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."

My dad popped into view again. " Friends? "

" Wow ." My mom's mouth fell open. "Friends? You have friends? How good is that! What do you need? Do you want a gift card? Order some food too? Gas money? Are you going out drinking? Remember, our family doesn't do well with red wine. You have to remember that."

Nothing subtle about them.

I thumped back onto the bed and sighed. The two of them had been pushing for me to go out and make some friends after Thomas. Actually, they'd specifically made a six-month step-by-step plan for me to make a friend and presented me with a laminated copy on my move-in day. Me, having multiple friends? Above their hopes and dreams. Of course they were psyched.

"Should we tell her?" my dad whispered.

I glanced at the screen. "Tell me what?"

"No, not right now," my mom muttered back. "She doesn't need it right now."

"You guys know I can hear you, right?" I gave them a long look. "Just tell me. Please just tell me. It's all I'm going to be thinking about for—"

"Thomas visited my office a few days ago," my dad said.

In an instant, my blood ran cold. The messages had been coming for such a long time, they didn't shock me anymore. But him approaching my parents was another thing entirely.

My mom and dad had adored Thomas Sullender. They didn't understand football or Division I athletes or what a quarterback was, but our family moved around so much when I was a kid that it'd been hard making friends. When I first started dating Thomas, it'd been like a dream come true for my parents. Finally, their little girl had found her community.

It crushed them when we broke up.

How were they going to react when they found out I was tied to another football player?

But not like that. Not in a—I leaped from one relationship with an emotionally unavailable playboy football player to another emotionally unavailable playboy football player—because Adam and I were not connected in that way. Or any way. The shower thing was a one-time moment of weakness. A mistake. Nothing more.

"Well, what did you and Thomas…talk about?" I asked carefully.

"He wants you to know that he's sorry…?" my dad trailed off. "I don't know, kiddo. That was it."

"Have you thought about…?" My mom struggled with the question I knew she'd been sitting on for months. "You see, he apologized…"

Not this again.

I closed my eyes.

The truth was, Thomas only apologized because for some sick, twisted reason he liked everybody thinking he was the good guy. After I broke up with him, he went around campus with the craziest stories. I "cheated" on him. I pushed him away with my "neglect" and forced him to get busy with bleacher bunnies out of sheer desperation.

And now he wanted my parents on the list of the sympathetic Thomas train. While still harassing me.

I needed to tell my parents everything.

Or I could drop the bomb about Adam and it would at least get them off my back about Thomas.

Not everything -everything but at least something. Something to prove that I was doing okay. Because if there was one thing both of my professor parents would understand, it was a special project to work on.

"So…" I cleared my throat. "There's something I have to tell you…"

My mom leaned into the phone. "Hm? What is it?"

"Did she say what it is?"

"No, Carl. Hush. Piper, what is it?"

Tell them, tell them, tell them .

"There's a…" I tugged at the bottom of my dress again. "There's this…"

Long moments of silence followed while I tried to figure out exactly what to say until the key in the lock jingled.

Adam.

Back from his trip with Zariah and June to grab something essential from the tiny campus store. I bolted up from the bed and jerked back and forth between the phone and the door. It was now or never. I could turn over the camera for the introduction.

But that would have to wait for when I could actually face them.

"I love, love, love you!" I blurted out to the camera and ended the video call.

Adam barreled into the dorm, paper bags in his arms and a big grin on his face. It widened the moment he saw me. He looked so good, so casual and carefree. Not the intense Adam from the shower. Not the Adam who locked me against him and manhandled me for the most intense four minutes of my life.

His eyes dropped to my dress, and he stumbled.

"Would you move your gigantic ass?" Zariah demanded from the doorway. "You're the size of an elephant. You can't just stop! We have places to be!"

Adam took two long steps forward, then stopped again. He held up a hand, pointing at me. "You're wearing that?"

"What's wrong with it?" I asked.

I actually liked the dress, a silver, strapless number that showed off my long legs, even if it showed off more than I really wanted. But there wasn't anything wrong with it.

"It's January in Oklahoma," he muttered. "Why are you wearing that? "

"Oh my god, we're not partying outside," Zariah scoffed, pushing her way into the room. "Piper, oh my god ."

"You look so good! " June exclaimed behind her. "Who has the pineapple? I need the pineapple."

I stared at the crowns of pineapple poking out of Adam's bags. "What are we…?"

"Trash can juice for the party," June explained. "Manners mean everything. And you never show up to a party empty-handed."