by Tabatha Kiss
“Sounds like a real complicated situation,” I smile.
“I knew Kai would immediately intervene,” she says. “He always does. So, I called you and hoped you’d get here to rescue me before he tried.”
“Kai intervenes?” I ask.
“On Shawn’s behalf,” she answers. “Every time he and I have a fight, Kai swoops in and talks me out of leaving him for good. Each time, I think, ‘Nope. This is it this time. Shawn and I are done.’ But then…”
I smile. I can’t help it. “Yeah. Kai’s pretty good with words.”
“He certainly can be…” She looks over at me and rolls her eyes. “When he actually uses them, anyway.”
“Exactly…” I shake my head. “Why hasn’t he called me yet?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “He asked for your number days ago.”
“He did?”
She nods.
My pulse slows. “I guess that means he’s done with me then.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.” I look out at the grounds and watch as two guys throw a football back and forth. Neither of them catch it and they spend the majority of their time fumbling about to pick it up. “He wouldn’t sit on this, Mandy. Either he’s in or he’s out. If he’s in, he would have called. If he’s out… well… he probably just moved on.”
“I’d offer to talk to him for you, but then I’d feel like a lame-ass hypocrite,” she says. “I can’t exactly avoid him about my break-up and get involved with yours, too.”
“I don’t want you to talk to him anyway,” I say. “He’s a big boy. He can make his own decisions.”
Mandy sighs. “You should talk to him while you’re here, though.”
I shake my head. “There’s nothing I could say to him that I haven’t already said,” I claim.
“That is completely false.”
“I appreciate the advice, but I think I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, Mandy.”
“Which is what, exactly?”
I glare at her from the corners of my eyes. “I’m holding steady.”
Mandy glances around as if she smells something foul. “Jeez, what the hell happened to you?” she spits.
I sit back. “What do you mean?”
“You have been called many things, Piper Lynch. Doormat isn’t one of them. Until now.”
I keep my eyes from rolling back. “I’m not a doormat. What the hell is this about?”
“You’re really just going to sit back and wait until the day when Kai Casablancas may or may not decide he wants to be with you?”
“I left the decision up to him,” I argue. “He wasn’t sure, so I gave him time. What’s wrong with that?”
“The Piper I know would never have given him the option to drag this out,” she says. “She would have said it’s now or never then walked away. You never would have bothered with this will-they-won’t-they crap before.”
“I—” I trip on my words. “It’s different now.”
“It’s really not,” she says. “Kai is just another guy.”
“No, he’s not.” My lip shakes. It’s a foreign feeling. I’ve never had to explain myself to Mandy before. She and I have always just understood each other. Even when we didn’t agree, we understood. “I’ve never loved anyone like this before.”
“All the more reason to push him harder, Piper. Isn’t that the whole reason why you came back here in the first place?” she asks. “I mean, it sure as hell wasn’t to see me — your best friend.”
“Hey…” I stare at her and she looks away. “Low blow.”
Mandy sighs and reaches up to scratch her nose. “Sorry…” she mutters. “I’m pretty emotionally drained at the moment.”
I extend my arm and wrap it around her, pulling her in to lay her head on my shoulder. “I’m pretty sure awkward three-way break-up drama earns you a free pass,” I tell her. “Don’t worry about it.” I plant a friendly kiss on her head, much to the delight of a few passing athletes in jerseys. I roll my eyes. “My god, there’s no difference between high school and college guys, is there?”
She chuckles. “That’s usually why we aimed a little older, if I recall.”
“Maybe you’re right, Mandy,” I say. “Maybe we have changed.”
“Fucking Europe, man…”
I laugh. “So, what are you going to do?” I ask as I push my fingers through her thick, brown locks. “Shawn or Nina?”
She sits back and licks her lips. “Well… while Nina is fun, I don’t want to date a woman. At least, not right now.”
“And will you go back to Shawn?”
“If he’ll take me,” she mutters.
“If he won’t, we could always run away with each other,” I joke.
She grins. “Don’t tempt me, succubus.” She rises to her feet and holds out her hand. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” I take her hand and she pulls me off the bench.
“We have some conversations to have.”
I try to pull my hand away, but she keeps a firm grip on it. “Mandy…” I say.
Her fingers entwine with mine. “Come on.”
I let her pull me along. “I’ll support you with whatever you need,” I tell her, “but I’m not talking to Kai.” Her grip on me is so tight, my fingers begin to throb.
***
Mandy doesn’t even knock when we reach Shawn and Kai’s room. She pushes the door open and pulls me inside along with her. I once again try to take my hand away, but she refuses to let me go.
“Will you let me go, please?” I ask her. She twists around me and pushes me into the room in front of her. “What the hell, Mandy?”
The door slams closed behind me and I glance around the room. Kai stands up from his desk with a concerned look in his eyes while Shawn lingers on his bed. I turn back to Mandy to find she’s planted herself in front of the door. She flicks her wrist behind her and loudly locks it.
“Okay…” she addresses us all. “No one is leaving this room until we work out our shit.”
“Mandy, come on…” I say, avoiding Kai’s stare.
“Nope.” She shakes her head. “If there’s one thing that can be said about the four of us, it’s that we never say what we need to say unless we’re trapped together in small, confined places. Case and point: The trains in Europe.”
“Mandy, what are you doing?” Kai asks.
“I’m fixing this.”
Shawn stands up and walks over to her. “Please don’t break up with me again,” he says to her. “I’m just an idiot. You know that.”
Mandy smiles up at him. “I’m sorry, Shawn,” she says. “I made a mistake. We good?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, we’re good.”
I scoff at them as he turns to stand next to her and crosses his arms. “What the hell was that?” I ask.
“Your turn,” Mandy says, her eyes bouncing between myself and Kai.
I glance back at him. His eyes tell me he wants to speak, but he doesn’t open his mouth. I turn back to Mandy and Shawn. “This is way more complicated than that,” I argue.
“I agree,” Kai says.
“Well…” Mandy hums. “You’re not leaving until you un-complicate it. So, get comfortable.”
“Mandy, you’re being ridiculous,” I say.
“I’d rather be ridiculous than stupid,” she says. “And the way you two have been acting is stupid.”
Shawn nods. “I have to agree with her on that one. Kai, you’ve seen better days.” He looks at me. “He’s been moping around here all day, everyday, for the past week.”
Kai steps forward. “Shawn—”
“Is that true?” I ask him.
“I’ve…” he stutters. “I’ve been thinking things over.”
“For a whole week?”
“This isn’t exactly an easy decision.”
“Why not?” I turn to face him. “You either love me or you don’t.”
“Like you said before, it’s wa
y more complicated than that.”
“Well, what’s holding you back, Kai?” I ask. He looks past my shoulder, hesitating to answer. “No, forget about them,” I say.
“Piper, I can’t do this right now,” he says. “I need time—”
“Time is up, Kai.” I take a deep breath and remember Mandy’s words. “It’s now or never.”
He looks at me with a flexed jaw. “Never it is, then,” he says as he steps around me. A pain strikes my chest. I stare at the wall, unable to move or think as he moves towards the door.
“Open the door,” I hear him say.
Mandy sighs. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this…” I turn and watch her move over to Shawn’s night stand while Shawn blocks the door.
“Shawn, move,” Kai says.
“Nope. I agree with her, man.”
“Shawn,” Mandy says as she walks back. “Hold him still, please.”
Shawn reaches out and grips Kai’s shoulders. I see the shimmering silver in Mandy’s hands as she reaches out and latches the cuff to his right wrist.
“What the fuck?” Kai tries to pull away, but they both jerk him in my direction.
I’m still frozen in place and honestly, I don’t fight when Mandy reaches for my left hand and I hear that metallic sound of the handcuff binding my wrist with Kai’s.
Chapter 14
Kai
“Where the hell did you get handcuffs?” I shout at Mandy.
She squints back at me with amusement. “It’s a private collection,” she says.
“Of course they are.” I take a step away from Piper as her natural scent starts to invade my nose. I took one, small whiff of it and I can already feel my rational mind crumbling into bits. I need more time to think this over and I sure as hell can’t do it while I’m fucking handcuffed to her.
“Look…” Mandy reaches out and puts a hand on both of our shoulders. “I know the two of you really well. Like… really well. Emotionally, mentally… biblically. I mean, I’ve had sex with both of you.”
I grit my teeth. “Get to the point, Mandy.”
“My point is… that the two of you were meant for each other.”
I scoff. Piper looks over at me, silently. I refuse to look back.
“I’m serious, Kai,” Mandy continues. “I’ve seen some pretty fucked up and dysfunctional shit in my life, and believe me, you two have been involved in a decent amount of it, but you also have some of the most spellbinding chemistry I’ve ever seen. Quite frankly, I’m jealous because I’ll never have that with anyone.” She glances over her shoulder. “No offense to you, Shawn.”
“None taken,” he replies. “Because she’s right…”
I glare at him.
“I think you’re both being really fucking stupid if you don’t give this a real shot.” Mandy drops her hands from our shoulders and crosses them over her chest. “I’m not letting you guy go until you do.” She steps back and moves towards the door. “We’re going to leave you guys alone now, but we’ll be back in an hour.”
“Peachy,” I bite. Piper’s aura is far too strong. It’s already tugging me closer to her and with each passing moment, it becomes harder to ignore. I look across the room, but I catch sight of her in a mirror and cringe.
Shawn and Mandy close the door and they lock it behind them.
I step towards Shawn’s bed, tugging Piper along with me. She stumbles a bit at the sudden movement, but keeps upright. I pull Shawn’s bedside drawers open with my free hand and root around inside.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
Her voice feels like cool water dripping down my back in the middle of July. “I’m looking for a spare key,” I explain.
“She took it with her.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she answers. “I saw her put it in her pocket.”
I sigh and shove the drawers closed, nearly knocking his lamp over. “Great…”
“Is being handcuffed to me really that awful?”
“Pipes…” I say. “I said I don’t want to talk right now.”
“Well, we don’t have much of a choice.”
“Yes, we do,” I say. “We don’t have to play into their crap.” I tug on the handcuff. “Come on, let’s go find them and demand they let us out.” I try to walk towards the door, but Piper refuses to move. “Piper, come on.”
“No.”
I turn to her. “Please.”
“No.” She takes a step back, taking me along with her. “We should talk, Kai.”
“Not now.”
“If not now, then when?” she asks.
“Some other time.”
She shakes her head. “Nope.” She drops to the floor and crosses her legs beneath her.
“What are you doing?” I ask, bent over as she pulls me down with her.
“I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me.” She scoots backward, dragging me with her, and leans against the foot of my bed to make herself comfortable. “And if I’m not going anywhere, then you’re not going anywhere.”
I growl and try to slip the cuff off my wrist. The metal digs into my skin. A piercing pain shoots through my arm. No matter what I do, it won’t budge. “Fuck…”
“Are you quite finished?” she asks.
I let out a frustrated breath before toppling to the floor. “Fine,” I say as I lean back with her. We sit side-by-side, but I slide over to keep a few inches between us. The slightest brush of her skin could cause a spark and I’d rather not go there with her right now. Sure, I want her body more than anything, but that’s exactly the problem—
Shit. I should be saying this out loud, shouldn’t I?
I bite my lip and close my eyes to keep the thoughts inside.
“My mom said she knew this would happen.”
“Is that right?” I lean back and stare at the ceiling to keep from looking at her.
“Apparently, it was obvious ever since we were kids that we’d end up together,” she says. “My mother knew it… and so did yours.”
I chuckle. “Well, my mother sure has changed her mind since the good ole’ days.”
“She’ll come around,” Piper says softly. “Even if my father doesn’t, she will.”
“It’s not exactly parental approval I’m worried about, Pipes.”
She falls silent. I feel her adjust her wrist slightly. The metal chain clinks. Every subtle move she makes gives me goosebumps. I cling to my memories, the ones that bring me perspective. Like the brutal tongue-lashing she gave me on the train to Munich. Or getting punched in the face by that brute son-of-a-bitch in Rome, all because of her and her nympho tendencies. And, of course, her telling me off in Madrid.
“This isn’t what you think it is,” she told me.
“I don’t care if you’re in love with me.”
“Get over it.”
“Go home. Don’t come back. I need a clean break from you.”
She brushes her hair behind her ear and I smell her again. My mouth waters. I swallow it down, but another memory is already gone and blood flows sharply south.
“It’s too easy to forget,” I whisper.
“Forget what?”
I stare straight ahead. “The bad moments.” I feel her eyes on me. “When I’m with you, it all melts away and complete, utter bliss fills its place.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“And you’d be right,” I continue. “For about twenty minutes… and then it wears off and I remember everything.”
“Kai…” She turns towards me and I twitch as her leg brushes against mine. “I don’t know how many times I can apologize—”
“I don’t doubt that you’re sorry,” I interrupt. “I know you’re sincere.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
I shrug. “Forgiveness doesn’t make the pain go away.”
“Kai…” She says my name with barely a whisper and reaches out to me. Her finger graze mine. When I flinch, she takes my hand by force. “Is
that it?”
Pure warmth radiates up my arm. “Is what it?”
“We can’t change the past,” she says. “And I don’t want to either. But I also don’t want to spend the rest of our lives apologizing to each other. Do you?”
I finally look at her and I’m instantly captured by her deep, blue eyes. “No, I don’t,” I answer truthfully.
She moves quickly and throws one leg over me before I can react. My entire body goes stiff as she straddles me to hold me in place.
“Piper—”
“Kai, look at me.”
I don’t fight her — I can’t fight her. My eyes stay fixed on hers. Happiness overwhelms sadness as I remember the best of her. Her laughter on the train. The little snore she makes when she’s really tired that I’ve never told her about because I want it to be my own private secret. How pink her pale cheeks get when she’s happy and horny—
“Snap out of it, Kai,” she demands.
“I can’t—”
She grabs my cheeks. “Hate me. Remember me as if I’m not here right now. Remember how you caught me in that Italian sex dungeon? Remember getting punched in the face for dragging me out of it?”
My cheeks burn with anger. “Goddammit, Piper—”
“Remember when I dumped you in Europe and abandoned all the people that care about me? And how you told me you loved me and I didn’t say it back because I didn’t care?”
I jerk away from her hands. “Stop!”
“I don’t want you to forget, Kai,” she says, holding my gaze. “I want you to remember and I want you to hold me accountable for it.”
“Oh, believe me, I do.”
“Then punish me,” she urges. “Take it out on me so we can move on.”
My heart races, pumping blood in every direction. I can’t stop my fingers from latching onto her body. The desire is far too strong. “This is so fucked up…” I mutter.
She laughs softly. “I kind of like that about us…”
“So do I.” I pull her closer. My lips graze against her skin, but I hold myself back. My cock throbs, begging to be inside of her, but my mind holds steady. I feel the pain and sadness. I embrace the darkness inside as I stare into her little blue oceans.