Page 138 of The First Time
Chapter Twenty-Three
Kit
Piper and I spend the entire day together. I make her breakfast. It's a simple meal—eggs, toast, hot sauce—but she treats it like a five-star dinner.
We settle on the couch and take turns picking movies through delivery lunch and dinner. She finds a yoga mat buried in a closet and shows off her flexibility.
Yoga is more tolerable in a seventy degree room, but I don't fully appreciate Piper's flexibility until I take her to my bed.
Fucking her isn't like fucking anyone else.
It's the opposite of the sex I used to have. Instead of numbing me, it wakes up every inch of my body. It makes me feel alive. It makes me acutely aware of how badly I need her, of how deeply I feel for her, of how much I want her in my life for a long fucking time.
* * *
Sunday morning,we go out for brunch and head down to Orange County for an afternoon of coffee and conversation. Mal drove up in Piper's car yesterday.
After our third cup of coffee, we head to our surprise pre-dinner plans. I guide Piper to a street in downtown Santa Ana.
After she parks, her eyes fix on mine. "What are we doing in front of a random strip mall?"
She's trying to play cool, but the way she's tapping her feet together is giving her away. She's as cute wanting as she is nervous. It can't hurt to torture her for a few minutes.
I shrug. "Who knows?"
She folds her hands in her lap. "Okay. Where do I go now?"
"Might want to get out of the car."
She glares playfully. Still, she gets out of the car.
Once I'm out, and it's locked, I motion for her to join me on the sidewalk.
"Kit." She tugs at my leather jacket as she looks up at me. "Tell me. Please."
"Maybe if you sweeten the deal."
She rises to her tip toes to press her lips to mine. She digs her fingers into my chest, over my clothes.
I have her exactly where I want her.
But she has me exactly where she wants me too.
I slide my hands to her waist and pull her closer. The way she melts into my touch makes skipping this really fucking tempting.
Somehow, I manage to resist the impulse. I pull back. My lips curl into a smile. It's of their own accord. Being around Piper does things to me.
Makes me the kind of guy who smiles just because.
I nod to the blacked out storefront on the far right of the strip mall.
She raises a brow. "Looks suspect."
I take a step towards the theater and offer her my hand. "Up to you."
She drags her fingertips over my wrist and palm. "Let's do it."
I intertwine my fingers with hers and lead her. There are two people smoking outside the storefront. They're about my age and they must be up on music, because they look at me with curiosity. Then it flares in their eyes—they recognize me.
