PIPER“I should’ve gotten a lighter color, “ Sabrina says of the royal blue on her nails and feet. She motions to the bright turquoise I chose.“I like the blue,” I tell her, opening the door to my room and letting us in.“Yeah. It’s nice I guess. I couldn’t make up my mind.”I nod, setting my keys on the desk, as an incoming text hits my phone. My heart skips a beat and I hurry to pull the phone from my back pocket, eager to see if Ethan has texted me again. I don’t even know how he got my phone number. And I’m not going to ask. It may dissuade him from texting back. Disappointment rushes in as I stare at Paisley’s name on the screen along with details for the party she wants to go to.“I guess it’s not Ethan again.”Yeah—I couldn’t keep that information to myself.“Paisley found a party.”“And I see you’re just thrilled,” Sabrina says. “What’s the matter? You don’t like parties?"I sigh, a little frustrated, since I’d hoped Paisley would forget to invite me the way she has in the p
ETHANI should stop this. I know I should. But, fuck… I can’t remember why I’d want to. You know what it’s like when you have a hankering for something but you don’t know what it is? You can’t figure it out, so you continue to go without it. Then one day you stumble upon that taste that you’ve had in the back of your mind forever, and it’s like damn, that’s fucking amazing. Yeah. It’s like that.Piper’s denim covered pussy brushes my hard-on and that denial slips further away, leaving room for more temptation to sink in. More desire to take over, spurring my actions. I abandon her neck in search of her plump lips again. Hand at her thigh, still hooked around my hip, I lift her onto the countertop, poising her bubbled ass onto the edge. She hums with approval, curving her fingers around my shirt bunching it into her hands. Damn it, I want this. Her body rocking against mine. Her legs wrapped at my waist. And my tongue in her mouth. I want it all. Fuck everything I said before. At least
ETHANHoly shit. What the fuck just happened? I made out with Piper. Fuck, I ate her out at this fucking party like she was my last meal. Then left her in the bathroom to get dressed like an asshole. What makes it worse is that I’m the one that coaxed her in there. Took one look at the guys circling and got territorial or some shit like that. I might as well have just peed on her leg when I saw Adam getting too close, and I’m still at a loss as to why. I won’t stop thinking about her. I can’t. And I don’t get that either. Piper has always been just some girl. I saw her once and thought she was hot, and immediately shut it down because I could tell she’s not the type my father would want me to bring home. She’s not the type to use and throw away either. Like I just fucking did. But I won’t do it again. I need to stay away from her. I knew that the minute I found out she was the girl in the basement. I can’t sneak away at parties for moments alone just to finger-fuck her in the bathro
PIPEREthan is an asshole. Big surprise, right? Wrong. I knew what I was getting into when I let him do those things to me last weekend. Why the hell didn’t I care? It’s not like he’s ever been nice to me. Even the way he touched me was intense. Overwhelming. Incredible.I chastise myself for even thinking it. Right after what we shared, he was in the next room, touching my best friend with the same fingers that had stroked me. Brought me to the most powerful orgasm I’ve ever experienced. Truth, I’ve got nothing to compare it to. But it was life-altering just the same. In more ways than one. Ethan’s skills had moved my world. Blinders came off and for once, I couldn’t remember why I’ve been clinging to my virginity. Why haven’t I ever tried going that far with anyone else? I might’ve had few chances, but they were there. And I ignored them all for a guy that wasn’t interested. A guy that didn’t give a damn—doesn’t give a damn about me. It’s just another part of Ethan’s games. He toyed
ETHANMy face is still hot with the sting of Piper’s slap. The ringing in my ears hasn’t stopped since the shattering crackle sound rang through them when she hit me. She fucking hit me. Can’t say that I was expecting that. But I also deserved it. I knew she’d be mad. Livid. At this point, I’ll do anything to solidify Piper’s image of me. I’ve been slowly losing it since last Saturday night. After the bar, I went home—alone, no less—and couldn’t get the sounds of her moans out of my head. It made for a shitty night of sleep. A shitty fucking week. Piper shouldn’t still be in my head. But the more I saw her all week, the more I thought of her. It would’ve been alright if she’d completely ignored me. That’s what I tell myself. But she’d glance at me during classes. Spot me walking around, and those fucking lips would part, begging me to come to her. She’s doing it on purpose. I know she is, because she doesn’t get that this shit can’t happen. I do though. So, I had to take things up ano
PIPER“You blew him?!”“Shhh,” I tap, Sabrina’s hand, as we sit at Coffee Shop. She looks around. “Sorry. But can I just say, maybe don’t tell me these shock worthy things when we’re out in public. Oh my God, Piper! What got into you?”“I don’t know,” I reply. “He kept talking to me like I was this innocent little girl.”“You do realize you’ve been pissed with him all week? What happened to this morning when you were cursing his name?”“I don’t know,” I repeat. “He has this power over me.”She laughs. “Obviously. What about the cameras?”“The feed to the balcony goes to the office. I was the only one on duty. I just changed the tape and took the only copy just in case it captured anything,” I explain.“Smart thinking,” she replies. “But you’ll have to let me know how you go from fighting to a blow job.”I throw up my hands in an unsure gesture. “Beats me. I was determined.”“I’ll say you were.”I slap her hand again. “Will you stop it? This is serious!”She laughs. “Okay. What are y
ETHAN“Fuck!”I shove my cell into my back pocket.Adam slings his arm over my shoulder with so much force he knocks me to the side, while he laughs, “What’s wrong with you?”I shrug him off of me. “Nothing. Have you seen Jordan?”Shaking his head, he’s still amused. “No. Haven’t seen him for a while actually. He was texting in the kitchen like an hour ago. Why?”Yeah, why? Because Piper’s at a club with some asshole all over her? Because she sounds wasted and possibly in danger of doing something she can’t take back? Or just in danger? Who is this douchebag anyway? Some bearded jerk preying on a drunk college girl who’s obviously trying to hide feelings she has for someone else.Why does that matter? The better question is what business is it of mine what she does? She can fuck whoever she wants. That was the point of being all over what’s-her-name, right? So that Piper would realize shit with us is never going to happen. That everything we’ve done so far shouldn’t have went down in
PIPERMy head is knocking. I wake up laying half on my bed and half off, with a headache ricocheting around my skull. I groan, unable to recall ever having a hangover in my life. Then again, I’ve never mixed brown and clear liquors before. It wasn’t one of my finest choices. I remember telling Sabrina that we’d be sick in the morning, when those guys started buying us shots of bourbon, in contrast to the vodka other guys had bought us before.“Live a little.” That’s what she said. And I’ll bet right now, she’s regretting it too.I reach out, patting the mattress around me for my phone so I can check on her. Nothing. Then I try to pick up my head to glance at the desk on the other side of the headboard. Big mistake. The knocking is louder and everything in the room seems to move, including my stomach. It rumbles loudly protesting last night’s activities and I groan a little louder. Another knock.This time it sounds like it’s echoing around the room, instead of in my head. So, with gre
EPILOGUEETHANSeven Years Later“I don’t even know why we came to this,” Piper says.I smirk, and reply. “You wanted to come. I was good with staying home between your legs for the next fourteen hours. It’s been a busy week for the both of us.”“When I made these plans it was because it’s been a busy seven years, especially since graduation and I wanted to do something normal. Now more than ever,” she says.“What’s so great about now?”“It’s our reunion,” she replies.“Okay. But I could’ve easily taken normal to mean my tongue in your pussy for a few hours and spending the night fucking like rabbits.”“Oh. We’re still doing that,” she says with a smirk. “This is just a detour. Plus Sabrina is in town and I haven’t seen her in so long.”“What are you up to,” I ask. She’s got a look on her face that tells me she’s harboring a secret.“What? Nothing.”“No. You’re up to something.”“Maybe. I’ve got news to share and we haven’t been face to face with our friends to share it with them too.
PIPERWe find Paisley easily just across the courtyard. And it seems we have a little more to talk about besides the beating I sustained right here on these sidewalks.Shaina is beside her, sipping a smoothie that Paisley takes and makes her own for a minute. Seeing Ethan, she hands it back to her friend, licking her lips like lunch has arrived.She hasn’t paid me any attention, until I speak. “We need to talk.”With an attitude, she drags her eyes away from my boyfriend. Though she’s looking at me now, her words are still to Ethan. “I thought you were coming to tell me living with this isn’t working out.”Ethan folds his arms across his chest. “Why would I do that?”She smiles, still looking at me. “Maybe you’d rather live with me instead.”It’s so pathetic, it’s sad.My boyfriend smiles too, only it’s not pleasant. “Given the choice between sleeping in a bed with you, or a bed of fire, I’d rather add more coals to the flames,” he says.Paisley frowns the hopeful tone leaving her voi
PIPERIt’s the next morning and I’m still reeling from Ashton’s finds and confession. Bryce. Paisley. Well, maybe not Paisley. If I know anything, it’s just how much she truly hates me. At least, by now I think I know. She spent our entire friendship putting me down, keeping me in a bubble that suited her needs just fine. She’s spent our entire lives being jealous of me. I just wish I’d seen it before. No. What I really wish is that I’d pieced it together sooner. Paisley was the one whispering in Ashton’s ear. And ultimately, the one behind my attack. “The catfight gone wrong”.“You ready,” Ethan asks.I look over my shoulder at him, standing in the doorway. He’s got a look on his face that I can’t decipher. He’s just too calm. Nothing like the way he was with his brother yesterday. Or with Adam before. I’m a little worried for the people I’m about to face, but then I think about the hell they put me through, and I know whatever is going on in his head is justified. I’m lucky to have
ETHANOur first week in the new place goes by fast. Mostly because we spent the week at the beach and hanging with our friends. Then there was a lot of moving stuff to get done, and things to pick out. What’s the saying about time flying? Yeah. That. Most of the furniture has already been delivered, and we’ve unpacked a majority of our boxes. The way I see it, we’re entitled to a break. I drop onto the couch and turn on the TV. The cable and internet didn’t take long to get set up either, which is good, since we’re relying on having wifi for class anyway.“Must be nice,” Piper says from the kitchen. She’s standing at the stove stirring a pot of pasta sauce.“You don’t want my help in there,” I say.“It’d be nice if you offered,” she replies, with her nose in the cookbook.“Okay. Do you want some help?”“Why yes,” she says. “That would be lovely.”With a small chuckle, I rise from my seat and go over to her. Without her sling, it seems like she moves twice as fast. Adjusting the temper
PIPERIt's not an ideal situation. But it’s not Ethan’s fault whatever happened. It also wasn’t Ashton’s doing, though I’d like to know his involvement. What I’d like more is to know who’s behind the whole thing. That is if Ashton can be trusted. He did try to pay me to stay away from his brother. How high did his offer go? I don’t remember. Something tells me if I was the type to ask for more, he would’ve given me what I wanted to get the job done. So, maybe he is capable of hurting me. Or paying someone to hurt me, though everything in my gut tells me he’s a pawn in all of this. But without talking to him myself, without the whole story, I don’t know what to think.So, I’m focusing on him. Ethan. Sitting with our friends, yet again trying to make plans for our class- free week. Everyone who’s going away for spring break has already began heading down to party central. And we’ve booked nothing.“I say we forgo taking a long trip and make the most out of what’s nearby. Then we spend t
ETHANI’m not letting Ashton off the hook that easy. So, Piper’s family has money. And he was wrong. He should apologize to her. If that look in Piper’s eye has anything to do with it, he needs to come clean about whatever he said that sent her running the night of the party and apologize for that too. And I won’t take no for an answer. The kitchen is busy with women working on dessert. The same ones I've known to cook for special occasions since I was probably in diapers. They wave to me and I say hello, with as much of a smile as I can muster while looking for my shitty ass big brother. He isn’t down the hall, in the sitting room, or in any of the downstairs bathrooms. I think that maybe he might be upstairs in his old bedroom, until I come across the den at the foot of the stairs with the door cracked open.“You lied," my brother fumes. “She’s not after his money… Because I know. What else did you lie about?”“Were the two of you even dating?”“Where is the proof that she upload
PIPER“We don’t have to do this,” Ethan says, as we get closer to his family’s house. Too late to turn back now. Though, he’s probably offered to turn the car around every seven minutes or so, sensing my uneasiness.I disagree. “I want to go.”That much is true. I do want to go, especially if Ethan’s parents are willing to make the effort. Besides, I want to succeed where I think I failed before. And without Ashton there, maybe I can sway them to my side then he’ll be easier to convince that I’m not some gold digger. I can prove once and for all that I only want Ethan. Where did he even get that idea of me anyway?We turn onto a quiet street.“Last chance,” Ethan says. “Are you sure?”Gripping his hand in mine, I nod. “It’s just dinner. And I want to get to know your parents. We didn't talk much at the party.”Bringing my hand to his lips, he nods. “Okay. If anything makes you uncomfortable—anything—you tell me.”I smile, with a nod, as we turn onto what looks like a dark rode. But be
ETHAN“I don’t care where we go,” Sabrina says. “As long as there’s drinks, sun, and a reason to wear a bikini the entire time.”“Amen to that,” Jordan says slapping her on the ass.I laugh, lacing my fingers with Piper’s as we sit at a picnic table. “Where do you want to go?”She shrugs. “I kind of like Sabrina’s way of thinking.”“Hell yeah,” Jordan says, making me laugh again.“Fine. Everyone is going to Florida,” I say.“We live like thirty minutes from a beach. And I think the flight to Hawaii is closer,” Sabrina replies. “It depends on how wild we plan to get.”“Not too wild,” Piper says, motioning to her arm. She’s still in the sling through spring break. Luckily, she only suffered a dislocated shoulder and a bruised humerus. But she sprained her hand.“Oh sure, go easy now that it’s party time. I don’t think you were complaining when you spent the night on the end of Ethan’s dick,” Sabrina pouts.“Sabrina!”“What? We all know that’s what happened. That’s why you two keep makin
PIPER“I’m sorry,” Bryce says. “Did I do something wrong?”“No,” I reply, after all it’s not his fault what I almost allowed to happen. Still I scoot away, putting more space between us. “It’s just—”“Too soon,” he guesses. “It’s too soon, right?”“Bryce—”“I just really like you. And I know I can make you happy,” he says.“It’s not going to work,” I reply.“Give yourself some time.”But I’m already shaking my head. “I don’t want to. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to lead you on. But I just realized how stupid I’m being.”“No you’re not. You’re being smart. Actually think this through. It’s only a matter of time before he hurts you. Cheats on you, or worse.”“Ethan would never,” I reply.“You really believe that don’t you?”“I believe him,” I say. “And it took this moment for me to realize I don’t want space. I was just scared and upset.”“You were beaten up, Piper.”“Not his fault.”“And the sex tape? The one in his room?”“That wasn’t on him.”“I can’t believe your judgement is still so