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“Didn’t think anyone came in here,” she says, walking over and glancing around.
“Didn’t know you knew it existed.”
A ghost of a smile. “I snooped accidentally when I was trying to find the bunkhouse. And then I came back to take a closer look.”
She takes a seat beside me, the soft dip of the cushion oddly comforting.
“Not sure how the Academy would feel about its precious awards being kept in a closet.”
“I didn’t realizecloser lookmeant you’d scoured every inch of the place.”
Piper huffs a laugh, then leans back against the cushions. The fabric of her dress rides up another inch, revealing more thigh. Quickly, I avert my eyes.
“Do you always sneak out?” There’s no anger or disappointment in her voice, just curiosity.
“No.” I lean back, matching her pose. “That would require spending the night.”
“Ah. So, you’rethatkind of rock star.”
“I guess. Was easier to separate things that way.”
She breaks eye contact, looking around the studio. “This place is really cool.”
“I built it…before.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
We’re dancing on a delicate line. Last night, I let go. Let her in.
In the bright sunshine of morning, reality is harder to hide from.
She’s leaving.
I’m staying.
Those two truths, plus so many others, practically make me and Piper an impossibility.
“New song?” she asks, glancing at the guitar.
“Not really.”
“Well, I should—”
I lean out, grabbing her arm and keeping her on the couch before I’ve consciously decided to move. “Piper.”
“What?”
Blue burns me, intense and devastating, as she meets my gaze full-on.
I swallow. “I didn’t mean for you to wake up alone. I just—”
“It’s fine, Kyle. It was just a onetime thing.”
I let go of her arm, sinking back against the stiff cushions. Absorbing how that stings.
There are red scratches on my back that suggest she enjoyed herself, but there’s a flare of insecurity I work to hide.
“I’ve never been with a woman I considered a friend. I don’t know what the rules are.”
