Good Girl Complex: An Avalon Bay Novel

I’ve been on my best behavior. I haven’t spoken to Cooper in a couple weeks. Kept my distance from the boardwalk. I figured if I were to accidentally bump into him, it’d be there, so best to remove all temptation. My restraint hasn’t stopped the dreams, though. Or the forbidden memories that flood my mind whenever I’m in class.

I catch myself reliving our first kiss during English Lit.

Remembering the way his hands held me firm against his front door during Biology.

In European History, I’m thinking about his hard chest beneath my palms, and suddenly I’m flushed and breathing heavy, wondering if everyone notices.

On the bright side, Preston and I are rock solid, and I finally made a Garnet friend who isn’t Bonnie. Her name is Kate, and although she happens to be Melissa’s younger sister, the two are not at all alike. Kate’s hilarious, sarcastic, and hates sailing—all pluses in my book. We met at a Kappa Nu dinner that Preston urged me to attend because he thinks I should be making more of an effort to connect with Melissa and Chrissy and their sorority friends. Instead, I spent half the night in the corner with Kate debating the artistic merit of The Bachelor.

So when she texts on a Thursday night asking if I want to grab drinks with her and some friends in town, I’m totally down. It means risking running into Cooper, but I can’t decline my first invite from someone other than Bonnie.

“You wanna come with us?” I ask my roommate as I braid my hair in our shared bathroom.

Bonnie’s head appears in the mirror behind me. “I would, but I’m seein’ Todd tonight.”

I grin at her reflection. “Again? Looks like things are getting serious between you two…” I swear she’s gone out with the sandwich shop guy a lot lately. So much for her bad boy fetish. I met Todd once and there was neither a piercing nor tattoo in sight.

“Serious? Pfft!” She waves her hand. “He’s one of three on my rotation, Mac. Tomorrow night I’m seein’ Harry, and Saturday it’s dinner with that boy I was telling you about—Jason? The one who looks like Edward?”

“Edward?” I echo blankly.

“From Twilight?” She shivers happily. “Oooh, he is sooo handsome I wouldn’t even care if he ended up being an actual vampire. How wild is that? And blood totally makes me squeamish.”

I snort. “I’m pretty sure he’s not a vampire.” Though I still haven’t ruled out the possibility of Bonnie being a witch.

I wish her luck on her date, then leave the dorm and head for the parking lot, where my Uber awaits me. I’m meeting Kate and her friends at the Rip Tide. As the car approaches the beachfront venue, my mind flashes back to the last time I came here, and my heartbeat accelerates. That was the night I met Cooper. The night Bonnie hooked up with his twin while Cooper and I stayed up all night, talking about everything and nothing.

Enough, a stern voice orders. Forget about him.

I really need to do that. I’m with Preston. Thinking about Cooper isn’t good for my relationship.

I thank the driver and slide out of the car. As I rearrange my side braid, my gaze flicks toward the crumbling hotel I’d first seen over a month ago. It’s still standing. Still vacant, from the looks of it. A weird sensation flutters in my belly as I stare at the sprawling hotel, its weathered, white façade gleaming from the glow of a lone streetlight.

It takes surprising effort to tear my gaze away. Great. First my brain gets hung up on Cooper, now it’s obsessing over an abandoned hotel? I’ve got issues.

Inside the bar, I find Kate at a table at the side of the stage. She’s with three other girls, two of whom I don’t recognize. The third is Melissa. I stifle a sigh, because I hadn’t realized Melissa was coming too. I don’t have anything against her, but her gossipy nature puts me on guard.

“Hey girl,” Kate greets me.

Like her sister, she has pale hair and big, gray eyes, but their styles are completely different. Kate’s wearing a tiny blue dress that barely covers her thighs, flip-flops, and chunky bangles on both wrists. Meanwhile, Melissa’s knee-length pink dress is buttoned all the way up to the neck, and there are two massive diamonds sparkling in her earlobes.

“Hey.” I direct an awkward smile across the table. “Hey, Melissa.”

Kate introduces me to her two friends, Alisha and Sutton. We decide to order daiquiris at Melissa’s insistence, although when Kate and I head to the bar to place our order, she winks and gets us two vodka shots as well.

“Don’t tell my sister,” she says, and we sling them back with conspiratorial grins.

Back at the table, the first round of daiquiris is gone in the blink of an eye, so we quickly order more. By the third round, our conversation topics devolve from our classes and future plans to embarrassing stories and men. Kate tells us about the TA who has a massive crush on her and shows his love by stapling a dried flower on the last page of every paper she submits.

I burst out laughing. “No! He doesn’t.”

“Oh, he does. And if you think the eternal love flame he keeps burning earns me better grades, you’re wrong. He gave me a C minus on my last essay.” She looks outraged. “Screw your perfectly pressed petunia petals, Christopher. Give me the A.”

Alisha beats Kate’s story with one about a professor who accidentally emailed her an impassioned love letter that was supposed to go to his estranged wife.

“Her name was Alice so I guess he auto-filled the email with ‘Al’ and clicked my name instead.” She twirls her daiquiri straw as she giggles. “The email was a list of all the reasons she shouldn’t go through with their divorce. Basically stating his case of why he’s amazing.”

Melissa’s jaw drops. “Oh my God. What were the reasons?”

“I don’t remember them all, but the first one was … wait for it…” Alisha pauses for dramatic effect. “‘Adequate lover.’”

Our entire table hoots with laughter.

“Adequate?” Kate says through giggles. “Oh, that poor wife.”

I slurp down the rest of my drink. It occurs to me I haven’t had a proper girls’ night since high school, triggering the realization that I’ve been terrible at keeping in touch with my Spencer Hill friends. Granted, they haven’t reached out either, so I guess that says a lot about our friendship. I vow to do a better job at nurturing these college friendships.

Our conversation devolves even further, as Sutton suggests we play a game. Well, not so much a game as “let’s rate the hotness of every single guy who walks past our table.”

“Oooh, how about him?” Alisha asks in a loud whisper.

We all examine a long-haired surfer dude in a red tank top and orange board shorts. “Two out of ten for fashion sense,” Melissa says, lifting her nose. “Red and orange? Come on. Have some respect for yourself, sir.”

I can’t help but snicker. Drunk Melissa is still snooty, but she’s also cattier, which I’m loving.

“Butt? Nine out of ten,” Kate decides. “It’s a great butt.”

“I bet I could bounce a quarter off that thing,” Alisha agrees.

Yes, we’re objectifying these boys. Intoxicated girls have neither shame nor scruples.

“Seven overall,” Sutton says.

“Three,” Melissa corrects, jutting her chin. “I can’t get past the red/orange combo. I just can’t.”

“Um, guys?” hisses Alisha, who leans forward eagerly. “Six o’clock, far end of the bar—I just found a ten across the board.”

We all turn toward the bar. I nearly choke on my tongue.

Alisha’s perfect ten is Cooper Hartley.

Kate whistles softly. “Oh yeah. I like.”

“I love,” Alisha corrects, her face taking on a dreamy glow.

I don’t blame her. Cooper looks damn good tonight. He’s wearing that threadbare T-shirt I like, the one with the Billabong logo that stretches across his broad shoulders and emphasizes his defined chest. Add to that the messy dark hair, the two full-sleeve tattoos, the cargo pants hugging an ass even tauter than the surfer’s, and you’ve got one fine specimen of a man.

As if sensing the female attention, Cooper’s head jerks sharply. A second later, he’s looking at our table. Heat floods my cheeks when my gaze locks with his. Shit. Am I blushing? I hope I’m not blushing.

His eyes narrow at the sight of me. Lips flatten for a second before twisting in a slight smirk.

Beside me, Alisha gasps. “He’s staring at you,” she accuses me. “Do you know him?”

“I … uh…” My mind races in an attempt to come up with a suitable reason why a hot townie might be making prolonged eye contact with me.

“Mackenzie?” Melissa’s shrewd gaze burns a hole in the side of my face. “Do you know that guy?”

My throat is completely dry. I wrestle my eyes off Cooper and reach for my drink. Taking a sip provides me with a few extra seconds to panic-think of an excuse. Melissa isn’t only nosy—she’s smart. If I admit to knowing Cooper, even in a just-friends capacity, it’ll absolutely trigger her gossip setting. She’ll ask more questions, and if even one of my answers doesn’t ring true for her, she might tell Benji, who’ll in turn tell Preston, who literally just forgave me for kissing another guy.

So, no. There’s no way I can fess up to knowing Cooper in any capacity.

“Evan,” I blurt out.

Melissa frowns. “What?”

I set down my plastic daiquiri cup. Relief and satisfaction course through me at my stroke of genius. “That’s Evan Hartley. My roommate hooked up with him at the beginning of the semester.”

She relaxes slightly, her manicured fingers toying with the diamond in her ear. “Really? Little Bonnie tapped that?”

“Oh yeah.” I muster up a laugh and hope nobody hears the tension in it. “She totally abandoned me for a moonlight beach hookup with the guy.”

Perfect. Now if Melissa tries to fact-check me, Bonnie can easily corroborate. As long as Cooper stays across the room and doesn’t—

Walk over to us.

Son of a bitch, he’s walking over here.

My heart beats faster than the canned dance music pouring from the speakers. What is he doing? I told him I couldn’t see him anymore. I made it clear, damn it. He can’t just come up to my table like nothing happened and—

“Evan!” I exclaim in a too-loud voice with a too-bright smile.

Cooper’s gait stutters for a second. Then his long legs resume their easy stride until he’s standing in front of me. He shoves his hands in his pockets, donning a lazy pose as he drawls, “Mackenzie.”

“Evan, hey. How’s it going?” I ask, all friendly and laidback as if we hadn’t made out, as if I’d never felt the prominent ridge of his erection pulsing against my belly. “I haven’t seen you since that night you stole my roommate away and seduced her.”

Kate snickers.

I remain focused on Cooper, hoping my eyes are conveying everything I can’t say out loud. Play along. Please. I can’t have these girls gossiping about us and risk it getting back to Pres. Please play along.

The fact that I’m not acknowledging his true identity sparks guilt in me, but it doesn’t compare to how awful I felt about cheating on Preston. Kissing Cooper had been a mistake. But I came clean to my boyfriend, my conscience is clear, and now I just want to move on. Which won’t be possible if Melissa decides there’s gossip potential here. So I silently implore Cooper, who isn’t giving me an inch.

His smirk deepens, dark eyes glittering with something I can’t decipher.

By the time he finally speaks, I’m a bundle of nerves and sweating through my tank top.

“I didn’t hear Bonnie complaining that night,” he says with a wink.

I almost faint with relief. Hopefully no one notices my hand shaking as I reach for my drink. “Well, she’s not the one who had to Uber back to campus all alone at two in the morning.” I take a hasty sip before making the introductions. “Alisha, Sutton, Kate, Melissa. Guys, this is Evan.”

It’s funny, I never realized how different Cooper and his twin are until this very moment, when Cooper transforms into Evan. His normally intense, brooding eyes gleam mischievously. His tongue gives his bottom lip a teasing swipe before he flashes a cocky grin at my friends.

“So.” Even his voice sounds different now. Lighter, flirtier. “Which one of Mackenzie’s friends will I be seducing tonight?”

You’d think a line that sleazy would evoke groans. Instead, the girls all but swoon over it. Even Melissa is affected. Her face turns pink, lips parting slightly.

I don’t blame them. This guy is sex personified. Doesn’t matter if he’s being his broody self or pretending to be his manwhore brother, the sexual energy pours off him in waves.

“Keep it in your pants, Evan.” My tone is meant to be teasing but sounds like a warning.

His grin widens.

“Alright.” Sutton releases an exaggerated sigh and hops off her stool. “I guess I’ll take one for the team.” Her hazy expression tells me she’s already having sex with Cooper in her mind. “How ’bout a dance first, and then we can discuss that seduction offer?”

There’s not a single muscle in my body that isn’t coiled tight. My fingers curl around my cup, squeezing hard. I’m worried I might crush it. It’s a damn good thing it’s made of plastic, otherwise there’d be glass shards everywhere.

Cooper’s mocking eyes don’t miss my response. He’s watching me even as he answers Sutton. “A dance sounds great. Lead the way, babe.”

Three seconds later, he’s wrapped up with Sutton on the dance floor in front of the stage. Her arms loop around his neck, her slender frame pressed against his strong one. Cooper’s hands skim the back of her lacy camisole, one palm trailing lower, resting right above the curve of her ass. His other hand glides up her spine and tangles in her dark ponytail before cupping the back of her neck.

Bitter rage coats my throat. I reach for my daiquiri hoping to get rid of the vile taste, only to find my cup is empty.

“Ugh, I can’t believe her,” Alisha is griping.

Her? I can’t believe him. What is he doing, dirty dancing with a complete stranger?

Beside me, Kate pats Alisha’s arm. “I’m sorry, hon. Next time you gotta be quicker.”

“Lord, he is hot,” Melissa remarks, her attention glued to Cooper and Sutton. “If I wasn’t with Benji, I would totally consider slumming it with a townie for the night.”

I lift a brow. “I thought extracurricular activities were perfectly acceptable?”

She laughs. “Um, no. Not for us, sweetie. At least not until we’ve got the I Dos locked down. Then you can screw the pool boys and gardeners to your heart’s content.”

Kate rolls her eyes at her older sister. “You’re one classy bitch, Mel.”

Melissa shrugs. “What? That’s the way it’s done.”

I tune them out, distracted by the vertical sex display happening ten feet from our table. Sutton is now on her tiptoes, whispering in Cooper’s ear.

He chuckles, and I stiffen. What are they giggling about over there?

And he really needs to remove his hands from her ass. Like, right now. He’s laying it on thick for my expense, and I am not having it. I bite the inside of my cheek. Hard.

“I totally should’ve staked my claim the second he walked up to us,” Alisha moans. She’s also obsessively watching the dance floor.

“Early bird gets the dick,” Kate says solemnly.

“Ugh. Whatever.” Alisha slams her cup on the table and pouts. “She’s all talk anyway. Sutton doesn’t do casual sex. She’s not going to fall into bed with some guy she doesn’t even—” Alisha stops abruptly, her jaw dropping.

I follow her gaze just in time to see Cooper and Sutton leaving the bar together.