Agony(Entangled Hearts Duet #1) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,48

Cooper, with his arm tight around my waist, moves me through the crowd and over to the corner of the room where Tessa and Nixon are standing.

“Are you all right?” Tessa asks. She pulls away from Nixon to give me a hug.

“I’m fine. Just lost my footing when we got jostled in the crowd.”

“Fucker should have been watching. I knew I should have busted that up,” Cooper grumbles.

“What?” I ask him.

“I saw him lead you out there.” He motions to the middle of the floor. “I don’t know him; therefore, I don’t trust him. I wanted to pull you away from him, but these two,” he points to Tessa and Nixon, “talked me out of it.”

“He’s a nice guy.”

“Oh, yeah? When did you meet him?”

“Tonight.”

“Exactly.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “Reese, you have to be careful. You’ve been drinking, and you don’t know him. What if he slipped something into your drink? What if he got you so drunk you didn’t even know your own name and took advantage of you?”

“Being taken advantage of doesn’t sound so bad,” I tease. “It’s been too long.”

“What the fuck!” Cooper raises his voice. “Do you hear yourself right now? He could have raped you, Reese.”

“T-That’s not what I meant.” My foggy alcohol brain is trying to keep up. Surely, he knows that’s not what I meant. “I meant that it’s been a long time and random sex, it’s not so bad. I mean, I’m weeks away from graduating from college, and I’ve never had just random sex. It’s a pastime, right?”

“No, Reese.” His voice is low, his words tight. “It’s not a fucking pastime. You could have been hurt.”

“How? How could I have been hurt when you were watching me. You’re always fucking watching me. He’s the first guy who isn’t a close friend that’s noticed me in a long time. What’s bad about that, Cooper? Huh? You have girls hanging off you every fucking day, and I say nothing. I let you make your choices. As your best friend, I support you. Why can’t you do that for me?” I stomp off into the kitchen. I need more alcohol. I can’t have this conversation with him right now. I just can’t. I might say something that I regret, or that I can’t take back. What’s worse is, my lips are loose, and my heart is wide open. For him. I can’t tell him that I wish we were more; that would ruin what we have. I need to clear my head, and a shot sounds like a great way to do it.

Walking away is the best choice for me.

Chapter 15

Cooper

My hands are fisted at my sides, my chest rising and falling as I try to catch my breath, and my eyes, they’re locked on Reese as she disappears into the kitchen. “She fucking walked away,” I grumble. I don’t really care if Nixon and Tessa are listening. The words needed to be said. We’ve never argued like this. Never. Not even when we were kids. We just… don’t fight.

“Do you blame her?” Nixon asks. “You’re acting like a jealous boyfriend.”

“What?” I whip my head away from staring at the door Reese disappeared behind to look at him. “That’s insane.”

“Is it? You saw that she was drinking too much, so you stopped.” He points at the water bottle in my hand.

“How is that a jealous boyfriend? I’m being a good friend looking out for her. Reese never drinks like this. In fact, this is maybe the third time it’s ever happened.”

He nods. “I get that. But what about the way your eyes watched her no matter where she was in the room? What about when that guy offered her his hand and led her out there to dance, you pushed off the wall and was ready to fight? How do you explain that, Cooper?”

“He’s a stranger.”

“Cooper.” Tessa’s soft voice breaks into our heated exchange. “You’re her best friend. We get that. But you have to remember that you’re leaving. You’re not going to be there to scare off some guy who you don’t know that talks to her. She has to live her own life, Cooper. She’s lived in your shadow for years. For the last four years, I’ve watched you protect her, scare guys off before they even have a chance to utter a single syllable to her. You’re leaving, Cooper. You’re leaving, and she’s not. You have to let her live her life.” Her words are soft, gentle, as