Page 43 of Captivated

Lifting her eyes to mine, she swallows hard. “My mother always told me to be aware of my surroundings, especially in a parking lot. It’s a habit, I guess.”

Tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, I lean in closer to her. “Nothing wrong with that, I suppose.”

“I also always walk with my keys tucked between my fingers in case someone comes up behind me, that way I can jab them in the eye.” Sure enough, as she lifts her keys, I notice the jagged metal woven through each of her digits.

“Nice. Did you take a self-defense class or something?”

“Uh, yeah. I just wanted to feel like I could defend myself if need be.”

“That’s smart, yet another thing to admire you for,” I agree, but something tells me she didn’t just do it to give her confidence. That fear is back in her eyes. I haven’t seen it in a few weeks and certainly not the other night on our date.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I search her face for any indication that I’m missing something, but I’m having the hardest time reading her right now.

“Yes, I’m fine. Hungry, but great really—especially because I won our game.” A lift of her eyebrow and she’s back to being playful and sarcastic.

“Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. I was impressed. We definitely need a rematch, but let’s grab some food first.”

Piper follows me to Peggy’s Diner, where we stuff ourselves and replay our Scrabble game. I watch Piper smother her meatloaf with ketchup, baffled with how someone can love a condiment that much, and then we prepare to say goodnight.

“So when do you want a rematch? I mean, I can make time to kick your ass again.”

I huff as she stands against the side of her car. “Name the time and place, sweetheart.”

“How about right now?” She shoots me a hopeful yet challenging gaze as her eyes find me beneath those dark lashes I’ve become so accustomed to.

“Tonight? Do you have Scrabble at your place?”

She nods. “I do actually. I mean, if you don’t want to, I understand. But I just thought…”

“No, let’s do it.” I cut her off before she can retract her offer, because I know I want to spend more time with her tonight, without a doubt. I wasn’t ready to say goodnight anyway.

Her lips tip up in a pleased grin. “Okay. Follow me to my place,” she says before getting in her car, and then we make our way across town to her apartment complex.

Once inside, she offers me something to drink. “Just water would be fine. Gotta drive home later.”

“Oh… yeah, of course.” She heads into the kitchen, retrieving two glasses of ice water for us both.

“So, I was thinking as we were driving over here—care to make this game interesting?” Piper takes a seat across from me at her dining room table as I open the box to her Scrabble game she retrieved from her closet.

“How so?”

“How about we play dirty Scrabble?”

She narrows her eyes and then lets out a small laugh. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack, sweetheart. I bet if we played a game where we could only use dirty words, I could definitely beat you.” Honestly, I don’t give a shit if I win or lose. I really just want to push Piper out of her comfort zone and see how flustered I can make her. I wanna see her give in to her need for me, the way I’m fighting to let her arrive at that decision on her own.

“You think I can’t beat you using only dirty words?”

“I think if anyone would win that game, it would be me.”

“Get ready to eat your words, Deputy,” she teases, while sitting up tall and reaching for the bag of letters.

It’s just past eight, so I know we have plenty of time. I don’t have to work until tomorrow night and I know tomorrow is her first full day off this week, so not feeling rushed makes this little challenge all the more pleasant.

“You can go first since you won earlier,” I fan my arm over the board, offering her first dibs.

“Fine,” she says as she lays downcowgirl, making a strong start to the game.

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