And that was the thing about Piper: Once she was in my head, she wouldn’t leave. If I let her in, she was always with me.
I’d opened too many doors tonight, and I didn’t know how to shut them.
My hand moved up my cock again, and I slipped back into a world where she was in the room.
And my hand was no longer mine. It was softer and smaller.
She could use just her fingertips and I’d come. She could look at me with one of her smirks and that would do it too.
I was building up before I could stop myself. All I needed to picture was her blonde hair and her big, honey-brown eyes, and I was ready for her. I wanted her.
In my mind’s eye, she was hovering over me, her lips barely above mine as she jerked me off.
When I came, it was more powerful than with any of my one-night stands. Just a ghost of Piper made everything feel more intense. More alive.
I couldn’t let her get a whiff of this feeling. If she did and asked me for more, I’d give in and let her have anything she asked for.
I didn’t feel proud of myself the next day. I was quiet and more reserved than usual, to the point Kelsey shoved me away from the front and took over the register.
The only reason I let her was that I wasn’t sure if I could face Piper.
I didn’t have any work to do in the office, and it was busy, so I took over Kelsey’s station. It was easy to lose myself to making drinks. Grinding beans and frothing milk for lattes cleared my head for long enough that I felt more like myself by the afternoon.
I swore I felt her before I saw her.
“Changing things up today?” Piper asked Kelsey. I didn’t turn around. I refused to.
It didn’t help. My mind had conjured a voice far too close to Piper’s the night before. Just hearing it sent me back.
“A little bit. The boss is grumpy today. At this point, I’m sure you’re the only one who could cheer him up.”
Piper laughed, and the muscles of my back turned to stone. I needed space, not for Kelsey to tell her to try it with me.
Still, I kept my ear on their conversation, including making sure Kelsey put her order in just like I would.
“Theo will make that for you,” Kelsey said smugly. All I could do was slowly turn to glare before starting on Piper’s drink.
She was waiting for me at the pickup counter, head tilted. “You okay?”
I didn’t deserve her concern.
“Yeah, long day.”
Piper frowned and her eyes narrowed, but she slowly nodded.
I had a feeling she would be staying until after close, where she would ask again.
There was no way I could tell her.
“I need you to help me close tonight,” I told Kelsey two hours later.
“Wait, seriously? I have plans.”
“You have plans?”
She sighed. “Mom wants to have dinner. She’s closing the diner and everything.”
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered under my breath.
