“We all agreed to tell you when you came home. Your parents didn’t want to tell you on the phone and have you be alone. They moved me into their house, took care of me. I was a mess, but I was carrying their grandchild.”
“They were in a tough spot. I know that.”
“Rob insisted we get married, but I wouldn’t commit to that. Somewhere in me, I was hoping you’d forgive me, still marry me, love me.” She shook her head. “It was crazy, but you were the brother I loved.”
“Ellie, don’t.” I couldn’t hear her refer to me and love in the same sentence. If there was one thing I was certain of in this whole mess, it was that Ellie never loved me. She couldn’t have fucked my brother if she did.
“When you dropped down on your knee and proposed that day, my heart felt like it was being ripped in two. I never expected you to propose so soon. I saw everything I ever wanted and knew I wouldn’t have. The way your face looked when Carl told you I was pregnant still haunts me.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I said, not seeing the point in reliving any of this, but she just continued.
“Then you just walked out the door. No letter, no phone call. Nothing but silence for six long years. I kept thinking you’d come back. On the day I married Rob, I kept thinking you’d come stop the wedding.”
“You still married him.”
“I did. I knew he loved me.” She looked into my eyes. “He knew I loved you, and he respected that. And I respected him for being a man and taking care of me and the baby.”
I wasn’t sure what she was getting at. Did she expect me to feel sorry for her? “Can’t be all bad, you’re having more babies together.”
“It’s not. It took a really long time for me to love him, but I do now.”
“Congratulations,” I said sarcastically.
“Fuck you, Drew!” she yelled, standing up. “The rest of us hurt, too. I slept with him one time. It was a mistake. Do you know I didn’t sleep with him again until over a year after we were married? Do you care?”
“No.” I really didn’t care how often they screwed each other, but it did make me happy Rob didn’t score for over a year. I considered that a little win.
She threw a glass at my head but missed wildly, hitting the door behind me. “You son of a bitch!” she yelled as the door flew open and the whole family, followed by Piper, ran in.
“Ellie,” Rob rushed to her side, but she held up her hand. He tenderly lowered her back onto the stool.
“You know something, Drew? It’s not just about you. Your parents hurt. You holding onto all this hurts them, your grandmother. You don’t have to care that it hurts me and Rob, but at least care about them. Care about your mother crying when you aren’t here every damn holiday. Care about what that does to your dad. Care about the fact that your nephew doesn’t know you or that your brother misses you so much and hates himself for what he did.”
Rob placed his hands on her belly. “Ellie, you need to calm down.” She looked into his eyes and took a few deep breaths, then got up and headed towards the door. Rob put his arm around her. “Let’s get Jack and go home.”
Ellie walked past Piper and stopped, looking her right in the eye, as only a lifelong bitch can do. “You better hope he cares about you more than he cares about any of us; otherwise, he’ll walk away and won’t look back.”
*
Dammit, Ellie! Piper looked destroyed, and I’m sure that’s exactly what Ellie intended. Ellie had struck right at Piper’s weak spot, her insecurity that people can just leave her without warning. I said quick goodbyes to my parents, Nana, and Mr. Nelson, but I had no idea what to say to Piper. Why in the hell would she want to be messed up with all this drama? She didn’t deserve this. She deserved so much better. The silence as I drove Piper home was a reminder of how empty my life would be without her. I took Piper’s hand and helped her out of my truck, walking her past the peppermint decorations to her front door.
A few hours ago, our naked bodies were all entangled, and now Ellie ruined our perfect Christmas. We walked up the few steps to her porch and I rubbed her arms, warming her up. I’d be surprised if she wanted to spend another second with me after this.
“Good night,” she said softly.
Jesus, I wanted to grab her and hold her and tell her how much she meant to me, but I couldn’t do it right now. I knew she needed time. I didn’t think she’d even be able to really hear what I had to say. “Good night.” She turned for the door, and I weakened, reaching out and wrapping my arms around her from behind. I rested my chin on her shoulder. “One more minute.” I wanted much more than that. I wanted to spend the night with her, holding her. Of all the times I’d left people before, this time I just couldn’t seem to tear myself away from her.
After a few minutes, she turned to me, her hand grazing my cheek. “Do you want to talk?”
Hell no! I didn’t want to talk to her about Ellie. I just wanted to hold Piper, make love to her, forget the past. I shook my head slightly then placed a soft kiss on her lips before she slipped through the door.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DECEMBER 26
PIPER
I nuzzled into my pillow. I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. The day after Christmas was supposed to mean after Christmas sales and shopping, football, and leftovers. In McAdenville, it also meant the last day of the Christmas lights. I didn’t want to face any of it. I pulled the covers up over my head, snuggling in. I was going to stay here all day, blowing off shopping with my friends in Charlotte. They were all shopping for New Year’s, and I didn’t want to think about that. Drew would be gone, probably for good. Today was not the day to face that.
I couldn’t get Ellie’s words or that cold stare she gave me out of my head. I knew I shouldn’t let an ex-girlfriend get to me, but I couldn’t seem to stop it. And Drew had been so quiet when he drove me home, his sexy, flirty smile gone. Even his kiss on my front porch was different, his lips sad. I heard my phone ding with a text and reached for it on my nightstand.
Drew: I’m on my way over. Want to spend the day with you.
Me: No, I don’t feel well, staying in bed today.
Drew: Sorry, what’s wrong?
How was I supposed to answer that? How about I’m in love with you, and you’re leaving. Or perhaps, Your ex-girlfriend is messing with my head. I rolled to my side and curled into a little ball.
Drew: I’ll come take care of you.
Me: Not right now.
I felt tears roll down my cheeks. It was all too much. I’d fallen in love with him too fast, and my mind couldn’t keep up. I needed a day alone to think—to think about what I wanted, not what my stupid heart or my overeager libido were telling me.
Drew: But I’m only here a few more days and I want them to be with you, sick or not.
I tossed my phone on the nightstand, frustrated he’d say something sweet like that. I closed my eyes, telling myself not to give in. I needed a day to myself, but I couldn’t spend it moping around. I got up and walked into the bathroom. Brushing my teeth and tying my blonde hair up on top of my head, I decided it wasn’t too late to go shopping. My girlfriends had left already, but I could catch up with them for lunch. I still had plenty of time. Starting the water in the bathtub, I heard my phone dinging in the other room. I kicked the bathroom door shut, refusing to wallow anymore about Drew. I had my own life.
Slipping out of my cami and boxer shorts, my fingers started to remove my panties when a memory played in my mind—Drew’s fingers on me, in me. It was definitely more fun when he took my panties off, which reminded me that I better take my birth control pill. I flipped open the package and popped out a pill, immediately doing a double take. Wait! This was wrong. I looked down, certain I hadn’t missed any of my pills. I took them every morning faithfully, even though I hadn’t had sex since my last steady boyfriend over two years ago. The wrong week? I’d been taking the wrong week—the placebo week. I’d been taking sugar pills for
the past three days? I stared down at the package, wondering how that could’ve happened.
I thought back to three mornings ago. Sabrina had stopped by, and I was hung-over after drinking at Hank’s. I must’ve not been paying attention and popped the pill out of the wrong week, then just continued that week without noticing—Crap! How could I be so stupid? I gripped the edge of the sink. What do I do? I told myself not to freak out, to stay calm. I pulled out the instructions from my birth control packet, hoping I wasn’t the first person who’d done this. My eyes scanned the papers, searching.
A small knock came on the door, and I whipped around as Drew opened the door. “Hey,” he said, his eyes lapping over my naked body. “You don’t look sick from here.”
I crumbled up the instructions in my hand and tossed them aside. What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to tell him? I wondered what good that would do. He’d worry and probably for no reason. Not telling him seemed the better option, maybe because I was chicken for him to find out how irresponsible I had been.
He walked over and turned off the tub water. “Getting a little high.”
“Oh,” I said, grabbing my pill box and closing it. He slid his arms around my waist as I put the package back in the cabinet.
“Glad to see you’re so responsible.” I could feel his erection through his jeans, poking me in the backside. “I’d hate to have to wear condoms with you. I love the way you feel.”
Was he really going to pick this moment to get frisky with me? Based on the way he was grinding into me, I guessed so, but I felt sick to my stomach. I’d told him I was on the pill. He trusted me, and I’d screwed up. This could change both our lives forever, all because I had a hangover from playing the “bad girl.” Stupid, stupid, stupid!
“I missed you last night,” he said, leaning into my neck. “Sucks that you live with your granddad, and I’m staying with Nana.”
I pushed him back slightly. “Speaking of Granddaddy, he’ll kill you if he catches you in here with me.”
He wrapped his arms around me again, cupping my breasts gently. “He was heading out when I got here. We’re alone.” He looked up into the mirror, catching my eyes, and I watched his hand sliding over my naked flesh. He tweaked my nipples, and the pleasure shot right between my legs. This was hot and felt naughty in a very good way, but I had to stop this. But he was putting me in a tough spot. I couldn’t just say no to him without him wanting to know why, especially when my body was betraying me—my nipples hardening, my body moistening.
My mind was going a mile a minute. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do about the pills. I knew we should use a backup method, but how was I supposed to tell him that without him knowing how bad I’d screwed up. “I told you, I’m not feeling well.” I moved away from him and stepped into the warm bath water. I wanted to hide. I didn’t want him to see me naked, exposed, and I felt tears well up in my eyes. I just knew I was pregnant. It was irrational, but I knew. Usually I’d start my period the second day of the placebo pills. This was day four and nothing.
Drew bent down next to the tub. “Is this about what Ellie said last night?”
I started to cry harder, my chest heaving. I couldn’t help it, control it. It was about Ellie and maybe being pregnant, and his leaving, and me loving him, and worrying he didn’t feel the same.
“I can’t just sit here and watch you cry, Piper.” Drew got up and was out of his clothes and in the tub with me in seconds. He pulled me into his chest and stroked my hair. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you last night. I should have, but I felt like you needed space and I was trying to give it to you. Talk to me, sweetheart. I’m listening.”
“Would you ever move back here?” I wasn’t sure where I got the courage to ask that, but I did.
“No, I don’t see that ever happening,” he said. “My business is in Raleigh.”
I lifted my head off his chest. “And I can’t leave Granddaddy here alone. So what are we doing?”
*
DREW
This is hardly the conversation I thought we’d be having when I walked in on Piper naked. She’d obviously stewed on this all night. “We’re having fun together. I’m only twenty-five, and you’re only twenty-four.” The look on her face made it clear that wasn’t the right answer, so I tried again. “Please, don’t act like what’s happening between us is a bad thing. This is not a bad thing.” I motioned between us. “This is a good thing—a really good thing.”
“I’m scared of getting hurt.”
Her voice sounded so sweet, but also weak. I hated it. “What can I do to make you feel better?”
She shrugged. “I feel like we are in that stage where you want to be with the person every second. You know?”
“I do.” I kissed her sweetly. “I can’t imagine feeling any differently. I couldn’t wait to see you this morning. I wanted your face to be the first one I saw, your voice to be the last one I heard.” A few tears ran down her cheeks. “There’s no reason we can’t keep seeing each other after the holiday. It’s three hours.”
“You keep saying that,” Piper snapped, wiping her face. “But I get the feeling it will be me making the three hour trip every time.”
“No, I’ll. . . .’
“You’ll come back to McAdenville?” she asked skeptically.
“We have no privacy here, so probably not. But I could meet you in Charlotte. That’s only twenty minutes for you. We could stay in a nice hotel. I promise it’ll all be fine.” She rested her head back down on my chest. I don’t know if she believed me or not, but this wasn’t like Piper. Something else was bothering her. It had to be Ellie. Ellie had made her doubt us, made her think I would just walk away from her without looking back. As if I didn’t already have enough reasons to hate her, now she’d given me another one.
“You said the distance was hard with Ellie. Why do you think this will be any easier?”
She really wasn’t letting go of this, but I’d be damned if I let Ellie mess this up for me. “Because you aren’t her. Because we’re older. Because we’ll be able to see each other every weekend.”
“Every weekend?”
I gave her a little squeeze. “Of course, and during the week we can text, email, talk on the phone. We can get really good at all the cybersex options.” She started to smile. I loved her smile, making her smile. “I already know you’re good at sexting, but there’s FaceTime fucking and Skype screwing and. . . .” She busted out laughing. “We only have a little while until I go back.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to spend it like this. I don’t want to spend our time worrying about the time when we won’t be together. Does that make sense?” She gave me a little nod, and I lapped some water over her body, trying to keep her warm. “I want to make you happy, see you laugh and smile, hold you all night long, kiss you for hours. Can we do that? Can we spend the rest of our time like that—You. Me. Us.”
She nodded and wiped her cheeks. “I’m not really sick.”
I smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I know.”
“Can we go do something fun today?” Piper asked, playing with the hairs on my chest and making my heart beat a little faster, my dick get a little harder.
“I thought we had fun yesterday,” I teased her, and she slapped me lightly. “What’d you have in mind?”
“Let’s go to Charlotte and pick out which hotel we’ll stay at,” she asked quietly, like she half-expected me to say no.
It wasn’t like Piper to be needy. I wasn’t sure what had gotten into her, but it didn’t bother me. I wanted her to feel secure. I wanted to assure her that we could make this work. “Pack a bag,” I said to her. “We’ll stay the night in Charlotte.”
“Really?” she asked, sitting up slightly to look into my eyes.
“Yeah, it will be like practice for the real thing.” She crawled on top of my body and kissed me slowly, her tongue circling mine. I slid my hands to her ass and sat up so I could kiss her tits.
Even in the water, I could feel the warmth between her legs.
“Let’s wait,” she whispered.
“Why?” I groaned.
“Because once we start, I won’t want to stop.” She pecked my lips and hopped out of the tub.
I watched the water slide down the peaks of her breasts. Waiting was not an option. I quickly got up and captured her in my arms. I picked her up as she giggled, carried her into her bedroom, and placed her down on her bed. “No waiting,” I said, pushing her thighs apart and sucking down on her hard.
“Drew, I. . . .” she tried to protest, but her desire was winning. Thank God, because I just wanted to enjoy her.
“I could stay between your legs all day.” She melted into my mouth. Nothing makes a guy happier than making a woman wet, and Piper never disappointed. The wetter she got, the more I wanted her. She was so beautiful glistening for me, and I couldn’t get enough. I held her thighs firmly, forcing her wide open for me, using my tongue to fuck her slowly in and out, feeling her clench around my mouth. She loved it, loved my mouth on her, loved my tongue flicking her clit, my mouth sucking down, building her up. I could tell she was close, her muscles starting to tremble slightly. “Fuck my mouth, baby.” Her back arched, forcing my tongue deeper. She came back down, and I licked her, enjoying the last of her tremors. I planted light kisses up and down her pussy and knew her craving for me was building again. I really could stay here all day, eating her, but there were just too many other ways to make her come from me. I slid up her body, anxious to bury myself deep inside her. She gripped the back of my neck and pulled my lips to hers. My tongue found hers, and I gave it a little suck.
*
PIPER
I moaned as he gave my tongue a little suck and slipped himself inside me. I couldn’t let this happen. It was one thing to have unprotected sex when I’d unknowingly made a mistake with my pills; it was another to knowingly do it. But he felt so good.
“Can you taste yourself on me?” he asked.
This man was unbelievable and had the dirtiest mind. Of course, I could taste myself, but did we really have to discuss it? “Yes.” His dick twitched inside me, hitting the perfect spot. He wasn’t going to make this easy.
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