Chapter 13

13

T he sand was warm beneath Piper's bare feet as she strolled along the shoreline with Audrey. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon with just a gentle breeze blowing through their hair.

A hint of a smile tugged at Piper's lips, something that had become increasingly common over the past week. The days had blended together in a blissful haze, and they'd fallen into an easy routine, spending just about every evening together since the night of the storm. Even on an evening when Audrey had plans with her friend, Lisa, they still spent the night together.

Piper had expected Audrey to want some space, to either process what had happened or to try and maintain some distance between them, but nothing like that had happened. Audrey was the one knocking on her door after she got home from work, inviting her over for dinner.

Piper glanced at Audrey, admiring the way the sunlight danced across her features. She had to believe that Audrey was intentionally not asking Piper to go out in public with her, and Piper wasn't sure what to make of that. It was thoughtful, but Piper hated that she couldn't just go and bring her to a restaurant in town. Well, she could, but Piper nearly shuddered at the thought. More than once, she thought she could get away with doing normal things, but it rarely worked out. Somehow, there was always a photographer lurking.

At least, this beach was quiet more often than not, and Piper felt safe going for a walk most days. It was something she'd been thinking about a lot this week though. How she could make this easier for Audrey.

"You okay?" Audrey asked, reaching for Piper's hand as they walked, their fingers intertwining.

"Yeah. I just got a message this morning from my manager. I have a speaking thing I completely forgot about. If it wasn't for an event I cared about, I'd skip it, but it's a panel to discuss progress and challenges of LGBTQ+ representation in the film industry."

"Oh, when is it?"

"This weekend. But it's just in L.A., so I'll drive back Thursday night and be back here Monday sometime." Piper glanced at Audrey, waiting for her reaction. Even though acting was her life, Piper had barely mentioned anything about her work in the last week, knowing that it wouldn't help her chances of this being more than a vacation fling. And she tried to just be happy with something casual, but when she woke up with Audrey's arm wrapped around her waist this morning, Piper knew it would never be enough. Not with Audrey. Piper wanted this to become something. "I wish it wasn't this weekend, but I already committed to being on the panel."

"No, it's fine. It sounds like an important event."

"It is." Piper took a deep breath. "Any interest in coming with me?"

Audrey's steps slowed. "You'd be okay to be... Seen with me?"

"Yes?" Piper stopped walking. The sound of the waves hitting the shore seemed louder now, or maybe it was just her pulse swishing in her ears. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. Because this is probably only temporary? Because I'm so much older than you? Look, it doesn't matter. I'd like to go, but I have a full schedule. I can't get away for that many days, so forget I said anything."

"Okay, first of all, I'd be more than happy to be seen with you. You have no idea. But this isn't the first time you've brought up your age. You can find out in two seconds how old I am, but you still won't tell me how old you are. I don't care, Audrey. It doesn't matter."

Audrey's hand slid out of hers. She ran it through her hair, sweeping it away from her eyes. "I'm going to be fifty in November."

If Piper had to guess, she would've said that Audrey was around forty-five, so it wasn't exactly shocking news, but now she understood what the big deal was. "And I'll be thirty-one in December."

"You can't tell me nineteen years doesn't matter," Audrey said with an exasperated sigh.

"I don't think it does. Has it mattered to you this week?"

"This week? No. But it's one week."

Piper pursed her lips. "I'm just going to say this as clearly as I can. I don't care how old you are. I think we're great together."

She thought she saw Audrey roll her eyes, a ghost of a smile on her lips as they started walking again, and Piper had to count that as a win.