"It's okay to rely on people."
Her blue eyes find mine.
"Not if it means I have to pretend it's okay they abandoned me." She blinks back a tear. Then another. "The only job that will pay enough for rent and tuition involves a pole and platform heels."
"Over my dead body."
"You can't stop me from stripping."
I push off the couch and close the distance between us. "Yes, I can."
"You shouldn't."
"Too bad." I move closer. "This will blow over with Mal."
"But that won't change him putting our parents' wishes first. As long as I live in their house and take their money for school, I have to cow to their bullshit. It's not that I can't pretend to be happy for them for a few hours. I can. But..."
"You shouldn't have to."
She nods. "I hate this."
I slide my arms around her and pull her into my lap.
She purrs as I run my hands through her hair.
Still, she keeps her voice even. "In the grand scheme of things, I have a sweet deal. As long as I ignore my feelings enough to deal with my parents a few days a year, I get to skip student loans. I get to live three blocks from the beach rent free." She slides her hands under my leather jacket. She drags her fingers up my chest, over my shirt. "I should be grateful."
"Money doesn't make parental apathy hurt any less."
She nods. "It's still a great deal. I'm being immature. Short-sighted. Selfish."
"You're not."
"Everyone treats me like a child. Maybe they're right."
"Piper." I cup her cheek. "They're not."
"But you..." She looks up at me. Her blue eyes fill with this mix of affection and confusion. "You don't think I'm immature?"
"Stubborn, yeah. Innocent, definitely. But not immature."
"I'm not innocent."
I shake my head.
"Maybe a little." She drags her fingers up my chest until they're on my bare skin.
"A lot."
"Do you like that?"
Yes. I nod.
"I think about you..." She undoes my top button. "I think about you teaching me when I touch myself." Her voice gets low, breathy. "Almost every night."
Fuck. I want to see that. Hear it. I'm getting hard just thinking about it.
"Do you?" she asks. "Do you think about me when you touch yourself?"