Stay For Me - Megan Smith Page 0,8
“Nice to see you again.”
He takes my hand. “You too.”
I know better, with the stories I’ve heard from Cooper and Mason about not to mess with MacKenzie so instead I keep things platonic. “It’s nice to see you, too. Your brother is upstairs.” I glance to Jaylinn waiting for her to speak up and say she’ll show them up there but she doesn’t say anything although her eyes say it all, she doesn’t want to see Cooper.
Knowing I have to do the right thing I motion towards the stairs. “Follow me and I’ll show you where he is.” When we reach the stairs I allow MacKenzie and Hunter to go first followed by Jaylinn. Just before we get to the top I place a hand on Jaylinn’s hip, she turns to face me. “Remember what tonight is about. It’s the curveball he never saw coming.”
“Thanks.” Jaylinn says with a small smile on her face. She reaches down for my hand but instead I throw my arm over her shoulder and we walk up together.
Mason is there beside Cooper, who has MacKenzie dangling from the floor in a bear hug. “How does it feel to have a break, Momma?” Cooper asks his sister.
MacKenzie turns her head and that’s when Cooper’s eyes land on Jaylinn. The smile disappears from his face when he notices where my arm is. That’s right, take the bait. MacKenzie says something to him and that seems to gather his attention. Layla comes up behind Jaylinn and me. “I wanted to check and make sure you’re okay.”
Jaylinn bobs her head. “I’m fine. I’ve got this.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see Cooper angle himself so he can get a better look at what’s going on.
“You’re gonna need that confidence, pretty girl, because I’m pretty sure Cooper is about ready to deck me right in the face.”
Jaylinn pats my face. “That would be such a shame since you’re so hot.”
Layla and Jaylinn start laughing, and it’s adding fuel to the fire but Cooper knows I’d never go after his girl. I glance over towards him, his hands are fisted down by his sides and he’s glaring at me. I give him a little chin nod letting him know that I see him and I know that he’s pissed.
Jaylinn and Layla are talking about school and soccer; I’ve tuned them out really. I’m just standing here playing the part, hoping Cooper pulls his head out of his ass and sees what’s right in front of him.
MacKenzie is doing a good job trying to distract him. “I love you, Coop. I’m so proud that you and Eli did all of this. To be honest with you, I wasn’t expecting it.”
Cooper kisses her head. “I love you for what you’re doing,” quieting her down. “I’m just totally shocked she’s here.”
Layla fluffs Jaylinn’s hair. “It’s show time, girl.”
She looks to me with a nervous smile and I give her a wink.
“Hey,” Jaylinn says as she steps up to Cooper. “Everything looks great.”
Cooper, keeping things cold says, “Thanks. I’m glad you came.”
Layla takes a step closer to me and I get a whiff of her perfume. It’s some kind of coconut and reminds me of the beach. “I can’t hear.” She says and takes one smaller step forward.
“You are?” Jaylinn asks with uncertainty lacing her voice.
“Damn it.” Layla says under her breath. I take my chances, not knowing the outcome, and reach forward pulling her closer to me so it doesn’t look like we’re eavesdropping. We’re so close that if we were the same height we’d be eye to eye. Layla looks up to me, her eyes wide. I should move my hand off of her hip but my hand doesn’t seem to get the message.
“Of course,” Cooper says then pauses. “I have to go help out. I’ll see you all later.”
And those words are like a splash of cold water on all of us. Layla jumps back like I’ve burned her, MacKenzie curses, and Jaylinn sighs in defeat, turning toward the ocean view as I know she’s trying to rein in her emotions.
After a second, Layla steps around me and goes to her friend’s side; they exchange a few words and walk hand-in-hand back downstairs.
Cooper really is hard headed when it comes to Jaylinn. The little I do know about their relationship is that it didn’t start off well when Jaylinn came to Boston University for her freshman year. Some shit went down at a party that involved my sister’s ex-boyfriend