Chapter 21: Wild About You: Chapter 21

I set Piper down but keep her pressed tight against me. Ash claps me on the shoulder. “Well, all right. Now this is a party. Let’s play some pong.”

“Maybe later,” I say, my voice a rough scrape as I keep my gaze locked on Piper’s lips. Goosebumps dot her arms and she’s wet and cold in my arms.

“You’re soaked.”

Declan spits out his beer and starts coughing.

“Not like that,” I mutter to him, then stare down at Piper’s wet dress. “Is it raining outside?”

“Uh, no. I had an unfortunate incident with a server as I ran out of the restaurant. She was carrying a tray of drinks. Long Island iced tea, I think.”

“You ran?”

She scrunches up her face. “Did I say ran? I meant calmly walked, obviously.”

“No shame in rushing to your man.” I smirk. “Let’s get you in some warm clothes.”

I walk her through the party, holding on to her hand—clutching on to it is more like it. I can’t believe this is finally happening.

My chill demeanor doesn’t last long. I scoop her legs out from underneath her and take off running.

Laughing, she grabs my shirt to hold on.

“This what you looked like, Pipes?”

“Much more graceful.” She giggles.

“Says the girl who is covered in liquor.” I set her down at the bottom of the stairs. “Come to my room and change.”

“All of my clothes are in my room.” Her lips twist into a smile.

I take her hand and tug her to me. “You don’t need any clothes.”

Adrenaline pumps through me. I don’t even know where to start. This isn’t our first time, but for years I’ve dreamt of this moment.

My mouth crashes down on hers and I capture the tiny yelp that tries to escape her lips.

When she recovers from the shock, Piper presses back. She’s as eager as I am, and we’re a tangle of limbs and teeth grabbing at each other, exploring and caressing, while refusing to break apart.

A squeal cuts through our make-out sesh. I pull back to see Scarlett approaching us. She throws her arms around Piper’s shoulders. “Yay. I’m so happy for you two. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Piper says.

Scarlett pulls back and knocks her elbow into my bicep. “Sorry about lying to you earlier. I didn’t want to be the one to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” I ask as I think back to what she said earlier.

“Oh.” Scarlett’s gaze darts between us. “You know what. You two probably have a lot to catch up on and I am working on getting Leo good and drunk. He has the dirtiest mouth when he’s wasted.”

And just as quick as she came, she’s gone.

“What did she tell you earlier?” Piper asks, facing me.

I place both hands on the curve of her waist. “Not much. I asked if she knew where you were, and she said you were having dinner with your boyfriend. Wait. No, she said you were having dinner. I pieced together it was with what’s his face.”

I wonder how the end of their date went. Did she apologize, give him one last kiss? Fuck it, no I don’t wonder. It’s over. The details don’t matter.

“I wasn’t with Chris. I broke up with him more than a week ago.”

“But…” I trail off, mouth gaping.

“I was with my roommates. Heather, who happened to be in the restroom when you showed up, and her fiancé, Steve.” She smiles sheepishly. “He really loved your speech by the way. He asked if you’d write it down for him in case he ever screwed up with Heather.”

“You broke up with your boyfriend a week ago? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because…I needed to take a breath and make sure that this is what I wanted.”

I mull that over while I glide my thumb along her hip bone. “And now?”

“I want this,” she says, but I can read the hesitation in her body language. I guess I deserve that for ending things the way I did last time.

“What do you want to drink?” I ask, forcing a smile.

Confusion plays over her face.

“Go change and I’ll get us something to drink. There’s no reason to rush things. We can take it as slow as you want.”

“Oh. Okay. Surprise me.”

I lean forward and brush my lips over hers, pulling back far sooner than I want.

She comes back down fifteen minutes later in jeans and a cropped sweatshirt that shows off a sliver of smooth stomach.

“Here’s your drink.” I hand it to her, our fingers brushing and a shy smile tugging at her lips.

“Thanks.” She steps closer so that her arm hugs mine.

Leo and Ash are playing darts. Maverick is behind the bar mixing drinks and showing off some really bad bartending skills. Declan and Jack sit on stools in front of the bar. The latter with a girl in his lap. A different one from earlier. She’s talking to a friend and Jack has an arm around her in almost a bored, lazy way, his focus on the TV on the opposite wall where a college basketball game plays.

Scarlett hangs by Leo, the two of them kissing and touching every time he’s finished with his turn. It hits me—that’s what I want. It’s why I didn’t follow Piper upstairs five minutes ago when all I could think about was being inside of her, finally.

I want all the moments we’ve missed out on—the fun, the flirty, the drunken nights, the PDA, and yeah, the sex. And while I’ve spent the last four years thinking of nothing but earning that second chance, Piper might not be on the same page just yet.