The Space In Between(26)

For the past few years, Eric and Michelle had thrown big Christmas parties at Michelle’s family’s mansion. Every year there was a theme to the party. Each year, I would be in charge of the group dance that happened at the beginning. Not this year. This year, Rachel was in charge of it. The whole town would come to drink, laugh, and gossip. That was all too much for me. The bruise was still too painful. So I made up lies. I told my mom if I weren’t working, I would lose my ‘jobs.’ I told her I had auditions for dance schools in the next few weeks. I told her I was pulling my life together. I told her anything and everything to try to get her to back off a bit.
Of course she didn’t care. She just wanted me home. So she kept badgering me, asking me—no, begging me—to come home at least for the holiday. That was when the ignoring of her calls happened.
“Are you going?” His eyes stayed on me. At times it was hard to look at his handsome self. I watched as he wiped the sweat falling from his forehead with a napkin, thinking about how I would love for him to make me sweat. But I remained focused on the conversation at hand.
“No. I’m not.” He looked surprised, I shrugged my shoulders. “Are you?”
“Nah. I haven’t seen or spoken to them in years. And it’s pretty short notice for me…” That was good. It would have been awkward for both of us to attend the party. After the connection we had discovered, I could see going back to Albany, Wisconsin, as a terrible idea. The whispering, gossiping ladies of the town would have a field day with us, making up nasty lies to keep their minds busy for a few hours each day.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a young girl, probably ten or so, arguing with her father as they gestured towards Cooper. “I think you have a fan.”
Cooper saw the uneasy father, smiled, and waved the two over. Excitedly, the daughter came bouncing over to the table, pulling her dad’s arm. The girl gasped with joy. “I don't know who you are!”
I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. If she didn’t know who Cooper was, why was she so excited to see him? The girl’s dad rolled his eyes and joined in. “So sorry. My daughter saw you from our table. Her mom and she are huge fans of your show.”
Cooper turned his charm on high, and I melted inside as I listened to his soft southern tones directed at the girl. He made the interaction feel completely comfortable. A gift of his, I supposed—making anyone feel comfortable.
“Is that so? You like my show?”
“I don't know who you are,” the girl repeated.
Her father sighed. I could tell he was exhausted from a long father-daughter day. Daddy used to have the same look when I was a kid. “It’s opposite day. She knows who you are. Right, April?”
Her lovely smile brightened the room as she nodded. “You are not going to take my wedding photos when I'm old enough to not like boys.”
“Of course not. Well, don't have your daddy and mama call me when you're not getting married.”
“Who aren’t you?”
Cooper’s eyes shifted to me for a brief moment before turning back to the southern belle. “This is not my date.”
I could feel my cheeks redden. I was—er, well, wasn’t—his date.
The father grabbed his daughter’s arm and started to pull her away. “Okay, I think that's enough. Time to leave them alone.”
Cooper smiled. “Happy Opposite Day, April.” The two walked away, and I sat there speechless. He was so smooth with the way he handled situations. He grabbed my hand from across the table and kissed it. “It's opposite day.”
“That's what I hear.”





AFTER DINNER, WE pulled up to Cooper’s house he kept in South Carolina. It was beautiful—a perfect, southern, large piece of property. It was gated off from the outside world, and had green grass and wildflowers gracing the front yard. As we pulled into the drive-way, I noticed some detailed cars sitting there.
I had a strong feeling Cooper was a lot richer than I had known. Yet, it seemed that it didn’t go to his head. He was nothing more than a kind-hearted guy who happened to have a heavy checkbook in his pockets.
“It’s so stunning here.” I looked at the white house with the large porch and yellow shutters on the windows. I felt as if I’d walked into a movie. Ladasha would have loved it; it looked like a place that belonged in a Nicholas Sparks movie. Cooper stepped out of the car and wrapped his arm around my waist as I dissolved into the curves of his body.
“Yeah, I forgot how much I loved this place. Iris and I only stayed here awhile before she decided she wanted to move to New York. But this…” His eyes sparkled as he looked around and opened the door to the house. “This is home.”
We spent the rest of the night in his bedroom, discovering more gems about each other. The only things we didn’t speak about were Iris and Derrick. Those two were off limits.
Cooper had played baseball when he was a kid. His middle name was Michael. He once did the cover for a magazine involving tigers, which was terrible for his fear of cats. He got in a fist fight with a guy who was cussing out a bartender who made a mistake in a restaurant. He wasn’t religious, but he believed in Jesus.
Little known facts about Cooper Davidson.
He was lying down on the mattress, staring at the ceiling. I watched his chest rise and fall each time he inhaled and exhaled. “I mean, think about it though…” He said, lifting one of his arms and resting his head in the palm of his hand. “What if there was something or someone bigger than all of this? Bigger than us? And what if he appeared to us in our darkest moments? Just as a person to give us a little extra push? I mean, what were the odds? Me walking into the strip club in New York City that night to meet you. Andrea…this has to mean something.”