4. Chapter 4

I stretched out on my side in Cooper's bed, resting my head on my hand with my elbow propped, watching him pack for Alabama. I was still working on my boundaries, never having had a roommate before, but I loved that he didn't seem to mind that I intruded into his personal space to hang out with him. At least I had shorts on. I was adapting.

"You like traveling for games?"

He shrugged. "It depends on where we're going or who we're playing against, but I prefer to play at home, being on our own turf and all. We're most comfortable in our stadium. Maybe if we got to explore the cities, I would like it more."

"Makes sense. Have you ever traveled?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, before Mom and Dad started the vineyard, they took us to Italy once, and I've been to Hawaii."

"Sweet. We've never really traveled. My parents don't make tons of money, but we've been to like Galveston and South Padre Island."

"Hey, South Padre is pretty nice. I went there last year with Bryce and his parents."

"It's always fun."

He turned around to face his dresser and put a chain around his neck. "So, tell me, Cooper Summers, do you have any superstitions?"

When he turned around, he eyed me under those thick red lashes with a shy smile playing on his lips. "I may have one."

"Yeah? Telling me won't bring you bad luck, will it? Like when you make a wish, and if you tell someone, it doesn't come true?"

Cooper laughed, and I liked it. It was deep and throaty. "Asp, you do realize wishes aren't real, right?"

I pressed a hand to my heart, looking appalled. "No way!"

"Nerd."

"Seriously, tell me."

"It's nothing weird like wearing the same pair of underwear, unwashed for every game, or not allowing anyone to touch your uniform or your gear." He sighed and pulled out a chain he'd just put on from underneath his shirt to show me the pendant. Cooper sat in bed and leaned closer to me. "This is from my brother, Ben. Fine, it's a little weird. My parents are pretty strict about what we can and can't do, even doing fun things, but when we were little, our parents took us to an arcade for my birthday. It was the first and last one I'd ever been to. I had just turned eight, and Ben was thirteen."

I leaned closer, inhaling his woodsy scent as I took hold of the pendant, which was a game token, nearly worn smooth. He'd drilled a small hole through it so the chain could fit. "That's… kind of sad."

"It's… whatever. Anyway, before we left, Ben gave me his last token. We couldn't use it because we had to go home, but he told me it was for luck. I was little, so I believed him and kept it by my side all the time, usually in my pocket. During rougher days, I'd rub it and wish to pass a test or to win a game so my parents wouldn't be mad at me." He shrugged. "It doesn't always work, but I don't want to lose it or let it go. It's been a part of my life for thirteen years now." Cooper paused and smiled. "Huh. The same age as Ben was. Interesting. Anyway, I at least wear it to every game."

"That's cool. You and Ben close?"

Cooper nodded and shoved some toiletries into his carry-on suitcase. "Yeah. I mean, we're five years apart, but he's the best. He's always taken care of me, and he's been someone I could lean on and talk to when things are bothering me."

"Awesome. I'm close to my sisters, too. Family is important."

"Yeah…" he said, but didn't sound convinced.

I reached for his football, sitting on a little stand on his side table, and rolled onto my back, tossing it in the air. The mood started to grow heavy, and I didn't want Cooper bummed before his game, so I changed the subject. "You're going to kick ass tomorrow. Alabama needs to be taken down a few notches."

He snorted a laugh as he shoved a pair of red boxer briefs, not that I noticed, and a couple of pairs of socks into his bag. "You got that right. They're a tough team to beat, but we're a pretty seasoned team. We should at least hold our own."

"I'll be watching you play and rooting for you. Well, I'll try to since I've got to bartend tomorrow night. I wish I could go. I could be your personal cheerleader."

"I do not need to visualize you in a girl's cheerleader outfit, Asp."

I barked out a laugh. "That's all on you, bud. I said nothing about outfits, but I'd look damn good in a tight top and a short skirt."

"Please, you can barely wear clothes as it is."

"Truth."

Cooper grabbed the ball I tossed in mid-air, throwing it back and forth between his hands. "At least you can roam around here in the nude." He rolled his eyes and shook his head before lobbing the ball back at me. "I shouldn't be encouraging you."

I caught it, put it back on the stand, and stood to snoop around his room. "I should practice wearing more clothes, but yeah, I've been itching to get out of them."

"Weirdo," he chuckled, but his tone sounded affectionate, so I didn't take offense. He was awesome like that, accepting my quirks like my bandmates did, which made for a really good friend—someone who liked you for you, no matter what. I knew my behavior was a bit unusual and out of the norm, but I liked what I liked. And I liked myself just fine.

I lifted a picture sitting in a pretty silver frame of Cooper and his brother, Ben. Behind them were rows and rows of grapes planted along the Texas Hill Country. The backdrop was beautiful, but the brothers were even prettier, although I didn't tell Cooper that, knowing how embarrassed he got. He was adorable when he blushed, though.

It was a nice picture. They were about the same size, but his brother was a few years older and had brown hair instead of red, like Cooper's. They looked similar, and you could tell they were from the same family, unlike mine, but they were different enough. And both were stiff as hell in the picture.

"You both look constipated," I teased.

Cooper snorted a laugh, snagged the frame from me, and put it back on his dresser. "Gee, that's some compliment. I hate getting my picture taken."

"That's weird, considering you want to be a football star."

"True, but posing for your parents is different. I'm also kind of shy if you haven't noticed. Besides…"

I definitely noticed. I liked that about Cooper. He wasn't a typical jock, which had been completely unexpected. He was likable and vulnerable. It made him relatable.

"Besides what?" I asked.

"I don't know, man. It's like I wonder how much they really care sometimes, ya know? They're so busy and involved with the vineyard since they started, and they push for Ben and me to follow this path but never ask what our interests are or…"

I clapped his bare, freckled shoulder exposed from the gym shirt he wore all the time. It was a cobalt blue, like his truck, and the color looked so good on him with his red hair and gray-blue eyes, making them more blue than gray. Tingles traveled from my fingertips up through my spine. I inwardly shivered, enjoying the sensation so much so that my hand lingered longer than necessary before finally pulling it away. "I guess I'm lucky I've got parents who dote on my sisters and me."

He stood tall and hefted his carry-on before walking out of his room. "You're bartending tonight, right?"

"Yep, I need the money to pay for this place. Being in a band pays shit, but being a bartender pays for more than enough."

"I guess it's a good way to meet girls and shit."

"Ah, yes. The girls. I love the girls."

He laughed and headed to the front door. "Well, have fun with said girls."

I shook his hand. "I just might. Kick Alabama's ass for me."

"We will."

Amber Pig Pub was going to be packed tonight. It was game day, and a Longhorn football game always filled every corner of the place as students and others watched and got drunk. 6th Street would be an ocean of burnt orange and white. It was always an awesome time, and I made tons of money. A night like this could cover half my rent. Students didn't have a lot to tip, but others came to watch, especially tourists.

Maybe I'd find a girl for the night to bring home, which I hadn't done in over a month. I didn't know why I didn't have a girlfriend, not sticking with girls very long. Not that I tried all that hard, or didn't want one, but I figured I would know who the right person was for me when the time came. For now, it hadn't happened yet.

It could frustrate those who wanted more, but I couldn't give it to them. I tried to be honest but delicate about it, not wanting to hurt their feelings, but sometimes, it was easier not to date than to keep turning them down when they asked to go out again.

Lisa was pretty cool, though. She wanted more, but she accepted that I didn't. We were friends with benefits but more friends with fewer benefits since I hadn't hooked up with her in a while.

I loved the ladies, but none of them called to me for more. I wanted someone who understood me and put up with all my quirks like Cooper did. Someone who didn't care that I worked late a lot and played in a band. And I wanted someone chill, like me.

My parents set the relationship bar high. They had an awesome marriage, and they got along so well, laughing, kissing, and loving each other, even after over twenty-five years of marriage. I wanted that kind of relationship, but it remained as elusive as Bigfoot, UFOs, or El Chupacabra. I was confident I would know when I found the right person, though. If it took five years or more to find love, so be it, as long as it was with the right person.

I parked my piece of shit Civic on 8th Street just in time before the police closed up 6th Street for the rush of bar hoppers and students. On the weekends, 6th Street was the place to party with rows and rows of bars and restaurants.

Austin was full of modern, tall skyscrapers, but the city tried to maintain its charm. While 6th Street was mostly for students, it was also a tourist trap. But the old buildings built in the late 1800s and early 1900s were cool. Austin also had an excellent live band scene, so it wasn't hard to get gigs around here.

Amber Pig Pub was an open-air bar, meaning the place had massive windows open without glass, letting in fresh air, but bartending there could be hotter than hell when it wasn't winter, even with the ceiling fans on full blast.

The place was longer than it was wide, and in the very back was a small courtyard full of twinkling lights, picnic benches, and fans with misters. The main front bar itself wasn't as big as other places, so it got packed fast.

Nadia, the manager, stood behind the old wooden bar with her back to me, getting the cash ready for the evening. Her long brown hair was pulled back into two French braids, and, like me, she wore a tight tank top in burnt orange, exposing her tattooed skin. I snuck up behind her and pecked her cheek.

She gasped and rested a hand on her heart. "Asp! Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, babe."

She rolled her light brown eyes. "God, if you were anyone else calling me that…"

"I know. You'd kick my ass."

She turned to me and pinched my cheek. "I would never hurt this adorable face."

She turned on all the televisions hanging on every wall with remotes, switched the channels to ESPN for the game, and put the sound on the overhead speakers so the crowd could listen.

"Ready for tonight? It's going to be non-stop," she asked. "This is going to be a big game."

"I'm always ready."

It took a certain kind of person to take orders over all the noise while trying to listen to the football game. And I was a people person, so this job was perfect for me.

Once the game started, the place filled up fast, with everyone drinking and their eyes glued to all the televisions.

While the game was going on, I didn't get much of a chance to see it, but I listened to the announcer giving a play-by-play. Whenever I heard the name Cooper Summers, number twenty-seven, my heart seized, and my body vibrated with excitement while I tried to watch.

Suddenly, the crowd screamed, and I heard ‘number twenty-seven,' ‘Summers,' and ‘touchdown' in one sentence. The screaming and cheering rang in my ears before customers swarmed the bar and ordered celebratory shots as I scrambled to pour them as fast as possible, giving me little time to enjoy the moment. At least, with a crowd like this, not many people ordered mixed drinks, making it easier to get the orders out faster.

A pretty girl stepped up to the bar with her five friends and ordered Sex on the Beach shots. She had blonde hair, but I couldn't tell what color her eyes were in the dim lighting of the bar. She was cute as fuck. I wish I weren't too busy to talk to her. Maybe after the game, when things calmed down and people moved on to other bars for the night, I could chat it up with her as long as she stuck around.

With one more turnover and a field goal, the game ended. The Longhorns won, and I was fucking excited for Cooper. Everyone high-fived me as the drinks kept flowing, and that cute girl came by again. Now that the game was over and people moved on to other bars, I finally got a chance to chat it up with her.

She held out her hand, and I took it to shake. "I'm Emma," she said over the music.

"Aspen… as in the tree."

"Cute, and so is your name."

"Why, thank you. You're cute, too."

I slid her the drink she ordered. "Well, I need to go back to my friends. I'd love to talk more with you later, Aspen."

I gave her one of my mega-watt smiles. "Sounds good, Emma."

Awesome. Now, I had plans to bring her home after I got off work. I really needed to get laid tonight, especially with my adrenaline pumping and excited for our win.

Unfortunately, by the time two in the morning rolled around after the bar closed and we cleaned up, she was nowhere to be found. Bummer. I wasn't having a whole lot of luck with the ladies recently.

At least the game was awesome, and Cooper helped win against Alabama. Fucking epic game!