Page 104 of Just Friends
The room exploded into laughter. We were laughing so hard, wealmost didn’t hear the knock on the door—only Ainsley had heard it. “Hey, Kat, I think someone’s at the door.”
Austen was closest. She bounced off the couch and hopped into action, singing, “I got it.” She disappeared around the corner.
We kept talking among ourselves while Austen dealt with whoever was in the hallway; the door was just out of sight.
Austen returned a few seconds later, her brow creased. “Hey, guys? Um—it’s Jax. He’s looking for Piper. Has anyone here seen her?”
The other girls shook their heads and shouted.“Nope!”
But I silently mouthed the words to Austen, “What does he want?”
The girls’ disappointment was palpable, because really, whocaredwhat Jax wanted? He was a proven sleaze!
Still. I wanted to know.
Austen retreated and dealt with Jax again. The rest of us went quiet, trying to listen in on every word, but all we could hear was the low, bassy rumble of his voice.
Austen came back with an update. “So he says it’s ‘really important’ and he ‘really needs to speak with Piper,’ ” she said, rolling her eyes.
Clearly, she didn’t believe him. The other girls looked skeptical, too.
But something gave me pause.Jax was still my friend. Just because he didn’t like me didn’t mean I should punish him.
“Let him in,” I said. “Let’s just see what he has to say.”
The girls tutted. I couldn’t blame them for being disappointed in me.I was pretty disappointed at myself, too—because even though I knew better,the Jax-size hole in my heart flooded with a giddy warmth. I was still clinging to some desperate hopethatthis timewas going to be different.
27
Jax
My heart raced in my chest while I nervously paced the hallway. My fate—ourfate—seemed to hang in the balance. It was obvious Piper was in that room—but what was also plainly obvious was that her friends were acting like they didn’t know where she was. They were covering for her because she didn’t want to see me.
Fuck,I thought.She doesn’t want anything to do with me. I might’ve already fucked things up too badly.
Austen didn’t look any happier to see me when she opened the door a third time. This time, though, she undid the chain lock and swung the door wide open. “Come in,” she said with a begrudging sigh, and I knew I wasn’t exactly standing on friendly territory.
But I didn’t care.This was my shot and I was going to put everything I had into it. Not to say I wasn’t nervous—because oh my God, was I ever. My heart thumped my ribs like a hammer while my stomach did cartwheels. The last time I was this nervous was before my very first NHL game—and just seconds before I took the ice that night, I’d had to run back to the locker room to puke my guts out.
Let’s not do that,I thought.That’d be bad.
I stepped through the open door, past Austen. “Thanks, Austen.”
“Don’t thank me,” she murmured. “Thank Piper.”
I turned the corner and stopped, frozen in my tracks. A group of girls were huddled in the living room, but the only one I could see was Piper. Couldn’t miss her—her skin glowed like I’d never seen it, so radiant and flawless. Her sleek hair was neatly braided and pinned around her head like a crown, giving her the elegant air of a royal princess. Her champagne-colored dress glinted in the light like a gleaming diamond.
“Wow,” was all I could softly say.
She’s gorgeous.
She’s the one. The only one.
We stared at each other. She looked so beautiful yet a sadness lingered in her eyes, and I wished I could smooth away the worried lines that creased her brow. She fidgeted with her hands, growing anxious as she waited for something.
She’s waiting for you, bud! Say something!
I cleared my throat. “Hey.”
