“We fell asleep,” Piper explained. “It’s almost morning. You should go.”
“I don’t want to,” I complained, reaching out to her. She stepped backward and folded her arms across her chest.
“Seriously,” she said. “Come on. No one can know you’re here. You need to leave before anyone wakes up.”
“Okay, okay,” I said, raising my hands. I stood up slowly and got dressed even slower. I could tell Piper was annoyed with my pace, but I couldn’t move any faster. My legs still felt like jelly.
“Piper,” I began, but she cut me off with a look.
“Now isn’t the time to talk about it,” she said sharply.
“Talk about what?” I asked.
“What just happened,” she said.
“I didn’t know there was anything to talk about,” I said truthfully. “I’m just really glad it happened. I thought you were, too.”
Piper looked at me and her expression softened. She walked over to me and kissed me lightly.
“Of course, I’m happy,” she said with a smile. “How could you ever doubt that?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe because you’re kicking me out like a bad one night stand.”
“I’m not…” she began, clearly frustrated. “I’m not kicking you out. I just don’t want to have to explain things to my parents. You can unders
tand that, can’t you?”
“I can,” I said with a nod “But that doesn’t mean I want to leave you.”
“And I don’t want you to,” she said. “Trust me, I wish we could stay in here forever. That would be amazing. To just hide out here with you all day.”
“Let’s do it,” I said with a grin. I pulled her to me and kissed her cheek playfully. “I’m serious.”
“What?” she laughed.
“Let’s do it. Let’s lock the door and just hide out. No one will ever know we’re here. You can call your parents and tell them you’re out for the day. They’ll think you’re wandering around town or something. They’ll be none the wiser.”
“You know that won’t work,” Piper argued.
“Then, what about my place?” I begged. “Come on, let’s just sneak out of here and go to my place. There’s no one there to interrogate us. It would be blissful alone time. For hours. All day. And all night.”
Piper groaned and buried her face in my chest. I stroked her hair gently and waited for her answer. I knew she wouldn’t agree to it, but I couldn’t help but hope.
“I can’t,” she finally said. She pulled away and looked at me sadly. “I have to be here today. My family hasn’t seen me in a long time and…”
“Neither have I,” I pointed out.
“Don’t do that,” she warned. “I can’t. You know I can’t.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ll drop it.”
“Thank you,” she smiled.
“But what about tonight?” I asked quickly.
“Yes?” she raised her eyebrows.
“Can we go out again?” I asked.