Breakaway (Beyond the Play, #2)(93)

Somehow, I make it to the closet. I pull it open and crawl inside, curling up into a ball on top of a pile of shoes. I reach up and grab at a random sweater, pulling it from the hanger and burying my face in it. Cooper’s musky scent fills my nose, and my next sob is one of relief. I can do this; I can calm myself down. Five quick minutes and I’ll be back at the party.

“Red? Baby, where’d you go?” The voice sounds distant, but at least I know it’s Cooper’s. Preston never called me Red.

Not fast enough.





56





COOPER





“This is a fucking good drink,” I tell Seb as I throw my arm over his shoulders, pulling him into a sideways hug. He’s not expecting my weight, so we fall against the wall together, but that just makes both of us laugh. “You really designed it yourself?”

“Sharp, just like you, bro,” he says, grinning at me. “Sweet, too.”

“The first part sounded pretty badass.”

“Yeah, well. You’re so sweet on Penny, it gives me a goddamn toothache.”

I don’t even have a retaliation, and the worst—or possibly best—part is that I don’t want to retaliate. So what, I’m sweet on my girl. She’s everything to me. I’ll take being whipped if it means I can get on my knees to worship her.

So instead, I just ruffle Seb’s hair, pressing a quick kiss to his temple. “Thanks, brother.”

I’ve had plenty of memorable Cooper Days, but this tops all the rest. Having everyone I care about here, all my siblings, my friends and teammates, my girlfriend, makes my heart swell bigger than I thought it ever could. The only bad part about having everyone around is that I can’t drag Penny away and take off that little blue dress she’s wearing. If it wouldn’t be rude, I’d insist on running upstairs for a quickie.

I glance around as I sip my drink, but I don’t see her. With almost everyone piled into the living room, we’re way past capacity, but everywhere I look, I see a familiar face. I’m sure Izzy didn’t intend it this way, but it’s a nice reminder of all the connections I’ve made so far at McKee. Uncle Blake got me thinking about the draft again, but if I entered it and then a team called me up? I might never have developed such tight bonds with Evan or Remmy. I wouldn’t have gotten to live with James one more time last year. Worst of all, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have met Penny at all, and she’s everything to me. Even the thought of that hurts. I rub my chest as I settle against the wall.

Bex took a Polaroid of the two of us just a couple minutes ago, and that picture is going in my wallet first thing in the morning. I shake my head, smiling into my plastic cup. When I found out that James had a picture of Bex in his wallet, I teased him mercilessly. Now, I’m going to be the one dying to pull it out and show everyone. Hey, want to see my girlfriend? Isn’t she the most beautiful woman in the world?

“We should get some beer pong going,” Evan says, nudging my side. “Try and beat last time’s record.”

“Definitely,” says Remmy. “I call Vic for my team.”

Evan groans. “That means he’s going to want Penny to partner up with him.”

Remmy laughs. “All my love to Pen, but if she can’t throw a dart, what makes you think she can throw a ping-pong ball?”

I shrug. “Well, yeah. But I don’t care.”

“Because you’re whipped,” Jean says, thick through a mouthful of chips. “She’s got a rope of fucking fire around your throat.”

“You some kind of secret poet?” Remmy says. “Got a touch of country in you?”

“They have cowboys in Canada too,” Jean says, exaggerating his accent so Remmy bursts out laughing.

Evan sighs, looking around the party. “What do you think my chances with Mia are?”

Seb snorts. He claps Evan on the shoulder. “Buddy, respectfully, she’d eat you alive and spit out your jock strap.”

“I could fuck with that,” Mickey says, breaking away from his conversation with a chick I vaguely recognize as a friend of Izzy’s. She gives him an outraged look and stalks off. I wince, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

I get it, Mia’s a fucking formidable force. If I was still a different sort of guy, I’d have tried to get her into bed already. I agree with Sebby, she’d walk all over Evan. Mickey could sweet-talk his way into her bed, but I doubt he’d be able to stay there if he was so inclined.

I follow Evan’s gaze. Mia is grinding up against a guy I vaguely recognize from the baseball team, and he’s got both hands low on her hips. No Penny, though.

“I need to find Penny if we’re going to play,” I tell the guys. “Be back in a second.”

“No quickies!” Remmy says, snapping his fingers at me as I push off from the wall.

“Like you didn’t already make out with Victoria in the bathroom,” Jean says.

“For like five seconds,” Remmy says mournfully. “Then she grabbed my junk and told me to watch her as she walked away.”

“Hot.”

“That’s only hot to you because you’ve never gone further than second base.”

I snort as their voices fade into the background. A Harry Styles song is playing—at least, that’s who I think it is; even if I pretend not to care for it in front of Penny, his stuff is a good vibe—so I figure I’ll find my girl on the dance floor. But I weave through the crowd twice and don’t see her. Izzy’s with some of her friends from the volleyball team, James and Bex are making out against the coat closet, Mia and that baseball player are totally eye-fucking, and a bunch of freshmen from the team have taken over the darts board. No Penny.