13. Mack
MACK
“And then I talked to Layla about bein’ on-site for the adoption day. She does such amazing work and it’s incredible that she’s going to donate her time like that,” Piper says, referring to Layla’s offer to do pet portraits for the dogs adopted at the event.
“I think that’ll be a big hit with everyone.”
“I’m trying not to be nervous. We’ve run smaller events, but I’m hoping that because it’s National Dog Day, people will be more willing to come check it out. We’ve already had a ton of applications submitted for preapproval that I still have to sort through.”
“Can I help?” I ask, pulling her legs into my lap and kneading my thumb into her calf. She groans, resting her head on the side of the couch with a sigh.
“I’m savin’ your muscle for the day of.”
“You just wanna boss me around, don’t you?” I taunt and she grins.
“A little.”
“Well, feel free to boss me around anytime, and maybe throw in a good boy because I’m a sucker for being rewarded on a job well done.” I wink and she blushes, her cheeks turning a deep shade of pink as she tries to pull her foot away.
But that just makes me hold tighter until she relaxes again with a huff.
“You’re doin’ it on purpose.”
“Doin’ what?” I murmur, sliding my palm slowly from her calf to the apex of her thighs.
“Teasing me,” she rasps, her eyes locked on the way my thumb is rubbing slow circles on her bare leg, dipping under the cotton of her shorts.
“Are you sure? Cuz I’m more than willing to give you anything you want, Honey Girl. All you gotta do is ask for it.”
“You make it sound like it’s no big deal.” I think she’s trying to sound flippant but doesn’t quite pull it off. When I don’t take my eyes from her, she adds, “I’m just sayin’ it’s not that easy.”
“Then we’ll practice until you’re comfortable with it.”
“Mack, I—” She gasps as I move my hand higher, my fingertips brushing up and down her slit.
“Do you like this?” I ask, circling her clit, increasing the pressure as she wriggles in her seat.
“Yes.”
“What about this?” Dipping under her panties, I continue my ministrations, watching her lips part and her pupils dilate.
“Y-yes.”
“See? Real easy, isn’t it?”
“Mack.”
“I think you missed me today.”
“Why would you think that? Ah, oh my, yes.”
She glares as I chuckle. “What? This is easily the best part of my day. I’ve barely touched you and you’re so close to coming, I can feel it.”
Piper whimpers, her head lolling back against the arm of the couch, the scoop of her tank top giving me an eyeful of cleavage I plan on burying my face in later. I don’t think I’ll ever get over being able to admire her like this.
And I sure as hell plan on making up for lost time.
Every single whimper and moan belong to me. The way she bucks her hips searching for more, meeting every thrust whether it be my hand or my cock. She’s fucking magnificent, and now I just need her to see how good we are together.
How good we could be.
“Mack.”
Piper comes on the sweetest sigh, like she’s been waiting all day for this moment, waiting for me.
“That may be my new favorite sound.”
“Your name?” she asks wryly.
“The way you say it when you come.”
“Well, you earned it,”—her eyelids flutter shut as a smile plays on her lips—“and I bet you’ll earn the next one too.”
Ma’am, yes, ma’am.
On Wednesday morning, I pull my truck into the driveway of my childhood home, nostalgia hitting me like it does every time I do this.
For as long as I can remember, the middle of the week has always been reserved for family breakfast. Pop said that it gave him a break when things were hard, and a way to celebrate when everything was going well.
My sister and I lived for it growing up, knowing that Pop was gonna join us before school and Mama would go all out—even let Rory and me pick flowers from the garden for the table.
It’s a tradition I can definitely get behind, the thought of Mama’s sausage gravy already making my mouth water. Rory is usually here but with her bein’ sick, I know I won’t have to lie and pretend that I didn’t leave Piper naked in her bed to be here.
But more than that, I’m looking forward to the day Piper comes with me—not as my sister’s best friend but as my girlfriend.
Stepping down from the truck, I take in the house and smile. The brick is newly painted a sage green, and the porch has a new coat of white. Pop had hemmed and hawed but Mama won out like we knew she would because there’s nothing that man won’t do to make her happy.
Sometimes it just takes a while.
Pulling open the screen door, I step inside the light-blue kitchen, this room seemingly untouched since I was a kid and my favorite room in the house. Bacon sizzles on the stove as I kiss my mother on the cheek before grabbing a cup and filling it with coffee.
“Were you with a girl last night?” Mama asks, staring at me as I stand frozen with my cup halfway to my mouth.
“What?”
“You’re smilin’ and that usually means you spent the night elsewhere.
” She pauses like I’m not on the verge of heart palpitations before I’ve had adequate caffeine.
“Although, there’s something different about that smile.
” She points the spatula at me as my father walks into the room, not bothering to hide his amusement.
“Leave the boy alone, Vera.”
“I will not.” She harumphs, turning the spatula on him. “I just need him to confirm what I already know.”
My fist beats against my chest as I try to clear the sip of coffee that I managed to choke on while wishing the floor would swallow me up. She smiles sweetly at me, and it takes everything in me not to look at my father because that will be a dead giveaway.
But how could she possibly know?
“What do you think you know?”
“That you’re seein’ Piper.”
It’s been a handful of days and I’m already tired of trying—and failing—to keep this under wraps.
“Mama,” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose while I try to find a way to salvage this morning without pissing off my girl.
Because this is not the way I lose her.
“I knew it,” she gloats, the declaration filled with conviction and a smug satisfaction that only a mother can pull off at being right.
I should have stayed in bed.
With Piper.
Who I’ll now have to break the news to that both my parents know about us, while also begging them not to tell Rory.
Dammit.
“Listen to me, Mama, please.” Her expression falls a little as I rub the back of my neck with my palm and let sincerity bleed into my gaze.
“Piper asked that we keep it between us. I’m tryin’ to gain her trust and show her that while admittedly I was a little wild,”—my mother rolls her eyes—“I just want her. So please, don’t say anything.
Not to Piper or your friends or anyone in town and especially not to Rory. ”
“Why not?”
“Because Rory—in this case, best friend—trumps brother, and Rory thinks I’m going to hurt Piper because I can’t settle down.”
“But you’ve loved that girl since she moved here,” she says in disbelief, one hand falling to her hip as she stares between me and my father. “Did you know about this?”
“Learnin’ right along with you this mornin’.”
I can tell she doesn’t believe him as he keeps his eyes trained on the newspaper in front of him, but she also doesn’t call him out. Maybe he won’t be banished to the couch after all.
“Mama, just give me some time, all right? Piper isn’t just learning to trust me, she’s tryin’ to trust herself too. It’s a lot of pressure already, and I just want her to feel safe with me as we work through it.”
Mama sniffs and dabs at the corner of her eye. “You’re such a good boy.”
“Promise you won’t tell Rory.”
“I swear on this morning’s sausage breakfast.”
“Thank you.”
“But I was thinking maybe…”
Because nothing is ever that easy…