Page 13 of Seaside Hideaway

For a moment, hope flared in Piper’s chest as Audrey leaned into her touch. But when Audrey’s eyes opened again, they were filled with an uncertainty that made Piper’s stomach clench.

“No. That makes it worse.”

“Why?” Piper asked, her heart racing as she tried to understand Audrey’s reluctance. “You’re not seeing anyone, are you?” The words tumbled out, tinged with a hint of jealousy that had come out of nowhere.

“No. I’m single.” Audrey visibly swallowed, and Piper felt a flicker of hope, but it didn’t last long. “There’s plenty of other reasons why this isn’t something I even want to let myself think about, never mind act on.”

“Like what?” she pressed, dreading the answer but needing to know.

“Our age difference?” Audrey offered, her hand covering Piper’s, gently lowering it away from her face as she took a step back.

“Is that really such a big deal?” she asked, figuring this wasn’t the best time to tell Audrey that she actually had a thing for older women.

Audrey sighed, running a hand through her hair. The candlelight cast shadows across her face, making it harder for Piper to read her expression. “It’s not just the age gap, Piper. It’s... Everything.”

Realization dawned on Piper as the room lit up with another flash of lightning, her eyes widening as the pieces fell into place. Audrey’s strange behavior, her sudden distance, the way she couldn’t quite meet Piper’s eyes. It all made sense now.

“You know who I am,” Piper said softly, more a statement than a question. She took a step back, feeling like such an idiot for not figuring this out as soon as Audrey had showed up tonight. “That’s what changed. You figured it out.”

Audrey’s silence was confirmation enough. She looked away, her jaw tight. “I went to the movies with my friend earlier,” she admitted quietly. “I don’t know how I didn’t realize it before.”

Piper swallowed down the disappointment and the frustration. But what surprised her was the sense of loss. She’d been enjoying the anonymity, the chance to just be herself without the weight of her celebrity status. And now, that fragile bubble had burst.

“So that’s it then?” she asked, hating the way her voice wavered. “You’re just going to walk away because of who I am?”

Audrey finally met her gaze. “It’s not that simple, Piper,” Audrey said her own voice rough. “Your life is so different from mine. The fame, the spotlight, the paparazzi.”

Piper felt a surge of frustration. She stepped forward, closing the distance between them. “But that’s not all I am, Audrey. If you hadn’t seen that movie, you wouldn’t have known.”

Audrey sighed, her shoulders sagging. “But I do know now. And I can’t pretend I don’t. I’ve been down this road before, Piper. Falling for someone who lives in a different world. It never ends well.”

Piper’s heart ached at the pain in Audrey’s voice, but it didn’t stop her from saying exactly what she was thinking. “When was the last time you did something without thinking about it?”

Audrey’s expression was impossible to read in the flickering candlelight. “What?”

Piper held her gaze. “When was the last time you just... Let yourself feel something, without overthinking it or worrying about the consequences?”

Audrey opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again, and Piper stepped closer, her heart pounding. Another rattle of thunder filled the air, but Piper barely noticed. She reached out, her fingers ghosting along Audrey’s arm on her way down to her wrist.

“Because right now,” Piper continued, her voice low and intense, “I’m not thinking about how different our lives are. I’m just thinking about how much I want to kiss you.”

10

Audrey stood frozen, her heart pounding in her chest as Piper’s fingers grazed her skin. The air around them crackled with an electric energy that was both exhilarating and terrifying. She could feel the heat emanating from Piper’s body, and it was all she could do not to lean into it.

“Audrey,” Piper whispered, her voice hoarse with desire.

Audrey’s breath hitched in her throat as she looked into Piper’s eyes. She saw the same vulnerability and longing that she felt mirrored back at her. For a moment, she thought about the consequences of giving in to this attraction, of all the ways it could go wrong. But then she remembered the feeling of Piper’s fingers on her skin, the way her heart raced when they were together.

Slowly, she reached up and cupped Piper’s face, feeling the softness of her skin beneath her fingers. As their eyes locked, Audrey leaned forward, her lips brushing against Piper’s in a gentle, tentative kiss.

Audrey closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the kiss. The urge to deepen the kiss pulsed through Audrey’s body, a throb of want that made her ache in places she almost forgot could ache like that. Audrey’s heart thumped in her chest as she brushed her lips over Piper’s, almost forgetting what this felt like.

The kiss had started out slow, but quickly deepened as Piper responded eagerly, parting her lips to allow Audrey to explore her mouth.

Their breathing became heavier, and Audrey arched her back, pressing her body flush against Piper’s as desire coiled hot and tight in her belly. She slid her hands under Piper’s shirt, brushing over the smooth expanse of her back, feeling the ridges of her spine. Piper made a low sound deep in her throat, her own hands roaming up Audrey’s thighs until they reached her white shorts and the curve of her ass.

Without breaking the kiss, Piper backed Audrey up against the door, pinning her there with the weight of her body. Audrey gasped as Piper slid a thigh between her legs, rubbing against the heat gathering at the apex of Audrey’s thighs. Audrey ground down against her, chasing friction as need built to a fevered pitch. Piper made a sound deep in her throat and Audrey swallowed it greedily, letting her tongue delve deeper, stroking over Piper’s own.

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