A Fallow Heart (Tommy Creek #2)(15)

Finally satisfied, he broke off and eased back far enough to meet her gaze. “Forgive me.” He stroked her cheek with one finger. “You know how irritable I get when you mention that guy.”

Jo Ellen melted as she always did whenever he softened and opened up about his feelings. It reminded her of how relentlessly he’d pursued her, how desperate he’d acted to become her boyfriend. He’d told her things about himself he swore were for her ears alone. No one else had ever confided in her or been so interested in Jo Ellen the person. He made her feel special, accepted, and loved. In return, she’d given him her all, and committed herself to him. Everyone in school considered them the couple most likely to marry.

“I know you do,” she said softly. “I just don’t understand why.” Cooper had to be one of the most harmless individuals she’d ever met. She’d never felt anything but safe around him. Yet her stubborn boyfriend remained intent about constantly badmouthing him.

Travis sighed and closed his eyes before leaning forward to rest his forehead alongside hers. “Maybe I’m jealous of him.”

Jo Ellen jerked back, her mouth falling open. “Of Cooper?” She couldn’t believe it. He’d always acted as if he was so superior to their classmate. He belittled Cooper’s origins and financial status nonstop. It made no sense for him to admit jealousy.

“Just look at him, Jo Ellen. He’s got height, looks, and good grades. He’s athletic and favored by all the teachers. Everyone likes him. They treat him like he’s some kind of god.”

Travis had a point. Cooper was handsome; the best-looking boy in her class in her opinion. Tanned and tall with broad shoulders and a tapered waist, he made her feel strangely warm whenever she looked into his intense, pale brown eyes for too long. His smile was devastating and his laugh induced her to feel happy. Plus, he was the sweetest, nicest boy Jo Ellen knew. Everyone did like him. There just wasn’t anything about Cooper Gerhardt not to like.

But her boyfriend was Travis, and she wasn’t going to make him feel even worse by agreeing. So she stroked his face. “Well, I know something you have that he doesn’t.”

Travis glanced up with a wary question in his gaze. “What’s that?”

She laughed and pushed lightly on his arm. “Me, silly.”

He grinned, looking suddenly smug. “You’re absolutely right.” After leaning close, he kissed her again. This time the pressure of his mouth was comfortable and sweet. Jo Ellen hummed her pleasure and kissed him back.

Travis moved restlessly closer. He lifted his hand to her breast and kneaded her through her shirt. But on contact, his fingers triggered a memory. She felt another hand on her.

Brow knitting because no one besides Travis had ever touched her there—no one else had even kissed her before—she focused on the fuzzy recollection, wondering where the heck it had come from. It was so detailed, it couldn’t be a dream, and yet she knew for certain it hadn’t been Travis. But who—

Another flash of lucidity hit her.

Last night.

Cooper.

At her back door.

She remembered the utter longing on his face, the rasp in his voice when he whispered her name. In return, she’d clung to him, panting, begging for more…

Gasping, she jerked back and gawked at her boyfriend.

She’d kissed Cooper Gerhardt last night.

“What’s wrong?” Travis asked, squinting in confusion.

She shook her head. “N-nothing. I just…I thought I saw a bug on you.”

“A bug!” Yelping, he beat at his chest with frantic, jerky whacks. “Where-is-it? Where-is-it? Where-is-it?” Before waiting for an answer, he threw open the driver’s side door and hurled his body from the car to dance a frenzied jig in the tall grass, slapping at his body in an attempt to kill the nonexistent bug.

Jo Ellen could only stare but she didn’t focus on the ridiculous display. She’d been transported into the past.

Last night.

She’d only gone to that stupid party with Emma Leigh because she’d been piqued at Travis and his family. It’d been an immature kind of defiance, going somewhere without him. But she’d gone anyway and even drank, hoping to feel better about herself through a cup of frothy, bitter beer.

She vaguely remembered Cooper helping her to his truck, telling her he’d take her home. From that point on, the night turned into a fuzzy, splotchy blur…with way too many blank spaces to fill in what all had happened.

She remembered kissing him; she remembered him resisting…for a while. Then he’d finally kissed her back, and it had been marvelous. She knew she’d never felt so wonderful before, had never wanted to be kissed by anyone as much as she’d wanted him to keep kissing her.

But…how had it ended? What happened after that kiss?

Wait. There was more. Another detail dashed through her brain.

Oh, dear God. She’d slid her hand down his pants and remembered thinking he was a heck of a lot more endowed than Travis; but after that…nothing.

Jo Ellen swallowed. What had she done with Cooper Gerhardt, with her boyfriend’s nemesis? She had an awful feeling she suddenly knew why he’d been loitering around her house, staring at her with a crushed expression this afternoon.

Sick to her stomach, she focused on Travis, still hopping around, smacking his arms and chest.