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“I don’t want anyone to get in trouble,” Piper whispered.
Fuck me. We’re going to a hockey party.
I sighed. “Guess the hockey party’s on the schedule.”
“What?” Piper raised her eyebrows. “You’re okay with us going to a hockey party?”
“No, I’m okay with all of us going to a hockey party,” I corrected her. “I’m going too.”
Zariah guffawed. “You hate hockey players.”
Not as much as I hate the idea of Piper surrounded by them, alone.
“You said you wanted a real college experience?” I reminded Piper. “This is it right here. Being reckless. Having fun.”
And you’ll have me to keep an eye on things.
30
Piper
Tell Them, Tell Them, Tell Them
When I packed for the RA conference, I somehow didn’t think to slide a clubbing dress in the leftover space.
Thankfully, I ended up borrowing one from June, the same girl who was six inches shorter than me. Next to my bed, I tugged at the fabric again. If I could just get it to magically grow by half an inch, I’d be saved.
“Piper?” my mom’s voice called out. “Piper?”
I scampered back to the phone. “Sorry, I didn’t think the call picked up—hey! Hey, hey, hey!”
My mom was the picture-perfect version of me, effortlessly flawless with the ‘straight without straightener’ blonde hair, ‘long eyelashes without mascara’ perfection and ‘direct questions without ever feeling bad for it’ kind of boss attitude that helped her handle the college classes she taught and her research teams. My mom was my rock through and through.
“You look so good. Where are you? Are you in the dorms?” My mother grimaced. “Good god. Where’s the donor money going to?”
That was my mom, blunt to a fault. And after a whirlwind twenty-four hours, it was exactly what I needed. My mom was an excellent choice to cut right through all the excess.
But I had no idea what I could tell her.
They didn’t even know I signed up to be Adam Russell’s professional babysitter or when the building had its water shut off…or when he ruined my presentation…or when he yanked me into the pool…or the shower…
Especially the shower.
“Carl?” my mom barked. “Piper’s on the phone. Piper’s on the phone!”
My dad popped into frame, waving behind my mom. “You look stressed, kiddo!”
“That shouldn’t be the first thing you say, Carl,” my mom scolded him. “But he’s right. You look stressed, Piper.”
It was an amazing thing having parents who could look past all the superficial nonsense and pinpoint to the nitty gritty. But it meant I couldn’t hide anything. And at the moment, I was hiding a six-foot-four football player in my day-to-day schedule.
“The conference is turning my hair gray,” I tried to joke. “It’s a lot.”
My mom gave me a long look over her glasses. “Do you want us to drive down? We can have dinner. Go catch a movie.”
My heart hurt. It was weird being back in the same state with my parents and not getting to see them, but this was the crucial college experience time. And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, Adam was right. Tonight, I could let go. All I wanted was a party, no obligations, just having fun. We could bring this weekend back on track.
“I have a thing tonight…with friends.”
