“Just tell him. It’s annoying watching you two dance around one another.”
My hands found my hips. “Well, it's annoying to watch you dance around Madeline.”
His eyes flared to mine, and I knew I’d hit a chord. I pushed past him and the truth that he so clearly stated and climbed the stairs, huffing.
Ollie and Christian had banned everyone from coming upstairs. But I was hoping I was an exception.
Once I reached the top stair, I found the door at the end of the hall—Ollie and Christian’s parents' room. I shifted my gaze to the wall beside it, the wall that Ollie had pressed me against when he kissed me last week.
A hot wave fanned over my body, but I quickly grew cold, wondering if Ollie would bring Clem up here later. In the past, I’d brush it off. Ollie being with another girl wasn’t unusual. But now, it felt like my heart was going to break in half at the thought.
My hand wrapped around the doorknob to his room. I’d never been inside Ollie’s room before. I only knew it was his from the night Hayley and I stayed here a few months back.
But I needed a moment to breathe. I needed a dark, quiet room to gather myself in, and since Ollie seemed to be the only thing that could calm me these days, his room was going to have to do the trick.
There was no way I was going back down to that party to drag him away in a jealous rage.
That wasn’t me, even if my heart was begging me to do just that.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ollie
My eyes followed her tight jeans all the way up the steps. One step, two steps, three. She paused at the landing for a moment, contemplating something as she pushed her hair behind her shoulder.
A group of people surrounded me, listening to Taylor tell his side of the story about the championship football game we’d won a couple of months ago.
Once Piper was out of sight, I looked to Hayley and Christian who were lounging on the couch together. Hayley gave me a look, as if she were asking me why I wasn’t following her best friend upstairs. Christian acted like his usual self, nonchalant and like he didn’t give a fuck, but I saw the slight flick of his chin toward the stairs.
The beat of the music lessened as I pushed past the group of people and made my way up the stairs. There were a shit-ton of people here. Majority of the upperclassmen. I knew we were making a good chunk of change from charging people to come in. It felt sneaky and dirty, but for some reason, everyone all but dropped to their knees for an invite to the Powell house. I wasn’t sure if it was because they thought this after-party was going to be wild since we’d charged money and hyped it up, or if it was because they just truly wanted to see our house. Maybe they just wanted a peek into our lives. Christian and I were both pretty private, but our lives weren’t that interesting. Unless, of course, you were into daddy issues.
My limbs felt stiff as I continued to jog up the stairs. On the drive home from the
races, I’d told myself to have fun tonight. I didn’t want the stress of the races or Tank’s bullshit lingering over my back. I didn’t even want to be bothered with my unresolved feelings for Piper, but here I was, chasing after her.
Once I got upstairs, my gaze shifted to each door that lined the hallway. I had no idea where she was, but my best bet was the guest room.
Although…
I smirked when I opened my bedroom door. I knew it.
There she was.
Piper flew up off my bed, her hair blowing behind her face. Her green eyes were wide with surprise. She shouted at me, clearly embarrassed. “What are you doing in here?”
The door latched behind me. The orange glow of the lamp on my desk brought out all the shadows along her face that I couldn’t help but look at.
“Better question is, what are you doing in here?” I walked a little farther into my bedroom and sat down on the chair by my desk. I spun around and leaned back, crossing my arms over my black T-shirt. “We said no one was allowed upstairs.”
Piper’s gaze dropped to the floor. Her feet were dangling off the edge, and she looked so damn cute and innocent. The only thing that would make this better was if her pants were off and she was wearing my T-shirt.
I stared at her mouth when she looked up again.
“I just needed a second to collect myself. It’s been a long…day.”
I scoffed. “It’s been a long few weeks.”
A puff of air left her as she flopped back onto my bed with a whoosh. For the first time ever, I was actually glad to be away from a party. I didn’t care that there was a keg downstairs. I didn’t care that Clementine and Casey both whispered dirty nothings in my ear. I didn’t care that my friends were playing a game of pong in the kitchen. What I cared about was lying on my bed, and the only person I wanted beside me was her.