Upside Down (Breaking the Rules #3) - A.M. Madden Page 0,61

could valet.

“I’ll call you when we’re ready, Harry.”

“No problem, sir.”

Cooper remained quiet as I exited, again took his hand, and walked us through the main entrance. It took a few minutes to check in before being given thick, logoed towels and led to our beach lounges under a square umbrella.

There were couples everywhere—male-female, male-male, female-female, and even a few thrupples. Some of the women were topless, and many of the men had on skimpy banana hammocks, making Cooper and I appear overdressed. But for the most part it was an easygoing crowd whose plan was to enjoy the hottest spot in Florida.

As Cooper continued to peruse the area, I tossed the towel on a side table, kicked off my shoes, and slid onto the large chaise bed for two that faced the ocean. He mimicked my actions and took the seat beside me, leaving a good foot of space between us.

“Nice place.”

“I like it.”

A waitress appeared to hand us menus. “I’ll give you a few minutes,” she said before moving on to other guests. To our right was a gay couple, entwined together and appearing to be napping. To our left was a heterosexual couple busy on their phones.

“Ricky Burrows,” a deep voice said. Shielding my hand against the sun’s glare, I looked up.

“Hey, Christian.” Cooper flipped his head my way as I asked, “How are you?” Knowing he worked nights, the chances that he’d be there were high. But running into him would be a great test as to how Cooper reacted.

“Good.” His eyes landed on Cooper, who now blatantly stared back at him. Christian was a good-looking man. Not much different from Cooper in his coloring. His European-cut swim shorts left nothing to the imagination. Although he wasn’t as tall as me, his muscular torso always did it for me. “Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“Life’s been crazy.”

“You off this week?” It wasn’t an unusual question. It hadn’t been long ago that I’d almost called him to fuck Cooper out of my mind.

“I’m on a little sabbatical,” I admitted before placing my hand on Cooper’s thigh and ripping off the proverbial bandage with one firm yank. “This is my… boyfriend, Cooper.”

Cooper’s brows rose as Christian’s pulled together in confusion before he offered a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah… you too.” Christian’s focus bounced between my face and my hand on Cooper’s thigh. “I guess getting together anytime soon is a bad idea,” he said on a chuckle.

“Yeah, sorry, man.” An awkward silence stretched. “Um… you’re welcome to join us.”

“Nah, I’m actually meeting someone. But take care.” After one last perusal, he sauntered away without a backward glance.

“So that’s Christian,” Cooper said, staring at him as he walked down the beach. “I don’t see you together.”

“Why not?” I asked, amused.

He seemed unfazed while leveling me with a sarcastic smirk. “I don’t know. He’s not as hot as me, I guess.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. This guy. “You are hot.” Twisting closer to him, I wrapped both arms around his body. “Watching all these women ogling you, and the men as well, is making me hard,” I admitted before thrusting myself against his hip to prove my point. But when I began to suck on a spot on his neck, he craned away from my touch to stare into my eyes. This was it. This was when the freak-out would come.

Except he shocked the shit out of me and crushed his mouth to mine, onlookers be damned.

It seemed the player got played, yet again.

Chapter Twenty-One

Cooper

This little test of his meant shit.

It was easy to be relaxed when you didn’t know anyone around you. Who cared if a man watched as Ricky kissed me, ran a hand down my leg, nibbled my neck? Who cared if a woman stared at us with that regretful frown because we weren’t straight? If anything, each glance our way during each openly affectionate touch made me want him even more.

Regardless, I played along, knowing my parents’ arrival would be the true test… the first of many, and I couldn’t imagine my way through it yet. How did one come out at the age of twenty-eight? Ricky could help me with that, having done so as a teen, but asking him to would hint that I wasn’t ready.

I was ready. That didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous.

I knew my family would be supportive. I was a bit worried about Sam. He always took things personally, and I had a feeling my not confiding in him these