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“What about you?” I asked.
“Not until this is real. Not until you completely trust me.”
TWENTY-SIX
LUCAS
I knockedon Piper’s door and was immediately greeted by her grinning green-haired roommate. She called over her shoulder into the room. “He’s back.” Then her eyes went round on the vase full of flowers in my hands. She squealed and clapped. “And he brought flowers.”
“Hi, Misty. Is Piper around?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yup.” She opened the door wide, a grin splitting her face.
Piper stood in the middle of their room, dressed in casual jeans and a puffer jacket. Her gaze met mine, and the sweetest flush took over her cheeks. God, I hoped she was thinking about last night because it played on repeat in my head. It took all my willpower to leave after, but I was sticking to my plan.
She seemed to want everything to be okay between us, and I was so fucking thankful for that. But I’d really fucked up. I left her when she needed me, and if I wanted what I knew we could be together, then I needed to show her unequivocally that I never stopped loving her.
I handed her the flowers and kissed her temple. “Ready to go?”
She raised a brow. “Go where?”
I grabbed her bag from the floor and hefted it over my shoulder. The thing had weight. “I’m walking you to school.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to.”
She bit her smile and ducked her head.
“Swoon,” Misty squealed, clasping her heart and falling backward onto her bed.
Piper laughed, and I tucked her into my side. I was going to have to do something nice for Misty. Piper deserved someone cheerful in her life.
Piper reached for her bag when we got out of the dorm, and I swung it out of the way. “Not a chance, babe.” I leaned down and took her mouth with mine until she pressed both hands against my chest and her breath came out in shallow pants. “I’ve wanted to carry your backpack since we were seven. You think I’m giving up the chance now?”
She scrunched up her nose. “Seriously? You do realize you terrorized me on the daily?”
“I’ve always been a little obsessed with you.” I kissed her forehead and entwined our fingers. “Fuck, I wish we didn’t have away games this weekend.”
Piper stiffened and looked up at me with round blue eyes. “What day do you leave?”
“Thursday afternoon. It’s in Thunder Bay,” I replied and squeezed her hand when disappointment crossed her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m on the starting line for Thursday night.” Her voice was flat like it was no big deal, but I wasn’t letting her get away with that. I knew how much this meant to her.
“That’s amazing. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” I swung her into the air and soaked in her laughter as I spun her around.
She blushed a fierce red. “You can be very distracting.”
I stepped into her, brushing my lips over hers. “Is that right?”
A group of guys walked by, and one of them hollered, “Kick some ass this weekend, Knight!”
Piper jerked back, and I could’ve killed him. The walk from the dorm to the main building was less than ten minutes, and I was already regretting not convincing her to skip out with me. I couldn’t imagine three nights without her. “Will they stream your game?”
She laughed. “It’s women’s college volleyball. What do you think?”
“That people are idiots and women’s sports are amazing.” I didn’t let her hand go, even as the moments ticked by. “Come out with us tonight?”
