“I’m sorry, Honey. I shouldn’t have pushed you.” Tag started to move from Piper’s body, but she pulled him back down on top of her.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. That was just the first time that I have ever felt—well, you know what I felt.” He liked the way she turned red while talking about his cock. She covered her eyes with her hands as if trying to hide from him.
“Honey, look at me.” Tag laughed, gently pulling at Piper’s hands. “It’s all right to be a little shy. Hell, I’m sorry that I pushed you. I want to take this slowly and not rush you.”
“You’re not rushing me. I have waited almost twenty-six years for this. I think we should speed things up a bit.” Piper reached for Tag’s zipper, causing him to hiss out his pent-up breath. If Piper got his fly down, he wouldn’t want to stop what happened next.
“Piper, I think—” He was interrupted mid-sentence by the door unlocking and swinging open to reveal one embarrassed teenage boy.
“Um, you guys can’t be doing that in here.” The teenager who let him into the room earlier was standing in the doorway, red as a beet. “My boss will fire me if he finds out that you two were making out in here.”
Tag quickly removed himself from Piper, pulling her up with him. He helped straighten her clothing and stood in front of her as if shielding her from the teenager’s gaze. The poor guy couldn’t seem to find his tongue, looking Piper up and down. Tag growled, drawing the boy’s attention back to himself.
“Sorry, dude. We will grab our things and get out of your hair.” Tag tried to sound like he didn’t care that they were just busted by the teenage Escape Room police. The truth was, he didn’t want this night to end. He was afraid that Piper would go back to her place and forget all about him. He couldn’t stand the thought of starting all over again with her. Piper grabbed her bag and started for the door. She was going to bolt, and he couldn’t let that happen. Tag grabbed her hand as she tried to get past him.
“Let me take you home,” he begged. Piper seemed torn about what she wanted. The fear in her eyes told Tag that she just wanted to run and hide, but there was also something else. Something new. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he was sure he also saw desire.
“I don’t know. Sunny is probably waiting for me.” Piper pulled her jacket on, trying for nonchalant.
“Oh, that hot girl and her friend left,” the teenage boy said, still checking Piper out and standing way too close to her for Tag’s liking.
“They left? Why would they just leave me here?” Piper asked.
“I’m guessing that overly optimistic Sunny thinks that I’ll drive you home.” Tag reached for Piper’s hand, hoping like hell that she would accept his. “Come on, Piper, I’m an excellent driver. I’ll get you home safe and sound.” Tag’s teasing tone earned him a laugh from Piper. Her whole face lit up, and she was beautiful. He couldn’t help himself; he took her hand and pulled her into his body. “You are gorgeous when you laugh, Honey.” He kissed her lips, pulling away at the groans of disgust coming from the teenage boy who was still in the room with them.
“You two should get a room.” He laughed at his joke.
“Well,” Tag interrupted the kid’s moment. “We had a room until you came barging in, telling us to get lost.” Tag led Piperfrom the building out into the night. This whole evening couldn’t have gone better, even if he planned it himself. He owed Sunny for not sticking around to drive Piper home. And, damn it, he knew that she would collect. He just needed a little bit more time to convince Piper that changing her mind was not an option. This might have been one crazy first date, but Tag couldn’t wait for their second one.
Chapter Six
Piper walked through her front door to the sound of her ringing cell phone. She found it on the kitchen counter and saw Sunny’s picture lighting up the screen. She let it go to voicemail, not quite ready to deal with Sunny. Honestly, she didn’t know if she wanted to hug or punch her best friend for meddling in her life. The thing that rubbed her the wrong way was that Sunny was one hundred percent right about Tag. If she weren’t so stubborn, Piper could have found out how wonderful he was months ago. She smiled at the memory of Tag holding her hand on the car ride home and then sweetly kissing her goodnight on her front porch. A part of her was grateful that Lorna no longer lived with her—she would have pestered her for all the gory details. Piper wanted to keep them to herself for as long as possible, which was another good reason to avoid Sunny’s call. She went to her fridge and pulled out the wine that the girls had opened last night. She poured herself the last of the bottle and sank into her kitchen chair. She wanted to go over every detail from her evening with Tag, but she found herself smiling like a loon and thinking about the way he kissed her. She touched her lips, remembering the way that he sweetly kissedher. He was so big yet gentle. His mouth was demanding, but Piper knew that he was holding back on her account. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to. Piper wanted everything that Tag had to give her and more. Her smile faded when she realized that her front door was being unlocked. The only people who had keys were Lorna and Sunny. Lorna usually knocked before just barging in, leaving no doubt that it was Sunny who was there to snoop. Piper stood in the entryway waiting for her friend to finally get in the door.
“Hey, traitor. I’m guessing you are here to make sure that I got home safely. You are such a good friend.” Piper couldn’t help the sarcasm that dripped from her tone.
“Pipe, you look hot, Mama!” Sunny turned the charm up but forgot that Piper was immune to her wiles.
“Don’t tell me how hot I look. I know exactly how I look, Sunny. You set me up!” Piper tried to be angry with Sunny, but it was hard to be mad over the fact that it was on her first date with Tag.
“So, how was your first date? Is he a good kisser? I’m guessing that he is—I mean, just look at him.” Sunny hugged Piper and twirled them both around. Piper laughed and swatted her friend away.
“Who says that I kissed him?” Sunny’s laugh filled the foyer.
“Well, the hearts in your eyes are a dead giveaway. And, your swollen lips are a sure sign that you were thoroughly kissed. He is as good as he looks, I’m right!” Sunny jumped up and down, hugging Piper as if she had just won the grand prize on a game show. “Oh, Piper, I am so happy for you—both of you.” It was impossible to stay mad at Sunny. She was right, Tag was as good as he looked. If it were possible, he was even better. Of course, Piper didn’t have anyone else to compare him with, but according to all of Sunny’s second-hand tales, Tag was pretty much perfect.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, Sunny. It was just a first date, if you can even call it that. I’m not sure that it qualifies as a first date if a pesky best friend pushes you into a room where a man is waiting.”
Sunny giggled at Piper’s account of what happened. “I didn’t mean to push you into the room, but I had no choice. Your panic made me panic, so I shoved.” Piper led Sunny into her kitchen, knowing that she wasn’t going to get rid of her friend without recounting all the details. “So, tell me everything.” Sunny grabbed Piper’s glass of wine and took a sip, waiting for Piper to start her story. Sunny was a good friend. Sure, she was nosey and pushy, but a good listener. Piper couldn’t imagine her life without Sunny—she would be a hermit. Sunny always seemed to know when Piper needed her; she was always there for her. Plus, Piper wanted to share her amazing experience. Sure, she was about ten years late to the dating game, but she finally made it, and she wanted to tell her best friend.
“He was incredible!” Piper squealed, a sound that she couldn’t remember ever making before now. She felt like a teenage girl gushing about her new boyfriend. Was that what Tag was—her boyfriend? She decided that she needed to calm down a little if she wanted to get through the whole story. Piper grabbed her glass of wine from Sunny and downed it.
“Easy there, Slugger. I need you to tell me about your amazing evening, not drink too much, and pass out.” Sunny carefully took Piper’s glass and set it on the table.
“I just needed to calm my nerves.” Piper smiled at Sunny. “He was sweet and gentle and so understanding. When I told him that I had never kissed a boy before, he didn’t laugh at me. I thought for sure he was going to bolt when I told him about all the firsts that I missed out on. But I’m pretty sure that he knows enough about my past to know that I wasn’t a typical teenager.”
Sunny nodded her agreement. “Well, a couple of summers ago, he asked me about you, and I told him. I didn’t think too much about it at the time. I just thought that he was being polite. I was dating Torren—if you can call what we were doing ‘dating.'” Sunny rolled her eyes at Piper’s expression of disgust. Torren didn’t date; he fucked his way through the town’s women. Sunny was just a summer fling for a few weeks, and she was fine with that. Torren had quite the “Love them and leave them” reputation around town.
“I am so happy that you and Torren didn’t end up together. You two are so similar that it would have driven everyone in this town nuts. You are both always so—happy.”
