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Not knowing how to get Piper’s attention, I made another run for another armful of shit and back to my ute.
“Now what?” I muttered as I looked at it.
Did I spread it around? Did I lay it out somehow?
As I thought about it, I rifled for a smoke like that was going to magically give me answers. I knew it wasn’t, but it was the best I had.
The light shifted slightly and it made me look up at her window to see her in it. She held up a hand to me the disappeared. I was getting rather nervous that she wasn’t coming down when she finally came out the front door. I snubbed my smoke and headed over to her.
And fuck me.
She was wearing tiny pyjama shorts, thigh high socks and knee-high ugg boots. The only part of her that was decently covered was her torso in a hoody. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders like she’d only recently showered. She looked gorgeous. And delicious. And totally off-limits.
“Hey,” she said as I stepped onto the verandah.
“Hey,” I answered.
“What’s up?”
“Well… I’ve loaded the tray up with blankets and wondered if you wanted to go and watch the stars with me?”
“That almost sounds romantic,” she teased.
I deserved it. It was a bunch of nancy wank and I should have been disgusted with myself. But I wasn’t. I needed her to calm the storm inside me and I didn’t know what else to do.
“Yeah, or it sounds like it’s been pouring rain all day and I don’t want to sit on the wet lakeshore like a pussy.”
“Okay, less romantic,” she laughed, but I didn’t like how she sounded like that was a good thing. It should have been but it wasn’t. Rocco always messed with my emotions.
“You don’t have to come,” I told her. “But I thought you might like to hang out.”
Her face lost all its humour and she looked me over carefully. “You okay?”
I couldn’t look her in the eyes as I replied, “Not really.”
“You want some company though?”
If it was hers? Yes. That was all I wanted.
I shrugged, trying to keep myself casual and unbothered. “What can I say, Barlow? I feel better when we’re not saying anything.”
“Okay, sounds good. Let me just leave Mum and Dad a note, yeah?”
She might have thought the lack of romance was a good thing, but she also sounded like my admission was a good thing. It wasn’t all lose-lose. I gave her a smile.
“Take all the time you want.”
When she came back in the same outfit, I couldn’t help looking her over again. “Not changing?”
“Do I need to?” she asked.
“Doesn’t bother me,” I told her.
“Oh, won’t you keep me warm, Roman?” she sassed as we got into my ute.
Were I a better man, I’d do anything to keep her warm.
“You just have to say the word, Piper, and I’ll keep you warm all night long.”
