One day before the Fourth of July
Charlotte's sitting in her office, checking her emails, when there's a knock on the door. She looks up, folding her hands in front of her on the desk. "Come in."
Cooper walks in and sits on the couch. "Please tell me you're coming to Addison's Fourth of July party."
"I'm comin', Coop."
"Really?" His face lights up and he smiles.
She nods. "Mmhmm."
He lets out a breath and leans back on the couch. "Good."
She smiles faintly. "Why wouldn't I come?"
"I don't know, maybe because you have this fear of becoming part of my incestual family, because you seem to be afraid of being seen in public with me, and because you seem to be against celebration of any kind."
She grunts. "I'll be there." She pauses. "And I'm already part of your incestual family, and I'm not afraid of bein' seen in public with you—there's a different between that and tryin' to be professional at work, and I'm not against celebration, by any means."
"Ok." He laughs. "Thanks for clarifying." He props his feet up on the coffee table and he bends his arms behind his head. "Were you busy?"
"Kinda. Downside of bein' the boss is I've got my own paperwork, on top of everyone else's."
"I'll just go." He starts to stand up, but she stops him.
"No! I mean, I could use the company."
He smiles and sits back down. "You have any Fourth of July memories?"
She laughs. "Almost blew my brother's ass off with a firecracker."
"You're lying."
She shakes her head. "Nope. I was ten. If ya ask me, Duke's the stupid one for not gettin' out of the way in time, but the look on Big Daddy's face—I'll never forget the beatin' I got for that." She sighs, looking away from Cooper and down at the file open on her desk. She blinks and swallows.
"It's ok."
She lets out a breath and goes back to her paperwork. "I really need to get this done."
"Char—."
"No." She scribbles her signature and looks through the rest of the information.
"Charlotte."
"I said, no!" She drops her pen and spins her desk chair around. "Damn it, Cooper."
He stands up and walks over to the desk. He rests his hands on her shoulders and gently kneads his fingers into her muscles. He kisses the top of her head and pulls back her hair, running it through his hands. "Breathe." He rubs her arms and steps back. He spins her chair around and lifts her chin up using his thumb. He lowers his head and presses his lips against hers. He can feel the tears as they roll down her cheeks and get trapped under his lips. He breaks the kiss and quickly wipes her tears away. He kisses the top of her head and sits on the edge of her desk.
She lets out a breath and rubs her eyes. She looks up at him and smiles. "I'm fine—I need to finish this."
He nods and rests his hand on top of hers, pressing his fingers into her palm. He locks eyes with her for a second before walking back over to the couch. He sinks down into the cushions and watches her.
She bites on her bottom lip and sniffles as she tries to finish her work.
He sighs. He hates seeing her like this. His phone beeps and he looks down at it. He scrolls through the message and looks up at Charlotte. "Violet's freaking out."
She rolls her eyes.
"I'll see you later." He stands up and walks over to the desk. He places a soft kiss on her lips and smiles. "You're really coming to Addison's party?"
"What did I say, Coop?"
"That you're coming."
"Way to go. You answered your own question." She's a little annoyed. Of course, his precious Violet needs him. God, she needs to grow the hell up.
"I'll make it up to you tonight—with lots and lots of sex."
She smiles. Well, it's not a total lose-lose situation. I still get laid. "My place—eight—don't be late. I don't like to be kept waitin'."
He smirks, planting a deep, longing kiss on her lips. He lets out a breath and pulls back. He gets another text message and walks over to the door.
Her annoyed mood is back as she watches him open the door and disappear down the hallway.
The Fourth of July
Sam, Pete, and Cooper are knocking back beers on the porch at Addison's house. Sam takes a sip of his beer. "Is Charlotte King really coming to this thing?"
Cooper looks at his watch. "She should be."
"Why?" Pete interjects.
"Because she's my girlfriend." He turns his head when he hears a knock on the side of the house. He smiles and stands up. He walks over to Charlotte and places a soft kiss on her lips.
Charlotte swallows and tries to act casual as she pushes him away from her. Ok, maybe I am afraid of bein' seen in public.
"You made it."
She nods. "I said I was comin'—got held up at the hospital a little later than I planned and I'll probably be called in later. Fireworks are illegal here, but the law doesn't actually stop anyone from blowin' each other up."
He laughs. "You want a drink?"
"Or twelve."
He laughs again. "Lighten up, Char. My friends aren't the enemy."
She shrugs. "That's debatable."
He pulls her arm. "Come on."
She grunts and reluctantly follows him. She doesn't even know why she agreed to come to this thing.
"What do you want to drink?"
"A martini—I'll make it." She looks at Addison. "Hey, Montgomery, you have stuff to make martinis?"
Addison nods. "Inside."
"Anyone else want one?"
"No, I'm good," Addison says.
"I'm good too," Naomi echoes.
"And I'm pregnant," Violet says, bitterly.
Charlotte laughs and looks at Cooper. She grabs onto his shirt and pulls him closer to her. "You owe me big for this—for comin' here today."
"Take what we did last night and double it—will that be sufficient enough as payback?"
She nods, smirking a little. "Oh yeah." She chuckles and disappears into the house.
Cooper swallows and walks back over to Pete and Sam. "Wanna play some beach football?" He finishes his beer and sets the empty bottle on the table next to the others.
Pete and Sam nod and the guys walk onto the beach.
Charlotte is sitting in the sand, sipping her second martini and watching Cooper roll around in the sand, all sweaty and shirtless. Her toes are dug into the sand with her legs bent up, a blanket draped over her. The sun is setting over the water as she watches the three men wrestle in the sand.
"This is better than porn."
She turns her head and Violet's standing there with a glass of water. "I don't watch porn, I have sex, and this isn't better than that," Charlotte says, taking another sip of her martini.
Cooper runs over to her and collapses into the sand beside her. He takes a few deep breaths and smiles at her. "You want your card?"
"You have a card for me?"
He nods. "Of course I do." He struggles to get up to his feet and walks up the steps and onto the patio. He grabs his bag and pulls out the card. He walks back over to Charlotte and plops down in the sand. He hands her the card and smiles. "Happy Fourth of July."
She sets her glass down and rips open the envelope with her pinky nail. She pulls out the card and reads it out loud. "What do you get when you mix the Fourth of July with a duck?" She shrugs and braces herself for the corniness that will ensue. "A firequacker—Hope your Fourth of July is a blast." She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. It may be corny, but she's come to expect these cards—she kind of likes them if she's being completely honest with herself. "Um, so I have a card for you too."
He raises an eyebrow. "You do?"
She nods. "Mmhmm." She rummages through her purse, which is next to her, and pulls out a blue envelope. She hands it to him and wraps herself up in the blanket.
He opens the envelope and pulls out the card. "Ooh, a joke." He laughs. "What's red, white, blue, and green?" He opens up the card. "A patriotic pickle—Happy Fourth of July." He smiles and presses his lips against hers. "I wasn't expecting that."
She shrugs. "I thought it was time for me to get aboard the cheesy card train."
He kisses her again. "I'm gonna get a slice of watermelon, do you want one?"
She nods. "Sure." She sighs when her phone beeps. She looks at it and scrolls down. She looks at Cooper. "Looks like that watermelon slice's gonna have to wait." She pushes herself up and dusts herself off. "I'll see ya later."
"Call me when you're done." He brushes his lips against hers and slides his fingers through her hair as he kisses her.
She doesn't pull back right away. She feels everyone's eyes on hers, but his kisses are making her all tingly and his body's warm against hers. It feels good. She finally breaks the kiss and swallows. "Bye," she says to everyone, and walks over the gate.
"Bye," Cooper says.
She smiles with her back turned to him and walks out of the gate.
Cooper sits on the steps and looks at Violet, who's still standing there. "She got me a card."
Violet nods and sits down next to her best friend. She leans against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She lets out a breath. "She got you a card."
He squeals. "She got me a freaking card."
Violet rubs Cooper's back. "Calm down, Coop."
He smiles and tries to regulate his breathing. "She actually got me a card." He laughs. "Do you know what this means, Vi?"
She lifts her head and raises an eyebrow. "She got you a card?"
"No, well, yes, but no. It means that she actually cares and she actually likes this—us and the cheesy cards." He pauses. "She got me a card."
"As you keep saying."
He smiles wider and stands up. "You want some watermelon?"
"No, thanks, I'm good."
He practically skips up the steps, heading towards the table. He lets out a breath and sinks his teeth into a piece of watermelon. She got me a card. She caved and got me a card. Ah.
Violet looks at him. "You scare me sometimes, Coop." She leans back on the stairs and rubs her belly.
He just flashes her a smiles and continues eating his watermelon.
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