Eli and Elle left abruptly from the coffee shop, and I cannot be more confused. Maybe Eli heard me inviting Cooper to join us and he freaked? Elle did say he doesn't make friends easily, so maybe he was nervous to meet someone new? I honestly thought Cooper and Eli would get along. Cooper was my first friend in college, so I thought we could all be friends. I have to apologize to Eli for making him uncomfortable.

Like clockwork, fifteen minutes later the door chimes as Cooper enters Java. Across the shop he yells, "I'll get you something. I'll surprise you!"

Just like in class, people turn their heads in my direction to see who the loud guy is yelling at. The nasty looks make me push my head into my hands and pray Cooper will stop drawing attention to me. Although, I don't see that happening in the future.

"Thea? Should I be concerned?" Cooper asks.

I look up at him with my eyebrows furrowed and a slight tilt to my head. "Huh?"

Cooper sets down a coffee in front of me, then sits down in the seat in front of me where Elle was previously sitting. "Are you making up imaginary friends because I'm not spending enough time with you? Because if that's the case, I will gladly clear my schedule for your mental health." The only reason I know he's messing with me is the slight lift at the corner of his mouth.

"They're real!" I huff in annoyance. "I swear! After I hung up with you, I think he got nervous about meeting new people and he bolted."

"...He?" Cooper questions. He takes a sip of his coffee but never loses eye contact with me.

"Um... yeah. Is that a problem?" I ask. I'm confused. Why is Cooper questioning my choice in friends. Isn't he a guy?

"No, there's no problem. I just... thought you were hanging with Grayson," he says with caution.

Cooper is being so confusing. What does me talking to Grayson have to do with me meeting a friend for coffee? And I didn't even meet Eli for coffee! He just showed up with his twin sister and we all got to talking!

"I am. But he showed up with his sister and there were no tables so I said they could sit with me," I explain to him. With my answer, Cooper visibly relaxes. His shoulders, which were tight and raised, slumped in relief while his hand flew to his chest.

"Whew! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Cooper let out a big sigh, then took a huge gulp of coffee.

"Why?"

"Oh... Um... I'm really set on you and Grayson," Cooper explains. "I thought you may have been on a date just now. Grayson would not have been happy."

My eyebrows rise up instantly and if I were an animal, my ears would have perked up in interest. "How do you know Grayson wouldn't be happy?"

Cooper grins. "I live with Axel. Axel and Grayson are best friends. Everything he knows, I know. And I know that Grayson is crazy about you. Which reminds me, how was last night? Did anything happen? Did you guys do it?"

Sputtering, I attempt to shut down any of Cooper's crazy theories of the night. "Oh my gosh, no! Nothing like that!"

"You sure?" Cooper looks at me with a knowing grin. "Something must have happened. You guys were alone for the first time, right? You sure you didn't just bang it out for a real one?"

"Oh my god, please stop!" I plead with him, my hands covering my face in embarrassment. Why does Cooper always have to be so... crude?

"C'mon! Give me the juicy details! Grayson wouldn't spill anything juicy! He only talked about his feelings. Ew."

I smile at Cooper's words. Grayson didn't say anything about what we did last night. That makes me feel respected, and it makes me trust him more. It warms my heart that what he wants isn't just physical. If it were, he would have told his friend about what we did. Instead, he kept the details to himself and talked about our emotional connection, not our physical one.

"Aww! Someone's blushing! So, spill! What happened?"

So, I told Cooper exactly what happened last night. I told him about the ride home, me calming down Evie, and then us going into my bedroom. When I got to the part about our kiss, Cooper yelled out "Yeah, baby!" really loudly, causing me to cover my face in my hands and groan loudly. I guess Cooper's friendship comes hand in hand with my embarrassment.

I left out the part about my snow globe collection.I felt that was personal. I didn't need to share everything with Cooper. When I next checked the time, it was four in the afternoon. I had officially been at Java for too long, so I said goodbye to Cooper and headed home... after buying another coffee to-go.

When I got home, I spent some time with Evie and my mom until I saw I had a text from Grayson. I excused myself to my room to answer his text. We ended up talking on the phone for a few hours. He talked about how bored he was on his business trip and how he wished he was with me. I awkwardly laughed and went on about my day with my new friends and Cooper.

At first I was nervous we would run out of things to say to each other, but that problem never arose. We talked about everything and nothing at the same time. Our talk got interrupted when my mom yelled from downstairs that dinner was ready. I reluctantly hung up on him, then scarfed down my dinner and immediately excused myself again.

I texted Grayson again, and he immediately called me back. To say I was pleased would be an understatement. We kept talking until I couldn't keep my eyes open. He heard me yawn and wished me a goodnight. I hung up the phone and went right to sleep.

I dreamed of Grayson again.

------

All day Sunday I spent working at Java. Cassidy and I shared a shift, so we talked and laughed the entire time we were working. She made me promise to hang out with her soon, which I didn't have a problem with. I missed her.

In between making coffee for customers and organizing the back storage areas, I was texting Grayson. He would ask me what I was doing, how my day was so far, what book I was currently reading- any information he could manage to get from me. I thought it was adorable that he wanted to know so much about me. I wasn't super interesting, so I don't know why he was interested in every detail of my life, but I sated his curiosity as long as he answered questions about himself. Let's just say that he preferred to be the one asking the questions.

When I asked him about Axel coming with him on the business trip, he answered by saying that Axel was his Vice President for his business. I wanted to know more about his company, but when I asked he said he had to go into another meeting.

He said he would come home Monday morning and had a surprise for me, so when Monday finally came, I was all jittery. And it's not from the three cups of coffee I already chugged. And it's not from all the sugar in the colossal amounts of whipped cream from the three cups of coffee I already chugged.

Just the thought of seeing Grayson made me smile. So, all through my monotonous morning shift at Java, to the short walk to Psychology, I couldn't keep the smile off of my face.

"Woah, what's got you smiling like the cheshire cat?" Cooper questions with a knowing smile on his face.

"Are you going to make me say it?" I mutter. "Fine. I'm excited to see Grayson. Aren't you excited to see Axel?"

Cooper lets out a maniacal laugh. "Oh, honey. I already greeted him this morning. Over, and over, and over, and ov-"

"Oh my gosh! Stop! I don't wanna know!" I squeal. I push my hands as hard as I can against my ears in attempt to block out Cooper's dirty words. I could only hear his muffled cackling. Thankfully, the lecture started shortly after that so I didn't have to hear about Cooper and Axel's bedroom activities. I became embarrassed just thinking about it.

Today's lecture was on Ivan Pavlov and his theory on classical conditioning. It was actually quite interesting, and I scribbled the notes in my notebook at an alarming speed to keep up with our professor. Using one of my 1500 pens, I jotted down notes about unconditioned, neutral, and conditioned stimuli and how his dogs would salivate just at the ring of a bell.

Once we are dismissed, I pack up my bag and throw it over my shoulder. All I can think about is going home and texting Grayson. I wonder what surprise he was referring to?

Before I have a chance to run home, Cooper places a hand on my shoulder to prevent me from leaving the room without him. I look up at him, trying to figure out what he wants.

"Do you have any plans today?" he asks. My heart slightly deflates.

"Um... No, I don't have any set plans," I tell him honestly. I don't tell him that I was hoping to see Grayson later. That would make me seem too hopeful and needy, two things I did not want to seem.

"Good. You have plans now," he smiles excitedly at me. My feet hit the dead autumn leaves lying on the grass with a satisfying crunch while the sun warms my skin. The air conditioner felt like it was set to the 'icicle' setting, so I shivered as the golden sun spread heat to my frozen fingertips and the rest of my body. The warmth felt so good that I momentarily forgot that I was in the middle of a conversation with Cooper.

"What plans do I have?" I wonder nervously. Not that I don't trust Cooper, but he can be a little mischievous sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to prank me right now. I've heard stories of his past pranks, none of them good.

"Those plans." He juts his chin out, motioning for me to turn around. I cautiously turn around, and then my eyes light up and my heart picks up speed when I see Grayson, looking as dashing as ever, leaning against his matte black Tesla. I'm pretty sure he's not supposed to park in front of the building like he is, but he doesn't seem to care as he leans causally against the hood of his car like it's the most normal thing ever.

He's wearing a plain black t-shirt that he paired with black ripped jeans. He is leaning against his car, arms crossed, looking like an alluring dark angel. His black hair is pushed back messily, yet it still looks perfectly styled. With the position his arms are in, they look like tree trunks with how thick and bulging his muscles are.

As my smile spreads, a slow grin spreads across his face. I internally swoon. His gray eyes light up as I excitedly walk over to him. By walk, I mean speed-walk. I don't want to seem too eager to see him. As soon as I am within arms reach of him, he tugs me forward and wraps his massive arms around me, encompassing me in warmth. Who needs the sun when you have your own personal heater? I bury my head in his chest while he buries his head in my neck. He seems to like doing that, so who am I to stop him?

After we have our moment, I drag myself away from him so I can look at his face.

"Hi," I smile shyly at him.

He gives me a cocky smile because he knows what he does to me. "Hey, love. I missed you."

My heart flutters as my head spins. "Y-you did?" I ask. I look up at him through my lashes, and Grayson threads a hand through my hair, his palm resting on my cheek. "Fuck yeah I did. I couldn't focus on anything else except you. Axel kept getting annoyed with me when I spaced out or was distracted while texting you, little one."

My jaw dropped in embarrassment. I was keeping him from his work! "I'm sorry, I didn't know I was keeping you from important things when I was texting you. You shouldn't have-"

I was cut off from a single finger being pushed into my lips. "Stop, Thea. I wanted to. You're more important than any meeting," he finished saying with a grin. He slowly removed his finger, and his eyes seemed to hone in on my lips as he captures his own between his teeth.

"Fuck, I want to kiss you. But not with all of these nosy assholes watching the show."

I turn my head abruptly, and sure enough there is a small crowd surrounding us. I instantly back away from the crowd, half hiding behind Grayson's wide form. When he sees my unease at the attention he growls at the few people who were staring at us.

"Keep moving or I'll rip your eyes out of their sockets so you can't ever watch her again," he threatens. The crowd scatters in seconds. If I were anybody else I would be terrified, possibly peeing my pants right now. However, his authoritative voice sends a warmth straight to my core. I tighten my thighs to try to relieve the tension, to no avail. Grayson has already turned himself around, and if the dilating of his pupils has anything to say about it, he saw me. He grabs my hand gently and walks me over to the passenger side of his car.

"Let's go before I take you right here against my car."