19. Piper
PIPER
Danielle Pepper Fan Club
Trina Dunn: Rereading a few old books. Do you think Danielle is a virgin and that’s why her smut is so bad?
Comments:
Judy Cohen: I don’t think that’s for us to discuss.
Dana Holden: @Trina Dunn Do you have friends? A life, perhaps?
Trina Dunn: What? She puts her work out there. I have the right to comment on it!
Judy Cohen: Admins, can we time-out Trina again?
Dana Holden: God, can we just ban her?
The next day dawned brightly, and the sun streaming through my curtains inevitably woke me up. The air conditioning was on in the apartment, and I could hear birds outside. With a groan, I sat up and stretched before climbing out of bed.
All the memories from the night before flooded my mind, and I couldn’t resist the grin that took over my face.
I touched Theo. On purpose.
The feel of his skin was still on the tips of my fingers, and it was all I could do not to march back into The Reserved Bean and ask to do it again.
But Theo wasn’t the only person in Strawberry Springs. There were others who I could get to know, and I wanted to test the limits of what I could do.
A quick check outside told me the square wasn’t too busy, and I was feeling brave enough to return the library books that were nearly due.
And if I ran into someone, I could see if I could test my bravery with them too.
I bounded to my closet, reaching for the denim skirt I never had the courage to wear, and made my way outside.
There was a bounce to my step as I headed to the library. When I got close, I walked inside like I owned the place.
Yes. This was what I’d been waiting on.
That was when I almost got run over by a cart.
“Excuse me!” an angry delivery driver muttered. I nearly tripped over myself getting out of the way. “Why does the place always get these heavy boxes?”
“We’re a library, dumbass.” Marjorie’s dry voice hit my ears, and I pressed a hand to my chest to calm my racing heart.
Nearly getting trampled almost set me off.
“Maybe try those e-books next time, lady.” The delivery driver was still going.
“Maybe try kissing my ass next time! It’ll taste better than your attitude.” Behind her, Henrietta’s face fell into her hands.
The delivery man held up a middle finger before going outside, and I finally pulled myself out of my thoughts.
“You okay?” Marjorie asked. “He just about took you out.”
“I am. Mostly.” I swallowed, determined to be okay. “I liked what you said about him kissing your ass.”
“Don’t encourage her,” Henrietta muttered.
“You didn’t stop me.” Marjorie’s hands landed on her hips. “Seems like you wanted me to go off on him.”
“He did kinda deserve it.”
“See?” Marjorie said as she turned to me. “She’s not as innocent as everyone thinks.”
Laughing, I dropped off my books. Marjorie was kind enough to tell me it was slow upstairs and sent me off in search of new books.
I really liked the two of them.
But did I like them enough to touch them?
My whole body shuddered at the thought.
Maybe I was off from the delivery driver. This didn’t mean I was out yet. Walking upstairs, I was determined to calm down while I hunted through books. There was nothing better than getting lost in a fictional world.
I’d almost entirely forgotten about the man with the cart when I ran into someone in the aisles.
Blinking, I knew I’d seen her before, but I couldn’t remember her name. She was recognizable with her long, curly hair and hazel eyes. The day I met her, she’d been with Dean, a guy I tried to ask out once upon a time.
I remembered staring at her and wondering if I would ever have anything similar to what she did.
Her eyes met mine and I gave her an awkward wave. She walked right over to me.
“Hi, Piper.”
“Hi, uh . . .” My cheeks went red.
“I’m Grace, in case you happened to forget.”
Busted. “I’m so sorry. I’m usually better with names.”
She waved her hand as if it were nothing. “It’s totally fine. You have a lot of people to meet and it can be so overwhelming moving somewhere new. Have you met everyone yet?”
“Definitely not everyone, but I’ve met a few memorable people.”
“You mean Kerry, don’t you?”
I blinked. Did she know how to read minds or something? “I definitely did. And I think I’ve met someone named Mollie. And I have a feeling I’ve been near others, but I haven’t talked to them. I’m going slow.”
“That’s a good idea. We can all be a little overwhelming at first, so take it at your own pace.”
Grace had no idea about my past or anything about me, but I could tell she was making sure that I didn’t feel uncomfortable. That was really kind of her.
“I’m still trying to get out there, though. That’s why I’m here.”
“It’s such an amazing place to be too.” She gestured to the shelves. “I still can’t believe a reality show got us all of this. You watched it, right?”
“I did. It was really interesting.”
“Has the town lived up to what you saw?”
“I’d say it’s better. There’s a lot fewer love triangles.”
Grace laughed. “Yeah, we try to avoid those. Where else have you been?”
“Uh, the coffee shop and the grocery store. That’s about it. I’m gonna try to go to more soon.”
“Well, if you’d like a recommendation, I can’t say enough good things about my best friend’s shop. She owns Jade’s Goodies on the square.”
“I’ve heard about it.” I thought about what it would be like to go by myself. My face fell as my body tightened. No. I wanted to be normal. Hadn’t I gotten close when I touched Theo the night before?
“If it helps, we’ve been warned not to touch you.”
My brow furrowed. “You have? By who?”
“I figured it out, but Kelsey came to one of our girls’ nights and warned us that you have a thing against being touched by others. And that’s totally fine. Jade can be a little physical when she’s excited, but she’ll remember and give you your space.”
“That’s . . . Thank you. For not being weird about it.” Relief hit like a truck, followed by disappointment. I wanted to beat this fear, not still have it. “I’ll do my best to meet everyone officially.”
“I can help with that. Did you know we have a girls’ night most weeks?”
“Really? That sounds fun.”
“Then you should come. We would love to have you someday.”
Had I ever been invited to anything like this? Had I ever been in a place where people were so friendly? The answer to both was no.
I felt myself stand a little straighter.
“What do you guys do?” I asked.
“Sometimes we go to each other’s houses,” she said, and I tried not to let my grimace show. I was pretty sure she caught it because she smiled and continued. “Sometimes we come here.”
“That sounds fun.”
Grace’s eyes lit up. “We’re actually here quite a bit. Marjorie and Henrietta put on a lot of classes and we love to join.”
“Can I give you my number?” I asked.
“Yes. Do you want to just hand me your phone?”
I nodded. I made sure our hands didn’t brush.
After my phone was safely in Grace’s possession, I frowned. I’d touched Theo the night before, yet I still had the habit of avoiding it with others.
While she put her number in my phone, I thought about letting our hands brush.
My body immediately tensed at the idea. Just like it had with the idea of going to Jade’s shop.
I had to resist the urge to sigh. Last night with Theo, I’d been nervous, but I was able to push through. The idea of touching Grace was far scarier. I liked her, but there was no way I could touch her.
And that meant I still had work to do.
Theo was in his usual spot when I walked into The Reserved Bean, and Kelsey was behind him. He gave me a small smile when he saw me, but she nearly ran to the front to talk to me first.
“There you are. I heard that you saw Grace at the library today.” She leaned on the counter with a smile on her face. “Wanna tell me about it?”
“Does news really travel that quickly?”
“It definitely does here. But Grace texted us. We have a group chat that you need to join.”
“I still need to meet everyone first,” I said. “But that sounds fun. Grace was very nice. She invited me to one of the girls’ nights at the library.”
Kelsey raised her eyebrows. “Are you going to go?”
“I’m going to try.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Theo’s eyes slide to me, and I slipped into the past where my hand had been on his arm.
My skin erupted in gooseflesh and I had to cross my arms to hide it. The idea sent a thrill down my spine, and I knew I wanted to try it again.
“You’d really like all of the women in town,” Kelsey continued, unaware of my thoughts.
“They’re sweet and really care about each other.
I’ve thought about joining for in-person hangouts more than once, but I don’t plan on staying here for too long.
Strawberry Springs is just a temporary stop for me. ”
That got me out of my thoughts. “You’ll be leaving? When?”
Her face fell. “When I find a job that’s in my career path or when I finally have enough money to move somewhere else. Both are way harder than I thought they would be.”
“I pay you decently, don’t I?” Theo frowned. “Is this a passive way of asking me for a raise?”
“You pay me more than enough, but I have student loans that drain my bank account.”
“That’ll do it,” I said with a sigh. “And I need to make sure my own get paid, so I should get my coffee and work.”
“Boo,” Kelsey said as she stuck her tongue out at me. “I’ll get it started. She’s all yours.” After a grin toward Theo, she was gone.
He only let out a long sigh. “I’m guessing you want your usual.”
“I do.” I handed him my card. For once, I didn’t hold the corner of it, leaving things open for our hands to touch.
Theo still gave me space.
“How are you doing?” he asked quietly.
“I’m good.”
His brow rose. “Really?”
“I wouldn’t lie.”
He gave me my card back, eyes intense on me, then Kelsey had my drink ready. I gave them both a wave before going to my usual table and pulling out my laptop.
When I sat, I wanted to see if Theo was still looking.
He was.
I gave him a wink, and that seemed to jostle him out of his thoughts. His cheeks went red before he looked down at the register.
God, that man was cute.
And inspiring.