113

Piper

So We're Not Going To Do It

"Because I need to protect you." He ran his hand through his hair. "Coach Lawson's putting a team together for a defamation case against them right now and that'll lead to a restraining order—or vice versa—I don't know it's a lot of legal stuff being thrown around—"

"Oh my god—that's great ."

"I don't want to do it," he admitted. "But I don't have a choice now. My parents are forcing my hand."

"When are you going to court?"

"It depends on the initial talks, we could avoid court entirely—" Adam stopped himself. "Piper, you don't need to know. You don't have to worry about this." He rolled back his shoulders and straightened up in the chair. "It's going to be a complete media circus. It's going to be hell. And you're not going to be part of this. You're going to Roman Hall and I've already talked with the gang, you're as much a part of our group as anyone else. We can be friends. But I promise, I'm never, ever going to bother again."

My heart squeezed in my chest just looking at him and Adam finally looked away, off towards the distance. It was quiet.

Slowly, I nodded.

"Okay."

His voice cracked. "Okay."

I put my hands together and placed them on the table, leaning forward. "When are we going to court?"

He glanced at me, confused.

"Adam?" I raised my eyebrows. "When are we going to court?"

"They're…thinking about October but—you're not involved in any of this."

"I have to be there."

"No. You don't." He gave me a long look. "Piper, the farther you are away from me, the better it is for you."

"We're not breaking up." I shrugged and recited the same words he'd said to me, the first night we had sex. "I thought about it. I don't like it. So we're not going to do it."

Adam stared at me.

"I'll be ready for October," I promised him.

"I don't want them to—Piper, I don't even want them to look at you," he told me, a strain in his voice. "I don't want them in the same room as you. And I'm not going to be the fucking Marrs Manwhore. I'm going to be messed up about this. Not someone you should be around. I won't be the fun guy, the party guy, the—"

"You're going to be Adam," I nodded. "That's enough."

He didn't say anything but I could see it on his face. The way all of those extra lines softened one by one and how hard he struggled to keep the walls up. And I knew, without a doubt, he was mine. It was that simple. He loved me and every decision he made was influenced by it.

I wouldn't let him go through this alone.

A knock echoed on the door and I shifted back to see Sloane, poking through. "Hey? There's a bunch of people downstairs who say they want to come up? It's Zariah and everybody."

I glanced back at Adam and his voice was soft. "It's a party to celebrate the presentation."

"You're throwing me a party?"

"It's not a crowd," he assured me. "It's just our friends."

"No, Adam, you're throwing me a party and you expect me to just say, okay, relationship is over? Thanks for the gift bag?" I raised my eyebrows before returning to talk to Sloane again. "Hey, we're going to need a couple of minutes."

Sloane threw me a thumbs-up sign and closed the door.

I placed my hands on the table, facing Adam again. "I don't understand how you think I can just walk away, knowing you're going to get hurt."

"Ice—" He stopped himself. " Piper . I'm doing this to protect you."

"And now I'm doing this to protect you, " I interrupted and gazed at him without compromise. "You take care of me all the time. This is how I'm going to take care of you. By being there and loving you and I know you love me. So I'm going to show you how it feels to be loved too."

He didn't have anything to say but Adam gazed at me. No walls. No barriers. Just him. The man who wasn't perfect but he was absolutely perfect for me.

I rested my chin on my hands. "Do you want to go get dinner?"

"Dinner?" he repeated. "I—Piper…"

"Do you want to skip the party? Just go get dinner?"

Slowly, Adam nodded. It was like he didn't even realize he was nodding until he quickened the pace, nodding harder. He took a deep breath and leaned on the table. "Do you want to go to the aquarium with me?"

"Yeah." A smile crossed my face. "We can go to the bar next door and get the rum slushies to walk around with."

"And after…" Adam hesitated, giving me the most torn look in the world. "Can I bring you back home? It's not right without you there."

My heart squeezed. "Of course, baby."

A breathless grin touched him and he stood up the table and reached for my hand. I didn't have time to properly stand up before he pulled me off towards the door and the two of us headed down the stairs together. I was no match for his long legs and I tried to tell him. But Adam burst through the door to the right, to the kitchen of Gianna's , and he ducked around the staff, heading towards the exit in the back.

"Adam!" I could barely keep up with him. "You're too tall, I can't—"

We burst through the door and all my arguments vanished when Adam put his hand on the back of my head and shoved me against the brick wall, crashing his lips to mine. He pushed me against the wall, kissing me harder. I couldn't breathe. I actually couldn't breathe and I pushed him away, trying to breathe again.

He gathered up my hands and pressed them to his chest. "I love you. I'm sorry. I love you."

"It's going to be okay," I told him. I slipped my hands from his grasp and touched his face. "I promise."

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"We're going to get through it."

Adam sighed. "I have a really fucked-up family."

"I guess we have to make a new one." I shrugged.

Pure happiness hit him, I could read it all on his face, and he dipped down to kiss me again, gathering me up in his arms, holding me close. A low groan vibrated from his throat. I kissed him back with every bit of longing I'd held on to without him.

"Adam? Piper?" King's voice interrupted us and we broke apart to see him at the other end of the building. "Hey—uh—everyone's inside."

"Hey, King." A flush crept up my neck. "We were just—"

My feet were swept from underneath me and I yelped while Adam threw me over his shoulders, walking away from Gianna's. I jerked up to see King, staring at us.

"Sorry, man!" Adam yelled without turning back. "We're not going to the party!"

"But we'll see you tonight!" I reassured King.

Adam made a noise at the back of his throat. "She's not seeing you tonight!"

I couldn't help it, I laughed. "Okay, we'll see you tomorrow!"

"She's not seeing you tomorrow either!"

I laughed even harder as Adam walked us off to the parking garage and he only put me down when we came up to one of his cars.

"I could've walked, " I told him.

"You're not fast enough, ice princess." He grinned, leaning down to pull me into another kiss against his car. "I love you, I love you, I love you," he murmured against my lips, kissing me again and again. He drew back and laughed. "Oh, you're going to lose your shit."

Oh, god .

"What did you do?" I asked, already exasperated.

Adam pulled his shirt over his head and my mind went blank. All the muscle. All the lines and lines and lines of muscle. But that only held my attention for so long. It was the white wrapping on his back that made my mouth fall open.

"What—did you get hurt?"

"I need you with me because if you're not here, I get tattoos."

My mouth fell open. "You… what? "

"It's a turtle."

"A what? "

"I've never been that drunk before," he admitted. "I don't even remember getting it."

"You're joking ."

"I am dead serious right now. I blacked out to go one night without thinking about you and I paid the dude like eight grand—it's not even goddamn finished. Eight grand for a quarter of a tattoo." He shook his head and shifted closer, grinning down at me. "I don't know. The only thing I could think of was that I was so drunk I wanted a piece of you with me."

"That is…" I shook my head and couldn't help the smile. "The dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Drunk Adam logic, I didn't say it was smart."

"Did everybody freak out?" I asked him while he tugged me closer, enclosing me to him.

"We can talk about it later. I really need to kiss you right now."

He captured my lips for another kiss, long and sweet, a kiss that made my toes curl and left me breathless and wanting again. His hands went to my sides and he held me close, touching me.

"As long as that tattoo lasts, I'll love you," he whispered against the curve of my mouth, kissing me again.

I gently pushed him away. "There's tattoo removal places."

"I don't believe in those. Sorry."

"You could tattoo over it."

"Goddammit, ice princess." He sighed and leaned down to press his lips to my neck, kissing me all over. "I'm trying to tell you we're getting buried next to each other."

I laughed again and brought him back up to kiss him on his lips anyway.