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The way I felt in Lawson’s arms.
All too soon, the song ended, and a more upbeat one took its place. I cleared my throat, stepping away.
The dance hadn’t been nearly as awkward as I was expecting. In fact, it had felt right, and I was uncomfortable with the feeling of longing that had come out of nowhere, for a guy who had never been more than an annoying brother to me. But there I was, wishing the radio would play another slow song, and that Lawson would pull me back into his arms and gently turn us around and around, for the rest of the night.
“Wow. I’m impressed,” I teased. “You’ve been holding out on me all these years. Who knew a nerd like you could move like that?”
“Hey, now. You’re throwing nerd around like it’s an insult. I’ll have you know there are a lot of things this nerd can do that would blow your mind.” He winked again and it was so unlike him that it made me giggle.
“Like what?”
“Uhhh…” he drawled. “Well…” He glanced around. “I mean…”
I burst into laughter, and God it felt so good.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I know all your tricks, Lawson Reed. Most of them are limited to driving me up the wall.” Tilting my head back, I met Lawson’s gaze. My breath caught at the way his eyes had heated as he stared down at me.
For a long beat, we didn’t move, both of us just looking at each other, lost in a moment.
My lungs burned for oxygen, but I couldn’t breathe, not as he lifted a hand to my cheek and lazily trailed his thumb across it. “You don’t know me as well as you think, Piper.”
“Oh. Okay,” I breathed, swaying toward him for reason I would never be able to explain other than assuming he’d mastered the art of mind control.
Chills pebbled over my skin as he dipped low, his warm breath breezing across my lips as he whispered, “It would do you well to remember that.”
Suddenly he stepped away from me, breaking the spell.
I blinked as he casually resumed his seat on the steps, completely unfazed while I felt like I’d just been brainwashed.
Grabbing his beer, he quietly stared into the darkness of the yard.
Unsure of what to do, I sat down next to him, leaving just enough space between us so we weren’t touching again—despite the most ridiculous longing inside me to do just that. “You, uh…you excited about moving?”
He shrugged. “I guess.” Turning his head, he asked, “What about you? What’s next?”
Christ, when did his eyes become the color of whiskey?
“Um, well, I’m going to try to put myself back together this summer and then join Hampton in the fall and attempt to put him back together as well.”
“Ah, I see,” Lawson mumbled, cutting his eyes away. He cleared his throat. “Well, you know, if you ever get tired of that asshole, you can always come to Vegas.”
He bumped my shoulder and then stood. Tilting his head down, he smiled again. But the smile didn’t reach his eyes and there was a sadness in them that hadn’t been there just moments ago.
“Take care of yourself, Pip.”
Without another word, he turned and sauntered into the house, leaving me alone on the porch, more confused than ever.
Part Two
6
Lawson
Eight years later
“Yep,” I muttered, slamming the phone back into its cradle. Shoving away from the desk, I surged to my feet and began pacing.
Fucking Stone Mountain.
