Chapter Twenty-Seven
Then
The midsummer evening stretched on forever, alive with warmth and possibility. To add to the sweet buzz of the night, Piper’s
parents were attending a fundraiser for the hospital and weren’t expected back until well after midnight—a dream come true
for any teenager.
Less than ten minutes after her parents left, Wyatt arrived on her doorstep for a curfew-free date night. He wore his standard
outfit, a fitted black T-shirt and jeans, but had added the new leather boat shoes Aunt Molly had gifted to him for graduation.
When he aimed his megawatt smile at her, Piper’s breath caught in her throat.
Sometimes she couldn’t believe he was hers.
“Hey,” he said, his voice husky. “I was just missing you.”
In response, she beamed and pulled his face down to hers so their lips brushed, then connected fully. Oh, how she loved kissing
Wyatt Brooks. She’d kissed a handful of boys throughout the years at school dances, slumber party dares, and casual dates,
but nothing compared to kissing Wyatt.
“I’ll take that as a ‘you missed me, too,’” he teased when they broke apart.
“I did. And I’m going to miss you even more when you leave.” She stuck her lower lip out in an exaggerated pout. In about two weeks, Wyatt would report to Fort Benning to begin boot camp, and she wasn’t close to ready to say goodbye. Every moment they had together felt precious.
Wyatt’s face fell. “I know. Being apart from you is going to suck, but you aren’t getting rid of me so easily. I’ll call you
every chance I get and visit you at school when I can.”
Her heart swelled. “You promise?”
“Promise.” He crossed his heart. “But let’s not think about that tonight.”
“Easier said than done,” she grumbled. “What do you have planned to distract us?”
Wyatt held out his hand and led her out the door and down the little dirt path to the clubhouse. Their clubhouse.
“This.” He gestured around the small wooden room.
Piper’s eyes widened in delight. Candles of all shapes and sizes filled the room with soft light as dusk fell. He’d arranged
an indoor picnic with a blanket, pillows, and a wicker basket filled with Tupperware containers.
“Aunt Molly helped me cook some of your favorite food. I burned the corn bread, but the BBQ looks and smells amazing. This
way, we won’t be rushed.” He glanced at Piper for approval.
“I love it,” she assured him, clapping her hands.
Wyatt opened a bottle of sparkling cider and poured them each a glass. The corn bread was, in fact, burned, but that didn’t
stop it from being the best meal Piper had ever had. Though that may have had something to do with the proud smile on Wyatt’s
face every time she complimented his cooking. And how the flickering candles made his gorgeous eyes glow. There was nowhere
else she’d rather be than here in the clubhouse with Wyatt.
After dinner, they arranged the blanket and pillows outside on the tiny top deck to indulge in Molly’s famous chocolate chip cookies. Lying back, they watched the sky fade to black, counting the stars peeking through the dark curtain of night, calling out constellations they knew as their eyes adjusted to the dark. Wyatt wiped a stray cookie crumb off the corner of her mouth, then replaced his thumb with his lips. She tasted the salty sweetness of chocolate on his tongue as it swirled against hers.
They danced from topic to topic like a well-rehearsed waltz, sharing their hopes, dreams, and fears about the future and pausing
only to exchange kisses. At some point in the evening, as more stars clicked on like stadium lights overhead, the air shifted
imperceptibly.
Piper shivered and snuggled closer to Wyatt. The carefree laughter faded from his face, replaced with a smoldering gaze. Each
lingering kiss lasted longer than the one before, like each of them was daring the other to break away first, neither backing
down.
Pulling his marvelous mouth away from hers, Wyatt propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at her. His focused gaze
made Piper squirm.
“I want you to know something,” he said in a low voice that cracked with nerves. His hand wavered. He took a deep, unsteady
breath, his eyes wet pools so deep Piper thought she might drown in them.
“I think I love you.” He shook his head. “No, I know I do.” Confidence flooded his voice as he repeated the sentiment, his
eyes shining.
Piper’s face split into a smile beyond her control, his words melting her into liquid gold. Wyatt never said anything he didn’t
mean. He was letting her all the way into his heart, and it was the only place she wanted to be. She’d known she was in love
with Wyatt since their first kiss. Though she’d been falling in love long before that.
“I love you, too.” She interlaced her fingers with his and held on tight.
He squeezed her hand and continued staring at her in awe. Like she was gravity, and he was an astronaut in space who couldn’t live without her—like he could see her soul.
Wyatt Brooks loved her.
They were in love.
His lips connected with hers, more tender than his previous kisses. It wasn’t enough for Piper. She twisted her hands into
his hair, pulling his weight on top of her.
“We should go inside,” he whispered in between kisses.
She nodded eagerly, and Wyatt scooped her up, blanket and all. He continued kissing her as he carried her inside, stopping
only long enough to set her down and lay the blanket out, careful not to extinguish any of the flickering candles. Then he
wrapped her back up in his arms, his lips moving over hers like if he stopped, he might die. She’d thought when this moment
came, she’d be afraid, but wild anticipation fueled her actions. When he knelt on the blanket on the floor and held out his
hand for her to join him, she didn’t hesitate, swept away in the dizzying passion of first love.
As amazing as making love with Wyatt was, falling asleep in his arms was even sweeter. She hadn’t meant to stay in the clubhouse
all night, but every time she tried to force her body to rise and get dressed, Wyatt’s steady breathing and warm embrace lulled
her back to sleep.
When she crept home in the early glow of dawn, her mother’s weary face greeted her, a phone cradled to her ear. “She just
walked in. I’ll call you back later.” Her mom turned to Piper. “Piper! Where have you been?”
“I got up early and went for a walk,” Piper lied, guilt flooding her system.
“That’s funny, because Molly informed me that Wyatt’s not in his bed where he’s supposed to be either. Want to try telling
me the truth?”
Piper’s cheeks grew hot. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to worry you. Wyatt and I were hanging out in the clubhouse last night, and we fell asleep. Nothing happened!”
Piper touched her warm cheek self-consciously. She felt different this morning; did she look different, too? Could her mom
see through her lie and tell her precious daughter was no longer a virgin?
“I don’t like this, Piper. I hardly recognize you since you started spending more time with Wyatt. You’ve been staying out
all hours of the night, and I got an email this morning saying you haven’t registered for the freshman seminar yet. It’s not
like you to miss a deadline.”
Piper kept her voice calm even though her mom bringing up Wyatt infuriated her. “This is the first time I’ve come home late!
And I forgot the deadline, but I’ll sign up today. I’m sure it will be fine.”
She spun to go upstairs, but her mom grabbed her forearm, stopping her. “I think you need to take a break from Wyatt. He’s
a distraction to you.”
Piper glared at her. “Mom, he’s my boyfriend. He leaves for boot camp in two weeks, and I want to see him as much as possible
before then.”
How could she explain Wyatt was more than a high school crush? He was her best friend, her soul mate, her one true love. She
knew he would be in her life forever, whether or not her mom wanted to believe it.
Her mother’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “And what happens when he’s gone? When he’s in the army? If he’s deployed? Have
you thought about that? Will you skip school to visit him on base or forget to study for an exam because you’re on the phone
with him too late? This is your life, Piper—you’ve got to start taking more responsibility.”
Piper swallowed a scream. Had her mom never been in love before? For once in her life, she was having fun and following her heart. What was the big deal? “I think you’re worrying too much.”
“And you’re not worrying enough. We’ll discuss this more later, but you’re spending the rest of the weekend grounded.”
Piper shook her mom’s hand off and stomped up to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.