Page 25

He wasn’t like the frat boys I spent the last year dancing with.

He didn’t crowd or negatively impact my dancing, no, it was the opposite actually.

He’d grab my hand and twist me out and back into him, then spend a few beats flush against me, grinding to the beat.

He matched me move for move, and he danced with the command and ego of a professional dancer.

Dancing with him felt like freedom, there were no mistakes, only the beat of the music booming in my heart and his dimples flashing. My own face hurt from smiling and laughing so hard.

It was the most fun I’d ever had on a dance floor.

He smoothed behind me to hold my hips. I tipped my head back to look at him, and we sang the chorus together, then he spun around and pulled me close so our chests were flush.

Attraction spread through my entire body. Even though it was a fast song, his hands slowly trailed down my arms until he held my hands, then he smoothed them around his neck. Someone pushed me to get through the crowd, making me bump into him, and I felt his hard length against me, making me gasp.

A sheepish grin slid on his face, and his throat bobbed with a swallow. “Sorry, told on myself, eh?”

A laugh popped out of me. I was about to make a quick joke, but the DJ interrupted me.

“For the lovebirds,” the DJ announced.

“Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” by Cigarettes After Sex floated through the dark bar.

I looked around for a second, wondering if the DJ was talking about us, but at the same time, I didn’t care.

Richard apparently never cared in the first place, because his eyes were on me, a dazed look on his face.

“This feels like a dream,” he rasped.

I nodded because I knew what he meant. I tried to memorize this moment. The feel of his hands encasing my hips. The way his strong body swayed against mine.

His forehead dropped to mine. “And if it is, I never wanna wake up.”

My heart melted, my eyes roamed his face, and my mind echoed, You. I’m in love with you.

My hand cupped his cheek. I swiped my thumb under his eye, and his eyes fluttered closed. He had such long eyelashes for a guy. And even though we were surrounded by all this chaos in the bar, he looked so peaceful.

I knew he wouldn’t make a move without me initiating. I already turned him down on the ice, and I knew he’d be too afraid of putting himself out there again.

“Kiss me, Richard,” I whispered, and those brown eyes flashed open.

His rough fingertip smoothed my damp hair back until his hand rested at the base of my skull, then he claimed my lips.

His tongue teased my lips apart, and his hand roamed down my body as he kissed me deeply, passionately, in the middle of a packed room.

I couldn’t care less what anyone else thought. I just wanted him. I wanted closer.

A slow current stirred to life inside of me as my arms tightened around his body, and I knew right then that I was in trouble.

Because I never wanted to dance with anyone else ever again.

That moment on the dance floor truly did feel like the best sort of dream.

But the downside of dreaming…is that you have to eventually wake up.

_______

“Piper!” he screamed across the quad. “Not you, my Piper! Piper the Viper!”

I spun around just in time for Richard to basically body slam into me for a hug, whisking my feet off the cement sidewalk. He spun me around, and I could feel his chest shaking with happy laughter.

“Have you lost your mind?” I asked, giving into my own laughter.

“I got a tryout,” he said in a rush.

My body froze. “What? When?”

He set me down and his eyes darted around, like he couldn’t control his excitement. “It’s tomorrow! It’s…shit.” He shook his head. “Piper, it’s a good team. A really good fucking team.” He laughed incredulously. “They…they wanna see me.” His whole face lit up with happiness and relief.

“Of course they do,” I said with confidence. “Where is it?”

His face slightly faltered. “That’s the thing, it’s uh…” He brushed a hand over his hair. “It’s in Montreal.”

“Oh.” Despite the sudden heaviness crushing my heart, I forced myself to smile. “Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m packing up my shit right now,” he rambled on. “They want me suiting up for all the games this weekend. They’ve had a ton of injuries this season, so their offense is hurting. I think it’s an unofficial tryout, but maybe…maybe—”

“You know what to do,” I said, cutting him off with a firm nod. “There are no maybes. You play your best, got it? No hesitation.”

He nodded eagerly. “Yeah.” He bit out a humorless chuckle. “Might break my face.”

I reached up and touched his cheek. While I didn’t want that to happen, I knew he wanted this dream. “Well, then I’ll be vain enough for the both of us,” I joked.

He cracked a smile, earning me a flash of those boyish dimples.

“But seriously, if this is what you want, then you have to attack it. You can’t be scared of hypotheticals, okay?”

He stared at me strangely for a second before nodding. “Yeah.” He swallowed hard. “Thank you, Piper. This wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for you.”

“No problem, that’s what…” I swallowed hard. “That’s what friends are for,” I forced out. I couldn’t be selfish. This was his big break. He needed to focus. He needed to nail this.

His grin fell into a slight frown. “Friends?” He pulled at the back of his neck.

With a sad smile, I gave him a nod. “Yeah.” Going on my tiptoes, I reached around his neck to pull him into a hug. His arms automatically warped around my waist. “It’s just not our time yet,” I whispered into the crook of his neck, and I felt him nod.

When he pulled back, he kept his hands on my hips. He licked his lips, looking caught in indecision. “A part of me wants to stay here and just—”

“No. School is always here,” I cut him off. “You can go to college at 19, 22, 40, or 65. You’ll regret it if you don’t take this shot.” And you’ll regret me if I’m the reason , but I left that unsaid.

He swallowed hard and squeezed my side. “Friends,” he said, like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“I know right.” I laughed dryly. “Better not tell anyone.” I smirked.

A quick laugh flew out of him as he dropped his hands off my body. The sunny fall day suddenly felt twenty degrees colder. He rocked back on his heels. “Yeah, our secret.” He shook his head again. “Damn, I can’t believe this. I really want this, Piper.”

“I know.” I smiled, despite the burn in my throat .

“Thank you.” He pulled me in for another hug, and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest as I memorized the feel of him.

“I feel like ‘thank you’ isn’t enough.” Still holding me, he rasped out, “I want it to be our time right now, Piper.” His eyes darted to my lips again and I knew it was up to me to make him go.

We couldn’t prioritize us right now, and if we did, I was afraid we’d ruin everything.

Even though it was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, I forced myself to push out of his arms. It felt like a frog was lodged in my throat, but I forced myself to speak. “It’ll get here, but you have to focus up and work hard first, right? Because you want this, right?”

He looked a little dazed as he rubbed his forehead.

I grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him down to meet my eyes. “Focus, Richard,” I demanded. “You’re going to show up there— on time —and you’re going to play your ass off. And you better text me how it goes. Fast feet, slow brain. I don’t wanna see you moping around here anymore, got it?”

“Yeah, okay, yeah,” he said, his lips doing a funny little dance as he tried to control his grin.

“Now go get some goals,” I said, giving him a little shove as I released his shirt.

He gave me one last heated look, like he was also memorizing the moment, before he gave me a little wink and turned on his heel to jog off in the direction of his dorm.

After a few yards, he yelled over his shoulder, “Tell Patrick for me!” making me smile to myself. The two of them had become close through our little morning practices.

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I yelled at his back, “Goals, Richard! Multiple goals!”

He held up a thumbs up as he continued running away with my heart.