Move (Club Kitten Dancers #1)(15)
“What’s yours?” I ask before I can think about the consequences of blurting it out. Immediately, I regret speaking, and I slap a hand over my mouth. Kasey squeaks, then leaves the room quickly, obviously not wanting to witness this.
But Cooper doesn’t freak out. Instead, he rubs my back slowly.
“I don’t want to tell you,” he says. “Especially not now. I suppose it’s as good a time as ever, though.”
“Tell me what?” I ask quietly, my heart sinking a little. I try to brace myself. I don’t want to, but it’s time. It’s time to accept the reality of the situation. Cooper Lance is perfect. He’s everything I could possibly want in a guy, but there’s something he needs to tell me. It’s so horrible that he doesn’t want to.
Maybe it’s my own awful history with men, but to me I’m wondering if this means there’s another woman.
Has he fallen for someone he works with? An Air Force girl would be perfect for him. They could talk about their jobs and uniforms and duty stations. They could eat at the chow hall together and they could hang out in the common room at their dorms.
They could do anything. Everything.
Besides, what do I really have to offer a guy?
Despite being one of the best new students at Club Kitten, my self-esteem suddenly plummets as I wonder what horrible news he’s going to drop on me.
“I’m going to deploy in a couple of weeks.” He looks sad as the words fall from his lips. “And I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”
Chapter 9
Cooper
My words hang in the air between us, but Bailey looks confused: not scared.
“Um, so?” She asks, cocking her head.
“So? I just told you I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone, and your response is ‘so’?”
“Yeah, so what? You’re in the military. Isn’t that kind of your job?”
“Well, yeah, but…”
“But what? You thought you could just dump me because you’re going to be gone for a few months?”
“It could be several months.”
“So what?” She steps forward and wraps her arms around my neck. “So f*cking what, Cooper? Are you telling me you don’t want to come back to me, baby? Are you telling me you don’t want to be with me anymore? Are you telling me this was just a fling?” She whispers in my ear and I feel her hot breath against my skin.
Fuck. My dick is already hard. This is a serious conversation and I’m so f*cking hard I’m going to break.
“Or are you telling me you’re scared, Coop?”
“I want you so f*cking much, Bailey.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I pull back now and look in her eyes: really look in them. She doesn’t look like she’s afraid of me or my job. She doesn’t look like she’s ready for a way out. She doesn’t look like she’s irritated or annoyed I have to go away.
No, Bailey looks completely confused.
Baffled.
“I can’t ask you to wait for me,” I say finally, and she rolls her eyes.
“Oh? You got some other sugar on the side, Coop? You gonna get yourself a deployment girlfriend?”
Now it’s my turn to raise an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah. I know all about what guys do on deployment. Well listen up, you.” She pats my chest playfully. “No cheating. No kissing. No girls. Email me as much as you can. Call me when it’s possible. Think of me every day. Write to me.”
She lowers her voice and looks up at me with those big, beautiful eyes I’ve come to love.
“Miss me.”
“I already miss you,” I tell her honestly. “And I haven’t even left yet.”
She kisses me then, and keeps kissing me, and soon I forget what we were talking about because the only thing I see is her.
***
Bailey’s mother lives in a two-story blue house with white shutters and a tiny porch. Her yard is perfectly manicured with bushes that line the front of the house. A small sidewalk leads from the porch to the driveway where I park with a frown on my face.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” I ask.
“I’m sure,” she says.
Only Bailey doesn’t make a move to get out of the car. Instead, she sits and stares at her mother’s house.
“Bailey?” I ask carefully. “Do you want to get out of here? There’s no reason we have to be here.”
“It’s fine. I’m probably just overreacting.”
“What is it?”
“I’m nervous.”
“But why?” I pat her hand and rub her leg softly. “What is it that you’re worried about, babe? You think she won’t like me? ‘Cause let me tell you: I’m quite lovable.”
I wiggle my eyebrows at her and she erupts in giggles.
“It’s not that. It’s just that nothing I ever do is good enough for my mom. Kasey was right.” She furrows her brow. “I should have known a long time ago that I couldn’t please her.” Bailey takes a deep breath, but she’s on a roll now, and she continues. “I don’t want her to ruin this.” She waves her hand between us. “Whatever this is that we have going. I don’t want her between us. I don’t want to lose us.”