Page 53 of Breakaway to You

Because for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like I was alone. And that maybe Piper was the person I’d been waiting for all this time.

Chapter20

Piper

“You’re up early,” Quinn said as she shuffled into the kitchen, her blonde hair tangled and her sleep shirt hanging off one shoulder.

More like I’d just gotten home from spending the night at Zeke’s place and had gone straight to the kitchen to make some much needed coffee.

Pouring Quinn a cup, I slid it over to her, debating on how to respond.

“Wait.” She stopped the mug before it reached her lips. “Why are you wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday?”

I bit my lip.

Her eyes went wide, and her brows almost hit her hairline. “Did you just get home? You stayed the night? Oh, my gosh, what does this mean?” Her questions came in rapid fire.

“Calm down.” I pulled out another mug for myself. “Yes, I just got home. Yes, I stayed the night, but nothing happened.” I grabbed the pot of coffee, pausing before I poured. “Mostly.”

“Mostly?” she shouted. “What doesthatmean?”

“I didn’t sleep with him, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I said, filling up my mug. “Well, I did sleep with him,” I added, setting the pot back down. “But not likesleep with himsleep with him.” I hurried to amend.

She held up a hand to stop me. “Hold on. Start from the beginning.”

And so, I did. I told her about making dinner together, about the conversations we’d had, how sweet and vulnerable he’d been, how we’d cuddled and teased each other throughout the movie, and how I’d accidentally fallen asleep on him sometime during the night.

“I think you’re leaving something out.” She moved her hand around the general area of my hair.

I patted the back of my hair, realizing it was a tangled mess too. I hadn’t thought to look in a mirror before coming home.

“There might have been some kissing involved,” I admitted. I could still feel his fingers in my hair as he’d kissed me, like he couldn’t get enough of the feel of me. My cheeks warmed at the memory.

She arched her brow. “Somekissing?”

“Okay, fine,” I relented. “There was a lot of kissing. But that was it. He was a perfect gentleman, and kissing was as far as things went.”

“You haven’t answered my last question,” she said. “What does this mean? Are you two a couple for real now?”

I almost choked on my sip of coffee. “What? No! Just because we shared a nice evening and some kisses doesn’t mean we’re a couple. Neither of us believes in relationships, so I’m not really sure what it all means or where we stand.” I shrugged, taking another sip, not wanting to think about all the details of what was going on between Zeke and me.

She eyed me over her mug. “After your night together, it sure seems like you believe in relationships.”

“Quinn,” I sighed. “You know how I feel about relationships. Especially with a hockey player. And especially a hockey player who is on the team I work for. I don’t want another repeat of what happened with Jordan.”

Even if my actions last night contradicted my words this morning, my thoughts about getting into a relationship with a hockey player were the same. I just couldn’t seem to remember them when I was with Zeke. I blamed him and how he smelled so good, how he made me smile, how he seemed to open up just for me, how I seemed to be the one person who could make him happy, to make that hidden raincloud of his that followed him around disappear.

But nothing good would come of us getting together. It wasn’t smart. And it definitely wasn’t safe for my heart. Now that we were a few miles apart, I could think straight. As much as I liked Zeke, it wouldn’t be right to keep going the way we were. Between our anti-relationship feelings and working together, it would eventually end up in a disaster.

Although I was pretty sure the next time I saw him, I was going to want to throw my arms around him and kiss him. Gosh, I was such a mess. Again, I blamed Zeke.

Last night had possibly been one of the best nights of my life. It had almost felt like a dream, like I was living someone else’s life. Or maybe living out a scene from a romance movie. It had all felt too perfect, too right. And usually when things were too good to be true, they were.

Quinn’s eyes softened. “Zeke isn’t Jordan.”

“I know.” Or at least, I thought I knew.

Yes, Zeke and Jordan were very different, but the bottom line was they were both professional athletes for a team I worked for. And though I couldn’t picture Zeke ever cheating, I could see him breaking my heart if I let him in. That was the biggest—and possibly scariest— difference between Zeke and Jordan.

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