So, that was what I did.
Piper tensed as I dipped down on the other side and lay the same way she was, both of our backs flat against the mattress, staring at the white ceiling painted with our silhouettes. Our hands were millimeters away from touching, and it was daunting. I actually had to fight the temptation of interlacing our fingers.
“We’ve come a long way,” I whispered, still staring at the ceiling. I felt the shift of Piper’s head, and I knew she was looking at me. I swallowed. Being this close to her sparked something inside of me. Anticipation and exhilaration. She was such a tease, but innocently so.
“We really have.” Her soft breath floated across the bed and hit the side of my face.
My chest heaved. The dip in my core did not go unnoticed.
Silence passed between us, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was thinking the same thing I was. The air was crackling; I could feel the zing of electricity through our hushed words. I loved these quiet, small moments with her—the two of us shut away from everything and everyone.
The soft sound of her moving her head back to look at the ceiling caused me to look out of the corner of my eye. I was mesmerized by the slow rise and fall of her chest.
“Have you decided what you’re going to say to your dad? Or when?”
I clenched my eyes tight and felt myself slipping into that territory I didn’t like to get into. “I don’t want to talk about that. Not right now.”
Another hushed moment passed, the low thump of music our only melody. I slowly shifted so I could see her again. I traced over her delicate profile as she continued looking straight. The high cheek bones, the long eyelashes, her dainty nose. The curve of her lips that I wanted to run my tongue over.
I moved back to my rightful position, taking my eyes off her. “Have you decided what you’re going to do once Tank is paid off? Where that’ll leave you and your brother?”
Piper sucked in a sharp breath. The slow rhythm of her breathing sped up. I wanted to rest my hand over her chest to let her know I was here, but when I felt her move, I turned, and our gazes locked. “I also don’t want to talk about it. Not right now.”
“We’re quite the pair, you and I.” I grinned and took pride in the fact that she was fighting her own smile. “Shoving away our problems. Hiding out upstairs during a party.”
“This isn’t the first time we’ve done this.” She said it so softly I almost didn’t hear, but her whispers were like a beckoning call to me. I clung to them hard.
The memory drifted back, and I had glimpses of that night again. The dark room, her soft curves, the slow in and out movement, the sloppy lustful kisses that I would never forget.
Groaning, I sat up in bed, pushing away the memory. I shifted some, putting much needed space between us as I rested along the headboard.
I wanted nothing more than to relive that night.
But this moment right here was nothing like the past. We had been able to let our boundaries down that night because there was nothing on the table but hidden secrets in a dark room. We weren’t invested. We didn’t care about each other. Feelings weren’t involved.
But now, they were. I could feel it, and she could feel it. There was something between us. Leaning over and kissing her had the potential to blow up in our faces. There was a frightening connection between the two of us, and it’d only grow stronger if we crossed into that territory.
“Do you remember that night?” she asked quietly.
My jaw clenched as I pushed my back further into the headboard. Stupid question, Piper. Of course I remember that night.
She whispered under her breath, “I told you something that night.”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye again, too afraid that if I saw her longing eyes, I’d throw caution to the wind and take her right there, not caring about the consequences. I cleared my throat. “I remember. You told me you did something bad, and you came upstairs to escape the party. For a moment of silence.” There was nothing about that night that I could forget.
Piper shifted a little closer to me, and I held my breath. Our jeans rubbed together, denim scratching against denim. “And you told me you had just found out that your dad wasn’t really your dad.”
I huffed. “Just two teenaged strangers telling secrets in a dark room at a banger.” All of my nerves were at a standstill. A year of rising tensions rested between Piper and me, and I was certain we were seconds from exploding. The entire house was going to go up in flames if I didn’t get out of this room as soon as possible. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave with her looking at me the way she was. Her pupils were dilated, and the apples of her cheeks were tinted. Her soft lips did nothing to deter me from staying in my room with her.
“Did you know it was me that night? When we had sex? Did you know?” I asked, curious.
Piper nodded, and my eyes went back to her mouth. I watched the words fall out. “I did. And then I recognized you the first day I started at English Prep.”
Something felt heavy inside my chest. “And you still never told anyone about my dad?”
Her head shook back and forth.
“Not even when I pretended like I didn’t know you?”