2. Chapter 2

When I received a roommate request on the app from none other than Cooper Summers, wide receiver for the Longhorns, I knew right then he'd move in, and we'd be roommates. I'd been watching him rise in the ranks when he became a starting wide receiver on the varsity football team last year. I wasn't that into sports or anything, but I loved going to the games with my bros or watching them on television.

While I loved the ladies, I didn't mind staring at the dudes, too. I'd never been into guys, but I enjoyed looking at them, especially ones that looked like Cooper Summers. He was fire. Who knew I would like gingers so much? And to say Cooper was hot was an understatement. He stood taller and broader than me, with a ripped physique. I could tell through his gym shirt and shorts. And he had beautiful pale gray-blue eyes with thick red lashes. I also had a thing for freckles, especially ones all over the body, which Cooper had in abundance. I always had this weird urge to discover secret corners of the skin to see if freckles lived there, too, like a mystery to solve.

Yeah, Cooper was nice to look at. And one of the most popular dudes in school, next to Ronnie Willis, the starting quarterback, was going to be my roommate. So fucking cool.

I'd teased him when I used Morpheus to judge his character, but he also needed to like my little guy. If he hated Morpheus, that would've been a deal breaker, hot football dude or not. But Cooper simply rolled with it. We were definitely going to be friends.

It was Thursday morning, and he'd planned to move in today. He would be my first roommate ever. While I didn't need a roommate and had several close friends, it could be lonely and quiet without someone here. I loved being surrounded by people.

When someone suddenly knocked on the door, I knew it had to be Cooper. I wanted to make a good impression, so I quickly tossed on some gym shorts to cover up my naked body. Besides, it was polite, though I would miss walking around without clothes on. I hated wearing them, loving freedom and the air on my skin. And I almost never wore underwear unless I was working out at the gym or running. Clothes were restricting enough, and some textures annoyed me.

I opened the door to my new roommate, who stood there smirking and looking pretty hot. He hadn't shaved since the last time I saw him, and the red scruff looked good on him. I tried to grow mine out, and I did, but it came out patchy. His jaw was perfection.

He wore a gym shirt, exposing strong-ass arms and broad shoulders… and those damn freckles.

"How do you look so hot even in workout clothes?" I asked.

His brows furrowed, thoroughly confused, then his face turned bright red, straight to his ears. Oops. I didn't have much of a filter. I really needed to learn better boundaries, but I was raised differently. My family and I were open and honest about everything, and sometimes bluntly so, though we tried to be gentle.

"Sorry. I tend to speak without thinking. I'm not hitting on you or into guys or anything. I'm just making an honest observation. I should've said good morning, instead."

His body unclenched and he smiled again, but it turned shier as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's cool. Thanks, I guess."

"Do you have anyone to help you move in?"

"Not today. Some of my friends are moving in themselves, and my best bud, Bryce, is on vacation with his parents before school starts, so it's only me."

"Well, I'm not doing anything. I'll help."

"Thanks, man. I appreciate that."

I followed him out to his shiny, cobalt-blue pickup. "Sweet ride."

"Thanks. Mom and Dad got the truck for me when I graduated high school."

"All I got is an ancient Honda Civic."

"It's better than walking everywhere."

"True that."

We'd spent the better part of the day unloading his truck and setting up his room while getting to know each other. At first, he seemed kind of stiff, but I soon realized he had a shy side, which seemed weird, considering he was always the center of attention, being a superstar football player. Jocks tended to be loud and attention-seeking. But as the day went on, he eventually loosened up and laughed a lot more. I actually liked that he wasn't a typical jock.

After giving him a few more compliments, I noticed a trend of him blushing and muttering thanks. I finally took the hint that, along with his shyness, he didn't do compliments well, so I told my brain to shut the hell up. Beyond my big mouth, this roommate thing was going to work out perfectly.

I snagged the last box, labeled books, out of his truck, which was pretty heavy, while he grabbed a pile of clothes still on their hangers.

"I can carry that, Asp."

"Nope, I got it."

I made it to the second flight of steps when I missed a step. Shit. I was going down. There was no way around it. Before I could panic, it all happened so fast as I fell backward, but instead of the expected head smashing on the concrete steps, I landed on a hard body with arms wrapped around me.

"I got you," he said in a deep, breathy voice.

My heart slammed against my chest, still reeling, unable to believe I hadn't died or broken something.

"You saved my life, man."

"Nah, you just fell back into me."

"My hero."

His already red face from exertion turned even redder. So fucking cute. "It's… all good. I'm glad you're okay."

Cooper set me upright and made sure I was stable before lifting the box and carrying it the rest of the way while I picked up his strewn clothes from the steps. No, I hadn't just fallen into him. He tossed everything to catch me. His quick reaction saved me a lot of pain.

Wow. No wonder he was a superstar football player.

When we wrapped up moving Cooper in, we were all sweaty. It was hotter than hell outside, but the balcony was shaded. With a nice cold beer and surrounded by all my plants, it would be pleasant sitting out there.

I grabbed Morpheus to give him some fresh air, too, and then Cooper and I sat on the canvas chairs I had set out. We clinked our beer cans in cheers before sitting back, expelling the long workout from our lungs. The light breeze cooled my damp skin as I sagged into my chair, watching other students move in. A few students were grilling their dinner, and the smell of cooked meat had my stomach growling.

"So, you're in a band?" he asked.

"Yep, I'm lead vocals and play guitar. We mostly do covers, but I like to tinker with writing sometimes. I'm not the best, but it's fun to play around creatively with words and musical notes."

Cooper nodded, tipped his beer can back into his mouth, and took a long swallow. But I was more focused on how his sweaty red hair fell into his face and how he combed the strands back with long fingers capable of catching a football downfield like the tips were covered in glue.

"You'll meet the rest of my band soon. They're also my best bros."

He glanced over at me with those steely gray eyes with hints of blue. "What's the name of the band?"

"Entropy."

"That's… pretty cool, actually. Why Entropy?"

"Sounds like a cool hard rock band, right? Nah, we're only a cover band. But I like a little disorder and chaos. We spend our lives following social norms so rigidly, anything to fit in and be organized. It makes life easier, but I don't want easy. I love it when life takes me to unexpected places, not that I've exactly lived long enough for the unexpected. But while I'm going to college and getting a degree, doing all those things ‘I'm supposed to do,'" I said, air quoting. "There's a whole world out there, Coop. If life unexpectedly takes me on a different path or journey, I'll roll with it and see what happens. So, while Entropy is a little bit on the extreme side, it fits me perfectly."

Cooper fingered back his fallen, sweaty bangs again, lost in thought as he sipped his beer. "That's an interesting way of seeing things. I wish I could say the same, but I live a life of expectations. What sport to play, where to go to school, what job I'll hold when I graduate. Blah, blah, blah."

Who was I to judge? We all had our paths to take. Sometimes, people chose to go against the crowd, like me, while others flowed with it, like Cooper. "Nothing wrong with that as long as you're happy."

He looked at me again with an undecipherable expression. "Am I, though? Like my older brother, I play college football, and then I'm off to med school. Sometimes, I feel like clay more than a person. Like everyone wants to shape me in a certain way, and I have no say in the matter. Sorry. That was a lot of information. I didn't mean to say all that."

"It's all good. If you need to talk, I'm a pretty good listener."

He smiled shyly. "Thanks. Anyway, my parents are both retired doctors. They made a lot of money back in San Francisco. Dad was a plastic surgeon, while Mom was an anesthesiologist."

"They didn't want to be doctors anymore?"

He shrugged and sipped more beer as I played with the tab on the top of the can, flicking it to the beat of a song quietly playing from someone's apartment. "I suppose they got tired of doing what was expected of them, then forcing those expectations on their children. Go figure. Anyway, they said they paid their dues. Now, they own a vineyard in Fredericksburg. Texas land is cheaper than in California, so here we are."

"Whoa, that's badass."

He shrugged. "I guess."

"And what does Cooper Summers want to do?"

His gray-blue eyes under thick red lashes were thoughtful and beautiful. I tried not to get lost in all the freckles splashed across his nose and cheeks. As we moved his stuff in, he got even more freckles from being in the sun today.

"You know what I would love to do? I would love to play for the NFL. I think I'm good enough, too. Despite being forced to play football when I was a kid, I fucking love it, Asp. God, the rush of catching the perfect throw, or even the most horrible throw, and still catching it, running the ball down the field with men weighing twice as much as me hot on my heels and straight into the end zone. Suddenly, the crowd in the stands goes wild, screaming and cheering, while the marching band plays our song. It makes me fucking high."

I loved his passion. Having a passion for things in life was important for happiness. "That sounds amazing. Cheers to living the dream." I held out my can, tipped in his direction, and we tapped them again. "You should do it. I don't know much about football, but whenever I see you play, you look amazing out there. I'm damn-near in awe. You and Ronnie are like a well-oiled machine on the field. You all make it seem so easy."

His smile was bright as he looked at me before it dropped into a frown. I didn't like him frowning. Not one damn bit.

"It's not that simple."

"People pleaser?"

He scoffed at himself. "You could say that. My parents aren't bad people. They aren't cruel or anything, so it makes it hard to rebel. Meanwhile, my brother does everything our parents want, going to med school, and he's happy to do it, but I'm not him. Maybe one day I'll find the balls to tell my parents that I don't want to go to med school. It's weird. I'm… a little afraid. Afraid of rejection or that they won't care about me anymore. It's stupid…"

"I can see how hard that is, and it's definitely not stupid. Rejection hurts, and those fears are valid. We want our parents to be proud of us."

"Thanks. I've always strived to do that, but it's getting harder as I get closer to graduating. Meanwhile, my friends and coach are pushing me to go pro, too."

Morpheus walked along my arm and settled on my lap, where I had my legs crossed, and I stroked his soft black and white fur. "Well, I'm confident you'll figure shit out. We're still young, so now's the time to live a little and enjoy what life throws at us until that moment when we're forced to find ways to pay the fucking bills for the rest of our damn lives."

He lifted his can in the air before taking another swig. "Amen to that."

Cooper side-eyed my body before looking away. "I'm surprised with you being in a band, that you don't have any tats or piercings."

I took pride in my skin, keeping it healthy and smooth, and wearing sunscreen all the time, especially since I rarely wore a shirt. "Nah, man. I hate needles." My entire body shivered for effect. "I'm a big baby about them, too."

"That's cool. You've got beautiful skin. I mean… It"s nice… erm, smooth. I… Ugh. Never mind. I'll own it. You've got nice skin, dude." He slumped deeper into the canvas chair, trying to drown in it, which was impossible with his height and weight, but I enjoyed watching him try. I may have sniggered a little.

"Thanks, man. Now you're getting it. Living life honestly is the way to go."

"Yeah, well, I'm usually better at speaking without my feet in my mouth."

I snorted a laugh. "Well, at least it was a compliment."

"What are you majoring in again?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Social work and youth services."

He raised a brow. "That's right. I remember that now. But since I've gotten to know you, it's kind of unexpected. I don't know why. I guess I assumed you'd major in music or something."

"Nah, I've had my share of music classes. I'd rather just create, but I don't have any intention of being famous or anything. We only play for fun while we're in school and to make some extra cash. It's also an amazing creative outlet."

Cooper was finally starting to relax when he propped his feet over the balcony railing and crossed his long, muscular legs, which were sprinkled with red, curly hair.

"Why social work?" he asked.

"Mom and Dad adopted me and my two sisters. I was three years old when I went into the foster care system. My birth mom was hauled away to jail or something. And I don't know who my bio dad is. My parents fostered me for a while before making it official. After that came Willow and Sage."

"What's a Willow and Sage?"

I snorted a laugh and slapped my bare thigh, disturbing poor Morpheus, who gave me a baleful look before climbing to my shoulder and onto my head. He circled a few times before settling into the nest he'd made. "Dude, those are my sisters. Hippies, remember? Mom and Dad thought it was cute to name us after plants, and Mom's name is Poppy. Isn't that adorable? Anyway, my sisters were fostered as infants, and then they were eventually adopted, too. Willow is sixteen, and Sage recently started high school. She loves basketball and is amazing at it, while Willow wants to be a writer. She's the quiet one and really into dystopian novels."

"Sounds like you've got a great family, Asp."

"They're the best."

We sat and finished off our beers before he grabbed us a couple more. I popped open the can and took a large swig.

"Say, you don't mind parties, do you? My bros and I go to them, but usually, once a month, on Saturday or Sunday, they come over to hang out, eat, drink, and play video games, depending on if I've got to work that weekend or we've got a gig. That cool? You could invite some of your friends over, too."

"Yeah, I like parties, but Saturdays are game days, as you know. Though we've been known to get rowdy after a big win as long as we aren't too far out of town."

"Then we'll do it on a Saturday night after a home game. I usually have to work Friday nights."

"Cool."

"Cool."