Page 40 of Don't Trust the Cowboy

“Thank you.” She says, almost slurring, and I gently take the beer from her. It’s bad enough I don’t trust myself after that kiss. I don’t need to be hosing her down, too.

I start serving up the cake, while we stuff our faces with it, and finish the pizza, while Piper and the girls chat with everyone, and Cassidy stands next to me. “What are you going to do now?” He asks, out of earshot from the rest of them.

“With what?” I ask, serving up the last piece of cake.

He gestures with his gaze to Piper. “She’s got eyes for you. And you’d have to be blind to not see the eyes y’all have for her.”

After a moment, I think about it. Piper’s happiness, since I met her, is all that seems to matter to me. She’s more beautiful than anyone else I’ve ever seen, and her beauty matches her intelligence, her zest for life, and her motivation to succeed. If that means I love her, then so be it. There is nothing that would change how I feel about her. “We belong together.” I say simply. “In whatever capacity that is, it doesn’t matter. I want to be with her, and she wants to be with me. Whatever happens in between is up to us.” I pause to let that sink in. “You have a problem with that.”

He shakes his head no. “Not anymore, brother. Not now that you’ve admitted it.” He grins. “Sure is nice to see that smile on your face.”

“Fuckoff.” I chuckle. “It’s always been there.”

“Under that sour puss, sure.” He shrugs.

I laugh. “You’re lucky we’ve got company, or I’d beat your ass.”

He snorts. “Sure.” As he walks towards the rest of them, looking like they want to start a card game. The table is cleared, and Jade looks like she’s pulling out a deck from her purse.

We play Euchre for a couple of hours, and then Crystal yawns. “I’ve got an early class. I should get going.”

“Yeah, we’ve got an early day tomorrow, too.” Levi states. “I wouldn’t want to be late for boss man here.”

“Not to worry.” I wave. “Nobody’s going to die if we’re not on the job by six.”

Crystal addresses Piper. “Are you going to see your aunt tomorrow?”

Piper nods. “Yes. Do you want to come?”

“I can’t. I’m so far behind with studying. I’ll come next time, okay?”

Another nod. “Okay.”

After everyone files out, we bring the paper plates and things to the trash and put the beer bottles back into the case. Piper chuckles to herself. “What’s so funny?” I ask.

“Nothing. I was just remembering something.” She answers, and I’m pretty sure that she’s still a little bit drunk.

“What were you remembering?”

She snorts a laugh. “The look on your face when I kissed you.”

“That’s because I was afraid your homies would remove my lungs with a spoon.”

“Please.” She scoffs. “I think your brother Blair had his hand right up Jade’s skirt.”

I nod. “Pretty sure I saw that, too. But, wait a minute...what look did I have on my face?” I add, half irritated, half humored.

She turns to me, mocking me, combing her fingers through my hair, pushing her nose against mine, teasing me, but at the same time...teasing me. I want to...do things to her, but I can tell by the glossiness of her eyes that she’s still drunk. “Like this...oh, Piper.” She mocks, making me chuckle, but I can’t take my eyes off her lips.

“You’re drunk.” I chuckle, pulling her to me, letting myself play along with her.

“So are you.”

“I...really don’t think so, darlin’.”

“How do you know?” She tests, pressing her breasts up against my chest, making my dick wake up behind the zipper.

“How do I know I’m not drunk?” I check.

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