In Every Way

11

I shouldn't have agreed to this. There is no way I'm making it out of here alive. Cooper picks me up after rehearsal, giving me time to change into one of Carmen's over the shoulder sweaters and a loose skirt. The entire car ride I can't stop glancing at him. His sweet tart cologne fills the jeep and to make it worse he plays another song by MGK called Jawbreaker. The lyrics have me stirring as if Cooper is singing it for me. Their voices are so similar in the way they draw out their lines only Cooper has a little more umph where the other singer is more lazy in his presentation. Both are brilliant in their own way.
    Now Cooper sits across from me at the pizza place he surprised me with. He has one arm draped across the back of the booth while he looks at the menu with the other, completely unaware of what he is doing to me without even trying. He's literally just sitting there nonchalant in his simple white vneck. He wore those same black snake skinned boots like the night we first met and it brought everything right back. His tattoos are on full display. The first time I've really gotten a good look at them. I don't know a lot about tattoo styles but I know enough that I recognize some of the traditional pieces I've seen on movies. The details and colors are immaculate. I wonder if he has tattoos anywhere else?
    My eyes trail along the four letters on each of his knuckles. "Spike is your last name?" I remember he introduced himself to that guy at the party as Cooper Spike. "Does it have anything to do with your band name?"
    He sets down the menu and leans forward splaying his hands on the table so I can see everything. The left spells out the word heads and the right spike. He flips his hands over to reveal an o and an n on the underneath of his pinkies. "It's a variation of our last names. Headingsly, O'niel, Spike. Heads on Spikes."
    "Clever. But intense."
    "Our music is intense."
    "True." I reach out to touch the S. His eyes find mine immediately as if that triggered something within him. In a heartbeat he is up and moving out of his side of the booth and into mine. I grin at the closeness.
    The waitress comes up as he leans back, putting his arm around the back of the booth, right above my shoulders. She notes the movement with a grin and asks what we're having. Cooper gets a large half cheese half pepperoni pizza with garlic flavored crust and a basket of cheesy bread sticks.
    I scrunch my nose after she leaves. "So much cheese." I know it's bad but I tick away the many calories even one slice will have.
    His arm loosens, resting on the table infront of us as he clasps his hands together and leans forward to get a better look at me. "First cookies, now pizza? I thought we were going to live today."
    "We are, I just... can't help it. Cheese is so bad for you."
    "Says who?"
    "Says the many scientific studies and plenty of people suffering from a rise in heart disease and cholesterol."
    His eyebrow with the silver piercing ring raises. "I bet I could find just as many scientific studies on how cheese and cholesterol are beneficial for your health."
    I shrug. "I'll still eat a slice. I'll just be dying on the inside, literally."
    He turns to me now, worry etched in his gaze.
    "What? You have a question?"
    He nods. "But I don't want to offend you."
    I turn to face him too, bending my knee up so I can balance my foot on the booth. His eyes only glance to the way my skirt edges up my thighs for a brief second before I ask what he wants to say.
    "Did you eat the cookie I gave you the other day?"
    I snort out a muffled laugh. "That's your question?"
    "Answer it."
    "Yes, I ate the cookie. Well, technically I split it with Carmen but I had half. Harry smelled it. Lillian drooled."
    He doesn't find any of my comments funny. I know where this is headed, and I need to ease his mind. "I don't have an eating disorder if that's what you're hinting at." Something in his tight shoulders relaxes. "Everyone at the academy is on a strict diet. I don't eat a lot of carbs or dairy or sweets. Just salads and greens for energy. Some juices to detox. Protein bars. I make sure I get enough to stay strong and have never put myself into a calorie deficit."
    The squint to his eyes is slim. I realize just now the color of them are a fascinating mix of the sea, more on the green side but there's a sandy mix in there. Sweet tarts and the sea. The color of his eyes aside, a pout of his lips tells me he is perturbed. Like he can't believe what I'm telling him.
    "What's wrong?"
    "The more I learn about this academy the more I question it."
    "Question it how? It's one of the best in the country. There are a lot of dancers who get jobs after they graduate. The training is exceptional."
    "I'm talking about the morals, not the training."
    "I just told you, I don't starve myself. I'm plant based."
    "You're restrictive."
    "I'm selective."
    "You deprive yourself."
    I let out a hefty gust of air. "I make healthy decisions, that's all." I know he's just being protective and worried about my well being but I've got this.
    Right on cue the waitress sets down a steaming pizza and basket of bread. Cheese everywhere, all over everything.
    Cooper thanks the waitress and cuts into the pizza. "If you don't deprive yourself then eat a piece of pizza. Make that two slices. And a bread stick. Prove me wrong."
    "My stomach will literally burst from packing all of that in there."
    "Fine. One slice, one breadstick." He slides over a plate.
    "Why should I do it just to prove you wrong? You can't take my word?"
    "I believe you. But swaying from your rigorous dieting every once in a while is healthy, too. And we're on a date, it would be rude to leave me hanging."
    If not for that fact alone, I go in for my slice. Cooper eyes me warily as I blot the excess grease with a few napkins but keeps his mouth shut. He's made his point. I take my first bite of pizza in years, and moan from the taste.
    He smiles with pride. "Good, huh?"
    "Mm-hmm. I don't remember the last time I had cheese."
    "That's sad." He chomps into his slice. "I have cheese everyday."
    "I'm so jealous... but I'm not."
    He laughs, enjoying the rest of the meal in a comfortable silence.
    When we're done, my plate is clean and Cooper has consumed half the pizza to himself. I don't know how he is in such good shape if this is how he eats. Even the guys at the academy don't eat like this and they train like crazy, yet Cooper looks like he could jump right into one of Josh's and Natasha's barre combinations without breaking a sweat. His metabolism must be perfect.
    "Everyone would die if they knew what I was doing right now," I joke. "Harry would be smelling a slice while stuffing his face with a salad."
    "Is Harry your partner?"
    "No. Alister is my partner. He's really good, actually. But we only have paus de deoux and one other class together a week."
    "Are you guys like a thing?"
    My brows shoot together as I snap my gaze to him. He looks like the question is nonchalant but given this is a date and we just made out yesterday, it is everything but. "No. We're just ballet partners."
    "Is he straight?"
    "I think so."
    "Then you're not just a ballet partner to him."
    "How would you know?"
    "Because I'm a guy." His black painted nails tap the table. "I know how guys think."
    I smirk at his tone. "And how do you think exactly?"
    "There's just no way he's not into you."
    "Because I'm just so irresistible and stunning," I smirk.
    His gaze hardens. "You are exactly that."
    "Are you jealous, Cooper Spike?"
    "That some other guy gets to toss your irresistibly   stunning self around all day..." He seems to not want to finish that sentence, like it pains him.
    "This is only our first date you know. Getting a little ahead of yourself are we?" I smirk at my joke but the tightness in his jaw tells me he doesn't find it funny. "I'm just messing with you, Cooper."
    "I know."
    I have no idea how to react to this sudden turn of mood. I mean I can understand his position because yes another guy does get to dance with me all day but it's not like how he is thinking. It's not like how it is with us. I go to tell him just that to ease his male dominated mind but his phone dings.
    He checks his texts, rolling his eyes.
    "Everything okay?"
    "The guys want to rehearse tonight before the show tomorrow."
    "Oh." I didn't want this night to end just yet. "You should go. Rehearsal is important."
    He groans. "I don't want to. We already rehearsed today. And I'm sure this is the only free time you'll give me again outside of the rehearsal you and I have together so I want to drag it out as long as I can."
    I smile at the truth he speaks. "I may be able to make time for one more date."
    "Do uh... do you want to come with me?"
    "To your rehearsal?"
    "Yeah." He sits up and texts something back. "You want to?"
    "I mean... I don't want to interrupt or be a nuisance  or anything."
    "You wouldn't be. The guys bring random girls all the time." His eyes fidget at his choice of words. "Not that you're just some random girl to bring to band practice."
    I laugh at his treading. "I sure hope not."
    "So you'll come?"
    I have to force myself not to check the time, not to think about class tomorrow or having to answer to Carmen when I'm inevitably home late. I have to focus my mind on the fun I'm having and the time I myself want to drag out with Cooper. "Okay, but I can't be out late."
    "It will only be a few hours, promise."
    "I'm only saying yes because I love to watch you play. Your own stuff but also the other kind."
    He grins into a deep wanting at my words. "I'll make sure to give you a show then."