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Looking up at his dark, warm eyes, I sank into his arms. “Oh my God, where were you?” I smacked his chest. “I thought you left me.”

“Never.” He shook his head and a boyish grin appeared on his lips. “I think you went out the wrong exit. I ran as soon as you called me.”

Looking up at him as we walked under a streetlight, I gasped and reached up to touch the side of his jaw. It was already red and starting to swell. “You okay?”

“For sure,” he said with a smirk.

My stomach sank with regret. “I’m so sorry.”

Anger slid into his eyes. “Don’t you dare apologize. That wasn’t your fault at all. That guy deserved it. He was being a creep to girls all night. It was not your fault, got it? I’m just sorry I didn’t get to you sooner. You okay?”

Closing my eyes, I nodded slightly. Sucking in a deep breath of the cold night air, I tried to steady myself, but it still felt like my brain was all off-kilter. “Okay, you can let me down, I can walk by myself.”

“Nope,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re recovering, you need rest. And…not sure you’d be able to make it in these heels, girl. ”

“I’m fine,” I said stubbornly, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

He held tighter. “Relax. Be thankful I’m not carrying you like him,” he said, jutting his chin to the side. I looked over to see Colt holding Mer’s body over his shoulder like a fireman.

“Where are they going?”

“Colt’s probably taking her to a pizza shop to sober up. You need any?”

“No, I’m tipsy, but I’m good.”

“Good.”

“Wait, where’s Ali?”

“Al Pal and JP wanted to stay out a bit longer.” He frowned in thought. “Probably for the best. Seemed like she needed it. You know anything about that guy she’s seeing?”

“Mark? Not really, why?”

He grimaced. “JP said he’s getting some bad vibes. She seems a little…”

“On edge?” I finished.

He nodded. “How are you? You seem…” I held my breath, waiting for his chosen word. “Upset.”

He nailed it right on the head, and it was hard to keep my resolve.

I squinted in the distance. Lately, it felt like I was stuck in a hole that I’d never escape from.

The thought of being happy ever again seemed ridiculous and completely out of reach.

“I’m a mess,” I tried to play it off, but my eyes burned.

“No, you’re not,” he argued.

“Yeah, I am.”

A beat of silence passed. “Well, I’m good with messes, used to get paid to clean ‘em up and everything. Remember my little mop back at Centre Ice,” he joked, the corner of his mouth lifting with an attempt at a smile.

I just bit my lip, trying to hold in my tears.

His throat bobbed with a swallow. “Why are you upset, Piper?”

I squeezed my eyes shut tight. I didn’t want to admit the real reason because it was too stupid.

I should’ve been solely focused on figure skating, but all I could think of was how we all finally had the opportunity to have one normal fun night out…

and it still wasn’t normal because I had to sit out. And…

Shaking my head, I forced out, “Doesn’t matter.”

“It’s the only thing that matters to me,” he said, holding my gaze.

“Why? ”

He looked up at the dark sky and laughed. “Because I like you.”

“Yeah, right,” I said sarcastically. “What’s to like about me?”

He stared down at me strangely then. “I feel like I’m talking to an imposter. Where’s the real Piper Wyndell-Hamilton? That girl would say, Of course you like me, what’s not to like, Dick?” he said, imitating me.

I half-laughed, half-cried. Because he was right on the money: I felt like I was an imposter in my own life lately.

“Hey, no, don’t cry,” he said gently. “I was only joking. I like you because you’re you , Piper. You’re loyal, competitive, and kind, not to mention beautiful, but you know that,” he said with a chuckle.

I snorted. “I don’t think you know the real me.”

We made it to the sidewalk right in front of their house and he gently set me on my feet.

He reached out and touched my cheek, making my entire body go still. “I know you better than you think, P.”

I knew him, too. I knew that he acted stupid and like a troublemaker, but he was smarter and had better grades than the rest of them. I knew that he secretly applied to college as a backup plan, and I doubted his friends even knew about it.

“Why are you actually upset?” he coaxed, looking at me with solemn eyes. Under the streetlamp, I could see the snowflakes falling down and clinging to his dark hair and long eyelashes.

My chin wobbled. I’m not sure if it was his gentle voice or the alcohol in my system, but I couldn’t keep the truth in anymore. “I didn’t get to dance with you,” I choked out.

His face softened. He took my face in his hands and stepped closer to me so our bodies were flush.

His thumb ghosted over my bottom lip, making my entire body pause, making all the thoughts in my head just stop .

“We’ll have more chances to dance, baby,” he rasped, then he kissed me full on the mouth.

My body immediately forgot about the cold, forgot about everything else. It was just him grinding against me, kissing me, creating our own heat.

And even though I was hours away from my warm bed, it felt like I was finally home, like I was finally where I was meant to be.

Without breaking the kiss, he picked me up and marched us into their house.