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She smiles. "You were."
We fall silent as the next duo takes the stage. Then the next. The next. Then it's the second to last, and Piper is staring at her script, poring over every line.
Her chest heaves with each of her deep breaths. She taps the inside edges of her sandals together.
I'm watching her so closely, I don't even hear the teacher call her name. But I do see her pupils dilate as she jumps to her feet.
She and Jane make their way to the stage. They rearrange the furniture, placing props on the table and chairs around it.
Jane takes a seat at one of the chairs. Piper goes behind the curtain.
"And scene," the professor says.
A moment later, Piper enters from behind the curtain. Only she isn't Piper anymore, not exactly. The way she moves is different. She's tough, professional, in control. She doesn't look nervous. Not a hint.
She's cordial to her scene partner without being cold. I can get a lot from their body language. They have a professional relationship. Piper's character is the one with more respect, more class. But I can tell she's frustrated too.
Jane's character is more surface with her anger.
It takes me a few moments to recognize the scene as one from The Accused. Piper is playing the lawyer and Jane is playing the woman pressing charges for sexual assault. And the two of them are nailing the scene.
Don't get me wrong. I can tell they've only been practicing for an hour. I can tell there's more room to grow. But I can also tell Piper has the potential to be fucking amazing.
I get lost in her performance. Then in the way her expression changes as she takes in the teacher's criticism. In the way she bounces next to me and squeezes my hand.
Now that she's done with nerves, there's joy all over her face.
This is what makes her happy, where she belongs.
And I want that for her.
I want the fucking world for her.
Chapter 24
Kit
After we pick up dinner at the nearest organic grocery store, we drive to the beach. It takes ten minutes to find a parking spot in the neighborhood overlooking the water, but Piper refuses to entertain any other options.
She bounces out of the car and throws her arms around me. "This time, I'll lead."
I hug her back. My entire body fills with warmth. It's the kind of fuzzy, soft satisfaction that only exists in pop songs and greeting card commercials.
Only that can't be true, because I feel it now.
She makes me happy.
Her joy makes me happy. And, better, it satisfies something deep inside me.
She bounces down the sidewalks of the serene neighborhood. It's dark now, well past sunset, but the streetlights cast a glow over the quiet streets.
We turn the corner and take a steep path down to the beach. With anyone else, this would feel weird, overly intimate.
With Piper, it's right.
Hell, I want more.
I want every inch of her.
