my
girl to dance?
She’s not your girl Cooper.

As Jaylinn dances seductively around Eli’s body, her eyes connect with mine and it strikes something in me. My stomach clenches and my hands ball into fists. I stalk off towards them, ready to claim my girl back. Eli had asked me about Jaylinn earlier when I’d mentioned that I was going to bring her tonight and I told him that things were complicated but I really didn’t think he’d try and make a move on her. I know he was kidding around and shit when he said he bang her but maybe it wasn’t so much of a joke after all.

Jaylinn’s eyes follow my every movement, all the while keeping up with Eli’s dance moves. I’m just about to them when Jaylinn stops right in front of Eli and places a hand on his chest and sways her hips all the way down his body without sitting on the ground. Suddenly it feels like my body is scorching,pumping hot lava through my veins.

I stop directly where I am and watch as she sways those perfect hips back up his body. Her eyes are still fixed on me, even when Eli puts his hands on her hips and pulls her body closer to him. His head turns towards her ear. He must say something because Jaylinn licks her lips and nods her head. Eli turns in my direction, giving me a head nod and acknowledging that he knows I’m aware of their dancing and then he spins Jaylinn gracefully into my direction. My arms open and Jaylinn lands right up against my chest. I inhale deeply as the smell of her perfume swirls in the air around us.

“Jay,” My voice comes out husky.

“Baby,” Jaylinn purrs.

Her body starts to sway to music and I feel myself doing the same. The song slowly comes to an end. Cole stands and walks to the mic, “We’re going to slow things down for a few minutes and play a favorite song of mine. There’s a couple in the house that knows this song fairly well and I think it’s appropriate that I play it for them.”

Jaylinn’s head snaps to the stage, seeking out Cole. “Are Mason and Hailey here?” She asks, standing on her tip toes and looking around.

I cup the side of Jaylinn’s face, completely forgetting the fact that I was beyond pissed seeing her dancing with Eli. While I was gone I had walked over and asked if Manny could get a message to Cole for me. I requested that he play the song that meant just as much to Jaylinn and I as it does Mason and Hailey. I know Jaylinn was upset that I was blowing her off but it’s what I needed to do, I just have to make sure she knows she a huge part of my life and always will be.

A piano is rolled out on the stage and Cole takes a seat behind it. He hits the first few keys to “Changed By You”
by
Between the Trees
, and Jaylinn looks to me with a sea of emotion in her eyes and I’m drowning in it.

Her arms slowly reach up around my neck and I bring her body flush against mine. She lowers her right hand and places it on my chest, just over my heart, and rests her head on my shoulder.

Our bodies sway back and forth as a hold her close. “I know this is Hailey and Mason’s song but the words are fitting and I need you to understand how I feel about you.” I kiss her cheek. “You’ve been there for me when my life felt out of control back in school. Classes and baseball were taking up all my time but you were always there. Half the time I never even acknowledged that you were there, but I knew. You never missed any of my games, not even in high school, unless you had one of your own. Even now when I told you I was thinking of quitting you didn’t push me to stay with baseball. You were trying to figure out a way for me to do both.” I take a long deep breath, needing a little courage to continue. “When shit went down I blamed myself, I still do, but for some reason you’ve stuck around.”

Jaylinn lifts her head and begs me with her eyes to understand that it wasn’t my fault. “Cooper you aren’t to blame. You couldn’t have stopped what almost happened.”

I bite on my bottom lip, feeling my shoulder sag. “If I didn’t bring you, you wouldn’t have had to worry about anything. I feel like you left BU because of me. You left your friends and teammates behind to transfer to Georgian Court.”

Before I can keep going Jaylinn stops me by placing a finger to my lips. “I didn’t transfer because of you. I transferred because
I
wanted to. Nothing I wanted was in Boston anymore.” The last part comes out more of a whisper.