Chapter 7 Piper
PIPER
I wake up alone. The house is silent.
Paul is gone, Mom is gone, but most of all, Jake is gone.
I know he’s at work, only a few minutes away, but it feels like he’s left me for another world.
When he’s away, things just don’t feel right. I used to text him every half hour, or more, but that was before he established some ground rules.
“You can’t send me so many nudes when I’m at work. You know how hard it is to use a table saw with an erection?”
I giggled but understood. Now I only send him one just before lunch—something he can use when he sneaks off to the car to jerk off.
Smiling, I close my eyes and stretch. The ache between my thighs reminds me of last night—the way he raced up the stairs to me, pinned me down, and took me.
Being claimed like that…God, nothing compares.
I can still feel his spend inside me. I didn’t take a shower last night, specifically because I didn’t want to wash his scent off me. His sweat. His touch. All the things that overwhelm me when I’m with him.
But how Jake took me last night is not what’s on my mind this morning. What’s on my mind is what he said to me.
“You are mine…I love you…”
He told me he loved me, and I didn’t even get a chance to say it back before he was gone. That scares me. Like, does Jake really love me? Or does he just think he does because of all the fun we’re having?
I don’t have any experience with guys, but Emily has always warned me to be careful when men say things, make promises.
I almost feel guilty for even thinking this way, but what Jake and I are doing is dangerous.
I mean, I could be pregnant. And if I end up pregnant by my step-brother who isn’t serious about staying with me, where does that leave me?
A nice hot shower manages to calm my nerves a bit, but I’m still on edge when I go downstairs. My mom’s in the kitchen sipping her morning coffee.
“Hey, sleepy,” she says. I glance at the clock and realize it’s nearly eleven.
“Hey.” I smile, grabbing myself a mug.
“You’re glowing lately, you know that?”
My body goes tense. I should just take this mug of coffee upstairs and avoid this whole conversation.
“Um...really?”
“Yeah.” She smiles, pulling out a chair for me. “Come on. Sit down. Tell me who he is.”
The gears in my mind are cranking hard as I try to think about what I’m going to say. Mom’s in gossip mode. She’s going to want some answers.
“So? Come on.” She smirks. “Out with it!”
I shrug, struggling to come up with an explanation. “There’s nobody.”
“Liar.”
“I got a new toner,” I lie. “Maybe it’s that?”
“Or maybe it’s someone I know?” she suggests, raising an eyebrow. “And for some reason you want to hide it from me?
Fright shakes me, but I try not to show it. She can’t possibly be talking about Jake…can she?
I smile and get up quickly. Time to get back to my room and lock myself away until he gets back.
But as I’m passing Paul’s office, I hear his voice through the closed door. He’s shouting at someone.
I can’t make everything out, but I do hear the words “inheritance,” followed by “cut him off.” Then something that makes my heart stop.
“His goddamn step-sister…”
My stomach drops, and I quickly race up the stairs to my room and slam the door.
Holy shit, this is bad.
Paul knows, or at least suspects, that Jake and I are fooling around.
I had no idea Jake had a sizeable inheritance, but even if I did, I never thought Paul would be cruel enough to deny it to him.
After all, Jake already went to jail and his father forgave him. You’d think that would be worse than sleeping with a woman who you aren’t even related to.
Heart racing, I grab my phone and send Jake a text:
We need to talk tonight. Alone.
I know he won’t be able to reply right away, which makes things even worse. I’m left pacing circles around my room.
I need to know what Jake is thinking—where he sees this headed. My plans were to go to school in the spring and pursue an English degree. But if I’m pregnant, that’s not really going to be possible.
And if Jake’s dad forces us to split up, what will I do then? Raise our child on my own?
No. My baby needs a dad. My baby needs Jake. And so do I.
The day goes by, and I keep checking my phone for a response, but there’s nothing. I even break our little rule and send him a nude of me in the bathroom, hoping he’ll at least reply to that.
But still nothing.
I’m starting to wonder if something serious has happened when finally, well after Mom and Dad and I have finished dinner, Jake comes home.
“Sorry,” he says, coming through the door. “Gus had a flood at the shop. I just spent the last few hours stacking wood so it wouldn’t get ruined.”
His eyes flick to me, carrying a hidden message that only I understand. I’m sorry. Yes, we will talk soon.
I excuse myself and go to the living room couch. I’m nervous—more nervous than I was when Jake took me for the first time.
This could be a tipping point for us, and every possible nightmare scenario is playing through my head.
It’s almost a half-hour before Jake joins me.
He takes a seat across from me as to not look suspicious. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
My pulse is racing. I feel hot—uncomfortably so. But I’m not wearing layers and have nothing to take off.
“Did your dad talk to you?” I ask.
“Yeah, we were just in the kitchen. I was eating leftovers—”
“Not chit-chat, Jake. I mean…” My voice trails off as I try to summon the courage for what needs to be said next. “I know about your inheritance.”
Jake frowns. “What?”
“And your dad—he’s suspicious about us. He’s thinking about cutting you off.”
He laughs. “Come on, you’re just being cautious. Dad doesn’t know anything about us. And he’d never cut me off.”
“Jake, I’m serious!” I hiss, trying to keep my voice down. “Maybe we haven’t been being as discrete as we think. Maybe he saw something. Or heard something!”
Ugh. The thought of Paul hearing the two of us going at it makes my stomach turn. I started off shy, but now my mouth is as dirty as Jake’s.
“This is ridiculous,” he scoffs, standing. “Piper, there’s nothing to worry about.”
I leap to my feet and get close. “But what if, Jake? What if he knows? What if he threatens to cut you off if you don’t leave me?”
For the first time since I’ve known him, Jake’s face goes stony. Blank in a way that threatens to hollow my soul.
He lowers his eyes, looking at the floor. Not at me.
He actually looks shaken, which I didn’t think was possible. Not for a man who knocks out creeps with a single punch. For a man with callused hands and muscles for days.
Jake always has an answer ready. He’s a man of action. But right now, he’s hesitating.
Why?
When he does glance up at me, his eyes are hesitant, not solid like they always are.
Something snaps inside me. I don’t know if it’s terror or anger, but it’s piercing and painful, like a needle to the heart.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Before I know it, I’m storming away from him with tears pooling in my eyes. I keep my face hidden as I take the stairs. If our parents see, it will be over.
If it isn’t already…
It takes all my willpower not to slam my door behind me. And as I toss myself down on my bed, I listen, waiting for the sound of Jake’s footsteps.
Instead, I hear the front door open and close, and his car start and pull out of the driveway. My heart shatters.
Well, I guess I got my answer.