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7
CANNON
If I wanted to win Piper’s kiss, I knew I needed to switch gears in a hurry. She’d said earlier that nothing sexual would happen, and I didn’t want to destroy what little trust she still had in me by doing something stupid.
But watching her chest rise and fall, her perfect tits bouncing with each breath she took, made that nearly impossible.
Gritting my teeth, I dug deep for my reserve of willpower. Keeping my hands to myself hadn’t been difficult in the past few years. I’d more than learned my lesson about people’s personal space and boundaries. But right then, all I wanted to do was haul Piper onto my lap and—
“The reason I got into trouble at military school and couldn’t come home for Thanksgiving was because I stole two gallons of milk from the kitchen.” I didn’t want her to know what I’d done to get sent away, but telling her why I’d been unable to come home on the holidays the year I was gone would hopefully distract us both. “I left them to spoil in the Texas heat for a few hours, and then I poured both inside my CO’s car. He left the doors unlocked, and I soaked the back seat.”
She choked on her laughter. “How bad was the smell?”
“It was bad when I poured it, but I kept a shirt over my face. The sight was worse than the smell to me. There were these white chunks with the consistency of Jell-O. I smashed them down so they would seep into the fabric of the seat. At the end of the day, I watched nearby as he got in to start it up. Not two seconds later, he jumped right back out, retching and gagging.” I grinned at the memory. Fuck, I’d hated that place, but especially that dickwad CO. “I let him see me laughing because I wanted him to know it was me.”
“But you didn’t get what you wanted,” she murmured, sounding almost sympathetic.
My grin fell away. “No. I had to run ten miles every day for two weeks, and while everyone else was away for the holiday, I had to clean every bathroom on campus.”
“You didn’t come home for Christmas that year either. It was the first time that I could remember you not attending Aunt Emmie’s Christmas Eve party.” She picked up a sandwich and offered it to me before taking one for herself. “Since the spoiled milk didn’t have the desired effect, what else did you do to try to get kicked out?”
“My parents hadn’t cut off my credit cards yet. I guess they were so pissed at me, it just slipped their minds. They had the physical cards, but I remembered the numbers, so it didn’t really matter. I ordered a few hydro orbs—you know, those water bead things? And by a few, I mean millions of them.”
“Oh God,” she laughed so hard her hair fell over her shoulder. “I’m scared to ask what you did with them.”
“I put them in the pool the night before a swim meet. It was bad. The orbs filled the pool and then some. When they came in the next morning, I was wading through the expanded balls, having a hell of a good time. It was like I was five years old and playing in a ball pit again.” I shook my head at the memory. “But even though it was considered major destruction of property, they still didn’t kick me out. I’m pretty sure Emmie stepped in and kept me from being expelled. I had to clean up the mess, scrub the pool, and then pay to have it refilled. All during Christmas break.”
“Ha-ha,” she snickered. “But how do you clean up millions of hydro-orbs?”
“Very, very slowly,” I grumbled. “On top of that, I had to run ten miles every day for a month.”
“It sounds like it was a pain in the ass, but when you got home, you were different. Still an asshole, but not as bad.” She stared at me for a moment before shrugging. “Over the past few years, you’ve become a better person.”
“I’m still working on myself.” I meant for it to sound like I was joking, but it was the truth. I didn’t want to be the guy I’d been when I was younger.
“Keep it up,” she encouraged. “And maybe one day you’ll actually earn a soul.”
I touched my hand to my heart. “Ah, sugar, coming from you, that means so much.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’ll always be an asshole, though.”
“Probably,” I agreed, taking a huge bite of my sandwich.
“But you have your moments. At times, I think I might even like you.”
I slowly lifted my gaze to her face, wondering if she was fucking with me or not. “I like you all the time, Pipes.”
Her eyes darkened, but she quickly looked away, pretending like I hadn’t just confessed something monumental. I hid a smile, knowing that I had to play the long game with her. She had every reason in the world not to trust me, so I needed to prove to her that I wasn’t fucking around.
