Operation Prom Date (Tactics in Flirting, #1)(19)

“Go for it. I’ll stay sober and cut you off before you get drunk enough to do something stupid.”

“Oh, if you want to see impressive, I can make a fool of myself completely sober.”

A smile curved Cooper’s lips and his dimples showed up full-force. He brushed the section of hair that’d fallen over my left eye off my face and tucked it behind my ear.

Time froze while my heart jolted into motion. I’d seen the gesture countless times in TV shows and movies, and while it always gave me butterflies, experiencing it firsthand made them a hundred times more intense.

His fingers spread on my back and he pressed me closer. His lips lowered to my ear, and his warm breath skated across my neck. “Mick’s nearby. Now might be a good time to giggle like I said something funny and attract a bit of attention.”

Sure. If my brain could catch up and overtake the hazy sensation that Cooper’s touch had brought on. I’d like to blame it on the alcohol, but I hadn’t had so much as a sip.

I leaned into him, careful not to crush the cup between us, and ran a finger down his chest. “Can’t you just say something funny, so my giggle doesn’t come out fake sounding?” I whispered.

“Why’d the chicken cross the road?”

I grinned up at him, grateful he played along so easily. “I don’t know.”

“I don’t know, either. You’re the one who asked for a joke on the spot.”

I laughed, and it came out louder than I expected, but completely genuine. That made Cooper laugh, and that made me laugh even harder. With that victory coursing through me, I scanned the room for Mick.

He was actually looking my way, a puzzled expression on his face. And I wasn’t sure where it came from, but I winked at him.

His eyebrows arched, and I flashed him a coy smile. Then I turned back to Cooper, needing him to tell me what move to make next before I lost all the ground I’d gained.

Cooper slid his arm around my waist, hooking his hand on my hip, and slowly turned us so we were both facing Mick. He gave him the nod, that casual guy gesture I could never pull off. “Hey, man.”

“’Sup, Callihan. You getting ready for the Spring Festival Boat Race? I know I am.”

Cooper tensed but he hid it well—if I weren’t plastered against his body, I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell. “I’m more focused on keeping up my training for college. You know how it is.”

“I do,” Mick said, that sexy smirk on his face. Then his attention moved to me, and my heart skipped a beat. “Hey, Kate. I don’t usually see you at these parties.”

O-M-G, he knows my name! I’ll just die happy right now and call it good.

“She’s usually at the Manchester parties,” Cooper filled in, most likely when he realized I’d become incapable of speech. “I finally convinced her to come to this one with me.” He jostled me, which I took to mean, say something so we can cross off your damn “talk to Mick” bullet point.

“What can I say? Those Manchester peeps throw some good parties.” Did my voice come out casual and cool? Or did I ruin it by throwing in the word “peeps”? Don’t think about that, or you’ll definitely ruin it. “I hear the ones up at the University of New Hampshire are pretty fun, so I’ve been meaning to drive up to Concord and check them out. Isn’t that one of the places where you might play football?”

His eyes lit up. “They offered me a spot, yeah. I might have to hit you up for your thoughts on going there versus the other universities I’m looking at. The coaches are all on me for a decision. It’s a lot of pressure, and I don’t want to choose wrong.”

I nodded, and then I nodded some more. He knows my name. He wants my thoughts on UNH. I can totally do tons of research, and then I’ll have the perfect conversation starter.

As long as he doesn’t expect me to talk about it tonight.

Holy crap, what if he wants to talk about it tonight? I’m so unprepared.

Cooper curled me to him. “Need another refill?”

“I think I’ve got a little more left in this one.” I lifted the drink I hadn’t touched yet to my lips. It took everything in me to not show how disgusting I found it. I couldn’t believe people were downing this nasty beer like it was soda.

Silence crept into the air, the conversation stilting as I struggled to come up with something more to say.

Cooper slipped his hand into my back pocket. Shock and a zing of awareness shot through me. I was pretty sure some offense should be mixed in there, too, because hello, his hand was on my butt! “Catch you later, man,” he said.

“Yeah.” Mick’s blue, blue eyes moved to me. “Later, Kate.”

“For sure.” I added a weird finger wave that I meant to be flirty but was fairly certain came across as creepy. I supposed it’d be greedy to ask for more than five minutes of normalcy.

“Sorry for the ass grab,” Cooper said as soon as we stepped into the living room, where people were getting louder and sloppier by the second. “He was just staring, and you seemed to be stuck on what to say, and I…I just reacted.”

“Oh. It’s…fine. I’m casual, cool Kate, remember?” I bumped my shoulder into his since he looked a bit worried. “I mean, I’m a little concerned that your knee-jerk reaction is ass grabbing. I’m guessing you’re either very popular or very unpopular with your rowing teammates.”