When former beauty pageant queen, Ellie Wilde, hears of her grandmother's sickness, she's the first to offer to drive her to her chemotherapy. What she didn't know she was agreeing to was an obnoxiously cheerful blond boy somehow nudging his way int...
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Cooper's eyes flutter open, the morning sun shining through the curtains of their hotel room being the first thing to greet him. A content smile takes over his lips as he allows his eyes to shut once more. It's once his hand hits the body next to his that the memories of the night before flood back to him.
His eyes shoot back open and he glances to his right, coming face-to-face with the bare back of his companion from last night. He lets his head fall heavily on his pillow and shuts his eyes tightly in regret, trying to somehow convince himself that it was all just a dream and it didn't really happen.
But when his eyes open once more to find Ellie stirring in her sleep, he knows that there's no chance it was a dream.
"Why couldn't we have just eaten some damn fruit loops?" He mumbles to himself, tossing an arm dramatically over his forehead.
Ellie stirs once more, a sleepy moan leaving her lips and only further reminding him of last night's activities. Her hand reaches out for him as she incoherently mumbles. It takes Cooper a second to realize she's saying his name.
When her hand lands on his arm he all but freezes under her warm touch. Against his better judgment, he spares another look in her direction. He instantly regrets it when he sees the softness of her features, completely unaware to his regrets and what conversation faces her when she awakes from her peaceful slumber.
He tries to shake her grip from his arm before deciding that maybe he can be selfish and relish in it for a moment longer. His hopes of having a few more minutes of serenity are ripped away when Ellie's eyes flutter open and she fixes him with a sleepy smile.
"Morning," she says, pulling her hand back timidly and stretching her arms above her head.
Amidst her stretching, the blanket gets pulled down, giving Cooper a perfect view of her bare chest. He clears his throat, sitting up in the bed and staring out the window to distract himself. The sun shines brightly in a perfectly clear sky, a complete opposition to the feelings stirring inside of him.
His distraction doesn't last long as Ellie's hands snake around his stomach, the exact bare chest he was hoping to avoid pressing into his back and causing a whirlwind of emotions in his mind.
"My head hurts," she mumbles, a quiet laugh following her words as she leans her head on his shoulder.
He doesn't say anything, instead grabbing her wrists to break her lock on him and getting up from the bed in a hurry. He doesn't spare her a glance as he grabs his underwear and steps into them.
"Coop?" She says, reaching for the comforter and pulling it up to her neck.
"I have to pee," he says hurriedly, a half-assed excuse to get away from her.
"Oh," she says, a forced laugh following. "Okay..."
He doesn't say anything. He just rushes to the bathroom and shuts the door behind him, immediately finding himself in front of the mirror and confronted with his own reflection.
