by Tabatha Kiss
“Well…” She looks over her shoulder and back again. “Look again, sweetie.” I shake my head and wipe down the fork she hands me, fighting the urge to glance at him again. She drains the sink and dries her hand on another towel before turning around. “Kai—”
I wipe down the last of the silverware and turn around as he looks up. “Yes, ma’am?” he asks.
“I’m going to have to insist you stay here tonight,” she says. I want so badly to intervene, but I know it won’t change a damn thing. “This storm isn’t going anywhere and I don’t want you walking back on your own.”
Kai stands up from the table and slips his phone into his pocket. “Uh…” he breathes. “Are you sure?”
She walks across the kitchen to him. “Of course I am, Kai. You have always had a place in my home.” She pushes herself onto her toes and plants a quick, motherly kiss on his cheek. “No arguments. You can take the couch and Piper will share with me.”
He grins at her. “All right, Penny.”
Her hand lingers on his chin. He looks at her with confusion as she admires his face. “Oh — this jaw.” She shakes her head as she drops her hand. “Don’t you dare stop growing up.”
He laughs with red cheeks. “I will do my best.”
She looks back at me. “It’s late and I am very tired. I’ve forgotten how utterly exhausting you are, Piper.”
I step across the room, driven by the sudden devastation of her leaving me again, even if it is just down the hall. “Goodnight, Mom,” I whisper as I throw my arms around her.
She returns my hug and kisses the top of my head. “Don’t stay up too late. There’s much to be done tomorrow,” she says.
I nod as I pull away. She pats Kai’s shoulder one last time before leaving the room.
“Goodnight, Penny,” he calls after her.
“Goodnight, Mr. Casablancas.”
He smirks and watches her walk away before his eyes drift back to mine. He stares at me for a moment, his smile falling with each passing second. “Piper, I am so sorry,” he whispers. “If I had known it was her—”
“It’s fine,” I interrupt. “I’m… not mad.” I return to my seat at the table and he sits back down on his. It’s the truth, as strange as it is to admit. When my mother first answered the door, I was furious at him, but now… “I forgot how much she liked you.”
“So did I,” he chuckles. “I never realized how much I missed her being around.”
“I did.” I draw a line on the table with my fingernail. “I really did.”
He looks at me with sincere eyes. “You knew she was here this whole time?” he asks.
I nod. “Yeah,” I say. “She’s been traveling around the world for the last two years. And she’s serious about that postcard thing. I have a whole box full of them.”
He smiles and looks around the apartment. “And she lives here?” he asks.
“She’s got little hideouts all over Europe. A few in Asia, too,” I tell him.
“Wow…” he breathes. “Why didn’t you ever mention it?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Never seemed relevant.”
Kai furrows his brow. “Pipes, come on. Your mom was like an aunt to me.”
“Sorry…” I say. “My dad always got so mad when I mentioned her. I just kept my mouth shut after awhile.”
He nods. A bit of thunder rolls outside and I listen for the rain tapping against the windows. “She hasn’t changed a bit,” he notes.
I smile. “No, she hasn’t.”
“I’m happy I got a chance to see her before we go home tomorrow.”
I pause, the words dancing on the tip of my tongue. It was never my intention to tell him, but he’s already come this far. If I don’t tell him now, then he’ll just find out in a few hours anyway. “I’m not going home, Kai,” I whisper.
“What do you mean? Of course you’re going home…” His voice softens with each syllable.
“No, Kai…” I stare at the table between us. “I’m not.” He watches me with confusion, no doubt waiting for me to explain more to him. “You crashed a one-way trip.”
“Piper…” He gives a light chuckle. “You’re Piper fucking Lynch. You’re going to take over the world. You’re going to Harvard—”
“No, my dad thinks I’m going to Harvard.”
“Then where are you going to school?” he asks, still not getting it.
“I’m not.”
“What are you talking about? Of course you’re going to school—”
“There’s nothing a lecture hall can teach me that I can’t learn out here.”
He shakes his head. “But you’re enrolled in classes. You start in like two days.”
I hesitate. “I never even applied, Kai…”
He sits back in his chair, his brow furrowing a little more. “Your Harvard acceptance letter has been plastered to our refrigerator since March,” he says.
I run my fingers along my lips, the tips of my nails grazing my teeth. “It’s impressive what one can do with a decent word processor and some fancy stationary.” I pull my fingers down, fighting the nervous urge to bite my nails.
“Pipes…”
I look up at his face and his handsome, tortured eyes. “I’ve lived my entire life in my father’s shoe box… and I’m not going back there.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I don’t expect you to understand, Kai.”
“You’re damn right I don’t understand. You have to come home, Piper,” he argues. “You don’t belong here — You can’t afford to live like this.”
“My trust fund unlocked when I turned eighteen,” I tell him. “I can do whatever I want.”
“Oh, and that trust fund doesn’t say anything about not using that money to wander around the world like a bum?”
I lean in and keep my voice down. “My father’s trust fund for me is very specific on how I’m to spend the money. My mother’s fund for me, on the other hand, has no such restrictions.”
“So that’s it, then?” he asks with a stiff shoulder shrug. “You’re just gone? You’re not coming home?”
“That was never my home in the first place, Kai. I’m staying here with my mother. She’s my home.” My throat hurts from finally saying it all out loud. The pain radiates through my chest as I watch him beg.
“What about all the people that care about you?” he whispers.
“No one cares about me.”
“That’s…” His lips shake. “That’s really not true, Pipes…”
“I’m sorry, Kai…” I swallow in a futile attempt at forcing my tears down. “I’m not going back with you.”
Everything he’s feeling flashes at me behind his eyes. I watch him go from blistering sadness, to righteous anger, and back again. “I don’t know anything about who you really are, do I?” he asks.
“You officially know more than about ninety-eight percent of the people in my life.”
He hangs forward and rests his hands against his palms. I keep quiet, knowing that he’ll need time to process this. I wish that he never followed me to Europe in the first place. This would have been so much easier if he never kissed me on that train. I wish I could just go back to a week ago when I was so sure I hated him. Then I wouldn’t feel like this—
“No.” His voice finally breaks the silence. “This is bullshit.”
“Kai—”
“No, Piper. This isn’t right. Think about what this is going to do to your father,” he pleads.
“I have.”
“And what? You just don’t care?”
“No, I do care. And that’s what makes me different than him.”
He shoots back in his chair to sit upright. I flinch. “Is that what this is about? Him and my mother?” I look away as a fit of anger swells within me. “People cheat, Piper. People get divorced. It didn’t have anything to do with us. You don’t have to be so bitter about it.”
“I’m not bitter—”
“She said bitterly
with a bitter expression—”
“Okay, you know what?” I interrupt. “Fine. I am bitter. My father destroyed our family and humiliated my mother in court because your mother’s tits were just a little bit larger. Sorry if that makes me feel a little bitter.”
He stares at me. “So what?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. So fucking what?” he asks. “You really want to get back at him, then you should bleed him dry from the inside out. Tap his resources. Don’t just disappear like some damn teenage runaway.”
“I don’t want to tap his resources.” It’s exhausting to defend my decisions, but that won’t stop me from trying. “I don’t want anything from him. He got his eighteen years to play tyrant and I’m done. I’m out. Goodbye. It’s over.”
“There are other ways, Piper.”
“I disagree, Kai.”
“You hate him this much?” he asks. “You hate your life back home this much?”
I don’t hesitate. “Yes.”
He flexes his jaw and takes a quick breath. “You hate me this much?”
I open my mouth to answer, but I lose the words on my tongue. “Why don’t you just say what you’re really thinking, Kai? For once. Just say it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he seethes.
“I’m talking about the real reason why you don’t want me to stay here.” I gesture around the room. “The reason why you’re sitting in my mother’s kitchen right now. We both know it has nothing to do with Philip Lynch’s feelings.” He doesn’t answer. Instead, he stares back at me with shaking eyes. “Say it, Kai,” I beg him again, but still, he stays quiet. “You can’t, can you? I don’t want you to leave me, Piper. I will miss you. I want you. Say it!”
Kai licks his lips. “I don’t want you to leave me, Piper,” he repeats my words back at me slowly, his eyes never falling from mine. “I will miss you. I want you. And I’m in love with you.”
Thunder cries out as another bout of rain strikes the windows outside, but I can barely hear it over my pulse dominating my ears. My body forces a breath into my lungs before I stand up from my chair.
“Pipes—”
“Goodnight, Kai,” I whisper. I step away from the table and wander slowly to the back of the apartment. Every instinct in me wants me to turn around and look at him, but I keep my face forward until I reach my mother’s room.
I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, as my mother dozes softly next to me.
Dammit, Kai…
Chapter 14
Kai
Dammit, Piper…
What the hell is she thinking? A week ago, I had a very vivid image of her in my mind. Smart, beautiful, and talented Piper fucking Lynch. She’s a goody-goody. Daughter of the headmaster. The Ivy League bound Valedic-fucking-torian. The stick in her ass was lodged inside a little too far, but it helped maintain an elegant posture that made her tits look fantastic from just about every angle.
But it was all bullshit. She’s no goody-goody. She’s as wild as they come and smart enough to hide it. The only real thing she’s talented at is pissing me the fuck off. Who the hell does she think she is? Running away to Europe without telling anybody? Lying to her father about going to school? Lying to me about… fucking everything? She’s a stupid, selfish, borderline psychotic mess of a teenage girl.
But I’m in love with her.
And she doesn’t even fucking care.
Rain slaps hard against the window. Lightning crashes every other minute, shooting shadows through the unfamiliar room. I bounce a bit on the couch to get comfortable and lay my arm over my face to block the flashing light. I want to sleep. I want to drift off into another dimension for a few hours so I don’t have to think about Piper fucking Lynch. Not that it would help anyway, because she’ll just show up in my dreams and piss me off a little more.
I sigh with frustration and rub my face with both hands. “Jesus—”
Her shape lingers above me on the couch, wearing only her blue shirt and panties. I shoot up as my heart nearly bursts out of my chest. “Christ, Piper…” I breathe hard and sit back against the couch. Her pale skin stands out in the darkness and her black hair falls straight down past her shoulders. “You look like one of those Asian ghost girls…” I rub my eyes and look up at her. She’s staring down at me with a somber expression. Little breaths rush past her lips. “What is it?” I ask her.
I watch as Piper bends over and slides her panties to the floor in front of me. I can barely see her mound in the darkness, but my cock twitches nonetheless. She slowly lowers herself down to the couch and straddles me.
“Piper, what—”
“Shh…” she whispers. Her fingers touch my lips and I taste her skin on them. I stare into her eyes, the vast blue oceans of deep sea beauty, as she slowly kisses me.
Her intoxicating flavor invades my senses, sending my blood pumping through my veins, firing down to ignite my swelling cock. The perfume on her skin strikes my nose. My fingers tremble against her bare thighs. I want to grab her, to take her into my arms and never let her go, but I hesitate and hold my desires back.
“Piper,” I whisper her name and she pauses above me.
Her warm breath strikes my wet lips as her hands move down my body. I shiver as she unzips my jeans and sigh when she wraps her little fingers around my thick shaft. Her breath shakes as she trembles with anticipation. I kiss her again and pull her in closer. Her warm slit is so close to my tip. I can feel it against me. I rake my teeth along her lips, breathing heavily as she guides me between her folds.
The slightest of moans teases her throat as I slip inside. I put my lips on hers to absorb the sound and she kisses me with a passionate fury. I wince in sudden pain as my nerves remind me of my busted nose. She slows her intense kisses down, but she never abandons my lips for a second. Rain drums against the windows as she rides me up and down. I grip her little body hard against me, guiding her in the darkness. Her fingers push behind my neck and she wraps her fists in my hair, squeezing tightly as her body reacts to me pushing inside of her. I love everything about the pain she brings me. I return the favor and scratch up her body beneath her shirt to cup her breasts. Those wonderful, big tits I’ve dreamed of coping a feel of since the day she grew them. I almost grunt in satisfaction, but she bites my lips to keep me quiet. She’s so tight and moist inside, even more so than I ever imagined her to be.
I hold her still and grind harder inside of her. She moans silently against my lips, meeting every one of my thrusts with her own passions. We take it all out on each other, each movement bringing us closer together after years of repressed sexual desire. The inner release is more tormenting than I ever realized. My heart bursts. My loins swell. My cock has finally met its match inside of Piper fucking Lynch.
She arches her back and rests her palms on my thighs. I keep her steady as she takes control of us. I want nothing more than to bury my face between her breasts, but I can’t help but stop and stare at her beautiful form instead. Shadows of the storm cast us in darkness, the occasional flash of lightning showing me the pleasure upon her face. She looks at me and smiles before allowing her tongue another taste of mine.
Her wetness squeezes tight around me and I know she’s nearing her edge. I take her with harder thrusts. She presses her lips together to fight the screams from tearing through her body. I hold her closely as my own passions run away with me. We moan together quietly just one time as we both climax. Small vibration pass between our lips. My cock twitches with extreme satisfaction. I lean back and her body blends together with mine.
“Piper…” I whisper. “I…”
“Shh… Let’s not…” she silences me and raises her head to rest her sweat-glistened forehead against mine. “Let’s just be.” She stares into my eyes until I nod in agreement.
She collapses against my shoulders and I hold her there with me until strength returns to us both.
***
I burst into the hotel room
. Anger pounds away inside of me, driving me mad as I pace around the room. Shawn sits up in his bed, shirtless and out of breath.
“Hey, man…” he says, clearing his throat. “What’s going on?”
I nod at him, but I can’t bring myself to speak just yet. My eyes fall to the bed and I notice the lump lying next to him, concealed beneath a white sheet. “Hey, Mandy,” I say.
“Hey, Kai…” Her head slips out of the sheet and holds it against her naked breasts as she sits back.
“Sorry, guys…” I mutter.
“What’s wrong?” Shawn asks.
I look at Mandy. “Did you know about this?”
“Know about what?” she asks.
“Piper. Did you know Piper wasn’t coming home?”
She pauses and licks her lips. “Yes,” she says.
“And you didn’t try and stop her?”
“Wait — what?” Shawn asks. “What do you mean Piper’s not coming home?”
“Piper’s not going to school—” I taste the words. They leave a rotten flavor behind on my tongue. “She’s staying in Europe. It’s been her plan the whole time.” I stare at Mandy, expecting her answer.
“I didn’t try to stop her, Kai, because it’s not my place to stop her—”
“That’s bullshit, Mandy. You don’t just sit there and let your friends make mistakes.”
“Piper’s not making a mistake,” she argues.
I shake my head. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Look, Kai…” she leans forward and pulls the sheet a little tighter around her. “Piper Lynch is gonna do what Piper Lynch is gonna do. You can either get out of the way and sit beside her or you can stand in her way. And I don’t wanna be the guy standing in Piper Lynch’s way. Do you?”
“Wait—” Shawn begins, “where were you all night?”
“I was dealing with this shit,” I say quickly.
“With Piper…?” he hints.
I look away. “Yeah,” I answer.
“Can we assume that the two of you finally… you know…” He taps his closed fists together twice with a clever smirk. Even Mandy looks up at me with expectant eyes, eager to hear the scoop of the century.