I smiled at the simplicity of it. We were adults. We could totally do this.

The car above us slid down the track to the squeals of the girls inside, swinging violently when it hit the end.

My heart beat a little faster, realizing we were next. “So, how old is this thing?”

He was trying not to laugh, that ass. “Almost a hundred.”

I felt the car shift as we climbed higher, the tilt of the track lowering until gravity took hold and the car took off. My stomach flipped, and I grabbed his hand, screaming as we raced down the track and swung out when we hit the curve.

We laughed breathlessly. “Holy shit!” I yelled.

Cooper smiled bright. “Told you.”

I didn’t let go of his hand, you know, because of the height, and I settled back into the seat as he squeezed my fingers.

“It’s so pretty up here,” I said, looking out as the wind rushed through the grated cage, blowing my hair across my face as we climbed higher.

“It is.” There was a strange quality to his voice, and I turned to find him watching me.

I was hypnotized, looking into his eyes like I could see all of him, if I looked deep enough. We were near the top, the city stretched out in one direction, the ocean in the other. And when we reached the pinnacle, he slipped a hand in my hair and kissed me. I couldn’t even be mad. Couldn’t defend the rules or put up a fight. In fact, I couldn’t say a word. Because in that moment, his lips were all I’d ever wanted.

THE RULES

Cooper

I WATCHED THE CITY OUT the window of the car the next night with a smile on my face. The day before was what I’d thought it would be — everything. I pictured her face on the carousel when she’d turned to me laughing, and we rose and fell as the world whirled around us. Thought about the kiss on the Wonder Wheel. Taking her home last night. All of it.

It was almost too much.

I didn’t know what my next move was. All I knew was that I wanted more. I just had to show her that she felt the same, and I only had a week left to do it.

Bobby pulled up in front of the restaurant, and I thanked him as I climbed out and made my way inside. The hostess didn’t need to ask my name, just smiled and asked me to follow her, which I did, through the restaurant. I spotted my parents across the room. My mother leaned into my father, her hand on his forearm that rested on the table, the two of them smiling at each other as they talked.

I couldn’t help but smile myself. They stood when they saw me approach, and I reached for my mom first, pulling her into a hug.

“Hi, Coop.” She pressed her cheek to mine, and when I pulled away, Dad extended a hand.

I clasped it. “Hey, Dad.”

“Good to see you, kid. What’s new?” he asked, adjusting his suit coat as we took our seats. He smiled at me as he leaned back in his chair, picking up his scotch.

“Not much.” I reached for a glass of water on the table and took a sip.

Dad smirked. “Jillian from W said your shoot went really well.”

“Of course she did.” I chuckled. The waitress approached and asked me what I’d like to drink. “I’ll have what he’s having.” She nodded and disappeared.

He shook his head, amused. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

I snickered. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s a real shock that I didn’t tell anyone.”

“I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you, but Jillian’s considering putting you on the cover.”

I thought about West seeing it at the grocery store and sighed.

Mom laughed at me and propped her elbow on the table. “Why in the world did you agree to it if you didn’t want anyone to know?”

“How does one turn down an offer of that sort? I was surprised and flattered. Just didn’t think it all the way through, I guess. Apparently their definition of ‘eligible’ has little to do with actual drive and motivation.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Coop,” Dad said. “You’re driven and motivated when you have purpose. Like sailing, or chess, or building Lego models when you were a kid. Purpose, driven by something that fulfills you. That’s really what it boils down to.”

“Is it that simple?” I asked genuinely.

Mom shrugged and picked up her glass of wine. “It’s that simple and that impossible.” She took a sip.

I shook my head, feeling out of place. It was a more and more common feeling these days. “I don’t know why you let me do this.”

Mom’s brow quirked. “Do what?”

“Nothing. Do nothing, all day.”

Dad shifted and hung his arm on the back of Mom’s chair. “Because you’re smart. You have respect for others, and you want more from life than what you’re living. So we’re giving you room to grow.”

She patted his hand that rested on the table, smiling at me. “Don’t get your father wrong. We want you to figure out what you’re going to do with your life. But we’ve seen our friends try to browbeat their kids into submission. It doesn’t work, and they all end up hating each other in the end. We can’t force your hand, not when you can’t even see your own cards.”

Dad nodded. “Honestly, we don’t care what you end up doing, Coop. You could make pottery or give surf lessons in Cancun to spring breakers, if that’s what you really want.”

I laughed, and Mom smiled at me. “We were pretty sure that might be a legitimate career path for you, at one point.”

He was smirking again, his long face amiable. “The point is that as long as you’re happy, we’re happy. I’d love nothing more than for you to come and work with me. You’ve got the brains for it, and you’d be good at it — when you interned at Moore & Co in college, we all saw it. You enjoyed it, even though I knew then that you weren’t ready to commit. My father built something powerful, and he passed that on to me. I want to pass it on to you, but I’m not going to force feed you. You’ll figure it out. Just see if you can do it before you’re forty, all right?”

I chuckled, feeling relieved and more pressured somehow all at once. “I’ll see what I can do.”

The waitress brought my drink, and we ordered dinner. Mom leaned on the table as the waitress left. “Oh, I meant to tell you — Maggie Williams is running our reading program at the shelter.”

My heart jolted at the mention of her name, and I smiled. “I heard.”

“She’s fantastic, Cooper. Her program is going to help engage the kids, show them how much joy reading can bring them. She’s only been with us for a few days, and Susan has just been raving about her. We’ve wanted someone for this spot for a long time, and now that we have her, I don’t know how we ever survived without her.”

I knew the feeling.

“I’m campaigning for Susan to offer her a permanent paid position. And, God, if she’s not the most adorable little thing. All that hair, and that smile. I think she had the entire male residency trying to make sure she was comfortable, even Brian, our chef. That boy is usually unflappable, but she had him swooning.”

I took a long sip of my drink, feeling twitchy. “What’s his story?”

Her eyes narrowed, though her smile was still in place. “Why do you ask?”

Dad was eyeballing me too.

I wondered if I’d completely lost my touch or if it was only in matters related to Maggie in which I couldn’t keep my shit together. “No reason. I heard he’d been hitting on her is all.” I didn’t sound nearly as casual as I’d wanted.

“Are you seeing her?” he asked curiously.

I huffed and made a face, scrambling for an answer.