Page 37 of Cattle Stop

“No.”

“Whit.” Penny lets out a breath. “Whit, go take a shower.”

“The water’s cold,” Cooper says. “What’s wrong with wearing this to eat with Brad?”

“Whit, eres igual de tonto que él2,” Penny says.

Whit heads for the bathroom, pushing past Cooper so quickly that Cooper has to step aside.

“I like this shirt,” Cooper says. It’s plain. And comfortable. And up until now, he’d assumed it was completely practical, acceptable, and unoffensive.

Penny sits on the edge of Whit’s bed again, one leg crossed under herself and her other foot on the floor. “Where’re you two going?”

“Just to get a burger. How is this not a cheeseburger sort of shirt?”

“Cooper.” Penny touches her forehead again. “You’re going to dinner. On a Saturday. With Brad.”

“I know. Wearing clothes, even. And I cleaned the cow shit off myself, too. I swear I’m presentable.”

The shower starts running, and Penny’s eyes dart toward the bathroom door.

“Brad likes you,” she says softly.

“Brad? C’mon, no he doesn’t.”

“Cooper, he asked you out.”

Cooper laughs. He needs socks. And a belt too, or his pants are going to be falling down all night. Wallet, phone, keys, and then he can get going so he can get back to the farm and the bonfire all the sooner. “We’re just grabbing a bite to eat.” He should maybe bring his sunglasses too. He’d wear his hat against the glare of the sun, but even he knows that his ball cap is too gross after days of sweating in it.

“He’s taking you to dinner.”

“No, he’s not. I’m meeting him there.”

“Oh, Coop.” Penny stands and reaches up to set her hands on his shoulders. “You are so good at farming and so very pretty and yet so incredibly clueless.”

“I am not.” He catches the door before she can shut it and pokes his head into the hallway after her. “Brad doesn’t like me.”

“Let me know who pays,” she calls back.

Cooper rolls his eyes and sits on Whit’s bed to pull his socks on. When the bathroom door opens, Cooper asks, “Am I clueless?”

“Where’s Penny?”

“Am I?” Cooper stands quickly. “Sorry. I know, I know, no touching your stuff, let alone your bed. Do I look that bad?”

Whit has his towel around his waist, and maybe the shower wasn’t that cold after all, because his ears are a little red. He glances at Cooper, then turns away, sorting through the top drawer of his dresser.

“You don’t,” he says finally.

“Thank you.” Cooper throws his hands up in the air. “Tell Penny that.”

“I’m not going to.” Whit pulls out a pair of jeans, rather than his sweatpants, and Cooper cranes his head, trying to see the shirt he chooses from the closet.

“You going out tonight? Got a big hot date?”

“Can you stop asking me that?”

“I don’t care.” Cooper holds up both hands. Doesn’t want to care, is more like. Fucking jealous at the thought and annoyed at that reaction even more. No, he tells himself as sternly as he knows how. Too much time around Whit, and this is where it leads: mooning over his body and imagining an alternative reality where Whit’s not an asshole, they’re friends, and then they’re more.