Beautifully Broken

After not nearly enough time, she breaks the kiss, trailing her lips across my cheek for one last peck. I grunt—What the fuck? I grunted?—and clear my throat to cover the sound. Piper rests her forehead on my shoulder. “We should probably go to bed.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

She slides off my lap and climbs under the covers. I sit there a minute, weighing my options. If I stay, we’ll cuddle. My hand will definitely end up on her boobs and hers might find its way beneath my pants. Shit could get fun after that. But I don’t want to rush things. Then again tomorrow’s a new day. It’s not like we’d go from kissing to hand jobs in the same make out session.

Stop being a dick.

I lay down, over the covers, and drape my arm over Piper’s waist. She grabs my hand and scoots back, pressing her ass against my dick again. “Why is there a blanket between us?”

“Because I’m not staying.”

Piper turns in my arms and juts out her bottom lip. I lean in and give it a kiss, a chaste kiss that’s more restrained than what I’m sporting in my pants. I’d love to suck that lip in my mouth and nibble on it. “I wish you would.”

“Next time. We’ll have all the nights you want together.”

Piper nods, her cheeks flushing pink, and presses a soft kiss to my lips again. “Night, boyfriend.”

“Good night, girlfriend.”

The alarm on my phone sings at six. I lay in my bed for another fifteen minutes before forcing myself out of it. After a quick shower and shave, I get dressed and head down to the kitchen. I pull the carton of eggs and a pack of bacon out of the fridge then head to the pantry for some toast and grits. I scramble, fry, toast, and stir. When everything’s done, I arrange it all on the kitchen island.

Skipping across the patio, I stop at her door. My heart thrums in my chest. I feel my pulse everywhere, eyes included. I’ve never cooked a girl breakfast. Never tried this hard to be a gentleman. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. On the exhale, I knock.

Nothing.

I knock again.

Still no answer.

I crack the door open and peek in. Piper’s out cold. Her dark hair’s splayed across the pillows. She’s still got on the shirt she wore yesterday. She must have slept in it, which means she probably doesn’t have anything clean to wear today. That shoulder bag of hers can only hold so much.

I dash upstairs to my mother’s closet again. She’s got more clothes than a department store, but most of it isn’t anything Piper would wear. Too bright. Too short. Too flashy. I was shocked when Piper chose the white one-piece swimsuit and the Lilly Pulitzer dress. Opening and closing drawers, I find a pair of jeans and a black tank top that should fit. It’s the closest thing to Piper’s style my mom has. I pause at the drawer of my mother’s intimates. Do I grab her underwear? Is that weird? Everything still has the tags but decide against it. Piper can go commando, which would be totally hot, or figure that business out herself.

I stop at mother’s vanity and put her hair dryer and a brush on top of the stack of clothes. I don’t feel bad taking anything. It’s not like she’ll ever know they’re missing. That would require her to come home. Since dad’s on tour overseas this year, I don’t see that happening again anytime soon.

Back at Piper’s door again, I knock. Still no answer. I pad across the cold tile and set her things on the desk. I sit on the edge of the bed and put my hand on Piper’s back, rubbing small circles, like Gretchen used to do for me. “Good morning, Beautiful.”

Piper groans then sucks in a breath, her whole body tensing, opens her eyes then relaxes. She rolls onto her back and looks up at me. “Hey.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she says her voice raspy from sleep. “I forgot where I was for a second.” She grows quiet for a minute. “About last night....”

I hold my hand up, silencing her. “Don’t worry about it.”

22

Piper

Rex leans on the marble countertop of the island in the kitchen, a cup of coffee pressed to his lips. He takes a sip then holds the mug out to me. I shake my head and grab a bottle of water from the fridge instead. My body’s burning up just from looking at him, I need to cool it down, not make it hotter. “Breakfast smells great.”

Rex sets his cup down and rounds the island. Static bounces between our bodies. Pulling us closer together. “I like how you’ve made yourself at home here.”

I turn my back to him and lean against the counter. My skin’s humming, desperate to feel his hands on me, but my mind’s telling me to slow down. At this point, I’m not sure which one will win. Rex brushes my hair to one side, exposing my neck, dusting it with featherlight kisses. “You look good in my shirt.”

A moan escapes me because apparently being someone’s girlfriend makes my body create sounds it’s never made before. I close my eyes, letting the pleasure flow through me. “It was in the…”Fuck that feels good. “Um, room. I liked it better than your mom’s shirt.” Tingles spread through my body, down to my core, creating the same need I felt last night. A need I don’t know how to control. “Umm...I didn’t think you’d mind.”

Rex trails his lips across my cheek to my ear. “I definitely don’t mind.”