Chapter Seventeen
Then
“Afterparty at my place,” Ethan announced as they piled back into the limo after prom, buzzing with excitement. “My dad said
we could hang out in the basement, and I think some guys on the soccer team are bringing beer.”
“Some guys” meant Ethan’s latest crush, Matt, who’d been by Ethan’s side all night. Sure enough, Penny, Ethan’s official date,
was already snuggled up to one of Ethan’s soccer teammates in the back of the limo. Ethan lived a few blocks from Allie in
a sprawling ranch with a basement and a pool. His infamous parties usually ended with everyone in the water.
“We’re in!” Allie said from her date’s lap. “What about you, Piper?”
Piper shook her head. “My parents will never go for it. Y’all drop me off at Allie’s, and I’ll walk back home.”
Taking the path through the woods from Allie’s house to hers was easier than making everyone loop back around to drop her
at her front door. Plus, she needed a moment to clear her head before going home.
Allie stuck out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”
“It’s not worth getting into an argument with them over.” To be honest, Piper didn’t want to ruin her perfect prom memories
with a loud basement full of drunk boys.
“You’re too responsible, P,” Ethan complained.
“Someone has to be!”
She caught Wyatt watching her with a knowing smirk. Her heart skipped from remembering the warmth of his hand on her lower
back as he guided her on the dance floor and the tickle of his hair against her face.
Ethan said something to the driver, and the limo pulled in front of the McLaughlins’ house a few minutes later.
“Wyatt, keep an eye on these two tonight,” Piper instructed.
Wyatt slid toward the front of the limo. “Actually, I’m getting out here, too.”
Allie and Ethan barely reacted to the typical Wyatt refusal to socialize, but Piper’s heart took off like a jackhammer as
he climbed out, offered his hand, and helped her down.
The night pulsed with untethered energy as the limo pulled away. Dancing with Wyatt in a room full of sticky teenagers was
one thing. Enclosed in the dark of night, alone, was quite another. Piper couldn’t stop the tremble that crescendoed up her
ribs despite the balmy eighty degrees. Like he’d practiced the move before, Wyatt removed his jacket and draped it around
her shoulders. How could he remain so calm while she might as well be strapped to a gyroscope, flipping and spinning through
the air?
She’d been alone with Wyatt one thousand times before. But never like this. The night belonged to them alone, the street filled
with only the whisper of wind in the trees.
Wyatt tilted his head in the direction of her house. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
Was that a quaver in his voice?
She followed him through the woods, past the clubhouse. From here, the faint light of her kitchen window beamed like a neon
sign. A few feet farther and her parents, if they were in the kitchen, would be able to see them.
Piper skidded to a stop. “This is fine. I don’t want to give my parents a reason to lecture me if they see us walking up together.”
“Okay.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, but a flash of something, disappointment maybe, flitted across his face.
She hoped he didn’t take that personally, but she didn’t want her parents stopping something from happening between her and
Wyatt before it even began.
“Thanks for being my stand-in date. I mean, not that it was a date date.” Piper tripped over her words. “But you know, thanks for coming with us all and dancing with me.”
“I had a great time. Mostly thanks to my awesome date .” He smiled shyly. “We should do this again sometime.”
Piper furrowed her brow. “Go to prom again?”
“Ha, yeah, no, you’re right. I guess this was a one-time thing.” Wyatt adjusted his shirt.
She slipped his jacket off her shoulders, but he stopped her.
“No, keep it. I mean, you can’t keep it; it’s Ethan’s dad’s. But I can get it from you tomorrow.”
She put the jacket back on. Why was this conversation so awkward, like they’d both forgotten the English language?
“Okay, thank you. And thanks for walking me home.”
“No problem. Have a good night.” Wyatt looked like he wanted to say something else but stopped himself.
“Night.” Piper waved back as she walked toward her house, kicking herself for being so lame. She was halfway across her lawn
when he called her name.
“Piper, wait!”
When she turned toward him, his face was inches away from her. She breathed in sharply.
“I just...” Then his lips were on hers.
She kissed him back fiercely, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body as close as possible to his.
He was warm, his lips were soft, and she was sinking.
His hands were everywhere, on her cheek, hair, and the small of her back, holding her against him. It wasn’t her first kiss—that honor had gone to Bobby Bensen, her seventh-grade boyfriend of three weeks—but it was by far her favorite. By the time he pulled back, they were both out of breath.
“I just wanted to kiss you.” He finished his sentence with a deep inhale, his forehead pressed against hers.
Her smile stretched so wide she was sure she looked like a clown, but she didn’t care. “I’m glad you did. I’ve been thinking
about kissing you since that slow song.” And since you almost kissed me in the closet last summer.
“A little longer for me,” Wyatt admitted with a shy smile.
Emboldened by his answer, Piper tipped her face up to his. “Then we should do that again.”
But he didn’t need a second invitation—his lips were already closing over hers.