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Linda
No relief. No thought offinally. No excitement.
Just dread.
And the realization that I have no idea how or what to tell Kyle.
We haven’t discussed what happened behind Whiskey Cowboy. Or how we ate his birthday cake and played cards when we got home, like an actual couple.
Part of me thinks it’s mature, and the rest of me finds it childish. We’re two single, consenting adults with a mutual attraction. If we want to have protected sex, who could that possibly harm?
Me, is the answer to that. Because it’s not just sex for me, if it ever was.
IlikeKyle. More than like him.
He makes me feel more myself, and I didn’t even know that was what I was supposed to be looking for. Iwasn’tlooking for it—definitely not with him—and that makes finding it even more shocking.
And rather than face it, I’m avoiding it.
Ever since I got here, I knew this was coming. For a while, I wished it would happen sooner.
My time here was always temporary. I never expected I’d wish that weren’t the case, and I tried to ignore it once I realized it was. Past Piper decided that was future Piper’s problem, and now, I’m having to deal with it.
To distract myself, I spend all afternoon cleaning the farmhouse. Vacuuming, washing dishes, reorganizing the fridge. I start to pack some, too, folding my clean clothes and putting in a load of laundry.
As soon as five rolls around, I head toward the kitchen, deciding to cook an elaborate meal in the hopes that it will help distract me. I check my phone and find another email from Linda. My flight leaves at seven a.m. I text Lauren and Serena, letting them know I’ll be back tomorrow. Then shut off my phone, wishing I could do the same thing to my brain.
At five thirty, I hear the screen door open.
I take a deep breath, telling myself it doesn’t matter what he says. That nothing more than sex and friendship would ever work between us, not when our lives are so fundamentally different.
When I glance up, Kyle isn’t the one standing in the doorway.
“Hey, Piper.”
“Oh. Hi, Danny.” I do a poor job of hiding my surprise at Kyle’s friend showing up in the kitchen.
“Smells good in here,” he tells me.
“Thanks.” I dry my hands on a dish towel, glancing at Danny uncertainly.
“Kyle will be right in. He’s just finishing up a project. Guy’s got one hell of a work ethic, if you haven’t noticed. Doesn’t stop.”
I smile. “I’ve noticed.”
I barely recognize the ranch from when I first arrived. Every day, there’s something new. The grass is filling in out in the yard, the screen door’s hinges were repaired, and all the random piles of debris have disappeared.
“Can I get you anything? Water or—”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
I nod. A minute later, I hear the screen door again.
Kyle’s smiling when he walks into the kitchen, but it drops when he sees me standing at the counter.
“Crap. I didn’t realize you’d already started cooking,” he says, looking apologetic as he surveys the mess on the counter.
Even before he continues talking, I have a feeling I won’t like what he has to say.
