walk over to the row of lockers set up near the door
of the marina building, place my things inside one, and walk back over to my little
vehicle, which is bobbing softly in the lapping waves.
“Okay, you ready?” Cooper asks, turning
around.
When Cooper’s eyes make contact with my
bikini-clad body, he drops the rope tying the ski to the pier. Picking it up
quickly, he eyes me appreciatively. He lets his eyes rove from my feet up my
legs, passing at the swell of my hips before landing on my stomach.
“You have a tattoo,” he says
incredulously.
“Yeah,” I say shyly. “It was a spur of
the moment decision on day over the summer.”
“Can I see?” He steps closer to me. With
each step he takes, my heart picks up speed, and by the time he arrives in
front of me I’m wondering if it’s possible to experience a heart attack at
seventeen.
He reaches out and traces the curly vines
peeking out from under my bikini bottoms with his index finger. I close my eyes
briefly, and when I open them again his stare is holding mine.
“This is beautiful,” he remarks softly,
still touching my lower abdomen with his fingertip. He drops his eyes down to
my stomach. “Is it meaningful?”
“It signifies the fact that my mom’s love
reaches out to me wherever I am.” I pull down my bottoms the tiniest bit,
showing him the rest of the tattoo. The vines of ivy wrap themselves around a
lone red rose.
“Beautiful,” he says again.
“You like ink,” I say. It’s an
observation rather than a question. I shoot my eyes to his arms and then look
at his stomach where I know his other tattoo is hiding.
“Yeah,” he smiles. “We have that in
common. I wonder what else I’m going to discover about you, Cam? You’re one big
surprise after the other, aren’t you?”
I smile, feeling coy and seductive, a
feeling I have literally never before experienced. It feels…powerful.
“Uh…Cam?” he asks.
“Yeah?” I replied.
“Are you aware of how devastatingly gorgeous
you are?”
Cooper
I can’t believe I actually just said that
aloud. The words just upchucked themselves out of my mouth. I couldn’t help it.
This girl takes my breath away.
She stares at me. “What’s your type, Cooper?”
The sudden question throws me off guard.
“Type of what?”
“Type of girl. Haven’t you noticed that
we’re kind of different? I mean, am I the kind of girl you usually date?”
“I don’t have a type.” I shrug. “I really
haven’t dated much. Haven’t had the time. I mean, there have been girls. You
know. But…” I trail off, confused. What is she asking me? It seems like this
question goes deeper than I’m understanding, and I want to make sure I’m giving
her the answers she needs. I don’t want her to have any lingering questions. If
it comes down to me or Luka, I want her to be well-informed on what kind of guy
I am, and what I intend to do for her.
She takes a deep breath. “Cooper, have
you ever dated a black girl?”
My mouth drops open. This is about her
skin color? Shock and understanding take turns presenting themselves across my
face. I reach out and take her hand in mine. “No. I’ve never really thought
about it, but I haven’t.”
She pulls her hand away. “That’s what I
thought. So why are you throwing all of these lines at me?”
“Throwing lines at you? Cam, I’m just
telling you how I feel. And to be honest, I haven’t thought of you as any
different from me. So you’re black and I’m white. Is that a big deal?”
She looks dubious. “To some people, it
may be.”
“Not to me.” I take her hand back.
“Are you sure?”
I pull her hand to my mouth and kiss it
softly, feeling her body freeze. “I’m colorblind.”
She clears her throat. Nervous energy
rolls off of her, and I drop her hand. “What’s the, um, plan here?”
The fact that I make her nervous is
giving my ego a major boost. It gives me hope that she’ll give me a chance.
God, I hope
of the marina building, place my things inside one, and walk back over to my little
vehicle, which is bobbing softly in the lapping waves.
“Okay, you ready?” Cooper asks, turning
around.
When Cooper’s eyes make contact with my
bikini-clad body, he drops the rope tying the ski to the pier. Picking it up
quickly, he eyes me appreciatively. He lets his eyes rove from my feet up my
legs, passing at the swell of my hips before landing on my stomach.
“You have a tattoo,” he says
incredulously.
“Yeah,” I say shyly. “It was a spur of
the moment decision on day over the summer.”
“Can I see?” He steps closer to me. With
each step he takes, my heart picks up speed, and by the time he arrives in
front of me I’m wondering if it’s possible to experience a heart attack at
seventeen.
He reaches out and traces the curly vines
peeking out from under my bikini bottoms with his index finger. I close my eyes
briefly, and when I open them again his stare is holding mine.
“This is beautiful,” he remarks softly,
still touching my lower abdomen with his fingertip. He drops his eyes down to
my stomach. “Is it meaningful?”
“It signifies the fact that my mom’s love
reaches out to me wherever I am.” I pull down my bottoms the tiniest bit,
showing him the rest of the tattoo. The vines of ivy wrap themselves around a
lone red rose.
“Beautiful,” he says again.
“You like ink,” I say. It’s an
observation rather than a question. I shoot my eyes to his arms and then look
at his stomach where I know his other tattoo is hiding.
“Yeah,” he smiles. “We have that in
common. I wonder what else I’m going to discover about you, Cam? You’re one big
surprise after the other, aren’t you?”
I smile, feeling coy and seductive, a
feeling I have literally never before experienced. It feels…powerful.
“Uh…Cam?” he asks.
“Yeah?” I replied.
“Are you aware of how devastatingly gorgeous
you are?”
Cooper
I can’t believe I actually just said that
aloud. The words just upchucked themselves out of my mouth. I couldn’t help it.
This girl takes my breath away.
She stares at me. “What’s your type, Cooper?”
The sudden question throws me off guard.
“Type of what?”
“Type of girl. Haven’t you noticed that
we’re kind of different? I mean, am I the kind of girl you usually date?”
“I don’t have a type.” I shrug. “I really
haven’t dated much. Haven’t had the time. I mean, there have been girls. You
know. But…” I trail off, confused. What is she asking me? It seems like this
question goes deeper than I’m understanding, and I want to make sure I’m giving
her the answers she needs. I don’t want her to have any lingering questions. If
it comes down to me or Luka, I want her to be well-informed on what kind of guy
I am, and what I intend to do for her.
She takes a deep breath. “Cooper, have
you ever dated a black girl?”
My mouth drops open. This is about her
skin color? Shock and understanding take turns presenting themselves across my
face. I reach out and take her hand in mine. “No. I’ve never really thought
about it, but I haven’t.”
She pulls her hand away. “That’s what I
thought. So why are you throwing all of these lines at me?”
“Throwing lines at you? Cam, I’m just
telling you how I feel. And to be honest, I haven’t thought of you as any
different from me. So you’re black and I’m white. Is that a big deal?”
She looks dubious. “To some people, it
may be.”
“Not to me.” I take her hand back.
“Are you sure?”
I pull her hand to my mouth and kiss it
softly, feeling her body freeze. “I’m colorblind.”
She clears her throat. Nervous energy
rolls off of her, and I drop her hand. “What’s the, um, plan here?”
The fact that I make her nervous is
giving my ego a major boost. It gives me hope that she’ll give me a chance.
God, I hope
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