Chapter 16
sixteen
. . .
beau
Did last night really happen? It all feels like a fever dream.
Piper lying next to me and cutting off the circulation in my arm proves everything was real.
She kissed me back, and told me she has feelings for me.
A part of me wonders how long she’s had them, but the bigger part of me doesn’t give a damn.
All that matters is she’s in my arms right now.
I need to go to the restroom, but I don’t want to wake up Piper. She needs the sleep. The thought she might bolt wiggles its way into my head, and I kick that idea to the curb. She would have done that last night if she was going to. At least, I think that’s what would have happened.
For once I’m cursing my blackout curtains. I know she would look ethereal in the early morning light. Maybe one day I’ll see it.
Closing my eyes, I cuddle her and do my best to drift back to sleep. Who knows how long this will last, and I want to savor it.
A shrill ring sounds around the room and I jump up. Piper pulls me back down. “Ignore it.”
“What is that?”
“My phone. It’s the ring tone set for all my siblings.” She grumbles into the pillow.
“I’ve been with you when they’ve called, and it’s never made that sound before.”
She wraps an arm around my waist and rests her head on my chest. “That’s before they did shit to piss me off.
Now I like to have a warning system for when they call.
It lets me know who’s calling before I even answer.
Most of the time I ignore it. The only person who has a different one is Paula because right now, she’s my favorite. ”
“It’s so weird you have favorites and it depends on who you’re mad at.” Another thing I’ll never relate to. Well, I guess I do in some aspect because her family treats me like I belong to them.
“If you had siblings, you’d understand.” She rolls over and I think she’s staring at the ceiling, but I can’t tell. Damn these curtains.
The room is silent now that the phone has stopped ringing, and both of us are taking everything in. I have questions, but I’m scared of the answers. It’s the only thing holding me back from asking them.
“Do we really have to get out of bed and adult today?” Piper groans before coming back to my side. This is a move in the right direction.
“Not really.” I pull her closer. “It’s Sunday and neither of us have anything we have to do…unless your brother is about to pile more work on you. As far as I’m concerned, we can stay in bed all day.”
“I don’t know about all that.” Piper laughs. “I do need to be somewhat productive.”
“What did you have in mind?” I hope it involves more of last night’s activities, but I have a feeling she’s going to burst my little happy bubble.
“I’d like to get some images and video for the social channels.” She looks up at me and the realization that we’re here right now…together, hit’s me in the chest. “If that’s okay with you. But I’ll need your help.”
Why hasn’t this woman figured out I would do literally anything for her. All she has to do is ask.
“Sure. But maybe we can start with breakfast.”
Her stomach growls as soon as the words leave my mouth. We ate an early dinner yesterday, but nothing after the ferris wheel.
“That’s probably a good idea.” She moves away and grabs the blanket she used last night to wrap around her. “Do you have anything I can wear? I don’t feel like putting yesterday’s clothes on again.”
“Sweatpants are in the bottom drawer, and I think I have some t-shirts in the top drawer.” It’s not like she can see anything, though. I slide out of bed and pull on the jeans I discarded last night before turning on the light.
This is the view I wanted as soon as I woke up. Piper’s hair disheveled and her wrapped up in me. Too bad right now she’s all the way across the room.
“I’ll be out to help you in a few minutes.” She opens the drawer looking through my shirts. I have no idea what’s in there. Most of them I throw on to do yard work without a second thought.
“Take your time.” My eyes slide over her one more time before I head to the guest bathroom. Brushing my teeth is at the top of my priority list right now. Especially if I hope to kiss her this morning.
And I know my friend enough to know she needs time to herself in the morning. One of the side effects of having so many people in the house growing up.
Five minutes later I’m in the kitchen pulling ingredients out of the fridge.
I hope like hell I have everything I need for breakfast. Getting groceries has been low on my priority list lately and it shows.
Luckily, I find some bacon. Piper isn’t a huge fan of eggs, and I rummage through my pantry for the pancake mix I bought not too long ago when I was craving them.
Mostly, I’m trying to get most of the cooking done before Piper comes in the kitchen. As much as she wants to help, we both know she’s not great with cooking. It’s the main reason I bring her food whenever I can. Otherwise, I don’t know if she’s eating anything other than frozen dinners.
I grab a skillet from the cabinet and put it on the stove to preheat while I get a bowl down to mix the pancake batter. By the time I hear her footsteps coming into the kitchen, the bacon is sizzling and I’m almost ready to pour the batter.
“What can I help with?”
“I’ve got it, just sit at the table,” I call out over my shoulder not wanting to spill anything.
When I turn around, she’s standing behind me.
My sweatpants are baggy on her and she’s wearing a shirt I’ve had since high school.
It was to support one of the playoff games and it hangs loose on her.
Not going to lie, seeing her in my clothes does something to me.
It’s not the first time she’s worn something of mine, but after yesterday, it means something different.
She’s mine, or at least I hope she is. We still need to have that conversation. But for now, I’ll enjoy the view of her being in my clothes.
“Why are you staring at me?” She messes with her hair and turns to the microwave to check her reflection. “Do I have something on my face?”
Of course, she would feel self-conscious when I’m looking at her. Though maybe she really thinks she has something on her face.
“No.” I shake my head and walk toward her. My arms wrap around her waist, pulling her to me. “You look fucking perfect.”
She laughs and smacks my arm. “I look like I just rolled out of bed, which I did.”
“True, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t perfect.”
“Please, don’t act like you haven’t seen me like this before.”
“I have.” I bend down, placing a kiss on her forehead. “But.” A kiss to the tip of her nose. “Now.” Another to her cheek. “I can do this.”
I capture her lips with mine and she doesn’t hesitate parting her lips to deepen the kiss. Her fingers dig into my back as I lift her up and set her on the counter. Her legs wrap around me, pulling me closer to her. There’s no way in hell she can’t feel my erection against her.
She tries to pull away, but my hands gripping her waist don’t let her move back. A bite to my bottom lip has me pulling up short, unsure if that’s something I like or not. The look on her face has me dropping the line of thought. Her nose is scrunched up.
“What’s wrong?”
She points toward the stove. “You’re burning the food.”
“Oh shit.” I release my hold on her and slip from between her legs, rushing to turn off the burners.
Laughter is all I can hear as I try to scrape the now burnt food onto a plate. “I guess now you can’t give me shit about not being able to cook.”
“That’s not fair.” I set the skillet in the sink and run a hand though my hair. “I was distracted.”
“Oh no.” She waves her hand in front of her. “I’m not taking the blame for this. That is all you. You decided to kiss me. I only responded.”
“As if I could resist that,” I mutter.
She must have heard me because she snorts. “Get dressed. We’ll run through a drive through and we can go to my house.”
“You’re awfully bossy this morning.” I stare at the skillet hoping I didn’t ruin it. I don’t think I did. Even if it is, it was worth it. I would ruin every dish I own if it meant having her in my arms.
“Not really. I’m just on the verge of hangry and we both know we don’t want that to happen.”
She’s not wrong. The meanness that comes out of her when she’s hungry isn’t something anyone should experience.
“Okay,” I sigh. Looks like this mess will have to wait until later to get cleaned up. “Give me five minutes.”
“You have two.”
There’s no use arguing with her. Knowing her, she’s timing me and she’ll take my car whether or not I’m ready. She’s done it in the past when we would go to parties and I didn’t get to the car fast enough.
I rush to my room, change jeans and throw on a plain black t-shirt before slipping on my shoes. It’s a good thing I took care of my teeth and hair earlier. The failed breakfast attempt is cleared away, aside from the dishes, when I come back to the kitchen.
“Wow, that was record time.” Piper grins as she comes toward me and pats me on the cheek. She knows I hate it, but she doesn’t mean anything by it. “Let’s get some food in our bellies.”
Reaching for my hand, she interlocks our fingers and pulls me toward the front door. I have just enough frame of mind to grab my keys from the counter. One day she’ll realize she doesn’t have to coerce me into doing what she wants. All she has to do is ask.
Why is Piper’s house always so damn cold? I grab one of the hoodies I left out of her closet and throw it over my head. These things should not be worn in the middle of August, but here we are.
She’s in the living room waiting for me to sit down so we can eat. “Finally,” she sighs as I take the spot next to her.
Most people would think we’re weird because we have specific places we sit on the couch.
She has her cushion and I have mine. Her siblings always say we act like a married couple.
Kind of hard not to after a decade long friendship.
Though this morning, both of us are much closer to each other than normal.
There’s no hesitation as she digs into her breakfast. She wasn’t lying when she said she was on the verge of hangry. How many other people would make sure she gets food when she needs it? Nobody is the answer…except me. I doubt Rob would.
I should wait until we’re done eating to ask, but if I don’t ask now, I never will. “Sooo, where do we go from here?”
She swallows the bite she took and turns her head toward me. “What do you mean?”
Of course, she’s playing like she doesn’t know exactly what I’m asking.
“Us? Are we staying friends? Or, are we going to give dating a real shot?”
Her fork hits her plate with a clatter. Oh shit. I fucked up. Leaning back, she crosses her arms over her chest. All it does is make me notice she still hasn’t changed out of my clothes, and that eases my mind…slightly.
“After last night, and the burnt food this morning, I’m surprised you even have to ask.”
My shoulders loosen and I breathe a sigh of relief. “I just wanted to make sure because yesterday you were talking about a possible date with that guy. I don’t want to pressure you into anything.”
“When have I ever let anyone affect what I do?” She has a point. “Besides Rob doesn’t hold a candle to you. I truly want to see if we can make a relationship work. If things get weird, we can always go back to our bestie dynamic.”
The surety in her voice washes away any doubt I have about how she feels toward me. Before I realize it, her lips are on mine, much like that night at my house. Only this time I can taste the sweet maple from the syrup on her pancakes. All thoughts of breakfast are gone. There’s only me and her.