Piper fell in love with me first.
I was her first.
Please, God, don’t let there be another man out there who stole her heart.
“What about you?” she asks after a beat of silence. “What were you doing on the dating apps?”
“Similar to you,” I admit. “Ellie keeps my hands full. I was only searching on the side to?—”
“Get laid.” She looks up at me, the hint of a smile on her face. “You can say it.” She takes another sip of tea and looks over the rim at me with a darkened expression. “We all need a release somehow, right?”
My balls tense at her even alluding to the idea of sex.
“Right,” I grunt, unsure how long I can go on being in pain like this.
9
PIPER
Workingat the coffee shop always forces my mind to think of other things. I greet my regulars and spend some much-needed time with the espresso machine. Coffee makes everything better. I can vouch for that as I take my first sip of bliss.
I let the caffeine work through my system. I take it strong these days, especially when Caleb’s walking around like a hot piece of ass. No matter what he wears, there’s a high chance I’m gonna stand and drool.
People tiptoe around me about my house, and of course they ask where I’m staying.
“You could always stay at my place for a while,” says one of my regulars. “It’s the least I can do for all the good coffee you make me.”
I’d be over there in a heartbeat if it wasn’t for Sonny. He doesn’t do well with transitions, and only did well after the fire because he saw where he was gonna be living. I keep reminding him—and myself—that Caleb’s place is temporary, but the kid doesn’t wanna hear it.
And neither does my own brain, apparently.
I work all morning and head back to Caleb’s at lunch, usually to find a spread prepared. I rarely eat at work, so I come back starving out of my ass.
But I see him and forget about my appetite completely. My heart trembles every time he steps into the room. No amount of mental preparation could prepare me for Caleb Rourke, especially when he’s in uniform.
The days go as follows: He works. I work. Grace visits if both of us are scheduled at the same time. He cooks. I clean. We catch each other’s eyes throughout dinner, and I pretend not to feel the ache in my heart, because it’s easier to pretend than it is to admit the hard truth.
The fantasy is becoming real, and is manifesting now in real time.
More each day.
One night, he’s working late and I’m just finishing using the bathroom, when we collide unexpectedly in the corridor. He’s in uniform, hair slicked back from his face. Our mouths are so close that I can faintly smell the coffee in his breath, perfumed with other delicious scents that make me go crazy.
I search for what little self-control I have left, and head to bed.
But the desire revisits even stronger the next morning when I see himagain.
This time he’s in nothing but a towel.
We’ve done well to get this far and not catch the other one naked…kinda.
Technically, heisnaked underneath the towel.
The crisp white color contrasts well with his tanned skin. Fresh out of the tower, hot water droplets are still trickling down his chest. They vanish between grooves of muscle. And I can’t look away.
Caleb has to clear his throat to break me out of my trance.
We’re alone, and it’s early in the morning. We have time and opportunity to break contact.
