Move (Club Kitten Dancers #1)(14)

We’ve just…been together.

And I like it.

I like that with Cooper, there’s no pressure to be anything or define anything. We can just be us.

“Yes?” He takes a step forward. We’re in the middle of my kitchen making pasta. Kasey is off in her room doing whatever it is she does in there, so we’re basically alone.

“I care about you,” I finally blurt out.

“Oh, Bailey.” He reaches out and strokes my cheek. I lean into his touch the way I always do because with Cooper, I can’t control myself. “I care about you too, Bailey. So much.”

“Then…”

“Dinner with your mom?” He whispers.

“Dinner with my mom,” I nod.

“When?”

“Tomorrow.” I squeak it out because it’s so soon and I know it’s not going to be fun. I’m only going to appease her. She actually doesn’t know Cooper will be joining me because even though I care about Cooper, I kind of want to keep him for myself. I kind of don’t want my mom to know about him yet. I kind of don’t want to share him with the world.

“Tomorrow,” he repeats.

We start kissing and fire shoots out over my skin. He ignites my body, plays me like no one ever has. Cooper knows exactly what it takes to light me up and he wastes no time.

We’re so involved in the kiss that we don’t even notice Kasey until she’s snickering beside us.

“Gross, guys. Get a room.” She pushes past us to the fridge, giggling as she grabs the milk and pours herself a glass.

“Sorry. We were just talking about going to my mom’s tomorrow.”

“So I heard. You’re brave.” Kasey eyes me up and down, then takes a sip of her milk.

“What makes you say that?” Carter asks. “Her mom can’t be that bad, can she?”

“I don’t know how to put this delicately, but Bailey’s mom is a huge bitch.”

“Kasey!” I protest, blushing furiously. What the hell? Where is this coming from? Granted, she and my mom haven’t always gotten along, but a bitch? Really? Is that kind of talk necessary?

Kasey puts a hand on her hip, then looks at me.

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, Bailey. Honestly, I should have told you a long time ago, but let’s get real, okay? I kind of figured you knew how your mom was, but just put up with it. Then everything with Dominic happened. Now stuff with Professor Scranton is happening, and where is she?”

“What do you mean?” I narrow my eyes, not liking where this is going.

I don’t like that suddenly, Kasey is shattering the image I have of my mom.

Like it or not, I’ve always considered my mother to be a good role model. I’ve always considered her to be someone who really, truly cares about me.

The idea that she’s less than perfect doesn’t sit well with me.

It hurts.

Kasey sighs and shakes her head, like she can’t believe she has to do this in front of Cooper.

Cooper.

What must he think of this?

As Kasey watches me quietly, my head is filled with all the times my mother hasn’t been there for me. I’m suddenly remembering all the times she was out drinking instead of picking me up from school on time. I’m thinking of all the times she was out with her friends instead of coming to my recitals. I’m thinking of how when I told her Scranton was my professor, she already knew and thought it was funny.

I’m thinking of how I didn’t tell her about Dominic because I knew she’d blame me.

Who does that?

Who blames the person who got cheated on?

Shouldn’t the cheater be the one who gets blamed?

That’s not how my mom will see this, though. That’s not what she’ll think when she finds out what happened between us. No, she’ll think I did this on purpose. She’ll think I pushed him away, so he had no choice. She’ll think I was bad in bed, so it was only natural he turned to my cousin.

She’ll think everything is my fault.

I feel like my entire view of her is being shattered as Kasey watches me, waiting to hear what I’m going to say back to her, only I don’t have anything to say because honestly, I know she’s right.

I just don’t want her to be.

“Bailey, your mom is never there for you.” Kasey runs a hand through her hair. The effect is ruined by her huge milk mustache, but Cooper hasn’t said anything yet, and I’m not going to, either. She can be a little bit embarrassed. Just for a little while.

“I think that’s enough,” Cooper begins, but I hold up a hand.

“It’s okay, Coop. She’s right.”

“I am?” Kasey’s eyes go wide. “I mean, I think I am, obviously, but I’m surprised to hear you say it. You’ve always been so supportive of your mom.”

“I think you’re right about everything. I’ve just been too blind to see it.” I turn to Cooper and smile wistfully. “Sorry, Cooper. You had no idea what kind of crazy you were walking into when you started dating me. I get it if it’s too much for you to handle.”

He laughs and pulls me close.

“This is nothing, baby. Nothing. You have a crazy mama. So what? We all have some sort of issue. All of us. Every person on this beautiful planet has some issue that makes them hard to live with. Yours isn’t so bad in the grand scheme of things.”