Chapter Nineteen
Then
Allie came over the day after prom bursting with gossip. She threw herself across Piper’s bed. “I can’t believe prom’s over!
I missed you at the afterparty. Did you and Wyatt hang out after we dropped you off?”
Piper’s breath caught in her throat at the mention of Wyatt. “What? No! He just walked me home. Why?” The moment last night
between her and Wyatt felt as fragile as a chrysalis, not yet ready to be passed around and inspected.
Allie cocked her head to the side and pointed. “His jacket’s here.”
Crap, she’d forgotten about that. “I was cold, and he let me borrow it for the walk home.” She hoped she sounded casual. “Tell
me more about the party. Did Parker kiss you?”
As she’d expected, Allie jumped at the chance to talk about her night with Parker and take the attention off Piper—and Wyatt.
On her way out, Allie picked up the jacket and slung it over her shoulder. “I promised Ethan I’d help him clean up. I’ll bring
this to him.”
Dang it. Returning the jacket would have been a perfect excuse to see Wyatt again soon, but she couldn’t argue with Allie’s
logic, so she thanked her and said goodbye.
When Wyatt hadn’t called or texted an hour later, Piper started second-guessing everything. Maybe last night had meant nothing to him. Maybe back in Mason, he made out with girls all the time, and this was no big deal. Based on the female attention he got last night, it seemed like a safe assumption.
She could call him. Like she did all the time. All the time, until they’d kissed and changed everything.
Before she could drive herself crazy, she picked up her phone and texted, “ Walk? ” then buried the phone under her pillow.
After an excruciatingly long minute, her phone double-buzzed back.
“ Meet you outside in 5 .”
Her body sagged with relief, then switched into full panic mode. Rushing to the mirror, she analyzed her reflection. Gone
was the girl with perfect hair dressed in a ball gown, but her cheeks were still rosy from a morning shower, and her eyes
glowed unnaturally bright. She was about to discover whether the spark between them was simply a result of the magic of prom
and a flawlessly fitting dress.
“I’m going out for a walk!” she called to her mom on her way out the door but didn’t wait for a response.
Piper’s heart was in her throat. Why was she so nervous? This was a simple walk with Wyatt. Her friend. The friend who’d kissed
her last night and who she maybe had a teeny tiny, possibly major, crush on now.
Another anxious thought popped into her head. How would she greet him? Was she supposed to kiss him hello? Piper wasn’t a
hugger by nature, but if she didn’t hug him after last night would he think she didn’t like him?
Her fears melted away as soon as she rounded the bend and saw his smile, worry replaced with a new frenetic energy that rattled
in her rib cage like a maraca. Wyatt opened his arms wide, and she slipped into his embrace as if they always greeted each
other that way. As natural as breathing.
He took her hand. “Come on, let’s walk down to the stream.”
Again, it struck Piper how easy it was to be with Wyatt—her fingers intertwined with his. And how right it felt. Like a fog had lifted, and in the clearing, it was obvious they should be together.
The shift in her feelings toward him was dizzying and electrifying—all-consuming. Was it possible he felt the same way?
“I’m glad you texted,” Wyatt told her. “I should have called, but I thought you might bring my jacket over this morning, and
I didn’t want to be annoying. Or presumptuous.”
“Allie stopped by and took it to Ethan.”
He nodded, and the furrow of his brow relaxed.
“It’s weird being back in normal clothes, isn’t it?” Piper chatted on. “It was kinda fun dressing up for a change and seeing
everyone looking so awesome. This is a far cry from my prom look, huh?”
They’d reached the small stream that bordered the Cedar Falls subdivision, and Piper took a seat on a large rock overlooking
the water. Wyatt sat beside her and cocked his head to one side as if taking in her appearance for the first time. Piper smoothed
her hair back, worrying her bottom lip.
“Don’t get me wrong, you looked amazing last night,” he said. “But I like this Piper even more. This is the Piper who helps
me with English essays, gives me advice about my mom, and takes my side when Allie’s annoying. This is my Piper.”
Her stomach flipped at his admission.
“Any chance the magic of Ethan’s dad’s suit stuck around? I’ve never had more girls want to hang out with me than last night,”
he teased, a slight hint of fear in his voice.
“I can’t speak for the other girls.” Piper cleared her throat. “But I always want to hang out with you. You don’t need a fancy
suit to get my attention.”
He smiled at her, broadly enough to show off his dimples. “Good, because I don’t own a fancy suit, but I’d very much like to take you on a date. Is that okay with you?”
“It’s more than okay with me,” she assured him. “Though it may need to be a ‘to be determined date’ until I get my parents
on board.”
“A TBDD.” Wyatt exhaled audibly, his dimple on display once again. “Hopefully soon because I want as much Piper in my life
as possible this summer.”
It all sounded too good to be true—an entire summer by Wyatt’s side. Piper bit her lip to keep her psychotically wide smile
in check. Her parents probably already had a summer schedule lined up for her that included activities to “get ahead in life”
like they usually did. They’d made it very clear they didn’t want her dating until college, and Piper rarely went against
their wishes, but she wouldn’t let anything stop her from going on her first real date with the best guy she knew.
“People usually break up before college, and we’re just getting started.” He pushed his curls off his forehead. “Clearly,
timing is not our thing.”
“I don’t know, this feels like pretty perfect timing to me.” Piper angled her face toward him. When their lips met, it was
the ultimate affirmation that the spark between them was stronger than prom night magic. Kissing Wyatt officially became her
new favorite thing to do.
“It’s hard to disagree with you when you kiss me like that,” Wyatt murmured between kisses.
“Then I’m going to have to kiss you more often.”
“No arguments here.”
The all-consuming experience of kissing Wyatt under the warm spring sky was exciting, with an undercurrent of deep familiarity,
like their love story had already been written in the stars.