“Piper.” She could feel Tag standing behind her before she turned to look at him, not able to meet his eyes. “Piper, please look at me.” Tag took her shaking hands into his, trying to calm her, but his touch only made her more emotional. What the hell was wrong with her? She was careful to avoid Tag as much aspossible. Besides his weekly persistent question every Monday morning, Tag mainly left her alone. And that was just fine with her. She was afraid that if she let herself, she would find it much too easy to fall in love with Taggart Harrison. What girl wouldn’t? He was hot as sin with his black hair and icy blue eyes. He was as big as a mountain, towering over her, but so gentle that she barely felt his touch. Tag ran his thumb over Piper’s hand, and it felt like a soothing balm.
“Piper, I didn’t plan this. I thought that you agreed to meet me. Now, I’m pretty sure that Sunny hijacked your dating app and set this whole thing up.” It was Piper’s turn to feel confused.
“Sunny set this up? But, how?” Piper found herself leaning into Tag, taking the gentle comfort that he was offering her.
“All I can tell you is that I signed up for a dating app this week. A few hours later, I got a ping that you were on the same app and we were a match. So, I thought I was setting this date up with you. It must have been Sunny that I was talking to the whole time. You had no idea that we were meeting tonight?” Piper shook her head.
“I didn’t even know that you were on the dating app. I signed up for that months ago to try to prove to my aunt that I wasn’t afraid to go on a date. She kept nagging me about turning you down, so I downloaded the app to shut Lorna up. I didn’t even complete my profile,” she admitted.
“I see.” He pulled away from Piper, leaving her instantly missing his touch.
“Tag, I didn’t do it to hurt you. I just don’t want to date—anyone.” Piper reached in Tag’s direction but gave up, letting her arms fall to her side. “It isn’t you, Tag,” she whispered.
“Let me guess, Piper. It’s you? So typical, you can’t see that we could be good together because you are so busy being wrapped up in your grief. Have you ever considered living a little? You’re missing out on life, Piper.” Tag stood in the cornerfurthest from her. She got the message loud and clear, and it hurt.
“Great, now you sound like Sunny.” Piper slapped the door, trying once again to get it to open.
“Maybe Sunny is on to something. She’s your best friend, and she obviously thinks we should date, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.” Piper spun on her heel to face Tag.
“Sunny, my so-called best friend, stole my phone and set up a date that I did not agree to.” Piper made her way to Tag like a cautious animal approaching a predator.
“Yeah, I got that. Sunny tricked you, and you don’t want to be here. Message clearly received.” Tag picked up a clue and read it silently.
“Tag, I don’t want to play a game right now. Let’s just bang on the door until someone lets us out.” She kicked the door, causing Tag to bark out his laugh.
“You think that Sunny went to all this trouble, and she won’t stop a teenage boy from just letting us out? I’m pretty sure she can handle a sixteen-year-old kid, probably has him convinced that he’s in love with her. He’s not going to let us out anytime soon. Our only way out is to figure out the clues, so the door unlocks.” Piper gave the door another kick.
“Ouch!” She started hopping around the small space, holding her foot.
“I know that you want out of here, Piper, but breaking your foot isn’t the way to do it.” Tag lifted her onto a table that sat in the middle of the room. “Let me see.” Piper wanted to melt into his touch. It felt good to be in his arms, but she also knew that would put an end to her defenses. She was afraid that Tag was the one person who could tear down her walls, and that scared the shit out of her.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. Tag wasn’t buying her lie. He pulled her ankle boot and hot pink sock off to find that her foot was already swelling.
“Damn it, Piper, it’s already bruising.” He spun her around on the table, removing his jacket to prop up her foot. “Stay put, I’ll try to get us out of here. And then, I’m going to kill Sunny.” Tag flashed Piper one of his rare, shy smiles, causing her to flush.
“You’ll need to get in line. I call first dibs at Sunny. She did steal my phone and trick me into being locked in a room with you.” Piper saw the flash of sadness in Tag’s eyes and regretted her words immediately. “Tag, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I get it, being here with me isn’t what you signed up for. Honestly, Piper, you are just proving my point.” Tag was pretending to be busy himself with clues around the room, but Piper could tell that he was only going through the motions.
“What do you mean—I’m proving your point?” She grabbed Tag’s hand as he tried to pass her, effectively stopping him in front of her. Without his jacket, she noticed his tattoo sleeve that circled his lower arm. It was a scene of a forest with snowcapped mountains in the background. It encircled his entire forearm and seemed to perfectly fit who Tag was. He gently pulled his hand from her grasp.
“What I mean, Honey, is that you have made your point. It may have taken me an entire year to catch on, but I get it. You’re just not into me. Message received, loud and clear.” Piper could hear her breath catch. How could Tag think that she wasn’t into him? Just looking at him made her body react like it never had before. For so long now, she wanted to just tell him that she would go out with him, but she was also so afraid. She couldn’t let herself suffer another loss. She wasn’t strong enough. She guarded her heart like a sentry standing watch. She knew her limits, and Tag pushed every one of them.
“How can you think that I’m not into you? You own a mirror, right?” Piper smiled, but unfortunately, Tag didn’t return her humor.
“This has nothing to do with the way that I look. You have turned me down fifty-two times.” She cringed at Tag’s words. “I like you, Piper. I thought that you might like me too, but I guess I was wrong.” Piper could feel her head shaking, denying his words. “You don’t have to deny the truth. I was there every Monday when I asked you out, and you politely smiled and turned me down.”
“You just don’t understand, Tag. I can’t let you in. If you tear down my walls, what will I have left?” She felt her hot tears running down her face, and she crudely wiped them with her shirt sleeve. Tag put down the clue that he was working on and moved slowly across the room to where Piper sat.
“Piper, you would have someone who cares about you. You would have a partner, maybe even love. You will never find out what you could have if you don’t let me in. Just give me a chance, that’s all I’m asking.” Tag wiped away her tears with his thumbs, pulling her in to gently kiss her lips. Piper froze, not knowing what to do next. A part of her wanted to see where this all led, but her brain was overloading her emotions.
She pulled away from the kiss. “Tag, I can’t,” she whispered. He groaned, backing away from her.
“Okay, Piper. You live in a world filled with fear. But, keep in mind you’re not the only kid to grow up without parents.” Tag started to walk away from her, but she stopped him by grabbing his hand and pulling him back to her.
“Tag, what I meant was that I can’t kiss you. I’m not sure how to—well—kiss. I’ve never really kissed a guy before, unless you count Robbie from my second-grade class. He pulled me behind the sliding board and kissed me when we were seven. I didn’tlike it and I told him so. He got mad and told everyone in our class that I didn’t like boys.”
“Huh, I guess that explains the rumors,” Tag said.
