22. Piper
TWENTY-TWO
PIPER
NINETEEN YEARS OLD
“Oh my gosh, you’re home!” Piper’s mother peeped as she came flying out the front door and down the walkway that cut through the middle of their yard. Piper dropped her bags to the ground and reached for her mom at the same second as she threw herself against her.
Tears sprang to Piper’s eyes as her mom rocked her and squeezed her tight. That voice of encouragement that Piper loved the most whispered in her ear, “My baby girl. I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too.” Piper’s words were wisps of affection, and she clung to her mother just as tightly as her mom clung to her.
They swayed each other back and forth for the longest time before her mom stepped back. Hanging onto the outside of Piper’s shoulders, she smiled as she took Piper in.
Tears stained her mom’s cheeks. Her mom who could pretty much be Piper’s twin if they weren’t separated by twenty-five years. Still, they got mistaken for sisters all the time.
Piper didn’t mind. She was honored to be compared to her mother.
Her mom’s expression filled with mirth. “I mean, not that you aren’t exactly where you’re supposed to be. You know I couldn’t be prouder of you. But getting to have you home for the whole summer?”
Joy burned through Piper’s chest. “I think you just want me home so I can design you an entire wardrobe. You want to test out my new skills.”
Okay, Piper had already designed one and couldn’t wait to show her. Shopping together had always been one of their favorite pastimes. Piper always figured her love for fashion had been inherited from her mother.
Any time Piper had a bad day, her mom would load her into the car and they’d either head to the high-end shops or go thrifting, depending on their mood.
While they’d browse the racks, they’d talk, her mother giving her support and insight and that pure, honest love.
Never coddling but giving it to Piper from the heart.
God, had she missed it.
A light giggle rolled out of her mom, and she gave Piper a soft shrug. “Guilty.”
Piper threw herself at her again, light laughter rolling out of her as she rocked her back and forth and murmured, “I really am happy to be home.”
“Are you going to save some of that for me?” Piper looked up to her dad’s playful voice coming from where he stood in the doorway of Piper’s childhood home.
A simple one-story house in a quiet family neighborhood.
“I might have a hug or two in store for you,” she said with a grin, then she went jogging his way.
He stretched out his arms, and he sighed an affectionate sound as he wrapped them around her. “Ah, there’s my girl.”
She buried her face in his chest and whispered, “Missed you, Dad.”
“Missed you a ton, pumpkin.”
Piper felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest as he hugged her close.
“Hope you don’t think you’re getting your room back because that baby is mine.”
She laughed as she pulled away to find her younger brother, Mason, ambling around the side of the house, a basketball in his hand and a teasing smile on his face.
His blond hair struck beneath the bright summer sun that blazed overhead, and his blue eyes gleamed with a tease.
She hitched her hand on her hip like she was annoyed. “Don’t tell me you stole my room.”
Mason sent her as much casual arrogance as any fourteen-year-old boy could, tossing his ball into the air and catching it in one hand. “You snooze, you lose.”
“I’m pretty sure going away to college is not snoozing ,” she defended.
He shrugged, trying to contain the smile she could so clearly see prancing across his face. “Whatever. Bet you sleep ’til noon every day.”
“Not even close.”
“Only thing I know is you’re no longer top dog around here. Like I was just going to stay in my dinky room when yours was empty and has its own bathroom.”
“You know he needs that bathroom because he’s shaving now.” Their mother’s voice was more awe than tease, coming from right next to where she’d moved to Piper’s side.
“Mom,” Mason drew out in embarrassment.
“What? It’s kind of a big deal that you’re becoming a man.”
Mason huffed, though that smile was breaking free, and he dropped his attention to the ground to try to hide it.
“It’s not,” he mumbled.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to wrestle you out of it,” Piper told him. “I think it’s only fair you have my room since I’m not here as much. But, if we were to wrestle for it, let it be known I would totally take you down.”
“You wish. I’d have you pinned in a second flat.” He grinned.
A clatter suddenly broke from within the house, and Piper’s dad stepped aside as Piper’s grandmother came striding through.
She just retired two years ago, and her parents had a guesthouse built out back for her.
“Well, well, look who’s home. And as gorgeous as ever.”
Emotion squeezed Piper’s chest. “Nelly.”
“Come here, sweet girl, and give me a hug. These old arms have been missing you.”
Piper playfully rolled her eyes as she moved her way, murmuring, “They aren’t old,” as she wrapped herself in them.
“Well, they sure aren’t getting any younger,” Nelly mumbled as she hugged her hard.
Piper swore her grandmother always gave the best hugs. Hugs that poured love and belief into you, all while making you feel a little giddy.
At least that’s what Piper felt right then.
Just…happy.
Happy to be home for a little while, surrounded by the ones she loved most and who loved her just as much.
She was excited for her future.
For her journey.
Excited to chase down a dream that she’d had since she was just a little girl drawing clothes on sheets of paper and taping them to her walls.
But she always knew, in the end, this was where she belonged.
A whistle echoed from the open driver’s side window of the car that idled at the curb in front of her house.
Piper lifted a middle finger as she strode down the walkway in her heels and sequin dress.
Laughter rang from within, and Eva popped her head out the window. “Now is that any way to greet your best friend?”
A giggle rolled out of Piper as she sauntered toward the car.
The night all around her.
Excitement thick in her chest.
She hadn’t seen Eva in almost a year, and she’d missed her like crazy.
“It’s my knee-jerk reaction to being catcalled.”
“Girl, you look so hot tonight, a whistle was required.” Eva’s grin was wide as she peered out the window.
Piper gave a little spin right in the middle of the walkway. “You like?”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure everyone is going to like . You look like you’re ready for a little fun.”
Piper rounded the front of Eva’s car, opened the passenger door, and plopped inside. She tossed a smile at Eva from over the console. “Well, you promised me some.”
Eva smirked, her sleek, black hair swishing over her bare shoulders. “And I always deliver.”
Music thrummed through the club. Piper and Eva were in the middle of the dance floor beneath the frantic, strobing lights, the two of them fully letting go.
They’d tried to play it cool when their fake IDs had worked, something Eva had procured for them while Piper had been gone.
The two of them had immediately weaved into the fray where they allowed themselves to get lost in the dark, provocative vibe.
They’d been there for hours, their skin slicked with sweat as they moved to the seductive beat.
The night had been far more than a little fun. Piper couldn’t remember the last time she felt so invigorated.
The last time she laughed so much.
The last time she felt so free.
She had a clear path set out for her life. Her hopes and dreams right within reach. It was going to be a ton of hard work. She was told her second year would be the most challenging and she wasn’t daunted by the prospect, but for this summer, she was letting all that pressure go.
She was going to enjoy every single second that she had.
Whether she was with her family or her friends.
Her senses prickled as she moved. A shiver of interest that had her looking up, gaze roaming through the crowd for the source.
A man was watching her from where he sipped at a whiskey from a high-top table with a couple other guys.
He was twenty-four or twenty-five, she guessed.
His light brown eyes roved over her, and she didn’t look away as she swiveled her hips, her stomach tightening in attraction as she took him in.
He appeared cool and casual where he sat rocked back in the stool.
Powerful, maybe.
Wearing a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up. Tattoos covered the exposed skin of his arms.
He was hewn in the type of danger that she knew she shouldn’t be attracted to.
She’d always been, though.
She almost rolled her eyes at herself.
She’d only been with one guy. Her high school boyfriend who was both boring and sweet.
But she always liked to look.
Every fantasy she had was of a guy like this. One who was rough and demanding.
Too bad she’d always been the good girl who was never brave enough to dip her toe into that type of hazard.
Because that’s what he was written in.
Hazard and peril.
Eva danced out in front of her, and she turned around and got in the line of her sight. She barely mouthed over the din, “Oh my God, that guy is so eye-fucking you. He is wicked hot.”
Eva peeked back at him while Piper had yet to be able to look away.
Eva turned back. A bit of worry creased the sides of her black-rimmed eyes. “But he looks like a load of trouble.”
Nerves tumbled in Piper’s belly. A warning that she should turn around.
Leave.
Maybe run.
She didn’t know what came over her because she swallowed it down, and the words were tumbling off her lips at the same moment the guy stood from his chair and started in her direction.
“Maybe a little trouble is exactly what I need this summer.”