by AS Teague
Without another word, I made my way to my bedroom. Just inside the door, I looked around, my stomach dropping.
We’d lived here for five years, had turned this basic townhouse into a cozy home for the two of us. It was my own stupid fault that I’d never really thought about the fact Hampton and I weren’t going to always live together, had always just assumed this was where I would be until I found someone of my own. It wasn’t fair of me to expect Hampton to be there for me until I didn’t need him anymore.
But it didn’t matter that I knew deep down I couldn’t keep him as mine forever. I was still hurt that he’d kept so many things from me recently. And it was that hurt I held onto as I begrudgingly started packing my belongings.
10
Lawson
I underestimated the amount of time it would take to pack Piper’s stuff up, and before I knew it, it was damn near midnight and we were just pulling into my driveway. I was tired and Piper looked like she was about to drop at any moment.
“I don’t think I can unload your stuff tonight,” I told her, grimacing as I climbed out of the U-Haul.
She frowned, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I followed her hand as it squeezed the back of her neck, and the urge to replace her fingers with my own hit me. Instead, I shook my head and squeezed my own aching neck, an attempt to keep my fingers from betraying me and reaching out to her.
“Where am I going to sleep?” she murmured, staring at the house.
I groaned when I remembered that the only bed set up in my house was my own. Hampton’s promise of her not being a burden had already been broken.
I raked my hand across my face and with a sigh told her, “You can sleep in my room. I’ll crash on the couch tonight.”
“I can’t force you out of your own bed, Lawson.”
I bit my tongue to keep from agreeing with her and reassured her once more that it was fine before ushering her inside. I’d barely cracked the door when Seven appeared, meowing loud enough to make her displeasure known.
Piper froze. “You have a cat?”
I scooped her into my arms and while scratching her head turned to Piper. “More like the cat has a human. But, yeah. This is Seven.”
I always thought Seven had the biggest eyes I’d ever seen, but they were buttons compared to the saucers that were on Piper’s face. She stumbled backward and with a hand over her mouth wailed. “I’m allergic to cats.” With one final step back, she was out of the house and once again on the porch. “Oh, God, I can’t live here!”
I chuckled. “You’re not allergic to cats.”
“Yes, I am!” she snapped.
I shook my head, still scratching a now purring Seven behind the ears. “Pippie, I was there. Remember?”
“Shit, I guess you were. Well, still. I can’t live with a cat.”
When Seven began to squirm, I dropped her to the floor. They say cats are skittish, but it was Piper who nearly jumped out of her skin when Seven began to wind through her legs. Piper yelped and I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped my lips.
“Quit being an asshole, Lawson!”
I ducked my head in shame and apologized. “I’m sorry. Do you tell everyone you’re allergic?”
“I can’t very well tell people that a twenty-pound mama cat attacked me when I was ten and ever since then anything that has retractable claws makes me wet my pants, now can I?” Even though she was scowling, her blue eyes were filled with humor, brighter than they’d been all day.
“Poor Piper, all she wanted to do was hold the baby kitties.”
She shrugged. “They were really cute.”
I nodded in agreement. “So, you gonna come inside? Or would you rather sleep in a pallet on the porch?”
She briefly contemplated the merits of sleeping outside before coming inside and tiptoeing around the cat. “Seriously. If I’d known their mother was from the pits of hell, I’d probably still have tried to pet them. I would’ve just sent you in the bushes first.”
“You always were a giver,” I muttered. “This way, I’ll give you the quick tour of the house.”
She followed me down the hall, checking over her shoulder to see Seven following us.
I didn’t tell her that the cat was used to sleeping in the bed with me. I hoped she didn’t scare Piper in the middle of the night.
On second thought, maybe I did.
“Rise and shine.” Her sing-songy voice invaded my dreams like a kudzu vine on a tree. I rolled over and pushed up to an elbow, glancing across the living room to the clock on the TV.
Six-fifteen.
“Are you fuckin kiddin me?” I grumbled before flopping back down onto the couch and pulling the down blanket farther up my body.
I could hear her footsteps drawing closer, but I refused to open my eyes. “I was up till four a.m. trying to catch up on work I missed while moving you out yesterday.”
It was only partially true. I had been up that late working, but it was only because I couldn’t get comfortable on the couch, knowing Piper was asleep in my house. Down the hall. In my bed.
Her voice was just a few inches from my head when she whispered, “Sorry, Lawson.”
I cracked an eye open and took in her face. Her eyes were warm and full of genuine concern. It only stood to further irritate me. I’d have to let her in on the fact I wasn’t a morning person later.
Grumbling, I sat up. “It’s fine. Let’s get your shit moved in.”
She pushed up from the squat she’d been in and an apologetic smile played on her face. “Uhm, about that…” She didn’t finish her sentence, glancing away from me and nervously toying with the edge of her scrubs. “I’ve gotta get to the hospital. I’ve got a shift. And then a study session after.” She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug.
“Are you fuckin kiddin’ me?” I repeated.
“I’m sorry?”
“You askin’ or tellin’ me?”
She huffed. “You know, I didn’t plan this move. And I can’t bail on a shift just because Hampton decided to run off and get married.” She continued to scowl as she ranted. “I mean, seriously, he went through the same medical school I did. He knows how brutal ER rotation is. But did he stop to consider me and my feelings? No. The only thing he was worried about was his dick!”
I couldn’t disagree with her there. Hampton hadn’t been thinking about anyone but himself, and in the process had managed to screw both of us.
“I mean, he knows you don’t like me! Why would he force me on you?” she continued.
I held up a hand. “Whoa. Who said I didn’t like you?” I asked.
She laughed. “Oh, come on, Lawson.”
I waited another second for her to explain, but she just stood in front of me, arms crossed and staring.
“If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t let you move in here.”
She shook her head. “Please. You’re just doing me a favor out of obligation. It’s fine, really. I appreciate it. I won’t be here long anyway.” She checked her watch and frowned. “I’ve gotta go. I’m really sorry I can’t help you unload the truck. Just throw it all in my room and I’ll sort it out.”
“I’m not unloading that truck by myself!” I shouted as she pulled the door shut behind her.
“I owe you one!” came her response from the other side of the door.
11
Piper
Despite the fact I’d shared a tiny condo with Hampton, therefore only occupying four hundred square feet of space for the last five years, it had taken me the better part of a week to get all my stuff unpacked and settled into Lawson’s house.
I’d originally planned to keep most of it packed, promising myself I wouldn’t be here long enough to need it anyway. Lawson had been less than welcoming the last week, avoiding me most days and barely stringing two words together when he did have the misfortune of bumping into me.
Knowing he wasn’t happy to have me, even though I couldn’t figure out why, I’d done my best to stay ou
t of his way. I’d even started looking for other places to live. I pretended it didn’t hurt when I told myself that if he didn’t want me here, well then, I didn’t want to be here either. But I was only lying to myself.
But that was before I’d discovered the massive Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. It sucked that it was the only bathroom in the house, but the walk-in closet in my room more than made up for that.
After sleeping well past noon on my first day off from the hospital in what felt like weeks, I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen. I was rummaging through the cabinets in search of a coffee mug when a noise behind me caused me to freeze.
The cat.
Barely a whisper, I called out, “Here, kitty kitty. It’s just me.” The noise came closer and squeezing my eyes shut, I whirled around and shouted, “Don’t hurt me!” my hands covering my face in a pathetic attempt to keep from having my eyeballs clawed out.
I was expecting hissing or meowing, maybe even just a silent attack, but not the deep chuckle that answered my plea. My eyes flew open to see Lawson standing across from me, one hip propped on the counter, large forearms crossed over his chest, the barest of smiles on his lips. I hadn’t seen him do anything other than scowl in my direction in a week, and I blinked to make sure I wasn’t just seeing a mirage.
Nope, that’s definitely a grin.
My cheeks heated. “Oh, uh, hey, Lawson.” I peered around him, searching the floor for Seven, but my search yielded nothing other than Lawson’s socked feet. “What are you doing here?”
Just as quickly as it appeared, the smile was gone, and he responded dryly, “I live here. At least, I did a week ago.” He glanced behind me at the cabinets that all stood open. “That was until Hurricane Piper moved in.”
He pushed away from the island and skirted around me, slamming the doors a little harder than necessary.
Ohhhhh-kay.
Whatever his deal was today, it was too early to try and figure it out without some coffee coursing through my veins. “Hey! I was looking for a coffee mug!” I snapped, pulling the doors open again. The cabinets were mostly empty, save a few mismatched glasses from local sports bars where the emphasis was more on the waitresses and less on the food. “You live like a, a…”
“Like a bachelor?” he drawled.
“Yes,” I huffed, looking around. “Worse than that. If you didn’t own this house, I would think you were damn near homeless. All of your possessions could fit in a grocery buggy!”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m a man, Piper. I don’t need fancy glasses or throw pillows.”
“Hampton’s a man, and we had every kitchen appliance ever made,” I retorted.
Lawson blinked at me. “Are you really trying to use Hampton as a comparison?”
He had me there. “Where are your coffee mugs?” I scoffed, changing the subject.
“Don’t have any. I don’t drink coffee.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “Who doesn’t drink coffee?” I choked, looking around the counters. No coffee pot. I pulled the refrigerator door open. No creamer. “How do you wake up every morning?”
Lawson stepped around me and pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge. “I go for a run and then come back and lift weights for an hour. Don’t need caffeine when you exercise.” He looked me over before quipping. “Aren’t you a doctor? Shouldn’t you know about endorphins?”
I groaned. “Yes, I know about endorphins. I also know I work eighty hours a week and if I’m not going to kill a person because I can’t keep my eyes open, I need coffee.” I slammed the door shut and leaned against the cool stainless steel. “I’m going to the mall today. I’ll pick up a Keurig and some mugs.” Looking over my shoulder toward the living room, I added, “Maybe a new rug too. A painting on that wall over there would be nice too.”
“Don’t need all that shit. You can get the Keurig if you want, but I’m vetoing the crap for the living room.”
“Aw, come on,” I pleaded. I started to ask him why he was such a grumpy bastard, but thought better of it. This was the longest conversation we’d had since I moved in. I didn’t want to ruin it by pissing him off. “Everything in this house is black or white. It’s so boring. A little bit of color never hurt anyone.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration. I hadn’t seen a single piece of furniture or fabric that was anything other than some shade of gray. It would have looked great if it had been pulled off correctly, but sadly, it just looked like a hodgepodge of stuff with no personality.
“I like black and white,” he muttered.
I studied him, noticing the lack of expression on his face, and concluded the furniture looked like Lawson. Plain, boring, and lacking any feelings.
“Fine,” I huffed. Turning back to where he stood, I smiled brightly. “Wanna go with me?”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to go or not, but I hated shopping alone. And since it seemed that Hampton had traded me in for a husband, I’d lost my shopping partner.
Lawson frowned at me. “Not a chance I’m going to the fucking mall.”
“Your loss,” I quipped. “I’m actually a lot of fun to shop with.”
“I’m sure,” he drawled. He took one last hard look at me, and if I hadn’t been here to witness it, I would have never believed he had actually grinned just a few moments ago. “Before you go, you wanna pick up your shit that’s everywhere?”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he turned on a heel and strode down the hall. When I heard his bedroom door slam, I murmured under my breath, “Nice to see you too, Lawson. You jerk.”
“I’m telling you, Hampton, I would rather be living in a dumpster full of feral cats,” I groaned. After Lawson’s Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde routine, I’d called Ham and begged him to go shopping with me. I’d needed to vent more than I’d ever needed to before, and he was the only person who would understand. Even though this was all his fault, I still needed him.
He took a sip of his Venti Macchiato and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Come on, Pip, it can’t be that bad.”
I stopped my casual stroll and shrugged his arm off. “It’s worse. I barely see him, and when I do, he’s so grouchy. It’s like he’s the one who just worked sixteen hours straight in the ER. I keep trying to talk to him, but he never replies. He just grunts at me.” I took a swallow of my coffee, savoring the flavor, and continued. “He doesn’t drink coffee, for God’s sake. And don’t get me started on that damn cat—”
Hampton’s laughter interrupted me, and I narrowed my eyes.
“Don’t think I’ve forgiven you yet just because I was the one to call first. I just didn’t want to shop alone.”
Hampton began walking again and I trailed after him. “Piper, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Smith. I just—” He paused and glanced over at me. His eyes were genuine and the little bit of resentment I’d been hanging onto vanished. “I just knew it would be a hard change for all of us. I figured it would be easier to just rip the Band-Aid off fast, ya know?”
I nodded. I didn’t agree with him, but he knew me better than I knew myself. If he thought it was for the best, I figured that eventually I’d come to see he was right. And, if I was being perfectly honest with myself, I could never stay angry with Hampton for long. I loved him too much. And unfortunately for me, he knew that as well.
“Anyway, I’m happy. Like, really really happy. I haven’t felt like this since Jack—” He broke off and took another long sip of his coffee, his eyes focused on something just beyond my head. But he didn’t need to finish his sentence for me to understand what he was trying to tell me. He’d finally found a way to move past the tragic loss of his first love. And who the hell was I to hold that against him? When I’d trailed after him to college, I’d vowed to take care of him. Letting him go and find happiness was a part of that vow, no matter how badly it sucked for me.
I bumped him with my shoulder and grinned. “Let’s go find the ugliest fucking throw rug here and buy it for Lawson’s ho
use. I’ll record his reaction and send it to you.”
Hampton chuckled and slung his arm back around my shoulders. “That’s my girl. If ya can’t join ’em, beat ’em, right?”
I shook my head. “Not exactly.”
“So, let me tell you about what Smith did for me last night.” Hampton waggled his brows and I groaned.
“If it was in the bed, I do not want to know.”
Dramatically, he poked his lip out. “God, you’re no fun.”
12
Lawson
Hampton was a liar.
I knew Piper lived here. There was no way to not know it.
She was messy. She left her clothes damn near everywhere. The moment she walked in the door, her shoes and crazy ass socks came off and were dropped wherever she was standing, never to be picked up again. She left cabinet doors open in the kitchen, as if she’d become distracted and forgotten to close them. She never remembered to turn a light off and I dreaded my next power bill. It didn’t matter how many times I reminded her, she would just walk right out of a room without a second thought. And most of all, she made more noise while getting ready than was humanly possible. Whether she was singing off-tune or studying out loud, she never shut up.
She also smelled amazing. Every time she got in the shower, which seemed to be at least twice a day, my house, which was large, would be filled with the scent of lavender and honey. I’d found myself escaping to the back deck any time I heard the water turn on, even though it was getting warmer and warmer each day. It was the only way to avoid the intoxicating scent that was all Piper.
She had no boundaries, no respect for someone’s privacy. She walked around in her short robe that tended to come untied just enough for me to catch a glimpse of her smooth skin, pink from her shower. Every single morning after she took that blasted shower, she’d head straight for the kitchen, not giving a single shit that I was trying to get ready for the day. No, she’d just waltz in, half naked and smelling like every fantasy I’d ever had and try to chat. It didn’t matter that I’d walk past her with barely a grunt in her direction, she didn’t stop. She’d follow me down the hall, blabbering on about a patient she had in the ER or a new song she’d heard on the radio, and walk right into my room, throwing herself onto my bed to continue talking, never once noticing I didn’t respond.
