Close Encounters - Chapter 6
It's been a long time I know. Someone has been hinting (can't imagine who) and so I felt guilty. I've spent the last couple days on this which means I haven't read J's latest chapter (I do that on purpose so I have my own voice and don't accidentally take on hers). Now I can go read her chapter, yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I hope you enjoy!
Title: Close Encounters
Rating: G / PGish
Disclaimer: Not mine and thank God cause it sucks now, lol Not my characters either, I only borrowed them. What I write is in no way associated with GL (that should be obvious in that Coop and Ashlee are in it....together, lol) And I'm not getting any money for this cause, well nobody would pay me for it, lol Purely for entertainment.
Summary: This is about narrow margins. Those times when something happened at a certain point in time that you just missed, either before or after it happened. What would have happened if it hadn't been Beth that Coop ran into? This story begins on that fateful day. This is alternate reality. Coop and Ashlee don't know each other...yet.
Dedication: This is for J, who writes and writes and writes for us and has asked nicely *browbeat me, cough* to write her something. Only for you would I put myself through this, lol Here you go sissy. *hugs and love*
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You have got to be kidding me, she thought for the fiftieth time since Coop had sat beside her. The movie had been playing for about twenty-five minutes now. She did the math and giggled. That meant that every thirty seconds she thought that thought. About Coop. So much for taking her mind off him. Both men looked at her when she giggled and she cleared her throat.
Stuart leaned closer to her and she shifted in her seat. She could tell he was going to make some kind of move to have physical contact with her and her stomach lurched. Unable to think of a graceful way to dodge him, she braced herself. Only she braced herself for the wrong thing.
_______________________________________________
Coop had no idea what the movie was about. Twenty-five minutes of sitting this close to Ashlee made the sound of her breathing louder than the surround sound. Sweet torture was what it was.
Ava had inconspicuously given him the thumbs up about ten minutes ago, so he was officially off ‘saving the day’ duty. That was probably a good thing because he was having a hard time paying attention to anything except Ashlee. Her subtle, slightly flowery fragrance enveloped him, intoxicating his senses. He breathed her in, slowly releasing the breath, reluctant to lose even that small part of her.
The giggle that bubbled out of her was unexpected and he turned to look at her. Had she guessed his train of thought? No, he realized when she looked sheepishly from Stuart to him. She hadn’t meant to giggle and it made him curious as to what she was thinking.
Ever so subtly, her body shifted towards him and the contact made his blood heat and rush south. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement from Stuart and realized that her shift towards him was really her moving away from Stuart. Tamping down the disappointment, he decided to press his advantage.
Scratching his head with his right hand, he stretched the arm over his head, then lay it on the back of Ashlee’s seat, shifting his body towards hers, cradling her without touching. He heard her gasp and Stuart’s growl simultaneously and smiled inwardly. Two birds with one stone, he thought.
“Coop” she whispered.
“Cooper” Stuart hissed.
Coop leaned into Ashlee, projecting his whisper so that both she and Stuart could hear. “Did Ava just motion for me?” He pretended to seek out Ava while brushing against Ashlee.
Ashlee’s forehead furrowed and her lips puckered in a small ‘O’ showing her confusion. Coop’s eyes lingered on her lips a tad longer than was healthy for his physical state. Had he not been so worked up, he would have laughed at the expression on her face. He was keeping her off balance which was exactly what he wanted.
“The only thing I saw is you putting your arm around my date” Stuart spat out.
“Shhhhhh” came from behind them.
“I just needed to brace myself so I could lean over to see Ava, Stu” Coop covered and Stuart bristled at the nick name. More furrowed brow from Ashlee.
“Then maybe you should move down there with her” Stuart ground out through gritted teeth.
“Shhhhhhhh” came louder and from multiple places.
Coop leaned back and stifled the satisfaction he felt at the irritation in Stuart’s tone. The guy had no business dating Ashlee. She was way out of his league and it was obvious to Coop that she wasn’t really interested. If she were, she wouldn’t have recoiled when Stuart shifted towards her. But for whatever reason, Ashlee was here with him. So Coop would make sure that it wasn’t Stuart she was thinking about.
He fleetingly curled his hand around her shoulder before pulling it away. His fingers itched to touch her skin, and although he resisted lingering, they grazed her neck where her hair had been pushed back. Her breath hitched and her eyes fluttered shut for an instant and then opened again, seemingly focusing on the screen in front of them.
His eyes followed Ava up the aisle, then darted back to Ashlee, who had been watching him. Leaning in close to her ear he whispered “Ava wants me”. He got up and excused himself down the aisle, crossing his fingers that everything played out the way he hoped.
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Ashlee watched him go, goose bumps covering her flesh. Her breath came out in shallow puffs and her skin tingled where his breath had whispered against it. Good lord in heaven. The man was wreaking havoc on her nervous system. Poor Stuart didn’t stand a chance.
When Coop had put his arm around her, all she wanted to do was curl into him. It hadn’t mattered that she was there with another man. Or that she was trying to keep her distance from this man who obviously had a lot of women in his life, whether they were current or not.
Tonight was a perfect example. He had come to the movie for Ava. And that’s why he had left the theater. Ashlee groaned inwardly. Here she was getting all worked up over a man who was there for another woman.
Stuart raised his arms as if stretching, then brought the one closest to her down behind her, but not before hitting her in the head.
“Oh” he said “sorry.”
She rubbed the spot forcing a smile. “It’s ok.” But it really wasn’t, she thought. Coop had managed to put his arm around her without trying to knock her out. Rational thought told her that Stuart wasn’t trying to knock her out, but his prowess definitely left something to be desired. Not that she wanted him to hone it on her.
She shivered and he misinterpreted thinking she was cold. He pulled her closer and pinched the skin on her arm against the armrest. “Ouch” she said, rubbing the spot. That was going to leave a bruise.
“Sorry” he said again.
She sighed. “It’s ok.” At this rate, she thought, she was going to be one big bruise tomorrow. Pushing away from him, she said in a whisper “Stuart I need to go to the restroom.”
“Oh, ok.”
Excusing herself, she made her way up the aisle in the darkness. She wasn’t really fooling herself. She knew that the real reason she was leaving was to find Coop, and her conscience panged with guilt. She assuaged it with the fact that she really did need to go to the restroom.
Pushing through the doors, she squinted in the light, her eyes taking a few seconds to adjust. Once they did, she spotted Coop and Ava by the concession stand, heads close together, holding hands, body language intimate, and she felt a fierce streak of jealousy slice through her. She also felt panic. There was no place for her to hide and she saw that it was too late when Coop raised his head and their eyes met. The warmth that began low in her belly spread to her most intimate parts. She could have just gone to the restroom but a perverse masochistic tendency propelled her towards them and she resigned herself to it.
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Coop walked out the door behind Ava and followed her to the concession stand. He had told Ashlee that Ava wanted him but really it had been him who had signaled to her. He was supposed to be saving the day for Ava but it turned out that he needed her help. Not to get away from Ashlee, but to get her.
When she turned to him he blurted “I need your help.”
Her eyes went big. “Is everything ok?”
He sighed. No everything was not ok. “She’s here with another guy Ava. No, everything is most definitely not ok.”
“Ok” she said, dragging the word out.
He sighed again. It wasn’t her fault and he shouldn’t be taking it out on her. “Sorry.”
“You really like her don’t you?” she asked.
He met her inquiring stare. “I really like her” he said simply.
Contemplating that for a few seconds, she finally shook her head yes. “What do you need me to do?”
Relief swept through him and he grinned. “You’ll really help me?”
“Of course I will Coop.”
Gratitude swelled in him and he felt a tremendous weight lifted from him. He had prided himself on maintaining friendships with his exes. After all, he had loved both of them and a part of him always would. It would just be in a different way. He found that friendship with them had been so much easier than romance. They weren’t healthy together in romantic relationships, but they had come to be some of his best friends. Friends he knew he could always count on when he needed them. Like now.
“I need you to make her jealous.”
Her eyes widened. “Coop, I don’t think-”
“Wait” he held his hands up to stop her, then took her hands in his. “I think she’s attracted to me. There’s this” he looked away for a moment searching for the word, then looked back at her. “For me there’s this electricity between us when we look at each other. I think she feels it too but I’m not sure. If you can make her jealous, then maybe she‘ll make a move or at least take that step with me.”
“Coop, why don’t you just tell her how you feel?”
He shook his head. “I already asked her out and she said no. I need to know if she’s attracted to me. If she is, then we’ll go from there.”
“Coop” she said, stepping closer to him, searching his eyes. “What if this backfires? What if she thinks there’s something going on between you and I?”
“She won’t” he said, shaking his head. “I won’t let that happen.”
“Ok” she said and he smiled big. “I don’t think this is the best way to do it” she warned, “but we’ll deal with that later if we have to.”
“Ava, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much-” he stopped mid sentence. His senses were heightened when it came to her and he could tell she was close by. Turning as if in slow motion, he saw her standing there outside the doors to the theater and their eyes met. She took his breath away. It was always like that. The crackle in the air made all of his nerve endings tingle. He hoped it wasn‘t wishful thinking that she felt it too.
“I know one thing” Ava said as if reading his thoughts when she followed his gaze. “The heat index in here just raised significantly and it’s definitely not just you.”
Coop’s gaze followed Ashlee as she made her way toward them. The nerves were rampant in his stomach. He’d felt a thrill when Ava had said it wasn’t just him, but he needed to make sure. He needed to see if Ashlee would get jealous, and if she did, if it was enough to prompt her to make a move. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he mentally crossed his fingers. Show time.
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Title: Close Encounters
Rating: G / PGish
Disclaimer: Not mine and thank God cause it sucks now, lol Not my characters either, I only borrowed them. What I write is in no way associated with GL (that should be obvious in that Coop and Ashlee are in it....together, lol) And I'm not getting any money for this cause, well nobody would pay me for it, lol Purely for entertainment.
Summary: This is about narrow margins. Those times when something happened at a certain point in time that you just missed, either before or after it happened. What would have happened if it hadn't been Beth that Coop ran into? This story begins on that fateful day. This is alternate reality. Coop and Ashlee don't know each other...yet.
Dedication: This is for J, who writes and writes and writes for us and has asked nicely *browbeat me, cough* to write her something. Only for you would I put myself through this, lol Here you go sissy. *hugs and love*
_______________________________________________________________
You have got to be kidding me, she thought for the fiftieth time since Coop had sat beside her. The movie had been playing for about twenty-five minutes now. She did the math and giggled. That meant that every thirty seconds she thought that thought. About Coop. So much for taking her mind off him. Both men looked at her when she giggled and she cleared her throat.
Stuart leaned closer to her and she shifted in her seat. She could tell he was going to make some kind of move to have physical contact with her and her stomach lurched. Unable to think of a graceful way to dodge him, she braced herself. Only she braced herself for the wrong thing.
_______________________________________________
Coop had no idea what the movie was about. Twenty-five minutes of sitting this close to Ashlee made the sound of her breathing louder than the surround sound. Sweet torture was what it was.
Ava had inconspicuously given him the thumbs up about ten minutes ago, so he was officially off ‘saving the day’ duty. That was probably a good thing because he was having a hard time paying attention to anything except Ashlee. Her subtle, slightly flowery fragrance enveloped him, intoxicating his senses. He breathed her in, slowly releasing the breath, reluctant to lose even that small part of her.
The giggle that bubbled out of her was unexpected and he turned to look at her. Had she guessed his train of thought? No, he realized when she looked sheepishly from Stuart to him. She hadn’t meant to giggle and it made him curious as to what she was thinking.
Ever so subtly, her body shifted towards him and the contact made his blood heat and rush south. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement from Stuart and realized that her shift towards him was really her moving away from Stuart. Tamping down the disappointment, he decided to press his advantage.
Scratching his head with his right hand, he stretched the arm over his head, then lay it on the back of Ashlee’s seat, shifting his body towards hers, cradling her without touching. He heard her gasp and Stuart’s growl simultaneously and smiled inwardly. Two birds with one stone, he thought.
“Coop” she whispered.
“Cooper” Stuart hissed.
Coop leaned into Ashlee, projecting his whisper so that both she and Stuart could hear. “Did Ava just motion for me?” He pretended to seek out Ava while brushing against Ashlee.
Ashlee’s forehead furrowed and her lips puckered in a small ‘O’ showing her confusion. Coop’s eyes lingered on her lips a tad longer than was healthy for his physical state. Had he not been so worked up, he would have laughed at the expression on her face. He was keeping her off balance which was exactly what he wanted.
“The only thing I saw is you putting your arm around my date” Stuart spat out.
“Shhhhhh” came from behind them.
“I just needed to brace myself so I could lean over to see Ava, Stu” Coop covered and Stuart bristled at the nick name. More furrowed brow from Ashlee.
“Then maybe you should move down there with her” Stuart ground out through gritted teeth.
“Shhhhhhhh” came louder and from multiple places.
Coop leaned back and stifled the satisfaction he felt at the irritation in Stuart’s tone. The guy had no business dating Ashlee. She was way out of his league and it was obvious to Coop that she wasn’t really interested. If she were, she wouldn’t have recoiled when Stuart shifted towards her. But for whatever reason, Ashlee was here with him. So Coop would make sure that it wasn’t Stuart she was thinking about.
He fleetingly curled his hand around her shoulder before pulling it away. His fingers itched to touch her skin, and although he resisted lingering, they grazed her neck where her hair had been pushed back. Her breath hitched and her eyes fluttered shut for an instant and then opened again, seemingly focusing on the screen in front of them.
His eyes followed Ava up the aisle, then darted back to Ashlee, who had been watching him. Leaning in close to her ear he whispered “Ava wants me”. He got up and excused himself down the aisle, crossing his fingers that everything played out the way he hoped.
__________________________________________
Ashlee watched him go, goose bumps covering her flesh. Her breath came out in shallow puffs and her skin tingled where his breath had whispered against it. Good lord in heaven. The man was wreaking havoc on her nervous system. Poor Stuart didn’t stand a chance.
When Coop had put his arm around her, all she wanted to do was curl into him. It hadn’t mattered that she was there with another man. Or that she was trying to keep her distance from this man who obviously had a lot of women in his life, whether they were current or not.
Tonight was a perfect example. He had come to the movie for Ava. And that’s why he had left the theater. Ashlee groaned inwardly. Here she was getting all worked up over a man who was there for another woman.
Stuart raised his arms as if stretching, then brought the one closest to her down behind her, but not before hitting her in the head.
“Oh” he said “sorry.”
She rubbed the spot forcing a smile. “It’s ok.” But it really wasn’t, she thought. Coop had managed to put his arm around her without trying to knock her out. Rational thought told her that Stuart wasn’t trying to knock her out, but his prowess definitely left something to be desired. Not that she wanted him to hone it on her.
She shivered and he misinterpreted thinking she was cold. He pulled her closer and pinched the skin on her arm against the armrest. “Ouch” she said, rubbing the spot. That was going to leave a bruise.
“Sorry” he said again.
She sighed. “It’s ok.” At this rate, she thought, she was going to be one big bruise tomorrow. Pushing away from him, she said in a whisper “Stuart I need to go to the restroom.”
“Oh, ok.”
Excusing herself, she made her way up the aisle in the darkness. She wasn’t really fooling herself. She knew that the real reason she was leaving was to find Coop, and her conscience panged with guilt. She assuaged it with the fact that she really did need to go to the restroom.
Pushing through the doors, she squinted in the light, her eyes taking a few seconds to adjust. Once they did, she spotted Coop and Ava by the concession stand, heads close together, holding hands, body language intimate, and she felt a fierce streak of jealousy slice through her. She also felt panic. There was no place for her to hide and she saw that it was too late when Coop raised his head and their eyes met. The warmth that began low in her belly spread to her most intimate parts. She could have just gone to the restroom but a perverse masochistic tendency propelled her towards them and she resigned herself to it.
__________________________________________________
Coop walked out the door behind Ava and followed her to the concession stand. He had told Ashlee that Ava wanted him but really it had been him who had signaled to her. He was supposed to be saving the day for Ava but it turned out that he needed her help. Not to get away from Ashlee, but to get her.
When she turned to him he blurted “I need your help.”
Her eyes went big. “Is everything ok?”
He sighed. No everything was not ok. “She’s here with another guy Ava. No, everything is most definitely not ok.”
“Ok” she said, dragging the word out.
He sighed again. It wasn’t her fault and he shouldn’t be taking it out on her. “Sorry.”
“You really like her don’t you?” she asked.
He met her inquiring stare. “I really like her” he said simply.
Contemplating that for a few seconds, she finally shook her head yes. “What do you need me to do?”
Relief swept through him and he grinned. “You’ll really help me?”
“Of course I will Coop.”
Gratitude swelled in him and he felt a tremendous weight lifted from him. He had prided himself on maintaining friendships with his exes. After all, he had loved both of them and a part of him always would. It would just be in a different way. He found that friendship with them had been so much easier than romance. They weren’t healthy together in romantic relationships, but they had come to be some of his best friends. Friends he knew he could always count on when he needed them. Like now.
“I need you to make her jealous.”
Her eyes widened. “Coop, I don’t think-”
“Wait” he held his hands up to stop her, then took her hands in his. “I think she’s attracted to me. There’s this” he looked away for a moment searching for the word, then looked back at her. “For me there’s this electricity between us when we look at each other. I think she feels it too but I’m not sure. If you can make her jealous, then maybe she‘ll make a move or at least take that step with me.”
“Coop, why don’t you just tell her how you feel?”
He shook his head. “I already asked her out and she said no. I need to know if she’s attracted to me. If she is, then we’ll go from there.”
“Coop” she said, stepping closer to him, searching his eyes. “What if this backfires? What if she thinks there’s something going on between you and I?”
“She won’t” he said, shaking his head. “I won’t let that happen.”
“Ok” she said and he smiled big. “I don’t think this is the best way to do it” she warned, “but we’ll deal with that later if we have to.”
“Ava, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much-” he stopped mid sentence. His senses were heightened when it came to her and he could tell she was close by. Turning as if in slow motion, he saw her standing there outside the doors to the theater and their eyes met. She took his breath away. It was always like that. The crackle in the air made all of his nerve endings tingle. He hoped it wasn‘t wishful thinking that she felt it too.
“I know one thing” Ava said as if reading his thoughts when she followed his gaze. “The heat index in here just raised significantly and it’s definitely not just you.”
Coop’s gaze followed Ashlee as she made her way toward them. The nerves were rampant in his stomach. He’d felt a thrill when Ava had said it wasn’t just him, but he needed to make sure. He needed to see if Ashlee would get jealous, and if she did, if it was enough to prompt her to make a move. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he mentally crossed his fingers. Show time.
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