Lost Chances (10 page)

She moved his arm and wiggled out from under his leg, but not before her leg brushed against something hard.

He was hard.

She held her breath when he rolled over. Luckily, he didn't wake up.

She made it off the bed and saw the evidence of what they'd done on the discarded towel on the floor. Picking up the towel, she tossed it to the clothes hamper on the other side of the room. Then she strapped on her bra and retrieved her red dress to pull it over her head.

Underwear. Where was her underwear?

Cooper groaned and grabbed his head.

She took off out the door, forgetting all about her missing underwear. Finding Ryan sprawled on the couch brought relief. Tapping his shoulder didn't wake him, so she caught his shoulders and shook until he awoke. "We need to go now."

His sleepy gaze went wide. "What did you do?"

Ryan knew her too well. "Get me out of here."

Tears started to blur her vision, but she held them back. That didn't stop her voice from cracking. "Please."

"Let's go, sweetheart," Ryan said without hesit
ation.

They both stayed quiet on the way back to her house. When they pulled in, she was scared to go inside. "Do you think they'll be up yet?"

"I don't know. You just seem like you have a bad hangover. It'll be alright." He got out and came around to her side. "Let's go. I won't leave your side. At least not until you tell me the details."

The way his brows wiggled up and down made her smile. "Thanks."

The house was quiet when they entered.

"I'm going to take a shower and change into som
ething more comfortable and less dirty."

Her poor dress didn't make it after climbing into the tree house, getting completely drunk, and when she stripped before Cooper came in, she managed to tear the strap. It was a goner.

In the shower, she washed her hair and body. She winced when the loofah touched between her legs. She was still sore. The feeling just made her want to cry. She didn't hate the pain; just couldn’t stand that it wouldn't happen again.

Once she put on some jeans and an old t-shirt, she held her chin high and walked to the kitchen. Her brothers all sat around the counter looking pretty bad. Jacob was the only one dressed to leave the house.

Ryan gave her a smile of encouragement.

All of her brothers focused on her and she could swear they figured it all out. But they couldn't know what ha
ppened. Could they?

"Hey, Baby Bear. You look like crap." Mike smiled.

"Like you could say much. At least I made it longer than you guys." Crap. She shouldn't be bringing up that she stayed at Cooper's longer.

Nick just stared at his plate as the others laughed.

"What's up with you?" She needed to take their attention off her.

Jacob slapped his twin on the shoulder. "He's just mad because Lisa wouldn't come over for a late-night booty call."

"She was probably out whoring around with other men, or maybe Seth picked her up, too," She blurted, then gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth. "I mean—"

"What?" Nick stood up quick, causing the bar stool to crash to the ground.

"Oh, shit." Jacob came over and hugged Sophia. "I should've known."

Sophia bit her li
p.

"Seth needs to get his ass kicked." Nick came around the counter to hug her, too. "And I swear I'll never talk to her again. She knew you two were together and it shows the kind of person she is by sleeping with a taken man. I'm sorry."

She wasn't going to cry and she wouldn't tell them she caught Michelle with him. "I don't know if she's been with him. It was someone else I didn't recognize. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm done crying over that asshole. And please don't say or do anything to him. He'll think I sent my big brothers to fight my battle."

"Okay." Jacob wasn't enthused.

"I work with the bastard. How am I supposed to keep my mouth shut about him hurting my baby sister?" Mike stood and fixed another cup of coffee.

"Just ignore him. Switch shifts so you don't have to work with him. At least until you cool off and everything blows over." Hopefully that happened soon. She didn't want to be the reason for her brother losing his job.

"Fine."

Ryan came over and kissed her cheek. "I need to head home. We'll talk later? About everything."

The pointed stare he gave her relayed the impression that she'd be telling him every detail from going to Seth's to waking up naked beside Cooper. Not a conversation she felt like having. "Okay."

He was her best friend. She couldn't just keep what happened to herself no matter how much she wanted to.

"I think I'm going to take a nap. I didn't get enough sleep." She spun and left the room before any of them could speak. In her room, she removed her jeans and crawled into bed. The somewhat fuzzy image of Cooper naked stuck in her head as she fell asleep.

****

He was coming over. When she woke up at twelve and Nick said Cooper was coming for dinner, she couldn't stop her palms from sweating and her heart from pounding. What if he said something? No, he wouldn't dare say anything to her brothers. They'd kill him and then her.

At least, Ryan agreed to come over to support her. Well, more like he seemed to jump for joy when she invited him. He loved the drama and was dying to see how her screw up turned out.

She cooked dinner along with Mike's help. Ever since he became a firefighter his cooking skills had become a great help for her. The roast smelled so good.

Jacob walked in the door and went straight to his room as he argued on the phone about a shipment that didn't come in. Something she'd have to deal with at work on Monday. She did all of his secretarial work, including accounting, payroll, and anything he wanted her to do. As his sister, he could get away with things he wouldn't with someone else. Not that she'd take too much crap from him.

Ryan came through the door without knocking and his huge smile didn't ease her nerves. He now knew everything about the previous night.

"Hey, beautiful!" He kissed her cheek and spoke lo
wer the second time. "Are you ready for the dinner?"

She glared at him. "Don't."

"Hey, Ryan. We've got roast, green beans, macaroni, and rolls," Mike said as he stirred the green beans.

She jumped when a knock sounded at the door.

"I'll get it," Ryan said with a little too much enthusiasm.

Sophia moved back into the kitchen and grabbed some plates.
Just breathe.

"What?" Mike's brows rose.

She didn't realize she'd spoken aloud. "Nothing. My stomach is still a little gross after last night."

He laughed as he carried the sides to set them on the island counter. "I knew you couldn't keep up with me. I feel great."

Cooper came through the door, smiled at her and winked. A flash of excitement and fear rushed through her. Her nipples tightened to near pain and her sex throbbed, growing wet. Everything from the night before came back instantly and she wanted to be back there again with Cooper's mouth ravishing her.

"So, how are you feeling after last night?" Nick slapped Cooper on the back.

Her brother's question brought her back to reality and away from the crazy erotic fantasy she was having in her head.

"I'm pretty good except I don't remember how I en
ded up in bed." He turned to her and spoke. "Did you sleep at my house or did you come home? I remember you going into the house but then everything's a blank."

He didn't know. Instead of relief, disappointment filled her. Something so special to her meant nothing to him because he didn't even know it happened. She forgot he'd asked her a question until his eyes narrowed on her. "I woke up in your recliner. Ryan and I left early."

"Thanks for letting me crash. There was no way I would've made it home." Ryan laughed. "Sophia sure couldn't drive as wasted as she was."

"Ha, ha." Sophia poured tea for everyone.

Ryan came up beside her to help. "Maybe he's just saying that so they don't find out."

"Maybe." Cooper seemed like he was telling the truth but she'd wait and see.

They all sat down at the table after fixing their plates and Jacob came in at the last minute to fix his. Cooper sat beside her; his body heat seeped into her. They nearly touched and she wanted to move just the slightest so they did.

Jacob nodded at her. "This looks good, Baby Bear."

"Hey! I cooked, too. If anything I cooked most of it. Sophia seemed to be in a fog the whole time." Mike laughed.

Apparently it was pick on Sophia day. Not that they didn't pick on her everyday but she felt like it more than usual. Or she was just overly sensitive.

Everyone turned awkwardly quiet as they all chowed down on the food. Sophia couldn't eat that much with her stomach turning. When she stood to fix herself some more tea, she grabbed Cooper's empty glass to refill it.

"Thank you." His smile made her knees weaken.

She turned away quickly and fixed the teas.

Nick spoke with his mouth full. "So, have you sp
oken to a realtor yet about selling the house?"

"I have a meeting tomorrow with a Michelle. I fo
rgot her last name." Cooper glanced her way as she walked toward the table.

"Damn! She's sexy as hell. Always dressed in those tight dress skirts and those buttoned up blouses that need to be opened another button or five." Nick smiled big and waggled his brows.

That info was not needed, but she was used to him talking about women in front of her. Unfortunately, a little too used to it and it wasn't someone she wanted to hear about.

"Oh really? I haven't met her in person, just on the phone." The interest in his voice pissed her off.

He might really not remember what happened between them, but she couldn't stop herself from spilling his drink right into his lap.

"Shit!" He grabbed the cup and stood as the liquid darkened the front of his pants.

Ryan had a smirk on his face. He knew exactly what made her spill the drink and she really hated that he'd bring it up later.

It wasn't as if she was the only girl in the world who would've done the same thing. Who wouldn't feel like shit when a guy didn't remember what they did the night before?

"I'm really not feeling well. Here's a towel. I'm going back up to bed." After dropping the towel over his lap, she left without another word.

She heard someone following her and figured it was Ryan or one of her brothers. At her door, she spun around to tell him she needed to be alone. Instead, she found Cooper watching her. She kept being surprised that it was him always following her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" His dark eyebrows drew together.

"It was a long day yesterday and I just want to fo
rget about it." She stared down at her feet as if they were suddenly fascinating. Everything that happened yesterday had turned out a disaster and she couldn't change any of it.

"I really don't remember anything after I went back outside and you ran inside. Did I say something? God, did I do something to you?" His tone and the way his voice shook had her looking back up at him.

He truly didn't remember. Sophia should tell him and almost opened her mouth before deciding against it. She'd take the pain and keep it to herself. Seeing him the rest of his stay in town would be painful. Some way or another she needed to stay far away from him. If not, she'd make a huge mistake.

"Sophia, I'm so sorry if I did something to hurt you." He grabbed her arms and squeezed gently.

She should've jerked away but couldn't. Instead, she shook her head. "It wasn't you. My boyfriend cheated on me and I just got a little too drunk. I didn't see you after I went inside your house."

His face relaxed until his grip tightened. "He chea
ted on you? I'll kill him. Just tell me his name and I'll take off right now."

A smile formed on her face no matter how bad she hurt. He was willing to kick Seth's ass to protect her. She shook her head again but wasn't sure if it was at herself or at him. "No. My brothers have already offered, but I don't need you guys to handle my battles. He's a jerk and I'll never fall for his lies again. I don't think I really loved him an
yways. The shock hurt more than anything. Especially since I had a special night planned for—"

Sophia turned away as her cheeks heated. She was rea
lly about to tell him that she planned to sleep with Seth. "I'm going to bed now. Thanks for checking on me and I'm sorry about spilling the tea on you."

This time she meant her apology. She didn't wait on him to say goodnight. Tears fell down her cheeks and she flopped down onto her bed. She felt like that eighteen year old girl losing her first love all over again, which just happened to be Cooper when he left town.

A knock sounded on her door and she groaned. "Go away."