by Emma Nichole
Do I enjoy pushing her buttons for fun? Of course I do, but I don’t want to see her sad. Ever.
I’m alone with my thoughts for a total of five fucking minutes before I am able to process what this sinking rock in my stomach actually is. I want to go to her, wrap her up in my arms, and whisk her away somewhere to keep her forever, because for the first time in my life… I think I’m falling for someone. Hard.
Fucking hell.
Chapter 17
Piper
Who knew chopping onions could be such a satisfying way to relieve some pent-up stress?
It even hides the annoying tears that try to prick my eyes. I’m so wound up with everything happening with my mom and Kingston’s, then I have to add in my growing and ever confusing feelings for Nathanial. My body and mind can’t seem to process any of it, so now I’m just moody, emotional, and hungry.
Nathanial and I didn’t speak the rest of the day, unless we had to, and even that was strictly through email. I left at five without even saying goodbye because I meant what I said. I’m ready when he’s ready to let me in.
Stupid. Chop. Man. Thwack. Making. Smash. Me. Chop. Feel. Chop chop. Things. Slice.
“Geez. What did those onions ever do to you?”
I glance over my shoulder, then raise it to somewhat wipe my face. “What do you want, Oliver?”
“I could hear and smell the mass onion murder happening in here, and I usually know exactly what that means. You’re making French onion soup. You only make that when you’re pissed off.”
Am I that transparent?
“I’m not pissed off,” I say with a large, hard THWACK to a new onion.
“Then what is it?” He walks closer to me and leans against the counter.
I came directly to Kingston’s after work, just as I do almost every night. It’s a busy night, but our staff seems to be handling it well, which left me plenty of time to make a large pot of French onion soup under the guise that it will be our soup of the night, but really… it’s my comfort soup.
“It’s just everything with Mom,” I tell him.
“And… what else?” He pushes. “Did Mr. Fancy Pants upset you?”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t call him that.”
“That didn’t answer my question, Pipes. Kate told me what happened during the meeting today. She said you stood up for everyone when it seemed he couldn’t care less what he was doing. I’m proud of you.”
Kate. Yes! Perfect deflection.
“Speaking of Kate…” I say. “When are you going to fess up to what is going on between you two? She’s my best friend, Oliver.”
I place the knife on the cutting board then take handfuls of the sliced onion and dump them into a preheated, buttered pot with a delightful sizzle.
“That’s the thing, I don’t really know what to say about it. We are just enjoying spending time together. She’s a great girl.”
“She is, but I know your history with women, and if you hurt her, not only will I murder you, but she’ll have your balls on a platter. She doesn’t mess around. She may seem sweet and innocent, but she’s far from.”
“Oh, I am fully aware of how not innocent she is.” He smiles wide and wiggles his eyebrows.
“Okay, eww. Get out of here before I put YOU in this pot.” I nudge him with my elbow.
“Oliver! I need your help in the freezer.” We both turn toward the sound of our mother’s voice.
“Coming, Ma!” he says. “Pipes, I may not know what is going on with you and Nathanial, but make sure you are happy. No matter what happy looks like. Got it?”
He pinches my nose like he used to do when I was a little girl.
“Got it. You better go before she tries to do whatever she needs help with herself.”
“Save me a bowl of that, will ya?” He points to the pot then heads, making his way to the back of the kitchen to the freezers.
Over the next forty-five minutes, I stir the onions as they condense down and begin to caramelize, but my thoughts are on what Oliver said.
I know what would make me happy. Nathanial telling me how he really feels, that would make me happy. Being able to tell him how I feel, that would also make me very happy.
Holding him in my arms while he tells me what is really wrong with his father, because I know it’s not good, and he shouldn’t be navigating this alone, would make me even happier.
***
It’s nearing midnight on Thursday when I finally trudge up the stairs of my apartment building. I’m dead on my feet and absolutely exhausted, but what I see on my door sends a zing of energy into my blood.
There’s a piece of paper, folded in half, taped just underneath the peephole and a single flower stuck between to frame and the door handle.
I don’t even have to look at the note to know it’s from him, considering the paper looks creamy and luxurious.
I pull the flower from its home and press the bloom to my nose, inhaling the sweet, floral scent. It’s incredible, and maybe I’m losing my mind, but I swear I can smell him on it.
I tug the note from the door and unfold it. The paper is thick and soft… expensive. The note on the inside isn’t long, but it’s undeniably his handwriting.
Piper,
You’re right.
I want to let you in.
Come to my family home in The Hamptons with me this weekend.
Just you, me, the water, good food, and time alone to talk.
I hope you’ll consider it.
Nathanial
I’m still holding the note in my hand ten minutes later when I’m curled on my couch with a glass of warm whiskey on the table, begging to be chugged.
Nathanial hasn’t been in the office all week. He’s been working over at NCL Properties, and has left most of the day to day at our office for me and the rest of the staff to manage. That’s fine, though. We are good at what we do and have not missed a beat.
Even if I hate admitting it, I missed seeing him every day.
If I go with him this weekend, there will be no more hiding, on either side. The decision to go with him is a clear choice to rip myself open and bare everything to him, and that terrifies me.
It scares me because it leaves me vulnerable to being hurt, but even more than that, it scares me because I want to say yes so desperately. It’s like there is a siren buried somewhere deep in his chest that is calling to me, beckoning me to go to him, and say fuck everything else. Fuck all the consequences. Fuck the opinions. Fuck it all.
I open my email app and scroll through my message chain with Ida. If there is one glaring consistency in every piece of advice she has ever given me, it’s that I need to put me first, above everything else. Taking care of me matters. And right now, what “me” wants… is Nathanial.
I check the time on my cell. It’s nearing half past midnight, but if there is one thing I know without a doubt, it’s that whatever is going on inside of Nathanial’s mind and heart ensures that he is awake.
So… I slide my thumb over the screen of my phone and make my decision.
Nathanial
I’m tempted to make the drive back out to Brooklyn tonight to see that she made it home safely, even if she is going to turn down my offer.
There are so many outside sources putting strain on us separately that the only logical answer was to remove those things, even if just temporarily.
We managed to do that at my apartment the other night, and it was exactly what we both needed it to be.
The Hamptons will be that and even more. I’m already having thoughts of being in the ocean with her, kissing the salty water from her skin.
Don’t get ahead of yourself, Lennox. She has to say yes first.
My cell phone glides across my coffee table as it vibrates with an incoming text message. My heart leaps to my throat, thinking it could only be her, but when I slide the lock button, I see that it’s a message from Gabrielle.
Gabs: I know you’re awake, so I thought you’d want to k
now that I heard back from my friend. I made our offer, so it’s official. I’ll send you the email so you can see our negotiations. It was harder than I thought. Apparently, the interested buyers pool is a deep one. Don’t reply to this. Go to fucking sleep.
I chuckle at her bossiness and hit the text box before to give her some kind of snarky reply when my screen changes, showing an incoming call. The one I’ve been waiting on pins and needles for.
I slide my thumb over my screen to answer.
“Piper,” I say in lieu of hello.
I hear a soft sigh before her voice caresses me ear. “Hi.”
“I didn’t think you were going to call,” I tell her honestly.
“I almost didn’t.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Wise advice from a wise person.” I can hear the faintest smile in her tone.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” I say with a sigh.
“You don’t have to apologize. I know it’s late and we should both be getting to bed, so I just wanted to call and tell you I would love to go to the Hamptons with you this weekend.”
I have to physically stop myself from hopping onto the sofa in happiness like Tom Cruise did that one time on Oprah.
“I’m really happy to hear that, baby.”
“But, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared.”
“Don’t be scared. It’s me and you. No one and nothing else. Okay?” I wish I could reach through the phone and pull her into my arms.
“When should I be ready?” she asks.
“How about we both skip work tomorrow and head up early in the morning? Have a long weekend? I have a feeling your boss would approve a mental health day for you.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure. He can be a bit of an asshole sometimes.”
“Don’t worry about him. I’ll take care of it.” I smile. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at ten? Just bring whatever you need to have through Sunday evening.”
“Won’t people talk if they see we are both out on the same days? Considering the scene I made earlier this week?”
“I’ll handle that too. As long as you trust me.”
She doesn’t even hesitate before she answers, “I do.”
“Good.” I stand from my sofa and pad across the marble to my bedroom. “What are you doing right now?”
“I’m on my couch, trying to summon all of my energy to move from this spot and go to bed.”
“It’s late. You need to rest.”
“I will go to bed if you do,” she says as she stifles a yawn.
Even from across the city, she’s trying to take care of me.
“You’ve got a deal, Ms. Kingston.”
“I want proof though. I don’t trust you to not just tell me what I want to hear. Pics or it didn’t happen,” she giggles.
“Hey, if we can request pictures, I have a very specific one I’d like from you,” I tease.
“No nudes, Mr. Lennox.” I can hear the ruffling of sheets from her side.
I press a button on the wall that lowers my curtains from their home above my windows, shielding me from the lights of the city.
I cradle my cell phone between my ear and shoulder as I strip down to my boxer briefs and climb into bed, resting on my back with arm tucked behind my head.
“I’m in bed.”
“Prove it,” she demands, but there is a clear playfulness in her voice.
I sigh out a laugh and snap a photo, sending it to her phone. “Happy now?”
“Very. Now, just stay put and sleep for once.”
“I will. Goodnight, Piper.”
“Goodnight, Nathanial.”
I end the call and place my phone on the nightstand beside me, but within moments, it lights up again, only this time, it’s with an incoming picture.
I open it up to see she’s sent me a photo of her in bed. No makeup on her face, the sheet pulled up around her chest, and her hair is fanned out on her pillow. She looks so perfect like that. Don’t get me wrong, I love when she’s all done up for work, but seeing her stripped down, completely bare and vulnerable, tugs at a place deep in my psyche that awakens a part of me I didn’t even know existed.
On the bottom half of the picture is a scribbled message she must have written with her finger, and it makes my body ache in excitement from head to toe.
I can’t wait for tomorrow.
Chapter 18
Piper
“Kate, I promise I’m okay.” I switch my phone onto speaker, then place it on my bed, so I can make sure I have everything I need in the small overnight bag I’m bringing with me.
“Well, the last time I saw you, you were clearly very upset over him. I wouldn’t be doing a very good job as your best friend if I didn’t at least check on you. Especially after he emailed me this morning and asked that I add a meeting to his schedule, which I’m assuming is a ruse.”
I smile. “Yeah, that would be a ruse, all right. He just doesn’t want anyone to be suspicious of us both being out.” I toss a pair of shoes into my bag. “And Kate, I wouldn’t go if I was worried, you know? It’s needed. I need this.”
I rifle through my mental checklist as I spot things in my bag. Bikini? Check. A couple of simple outfits? Check. A few essentials? Check and check.
“When is he supposed to be there to get you?” she asks.
I check the time on my alarm clock. “Any minute.”
“Are you nervous?”
“I’m so nervous that I’m shaking, but at the same time, I’m so sure about it I feel settled. It doesn’t even make any sense.” I plop to the edge of my bed and fall back.
“What did you decide to wear? Are you wearing your confidence panties?”
I burst out laughing at our inside joke.
“Actually, I am. I’m wearing the dusty pink romper I bought from that boutique downtown, and just my white sneakers. I didn’t want to seem like I was trying too hard.”
My phone pings next to my head with an incoming text. I prop up on my elbow so I can see it.
Asshole: I’m at door. Buzz me up.
“Oh yes. That looks so bomb on you.”
“Shit. Kate, I gotta run. He’s here.” I bolt off my bed, taking my phone with me and pressing the button beside my door that unlocks the main entrance downstairs.
“Have fun. Call me if you need anything at all. I’m only a phone call away. Be safe.”
“Always.”
I end the call and toss my phone into my purse on the counter.
In my bedroom, I give myself a quick look in the mirror, fixing the loose braid that hangs over my left shoulder, then gather my bag to go meet him at the door.
His knock is as powerful as he is, and suddenly I realize how happy I am to see him, even though it’s only been less than twenty-four hours.
When I pull the door open and lay eyes on him, he looks good enough to eat.
He’s dressed in a simple pair of jeans, a white tee, and a leather jacket. He even has a pair of Aviator sunglasses hanging from the collar. He looks like a bad boy, greaser from the nineteen fifties who women wanted and men wanted to be.
“Wow,” he whispers, partially under his breath, as his eyes travel up and down my body. “You look incredible.”
“So do you.”
“May I come in?”
“Oh! Absolutely. Come in.” I step aside to give him room, but as soon as he crosses the threshold, he crowds me against the wall and cups my cheek in his hands.
“Hi,” he says before placing a tender kiss on my lips.
I slide my hands into his jacket, holding onto his sides, anchoring myself because I fear I just might float away.
The kiss doesn’t build into anything sexual. It’s simply... hello... I’ve missed you.
I speak when he backs away just enough for me to talk. “Well, hello to you too.”
His fingers glide from my jaw to my braid, twirling through his fingers. “I like this.”
He plants another kiss on my mout
h before finally taking a step back, looking around at my apartment, which compared to his is an actual trash can the size of a matchbox, but it’s home.
“I know it’s not much, but…” I say with a shrug.
“It’s you. Simple and quaint. I like it. It even smells like you.”
“Um… thanks, I think.” I follow him as he steps farther into the main living space.
“It was a compliment. You happen to smell intoxicating.”
I reply with a giggle. “Thank you, bodywash, I suppose.”
“Are you ready to hit the road? It shouldn’t take us more than two hours, but you never know with traffic.”
“I am ready.” I lift my overnight bag from the ground, but he takes it from my hands.
“I’ve got it. You just lock up.”
“Yes, sir,” I say with a twist of sarcasm and it makes him laugh.
“Easy with that. I may end up liking it too much.”
After I make sure all of my appliances are turned off and all of my windows are closed and locked, we step out into the hallway so I can lock my door.
Comfortable my place will be just fine for a couple of days, he takes my hand in his free one, walks with me down the stairs, and out to his car parked on the street, only it’s a car I’ve never even seen before.
“Holy shit. What the hell is that?”
I slide my hand over the sexy, white convertible.
“This is a 1969 Stingray Corvette. She is my pride and joy. I only pull her out of the garage for special occasions,” he says with pride, as he pops my bag into a small compartment behind the passenger seat, as there is no back seat at all.
“I don’t even think I should be sitting in this car, Nathanial. This is incredible.”
“That’s silly. You belong in a car like this: classic, expensive, sexy. In fact, the thought of you sitting in this car with me is enough to get me going,” he jokes, then opens the passenger door. “In you go.”
