Chapter 200: Tomorrow
*I have never met a vampire personally, but I don’t know what might happen tomorrow. – Bela Lugosi*
JD walked up behind Dean and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck as she made herself a sandwich. “How are you going to eat that?”
“One bite at a time.” She replied as she sliced the tomato.
“Smart ass.” He chuckled.
“You want one?”
Kissing her cheek, he smiled at her before turning and looking at the sandwich. There needed to be a different word for this … monstrosity. Rye bread with mayonnaise and mustard. Three types of cheeses. Five types of deli sliced meat. Romaine and iceberg lettuce. Sliced tomato, pickles, cucumbers, bell peppers, banana peppers and black olives.
“Yeah.” He answered with a soft chuckle.
She gave a small laugh as she finished her sandwich and pushed the plate away before grabbing another paper plate leftover from the party. “Coop? You want one?”
“Hmmm?” He walked in from walking Monster around the property and looked over at the couple. The large sandwich and everything covering the large island caught his attention. His eyes bugged out as his mouth watered. “Hell, yeah.”
Monster came and sat next to Dean and looked up at her with expectant eyes.
“It’s a good thing that O’s not around.” She told the dog as she dropped a piece of sliced chicken.
“Your uncle doesn’t feed him table scraps?” Cooper asked.
They both answered with such an emphatic no that he couldn’t help but laugh.
“The only table scraps that he gets is sandwich meat.” JD said. “And only one piece.”
Having devoured the offered treat, the dog walked over and laid down on his bed in the corner of the living room. The couple seemed to know that this is what he would do and was not impressed. Cooper, on the other hand, was very impressed.
But he had been impressed with the well-behaved dog from the moment they met. The stories that he had always heard about pit bulls did not seem to apply to this dog. All four of the babies crawled all over him and no one batted an eye. When the younger kids of the family played with him, he was gentle and did not tug on his toys as hard as he did with the adults.
And the dog was strong.
He had pulled both Neo and Reese off their feet during a game of tug. And drug both himself and JD across the slick floor.
Cooper sat down on the couch and picked up the Omega-verse paperback romance novel that was on the cushion. He knew the author and had several of their books on his e-reader. Not that he would admit that. Unknown to most, he had two e-readers, the one that he read around everyone else, and the one that he read in the privacy of his small apartment.
“This yours?” He asked Dean as he held up the book so she could see it.
“Technically, it’s Cheryl’s. I already finished it. Is the bookmark blue or green?” Dean replied as she and JD worked on the sandwiches.
Cooper flipped open the book and looked at the thin gold bookmark with a black and gold braided cord with a tiny crown tied in the knot. “Ummm…. Gold?”
“Gold?” JD asked as he tried to remember which of the princesses had the golden bookmark.
“Daphne.” She explained. “That’s not her typical book.”
Cooper smirked and started reading the passage that was marked by a small blue heart. He quickly regretted it as he realized that it was a scene between an Omega and her Alpha. Closing the book in mid-sentence, he sat it back where it had been.
“Why’d you stop?” JD demanded. “It was just getting good.”
“The second scene between them is better.” Dean declared as they put the sandwich ingredients away. “Not as good as the scene between the three in the next book.”
“Same couple?” JD asked as he picked up two of the plates and headed for the couch.
“No, same story line but a different Omega.” She answered as she followed him with her own sandwich. “It’s actually part of murder mystery romance series.”
Cooper swallowed hard. He knew the scene that she was talking about. It was one of his favorites to use to get off. Recently, it had been his friend’s wife that he pictured. The friend that he could not make eye contact with at this moment.
Dean reached over and placed a cautious hand on Cooper’s leg. He stared at her hand for a moment as he pulled his thoughts together.
“Are you okay?” She asked him quietly and he slowly met her eyes.
“I… I’m…” he closed his eyes and took in a deep cleansing breath before slowly letting it back out. Opening his eyes he smiled at her, hoping that his wants and desires were not as obvious as he thought they were. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
The look on JD’s face told Cooper that he didn’t hide it as well as he thought he had. It wasn’t anger that looked back at him. Maybe a little hunger, after all, he was married to the woman sitting between them. The one that reminded Cooper of *her*. Of course, JD would want Dean. Honestly, he thought, who wouldn’t? But there was also understanding in the brown eyes.
JD was the only one that knew what was always in Cooper’s pocket. The small band of gold that he couldn’t get rid of, couldn’t live without and couldn’t think of the woman who wore it for a short period of time without wondering what might have been.
“Are you sure?” she asked softly, concern evident in her face and voice.
“You know, he’s never seen Bela Lugosi in the *Dracula* movie?” JD asked, redirecting the conversation.
“We can fix that.” Dean said as she grabbed the remote off the high table behind the couch. She pulled up the streaming service for her classic movies and found *Dracula*.
Cooper caught JD’s attention and smiled his thanks. The younger man gave a subtle nod to let him know that they were good. After Dracula, Cooper excused himself to go to bed.
“Is he okay?” Dean asked quietly after his bedroom door closed. “I mean really? Is he okay?”
“Tomorrow is a bad day for him.” JD finally admitted. He didn’t want to break his friend’s confidence. After all, what Cooper had told him was the deepest, darkest secret that he held. JD did not feel as though he had the right to divulge any of that information.
“Is that why he’s staying with you?”
Pulling her into his chest he kissed the top of her head. “Yes.”
“You’re a good friend.” She said as she settled in for the next movie.
“I hope so.” He admitted. “What are your plans for tomorrow?"
“Finishing up the nursery mural over at Cheryl’s. It’ll probably be just a few hours.”
“I’m going to go somewhere with Coop tomorrow. We’ll be gone most of the day.”
She nodded in understanding. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Meet us for dinner at Pier?” he suggested.
She nodded and grabbed her phone to text her uncle who simply replied to message the manager. Chuckling, she texted the other man. Just after her phone chirped, she asked, “Six-thirty, okay?”
“Perfect.” He replied and she responded to the text. “Hey, if you find Coop staring at you, it’s because…”
After a moment of silence, Dean understood what he was trying to say.
“He lost someone.” She whispered and he nodded. Her hand automatically moved to the silver bracelet with her mother’s picture.
“Yeah, he did.”
“I understand that feeling.”
“I know.” He brushed his lips over the top of her head. “I should have been here in January.”
She shook her head no. “I needed the silence. Everyone was keeping me busy that week. I needed to come home to the silence.”
After a moment, he knew something was on her mind, but she wasn’t sure how to say it.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I want a different dress for our wedding.”
“Okay, get one.”
“I want to make one from the dresses in the closet.”
He smiled. “I would like that.”
“Jolene gave me the idea. Bunny is wearing one of them for the commitment ceremony. And Jolene wants to make one from two of the dresses.”
“They’re your dresses. You do whatever you want with them.”
Turning, Dean smiled at her husband. “I love you.”
Leaning down, he kissed her lips. “I love you more.”
“I love you most. The end. I win.”
Chuckling, he kissed her again.
*My darling readers, we’ve reached the end of this part of the story of Helen and Reese and their family. Their adventures are going to continue in **Mermaid Tears** which will start next month. Until then - read often, be kind and stay weird.*
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
