“That was a mistake.” The words tumble out, harsh and panicked. “That will never happen again.”
Liar. My body screams it even as my mouth says the opposite.
“I'm leaving.” I say.
“You're not leaving.” Callum's pulling on his clothes now, following me as I stumble toward the living room.
I grab my coat from the floor. Everything is blurry and my chest is too tight and I can't breathe in here. I can't stop feeling the way his hands felt on my body. Can't stop wanting him again.
“Piper, stop.” He catches my arm and I wrench it away.
“Don't!”
“You are not leaving.”
“You can throw me over your shoulder a million times and I will still leave!”
He moves between me and the door. “Where are you gonna go? It's a storm out there. You’ll freeze to death.”
“I don't care! It's better than being here with you!”
But the horrible, awful truth is that there's nowhere I'd rather be than with him, and that makes me a terrible person. A terrible friend.
“Calm down,” Callum says, his voice dropping into a reasonable tone.
“Calm down? We just had sex! You’re my best friend's brother! And shehatesyou!”
She hates him and I just… God, what did I just do to her? What kind of friend am I?
The kind who can't stop thinking about doing it again.
“You told me to do it. You said 'fuck it, just do it'.”
“Don't.” I point at him, my hand shaking. “Don't you dare put this on me.”
“I'm not putting anything on anyone. I'm saying we both…”
“No.” I shake my head. “No, this was a mistake. A huge, terrible mistake. And I need to leave before I…”
Before I do it again. Before I confess that I'm drawn to him in a way that makes me want to forget everything—my loyalty, my morals—just to feel that way one more time.
I reach for the doorknob. Callum grabs my hand.
I wrench it away so violently I nearly fall. “Don't touch me!”
Because if he touches me, I'll stay. And if I stay, I'm lost.
“Piper!”
But I'm already out the door.
The storm is still raging, maybe worse than before. I stumble off the porch, heading… I’m not sure where. My car is buried. Definitely not drivable.
“Piper!” Callum's voice behind me, and then his footsteps. “Stop!”
“Stop following me!”
“Then stop being an idiot!”
