by S. J. Sylvis
It was almost like he knew I’d show up, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he was glad.
We both stayed silent for a few seconds, neither one of us wanting to admit the truth. I wanted to be with him tonight, and he wanted to be with me. Why was that so hard for us to admit?
“So what, you wanted to be my good luck charm tonight or something?”
I gasped as I came to the realization that I was sitting in the passenger seat of his Charger, seconds before he was due to race down a gravel road. How did that slip my mind? How did everything slip my mind when I was with him?
I waited for the fear to come as I gazed out the windshield, noting everyone standing around, ready for the next race to start, but it never came.
Racing with Ollie should have scared me. I had all but fainted the last time I watched him speed down the gravel road, but here I was, buckling my seatbelt, with him in the driver’s seat—like it was him and me against the world.
I spotted Jason a few yards down, standing beside Tank. He looked like he always did: run-down, tired, a little messy. It made me sick to see him.
“So?” Ollie repeated. I turned away from my brother and found Ollie’s patient stare.
“I’m honestly surprised you're not angry with me and throwing me out of your car right this second.”
We both heard the clapping from the crowd as the last race must have ended, but neither of us broke our gaze.
“Why are you here, Piper?”
“Because—”
“Nope. Do not say because it’s your problem. We’ve been down that road before.” Ollie leaned over the center console, invading my space. “Tell me the truth. Why are you here? Why are you here in my car, about to race down this gravel road like you aren’t scared out of your mind?”
I licked my lips and turned my body even more toward his. I felt the slit of my dress open, the cool air conditioner blowing over the bare skin on my thigh. “Oddly enough, I don’t feel scared at all.”
“No?” he asked.
I felt the car moving forward a bit, knowing it was almost his turn to race. Shaking my head, my eyes dipped down to his perfect lips. The ones that had been on mine almost a week ago. Heat coated my skin. The tension in the car was charged with electricity, and I swore, if anyone were to stick their hand through the window, they would have been electrified on the spot.
I had no idea when things changed between us, but somewhere along the way of us being on the same team, I let my guard down.
“No,” I finally whispered. “I don’t feel scared when I'm with you, Ollie. Not even a little bit.”
His Adam's apple bobbed as he traced along the side of my face and down my chest. His lips parted, and I felt the flame in my core burn brighter. It was like he was trailing a finger over my most sensitive spots, except he wasn’t touching me at all.
“Did you pick out that dress knowing I’d see you in it one way or another tonight?” He kept his attention on my thigh peeking out between the purple fabric.
I gulped, my heart hiccupping in my chest. “No.”
His face twitched. “Liar.”
I glanced at his mouth again, but he quickly looked away and pulled himself back over to the driver’s side, looking straight ahead. “I’m throwing the race tonight.”
I rushed out. “What? Why?”
Ollie kept his attention in front of him, and I felt the thunder of his Charger’s power. We were seconds from racing. “Tank asked me to come over last week to discuss a plan. He’s betting against me, whereas everyone else is betting on me because they know I have the turbo. I’ll lose, and Tank will get a shit-ton of money.”
My jaw fell. I watched as a girl who was wearing a short dress came in between the two cars. She had a bra in her hand, which I was assuming was her version of a flag.
Ollie cracked his neck, preparing for the race, as I stared at the side of his smooth jaw. “I mean, it’s a good thing. The more money he gets, the closer we are to paying back what Jason owes. But…”
The nervous jitters were back. “But what?”
“But he’s shady, and this just proves it. He’s using me to cheat, and I don’t like that.”
There was a ping in my chest, and I knew exactly what it was. Guilt. There it was. The guilt that came crashing down on my shoulders as I sat in the passenger seat of Ollie’s Charger as he continued to get wrapped up in shit he should have never even stepped foot in. Ollie had all kinds of things going for him—a promised football scholarship being one of them—and I’d drug him into this.
“Ollie,” I whispered, watching the girl in front of us as she raised her hands above her head. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you for this.”
He revved his Charger and so did the guy beside us.
Right before the girl dropped her arms and we took off speeding down the road, Ollie whispered, “Piper, you repay me by breathing. Now, shut up and enjoy the ride.”
And that was exactly what I did.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ollie
“Oh my God, Ollie!” Piper shouted as I came to a sudden stop. Her glossy red hair fell out from her loose bun, framing her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her green eyes wild with excitement. “That was so much fun!”
There was a sudden surge of energy inside my car, and I was certain it had to do with her and nothing to do with flying down a gravel road.
I had almost won the race by accident, getting too lost in Piper’s excitement, before I remembered the plan.
“See?” I threw a shoulder up. “Don’t knock it before you try it. Why do you think I’ve been doing this for so long?”
Piper sunk back into the seat, her bare leg playing peek-a-boo with the cut in her dress. I tore my eyes away at the last second. “You can’t fool me, Oliver Powell. I know very well you’ve been racing for a reason much deeper than the fact that it’s fun.” She sighed happily, resting her head against the seat before turning to look at me. “It really is fun, though. Will you teach me how to drive like this?”
I barked out a laugh as I rounded the bend in the road, heading toward the beginning. “Fuck no.”
She pouted, and it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. “Why?”
“Because it’s dangerous.” The roll of her eyes caused me to smirk. “I’m sorry, but someone has to look out for you.”
“I’m a big girl, Ollie.”
I laughed again. “Says the girl who gets stuck in shitty trailers and needs me to come rescue her. Oh yes, you’ve got it all handled.”
She rolled her lips together to keep herself from smiling. Instead, she cleared her throat. “So, um, now what? Do we just leave?”
I found Tank standing by Brandon with a sneaky smile on his face because he’d won the bet. Everyone around him had slumped shoulders, and some people were even throwing their hands up. Maybe I should get out of here. People were going to be pissed that they bet on me and I lost. A lot of them were probably suspecting something since Tank was collecting a lot of money right now.
Piper pushed forward and squinted. “Why does my brother disappear after every race? He did that last time we were here, too.”
I wasn’t sure, but I was glad. Jason and I had an agreement, but I couldn’t be certain that we wouldn’t tip off Tank with a shared look. We had to act as we always did when he was around, which was us not acknowledging each other at all.
A text on my phone came through, and Piper and I both read it.
Tank: Head out, people are curious why you lost.
“Yeah, no shit,” I muttered.
Piper scoffed. “He’s not the smartest guy, is he?”
I snickered as I began turning my car around. “Nope, and that’ll work in our favor, babe.”
Her head snapped to mine, and I froze. Did I just call her babe? And not in a way that was teasing?
I did.
And it felt good
“So, um…” She twiddled her dainty hands in her lap. “Do you want to drop
me off at Eric’s Range Rover? And I’ll follow you to your house for the party?”
Okay, so we’re just gonna slide right over that. Noted.
“Yeah, that’s cool.”
My chest felt tight again, and the words I wanted to say weren’t coming out of my mouth. I was stuck in a sort of hell that I wasn’t used to. I was nervous. My heart drummed in my chest, and I was pretty sure I was sweating. I glanced at Piper’s bare leg again, and my dick instantly got hard.
I wanted to pull her body over to mine and kiss her senseless. I wanted to lose myself in her. I wanted to rip apart her dress and savor every part of that creamy skin she kept teasing me with, and if it were anyone else, I’d have done just that. I’d lay the charm on thick, and within seconds, I’d be pulling that dress down, but this was a different territory. This was Piper.
Feelings were involved.
I cared about her. This wasn’t a fling, and I didn’t know how to handle that. I didn’t even know if she felt the same way. Piper was like looking at a road map but having no sense of direction. I couldn’t read her like most girls.
Maybe this was one-sided?
“Ollie?”
I jumped, and she looked confused.
Fuck. Was this one-sided?
“Sorry. Yeah, let’s go.”
Once I dropped her off at Eric’s Range Rover, I was suddenly glad she was out of my car. I felt like I could breathe again. I had a twenty-minute drive to clear my head.
I pushed away everything that had been weighing down on me. Even Piper.
Tonight, I’d be Ollie. The one everyone was used to.
The one who didn’t give a shit if a girl was into him.
Because I was beginning to think that Piper didn’t feel for me what I felt for her.
And that stung.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Piper
There he was.
Oliver Powell—the guy who everyone was instantly drawn to. Ollie was the center of the universe, and everyone else were the dainty little stars, scattered all around him, lost without his guidance. A group of our classmates was standing beside him, totally engrossed in his story. A few girls blushed when he smiled, and the jealousy inside of me was slithering out like a snake, ready to constrict every last one of them.
I huffed and wrapped my arms around my torso. My back was resting along the banister, and I was ready to go upstairs just to escape the show in front of me.
I was confused and irritable. When Ollie and I were alone, everything felt right. My worries faded; my uncertainties disappeared. A lightness around us formed. I almost felt like I could float when I was with him. But when we were apart, in a group of people or at school, that was when things became unclear. They were muddy. It was kind of scary to think about. Ollie silenced the bad, and that was a heavy thought.
My heart came to a screeching halt as I watched Ollie dip his head down to Clementine, a girl I knew he had frequented many times in the past. She used to brag about it in the library during study hall, not quite loud enough to draw the attention of English Prep’s cranky librarian but loud enough so everyone around her could hear. It used to infuriate me, and seeing her whisper something in his ear did just the same. I quickly pushed off the stairs and shot her a dirty look.
Holy shit. Relax, Piper.
My breaths were coming in fast and hot, jealousy being the main component.
Run.
I turned on my heel, knowing very well I needed to take a breather, when I smacked right into someone. My hand shot up to my head as it thudded off a hard chest.
Eric’s brows were furrowed with confusion, and when he saw it was me, they furrowed even deeper. “Where are you going now?”
Eric was angry with me, and I couldn’t even blame him. I stole his car and left him at the winter formal with Hayley and Christian. But he was preoccupied with watching Madeline the entire time, so I didn’t feel that bad.
“Look,” I started, staring down at my Converse. “I’m sorry I took your Range Rover. Here.” I reached into the back of my jeans that I had changed into the second I got here and pulled out his keys, handing them to him.
Eric’s hands clamped down on them as I placed them into his palm. His voice was deep. “Why don’t you just tell him?”
I played dumb. “Tell who what?”
He tilted his head, his dark hair falling slightly over his forehead. “Why don’t you just tell Ollie you want him? For fuck’s sake, you left the winter formal and stole my car just to be at the races with him.”
I opened my month to argue, peeking up at him through my eyelashes. Eric was standing on the first step, so he was even taller than usual.
“Don’t blame it on needing to see your brother or needing to be there for any other reason. You and I both know you went to the races because you couldn’t stand the fact that he was there without you. You went solely to be with him. Didn’t you?”
I mean, yeah. He was right. I wasn’t going to admit it, though.
Eric stood up taller and looked out into the party over my head.
“Just tell him. It’s annoying watching you two dance around one another.”
My hands found my hips. “Well, it's annoying to watch you dance around Madeline.”
His eyes flared to mine, and I knew I’d hit a chord. I pushed past him and the truth that he so clearly stated and climbed the stairs, huffing.
Ollie and Christian had banned everyone from coming upstairs. But I was hoping I was an exception.
Once I reached the top stair, I found the door at the end of the hall—Ollie and Christian’s parents' room. I shifted my gaze to the wall beside it, the wall that Ollie had pressed me against when he kissed me last week.
A hot wave fanned over my body, but I quickly grew cold, wondering if Ollie would bring Clem up here later. In the past, I’d brush it off. Ollie being with another girl wasn’t unusual. But now, it felt like my heart was going to break in half at the thought.
My hand wrapped around the doorknob to his room. I’d never been inside Ollie’s room before. I only knew it was his from the night Hayley and I stayed here a few months back.
But I needed a moment to breathe. I needed a dark, quiet room to gather myself in, and since Ollie seemed to be the only thing that could calm me these days, his room was going to have to do the trick.
There was no way I was going back down to that party to drag him away in a jealous rage.
That wasn’t me, even if my heart was begging me to do just that.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ollie
My eyes followed her tight jeans all the way up the steps. One step, two steps, three. She paused at the landing for a moment, contemplating something as she pushed her hair behind her shoulder.
A group of people surrounded me, listening to Taylor tell his side of the story about the championship football game we’d won a couple of months ago.
Once Piper was out of sight, I looked to Hayley and Christian who were lounging on the couch together. Hayley gave me a look, as if she were asking me why I wasn’t following her best friend upstairs. Christian acted like his usual self, nonchalant and like he didn’t give a fuck, but I saw the slight flick of his chin toward the stairs.
The beat of the music lessened as I pushed past the group of people and made my way up the stairs. There were a shit-ton of people here. Majority of the upperclassmen. I knew we were making a good chunk of change from charging people to come in. It felt sneaky and dirty, but for some reason, everyone all but dropped to their knees for an invite to the Powell house. I wasn’t sure if it was because they thought this after-party was going to be wild since we’d charged money and hyped it up, or if it was because they just truly wanted to see our house. Maybe they just wanted a peek into our lives. Christian and I were both pretty private, but our lives weren’t that interesting. Unless, of course, you were into daddy issues.
My limbs felt stiff as I continued to jog up the stairs. On the drive home from the
races, I’d told myself to have fun tonight. I didn’t want the stress of the races or Tank’s bullshit lingering over my back. I didn’t even want to be bothered with my unresolved feelings for Piper, but here I was, chasing after her.
Once I got upstairs, my gaze shifted to each door that lined the hallway. I had no idea where she was, but my best bet was the guest room.
Although…
I smirked when I opened my bedroom door. I knew it.
There she was.
Piper flew up off my bed, her hair blowing behind her face. Her green eyes were wide with surprise. She shouted at me, clearly embarrassed. “What are you doing in here?”
The door latched behind me. The orange glow of the lamp on my desk brought out all the shadows along her face that I couldn’t help but look at.
“Better question is, what are you doing in here?” I walked a little farther into my bedroom and sat down on the chair by my desk. I spun around and leaned back, crossing my arms over my black T-shirt. “We said no one was allowed upstairs.”
Piper’s gaze dropped to the floor. Her feet were dangling off the edge, and she looked so damn cute and innocent. The only thing that would make this better was if her pants were off and she was wearing my T-shirt.
I stared at her mouth when she looked up again.
“I just needed a second to collect myself. It’s been a long…day.”
I scoffed. “It’s been a long few weeks.”
A puff of air left her as she flopped back onto my bed with a whoosh. For the first time ever, I was actually glad to be away from a party. I didn’t care that there was a keg downstairs. I didn’t care that Clementine and Casey both whispered dirty nothings in my ear. I didn’t care that my friends were playing a game of pong in the kitchen. What I cared about was lying on my bed, and the only person I wanted beside me was her.