Page 23 of Wild About You
Piper falls quiet. The tension lingers between us, and I don’t know how to dissolve it.
“Thank you for telling me. I like Everly. She reminds me a little of myself at that age after everything happened with you and then my dad.”
My jaw tightens. It was shitty timing that Piper’s dad had a stroke a few months after we broke up. It gutted me to know she was hurting, and I couldn’t be there for her. It was the one time I reached out in all these years.
“I was sorry to hear about your dad.”
“Thank you. I got the flowers you sent. It was kind of you.” She takes a sip of wine before continuing. “I will look out for her the best I can. I only have her in one class, though. Has she been in any other trouble aside from the backdrop debacle?”
“Isn’t that enough?” I shake my head. “No, she’s mostly been staying out of trouble, but she’s constantly pushing boundaries, and I hate her boyfriend.”
“She’s been here a month and already has a boyfriend? I haven’t seen her with anyone at school.”
“He’s older—twenty, has no idea what he wants out of life, but he and his buddies are moving to New York soon because ‘that’s where things are really happening.’” I say the words with all the disdain I feel. “He’s an absolute punk. I can’t wait until he’s gone.”
Piper’s mouth curves into a smile. “You sound like a worried father.”
“I am worried. I’m gone a lot and I have no idea what I’m doing. This is her last chance, I know that. It’s a lot of pressure.”
“She’s lucky to have you.”
“Thank you for saying that.” I let my knee brush against her thigh. “I didn’t ask you to dinner only to talk about Everly or bitch about her boyfriend.”
“No?” she asks, sarcasm dripping from the word. She finishes her wine and pushes the glass away from her. “Why did you ask me?”
“Because I’ve missed you every day for four years and because now that I’ve seen you again, I can’t imagine another day going by where I can’t.”
Her eyes widen in surprise, but she shields her expression almost as quickly. I don’t know when she did it, but I notice the cash on the bar as she moves to stand. “I should go. It’s getting late.”
With every inch she puts between us, I can feel her slipping away from me forever.
“Piper, wait.” I run after her, catching her as she pushes out the front door of the bar.
I wrap my fingers around her upper arm, and she stops suddenly, jerking her arm away.
Tears swirl in her dark eyes. “No. You don’t get to say things like that to me. You and I have been over for a very long time. I moved on. I have a boyfriend. I’m happy.”
I shove my hands in my pockets and swallow the lump in my throat. “I figured you’d want nothing to do with me, but I still had to tell you. I messed up, Pipes.”
“It’s a little late to be figuring that out.”
“I’ve known it for years, but I still wasn’t in a position to be the guy you deserve. I’m still not.”
“Then why tell me now?”
“Because you’re here.” I stop myself from reaching out and touching her again, but God, I want to feel her. “I didn’t think I believed in fate, but then you walked into that principal’s office and my heart stopped.”
She pulls her keys from her purse and a steely determination settles over her. “I will keep an eye on your sister because I like her and I want her to succeed, but you and I will never be more than acquaintances.”
“Got it.” My throat burns on the words.
She hesitates, maybe waiting for me to object but she already stomped on my heart enough for one night, so I keep my mouth shut.
And then she leaves me standing on the sidewalk.
I go back inside to pay for my drink and then head home. Everly is already in bed, but I find Ash in the living room playing video games.
He takes one look at me and hands me the second controller. “Wanna talk about it?”
