fever dream

judd wasn't sure why it was so easy to let the insecurity overwhelm her, perhaps she felt that she fell into this kind of trap often. she'd gotten wrapped up in someone before, only to realise that they'd wanted her only for what she gave them in bed. and she loved sex, of course she did, considering the career she'd chosen that much was evident, but her openness about it ran the risk of having it completely envelop her. as cooper reacted to her suggesting that maybe she leave and head home, she blinked, watching his expression to try and figure out what she was seeing. was he just upset to be rebuffed for sex, or was it... something else. she couldn't help but search for signs of irritation or exasperation. she pursed her lips and further drew into herself, shuffling back off of the bed and moving to the other side of the room. "right, exactly. i wouldn't want to keep overstaying my welcome." she words came out a little bit colder than she'd intended, but admittedly she was bothered by how fine he seemed to be with her leaving. she didn't actually want to do it, after all. beginning to collect her things, judd lifted her gaze, thinking for a moment that the question meant something, but he wasn't looking at her. instead, he was engrossed in dressing himself. "um, i'm not sure." she replied noncommittally, mirroring him as she found her discarded clothing and her things, shoving them into her bag. "i have a busy week, i have a few chapters due in a couple weeks that i've been putting off and some content i've gotta film. y'know, so."

reading judd wasn't easy and cooper felt like she only opened herself up to him bit by bit. like when they first discovered there was an actual connection between them, it sparked something so big and incredible. but now it was like they had fallen into a comfortable pattern. cooper wasn't upset with this, but he felt it was difficult to know how to move forward with her. not wanting to spook her with this intense connection he felt they had. and now he couldn't tell what was happening, but something was off. her comment didn't help cooper's confusion. she said she should go, but seemed bitter about him accepting that? cooper's head started spinning, was this a red flag he had missed? judd wasn't innocent, but she had at least portrayed herself to be a calm and undramatic person. was this her true self shining through? cooper slapped himself mentally for starting to doubt her, and he let her comment go unanswered as he got dressed. cooper was trying to find out what the hell was happening, the past few weeks had been incredible so why was judd suddenly being hot and cold with him? "i don't really know, no." cooper said letting his frustration get the better off him and coat his words to her. he turned back to look at her, seeing how she had started packing her things up and coupled with her words it made it seem like she wasn't coming back anytime soon. "is that it? am in your way when it comes to work?" he asks her, point blank and he can't help but the bitterness in his voice. if she felt that way why hadn't she told him earlier? cooper didn't like being blamed for stuff he had no control over. or had she tried to let him know and he had missed the signs?

"Are you trying to make up for it now?" Ophelia asked teasingly while glancing at him through the open window for a brief moment. Seeing the garage getting closer, Ophelia really felt like she could be doing more to help him. She felt bad that Caleb had pushed her car all this way by himself. "I know. My whole day has been filled with bad luck. I should have stayed home and said 'screw it' to this wedding." She teased back, offering him a smile. "Not at all." Ophelia admitted, being honest. If anything, he was one of the few that she didn't mind running into. It wasn't like she had bad experiences with anyone back in high school, but knowing who her brother's best friends were -- and him still being close with them... those were the ones she had to stay clear from. "Maybe if you get a drink or two in me at the wedding, I'll be showering you with compliments. I just need that liquid courage in order to spill everything I have ever thought about you."

"Maybe. But i wouldn't pretend to think i could have an impact on you now." They weren't the same people they were in High School. His name didn't bear the same status, and she? She lived in a big city and he still lived in their home town she was ranking way above him now if you believed in that stuff. "Right, missing your brother's wedding. That would have worked out great for your karma." he joked. It was good to hear she didn't mind running into him, that he wasn't tied to a bad memory of hers from high school. Caleb bit his lip and tried to contain the grin that threatened to spread onto his face. "Really?" he asked her in disbelief. "You've had thoughts about me?" he asked, extremely flattered but also very intrigued. "I might have to do that. You got me real curious now. But i believe in fairness so if you get a drink or two in me, i'll tell you the thoughts I'm having about you." Suddenly they were at the garage and Caleb pushed the car the final stretch onto the platform so he could check it out.

thomas let out a nervous chuckle and nodded "right." not really understanding if she meant it or not. "nice to meet you too." he said as he watched their hands until she retreated hers. she was quite captivating, but he couldn't think of that he needed to focus on the road. "oh wow. that's pretty cool though, deciding how things look. you probably have very good taste. wouldn't like how it looks like in my apartment. no cohesion at all." he let out a little chuckle thinking about it. it looked like someone who had been at fifty different yard sales and bought one item from each of them and put them together. which was basically what he had done. "i'm a freelance writer… which is a subtle way of saying i'm overworked, underpaid and will probably have to change career paths when i hit thirty." he joked, he wasn't worried but he knew he would be later in life if his career didn't take off.

╰┈☆ free pack : lauren jauregui.

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it wasn't as if judd didn't like being looked at. to the contrary, she loved the feeling of cooper's eyes on her even right now. he made her feel beautiful and alluring and sexy, all things she knew she was to a degree, but with him it was... different, now. the only issue was, a small uncomfortable fear was beginning to bubble up. what if after what she'd admitted about her career and her fantasies, cooper had begun to only think of her as someone to fuck rather than someone he wanted to be with? she knew logically that she wanted him just as badly, that it wasn't some one sided thing where he was pawing at her, but she couldn't logic herself out of the uncertainty that was swiftly flooding her mind. as he teased her, a hand on her leg and his lips softly pressing against her knee and up her thigh until he found her mouth, her gaze softened. she let a beat pass, almost willing to give in, but then her hand pressed over top of his gently and she shook her head. "uh, not really that one." it kind of felt like reality was proving the point of the anxiety that was quickly rising to the surface. was this all he thought about with her, fucking her? she pulled back, reaching for the box of her cards so she could put them away. "honestly, i was kind of thinking maybe i should head home?"

cooper didn't think he'd had as good sexual chemistry with anyone before. and delving into things he hadn't done before made judd also exciting and addictive in a new way. it also made him feel safe, she wouldn't judge him. and she looked at him with a desire that filled him up with a new type of confidence he hadn't felt before. he had always been a confident man, but with her that feeling of confidence was better, it meant more with judd. cooper interpreted as her hand on his as her rejecting him softly, and that was fine. if she wasn't in the mood, she wasn't. "oh." he said with a sheepish smile on his face. and then the warning bells started going off on his head. go home? that didn't sound good. he desperately wanted to ask her why and tell her that she didn't have to. but he also didn't want to seem clingy. "i mean, if you want to sure." cooper said as nonchalant as possible as he patted her thigh before sitting up in the bed and getting out. he had only been in his boxers and a t-shirt but soon enough he found his pants to slide on. "that's probably a good idea, you've been here awhile." he says to really convince her that he was totally fine with her leaving now. still a part of him couldn't help himself. "so when will i see you again?" he asked as he didn't even look at her, as if it didn't matter, looking for the rest of his clothes.