41. Piper
PIPER
Danielle Pepper Fan Club
Dana Holden: Did you SEE the blurb reveal??? It looks so good!
Comments:
Judy Cohen: So it was a new type of main character! Yay! I can’t wait to see what she does with it.
Trina Dunn: Or if she messes it up.
Nancy Gilbert: Do you have friends, Trina? You seem like one of those kids who have no friends and acts like a little shit on the internet.
Dana Holden: I should probably report that . . . but I won’t.
Joey and Mitch seemed to love the diner, even if they got embarrassed when they called Tammy “Jessica.” Both Theo and I had to gently correct them while Tammy laughed.
I was tired when they left, but I felt like this had gone better than all of their other visits. I was hopeful this would continue.
“Thank you,” I told Theo, pulling him into a tight hug when we were alone. We stood on the sidewalk right in front of the coffee shop. “I know this was a long day, but I’m so glad you hung out with them.”
“Me too,” he said, arms wrapping around my shoulders. “I can tell they’re trying.”
“How did your conversation with Joey go?” At that question, Theo paused and my heart sank.
I knew that Joey did his worst when I wasn’t around. I still hadn’t fully forgiven him for telling Theo to stay away from me, and if it hadn’t been for an adorable child talking to me, I would’ve been there for him.
But I had watched closely. The second I thought something was going wrong, I had hurried over.
“Theo?” I prompted. “Was everything okay with that conversation?”
“I think it was,” he finally said. “There was this moment where I thought I said something wrong, but things were fine at the diner. I’m probably overthinking it.”
“It could be, but we’ll still take it slow.”
He nodded, but then he looked up at my apartment. “Need time alone? I was thinking we could try what we got at the farm, but you had a big day.”
“You know you don’t count when I need alone time. Come on up, I can’t wait to eat some of the blueberries.”
The sun was low in the sky as we climbed the steps to the apartment. We huddled in the kitchen in low light. Theo washed the berries as I got out a few plates.
“Okay, your first-ever self-picked Bennie Grove Farm berry.”
“It’s not the only fruit we’ve popped together.” I wouldn’t admit it to him, but this felt intimate in the same way a lot of our moments had. My heart was so full it felt like it could burst, and I had to diffuse it with a joke.
Theo’s cheeks darkened. “Piper,” he warned.
“Oh, I like it when you growl at me.”
Theo shoved a blueberry at me, his entire face now red. I laughed and ate it, only to completely forget what I was saying as sweetness flooded my senses.
“Holy shit,” I said as I chewed. “You were not kidding.”
“Mollie knows what she’s doing.”
“These are so much better than what the store has. I could sit down to a whole bowl of these.”
“I was thinking we should bake muffins with these.”
“That sounds fun.” My mouth twisted as I thought about it. “Have you ever baked anything before?”
“Nope.” He stepped closer. “But I’d be willing to mess it up with you.”
There it was. The feeling that, for once in my life, everything was so fucking perfect. I leaned in to kiss him before I had to pull away.
“What about jams?”
“I’m willing to mess that up too.” Theo eyed the bucket we’d gotten from the farm. “But we’ll need more.”
“Might need to make plans for the future . . . If you’re okay with that.”
His hand curled in mine. “I’m okay with that.”
When we’d started this, he’d thought this would all end. Now we were laying the foundation for a future, one where we acknowledged our pasts, but we weren’t controlled by them.
And this time, my heart truly imploded. But it didn’t hurt.
It made something else come out of my mouth.
“I love you.” There was no stopping it. I could only admit a truth that was as fresh as the blueberries next to us.
Theo’s eyes went wide for a fraction of a second, then reality hit me.
“T-that’s just how I feel. I don’t expect . . . You don’t have to say it back.” My heart hammered in my chest. I didn’t want to take it back, but I wish I’d found a way to say it in a more romantic way.
“You know I’d normally try to convince you that I don’t deserve that.”
My embarrassment faded and I let out a sigh. “Don’t even start.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” he replied. “It’s no secret that I struggle with this stuff. I hide from people I care about. But you make me want to accept it. In fact, I think you taught me how.”
“You always could.”
Theo reached out slowly and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “And I want you to be the one I give it back to.” He took a breath. “And for that reason, I love you too.”
We stood in the kitchen, and the only thing I could hear beyond his words was the pounding of my heart. I’d written grandiose love confessions, ones that had people swooning.
But this was better.
This wasn’t a fire. It wasn’t showy or over the top. It was a steady warmth that washed away the chill of everything else that had happened to me.
And I wouldn’t change a thing.
I was a writer, yet I didn’t have words. All I could do was kiss him and hope he got my message. Judging by how tightly he pulled me to him, I was sure he got it.
My body was warm from what he’d said to me, and with his mouth on mine, that quickly turned to heat.
“Couch?” I murmured into his mouth.
“Don’t you want more blueberries?” he asked, his breath hot.
“I don’t care about them anymore. Fuck me instead.”
He huffed out a laugh. “One kiss is all it takes?”
“That, and the best confession I think I’ve ever heard.”
“It was basic and—”
I kissed him to shut him up. I waited until he melted into it before pulling away. “It was perfect.”
He opened his mouth, and I had a feeling I knew what he was going to ask. A rebuttal was already at the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t need it. Instead of saying anything, he only nodded and pulled me back into him.
For a while, I was content to just kiss. But as always with Theo, my body begged for more. After going from nothing for so long to this, I wasn’t sure if it would ever be enough.
I moved him backward toward the couch and he flopped onto it willingly. I ended up on top of him, hair falling on his shoulder as I continued the kiss.
Theo’s hands roamed and every touch of his sent sparks along my skin.
Would I ever get over the disbelief that this could happen?
Maybe not.
He grew bolder and slid his hands under my shirt. I let out a moan. While he gave me plenty of time to pull away, I also loved it when he took charge and did whatever he wanted. It didn’t take long for me to feel his cock hardening, and when I did, I ground down onto it.
One of his hands stilled my hips.
“Don’t make this go too fast.”
“Maybe I’m trying to make something happen. I still think about the time you came in your pants.”
His hand tightened. “Not happening this time, love.”
My skin prickled as he tugged my mouth down to his. For a while, I was pliant in his arms, letting him lead.
Finally, he started tugging off my shirt, taking my bra with it.
“Now this is a view,” he said as his eyes roamed over me. One hand raised to cup one of my breasts, and I gasped at the sensation.
Tugging at his shirt, I needed to see more of him. He let me struggle for a moment, too busy staring at me to move, but then propped up so I could rip it off.
As much as I wanted to stare at his tattoos like I did every time he was bare chested, there was no room for that.
Besides, I had plenty of time to stare. There was no end date to this. It was just us.
I couldn’t be held back any longer. I climbed off him to go for his belt. This time, I didn’t struggle, and his jeans slid off easily.
His cock strained against the confines of his underwear, and my mouth watered at the sight. I stood, hoping to readjust and get back to being on top of him.
Theo sat up, aiming for my leggings.
“I believe in equality,” he said before tugging them down.
“Oh, really? Then why is my underwear coming off too?”
“Happy accident.”
I rolled my eyes and evened the playing field, getting him as naked as I was. When I hooked one leg over him, I felt him at my core, which already needed him.
“Slow, love.” His voice was a soft reminder.
“I can do what I want up here.”
“I want to enjoy you,” he replied, sliding a hand up my thigh. “Just kiss me for a moment.”
There was no way I could say no to his soft voice. Leaning down, I did what he asked, letting my lips slide over his. In my books, I always organized my scenes as spicy and romantic. While one could lead to another, they never overlapped.
Real life was different. I never realized how much being with someone I loved made everything blend together. Did I want to fuck Theo all the time? Yes. Did I want to talk to him all the time too? Also yes.
Slowing down meant getting to feel everything. One hand was tight on my thigh while the other cupped my cheek. It was so nice to simply be close to him, even as I felt empty without him.
Pausing made me only want it more, and when he shifted upward, giving me a taste of that perfect friction I needed, a whine escaped me.
Theo sucked in a sharp breath. “You’re so wet. Way more than you were before. There’s a benefit to slowing down, love.”
I stopped for a moment to consider everything I was feeling. Before, I didn’t think it was possible to feel more into this, but now my body was practically pulsing for him.
“All right, you have me there.”
Theo hummed and shifted his hips once more. Instead of the friction being rougher, this time it was smooth against my core. I shamelessly ground my hips, chasing each bolt of heat that coursed through me. My breath picked up as I got what I needed.
Theo was patient just like he always was, but he dragged me down and brought my nipple into his mouth. I let out a cry, feeling more of that heat that I craved.
He was so good at this. So good at it and mine.
“I’m . . . I’m—” I couldn’t speak. I was too lost in the pleasure.
“I know, love. Take what you need. Use me.”