Page 69 of Wild About You
“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.
22
ALL THE DAMN TIME
PIPER
Tylerand I end up hanging with Scarlett and Leo most of the night. We play darts, but I’m so busy catching up with Scarlett and touching Tyler any chance I get that I don’t even know if we win or not. Afterwards, we sit on the couch; Scarlett’s on one side of me, Tyler on the other. She’s planning a couple’s getaway for her and Leo, dates unknown since it depends on the season.
“You guys should come with us,” Scarlett says. Her excitement at the idea is contagious but since Tyler and I literally just found our way back to each other, I think planning a trip together might be a little premature.
“Maybe,” I say. “I have school until the first week of June.”
Leo wraps an arm around her waist and tugs her closer. “Easy, tiger. How about we give them five seconds together before we start packing their weekends full of couple things.”
“Sorry. I’m just so excited for you two. Let’s take a picture!” She pulls out her camera and we all crowd together.
“Who knew you were such a romantic?” Leo kisses her.
My head spins and I turn to Tyler. “I’m gonna grab another drink. Do you want anything?”
He shakes his head. “Nah. I’m good.”
In the kitchen, Ash is pulling a beer from the fridge. He sees me coming and pulls a hard seltzer for me, then a beer for Tyler.
“He said he didn’t want another.”
“Tell him I said to live a little. He doesn’t get a lot of nights off.”
I take the drinks and then lean against the counter. “I haven’t seen Talia in a while. Where is she tonight?”
“Not sure,” he says casually. “She broke things off with me.”
I don’t know Talia well. Any time she came over, she pretty much kept to Ash’s room, but Tyler said they’d been together for a while, so I just assumed things were good.
“I’m sorry.”
“Eh, it’s fine.”
“What happened?”
I’m not sure if it’s because of how things ended with Tyler or if it’s just some part of me that needs to understand the intricacies of relationships, but I always find breakups so interesting. I want to analyze and fix them.
He’s quiet for a beat as if he’s trying to compose his thoughts. “It really came down to us wanting different things.”
“Like marriage?”
He laughs. “No. I mean, someday, sure, but we were both good with casual and fun.”
When I continue staring at him, he steps closer and lowers his voice. “Since Ty and Everly moved in, things are a little different around here.”
