Page 62 of Except You
“So, Max,” Coop begins, taking a sip of a purple drink and pulling out a piece of paper. “I have a list of interview questions that I’d like you to answer.”
“Jesus, Coop,” Beau says as I stare at his best friend. “Did my mom give you this idea.”
“She did not, but I like how she thinks.”
I meet Coop’s intent gaze and cock my head, “Do you normally interview Beau’s friends?”
“Yes, when I am curious about their intentions.”
I shift in my seat and grab a drink, sipping at it. Ugh. Yuck. Tequila. But then again, maybe it will help me through these questions.
“Okay, go on.”
Coop grins and then takes another sip of his drink. I do the same.
“What’s your middle name?”
Beau snorts, and I glance at him. “This is the shit he’s asking me?”
“Go on, Max. Unless you’re ashamed.”
“I am not. It’s Cecil.”
Coop gasps and Beau chortles next to me. My cheeks flush red, and I feel so fucking embarrassed, but it’s to be expected. Nothing good ever comes from middle names.
“What’s yours?” I ask Beau, and he shrugs. “Can’t be as bad as Cecil.”
“It’s River,” Coop supplies, and I glance at my Bow-tie once more. It’s fitting. His eyes are the color of the ocean, his hair like the sunshine.
“Second question,” Coop says. “How old are you? And do you have any siblings?”
“Yeah, I’m thirty, and I have three siblings. An older brother and two younger ones.”
“Are they hot?”
“Um, I don’t know. They’re my brothers.”
Coop eyes me and then sighs, making some notes on that piece of paper. I feel like I failed math class or something, and I sit up a bit straighter. Beau is slouched next to me, casually nibbling on the finger foods and occasionally feeding me, but honestly, I’m a bit nervous.
For some reason, I kind of want to make a good impression. And it doesn’t help that my middle name is kind of lame. Cecil.
What the fuck were my parents thinking? Seems they don’t think all that often.
“Okay, now tell me, what’s your occupation?”
“I work for a financial firm downtown. Work from home mostly.”
“Hm, snooze,” he says, making a very large check mark on his paper. I squirm a bit more. Jesus, this guy is kind of freaking me out.
“Anyways, now to the more important questions. What did you think of Beau when you first saw him?”
I swallow and Beau sighs next to me. “Oh, come on, Coop. Lay off him with this stuff. You know he’s not gay.”
“So, he still has eyeballs. Big blue ones. You guys kinda match.”
I glance at Beau, and I have noticed before that we have the same blue eyes.
Beau catches my gaze and winks, making my cheeks turn pink.