Chapter 9

9

C hapter 9

The glow of a single lamp illuminated Piper's corner of the living room as she sat curled up on the couch, an old diary of her grandmother's open on her lap. She'd found it tucked at the bottom of a box during the renovations, the leather cover worn and soft with age. Unable to resist, she had settled in with a glass of wine, her phone left upstairs to charge while she lost herself in Lily's words from decades past.

Outside, the summer storm that had been threatening all day finally rolled in. Rain pelted the windows in heavy sheets, and the occasional rumble of thunder echoed through the house. Piper barely noticed, too absorbed in the glimpse into her grandmother's life.

Suddenly, an enormous clap of thunder shook the house, the accompanying lightning bolt so bright it flooded the room with a bright, white light for a split second. And then, darkness.

The power had gone out, plunging Piper into pitch black. Startled, she set the diary down, blinking as her eyes tried to adjust to the abrupt shift. She remembered seeing a flashlight in one of the drawers while sorting through Lily's things and carefully made her way over, hands outstretched. But when she found it and clicked the switch, nothing happened. Dead batteries.

She rummaged through drawers and cabinets, trying to recall where she'd last seen a candle. The storm outside seemed to intensify, the thunder growing louder and more frequent, setting Piper further on edge. When she finally located a jar candle, she had a new problem. There were no matches.

A few minutes must have passed as Piper stood in the darkness, debating her options, wondering if she'd stumble her way up the stairs to get her phone.

Between the rumbles of thunder, Piper could have sworn she heard a knock at the door. She made her way to the window, her hand gliding over the couch as she tried not to trip over anything.

Piper opened the door just a crack to see who it was. "Audrey?" Piper fully opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

Audrey stood on the porch, a flashlight in one hand and a pack of candles in the other along with some matches. "I thought you might not be prepared for a storm."

"Not in the slightest." Piper stepped back to let her in. "No working flashlight and no matches for the candles I found." She went to grab the candles now that the beam of Audrey's flashlight illuminated the space. Piper glanced back towards Audrey who had closed the door behind her but hadn't moved any further inside.

Piper spread the candles out on the coffee table and put some in the kitchen. Audrey handed her the matches, and Piper went around to each of them. "Thank you. That's twice you've come to my rescue now," she added with a smile as she blew out a match.

Audrey returned the smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She avoided Piper's gaze as she set the flashlight down. "It's no problem."

Piper studied Audrey's face in the candlelight, wondering if she storms like this made her jumpy, because there was definitely something off about her tonight. "Can I pour you a glass of wine? As a thank you?"

There was a beat of hesitation before Audrey nodded. "Sure."

Piper busied herself pouring the wine, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was different. When she came back and handed Audrey her glass, their fingers brushed, and Audrey nearly flinched.

"Is everything okay?" Piper asked, concern furrowing her brow. Had she misread this? Had she made it too obvious how much she was drawn to Audrey?

Audrey took a quick sip of wine without meeting Piper's eyes. "Yeah, everything's fine," she answered a little too quickly.

But Piper wasn't convinced. As they settled onto the couch, the storm was raging outside, and Piper tried to steer the conversation to something safe like Audrey's job. Piper had seen her truck, with her landscaping business logo on the side, but Audrey's responses were uncharacteristically short, like she was distracted by something.

A particularly loud thunderclap made them both jump, Audrey nearly sloshing wine onto her shirt. In the flickering candlelight, Piper caught a glimpse of something in Audrey's eyes before she could look away.

Their gazes met and held for a second before Audrey once again averted her eyes.

"You seem...different tonight," Piper said softly, almost a question.

She took a shaky breath, as if steeling herself. "Piper, I..."

But whatever she'd been about to say was lost as another boom of thunder rattled the windows, and the moment was gone. She drained the last of her wine and set the glass down with a definitive clink on the coffee table.

"I should go," Audrey said, standing abruptly.

Piper got up too, not wanting Audrey to leave like this. She had to know what was going on. "You don't have to leave," she said, hating the note of pleading that crept into her voice.

Audrey shook her head, already moving towards the door. "I just...I can't..." She seemed to struggle with the words, her hand fumbling for the doorknob.

Piper reached out to put her hand on her arm. She felt Audrey tense under her touch. "Audrey, what's going on? Did I do something to upset you?"

"No," Audrey said softly, her grip on the doorknob tightening as she grappled with her thoughts. She turned to face Piper, her eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight. "It's not you, Piper. Okay? I'm trying to process some stuff. You haven't done anything wrong."

Piper's hand was still resting gently on Audrey's arm. "What do you mean?"

Audrey took a deep breath, her eyes searching Piper's face. "I just... I realized something today," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Audrey, I don't understand. I thought..." Piper's voice trailed off. She wasn't prepared to put herself out there. Not like this anyway. Not with Audrey ready to run out her door. "I thought we were getting to know one another and that maybe, I don't know, we might end up being friends," she finished.

Audrey hesitated, her gaze flickering away before meeting Piper's again. "I know, but I realized that I... That I'm developing feelings for you, Piper," she confessed, her voice tinged with vulnerability. "And I can't be around you like this, drinking wine, watching sunsets together. It's just not a good idea."

Piper's heart sped up. So, she hadn't been imagining things. There was something in the way Audrey had looked at her, something real and tangible. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached up, cupping Audrey's cheek.

"Audrey," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the pounding of her own heart. Her thumb brushed gently against Audrey's skin, savoring the softness. She searched Audrey's eyes, trying to read the swirl of emotions there. "Would it help if I told you I felt the same way?"

For a moment, hope flared in Piper's chest as Audrey leaned into her touch. But when Audrey's eyes opened again, they were filled with an uncertainty that made Piper's stomach clench.

"No. That makes it worse."

"Why?" Piper asked, her heart racing as she tried to understand Audrey's reluctance. "You're not seeing anyone, are you?" The words tumbled out, tinged with a hint of jealousy that had come out of nowhere.

"No. I'm single." Audrey visibly swallowed, and Piper felt a flicker of hope, but it didn't last long. "There's plenty of other reasons why this isn't something I even want to let myself think about, never mind act on."

"Like what?" she pressed, dreading the answer but needing to know.

"Our age difference?" Audrey offered, her hand covering Piper's, gently lowering it away from her face as she took a step back.

"Is that really such a big deal?" she asked, figuring this wasn't the best time to tell Audrey that she actually had a thing for older women.

Audrey sighed, running a hand through her hair. The candlelight cast shadows across her face, making it harder for Piper to read her expression. "It's not just the age gap, Piper. It's... Everything."

Realization dawned on Piper as the room lit up with another flash of lightning, her eyes widening as the pieces fell into place. Audrey's strange behavior, her sudden distance, the way she couldn't quite meet Piper's eyes. It all made sense now.

"You know who I am," Piper said softly, more a statement than a question. She took a step back, feeling like such an idiot for not figuring this out as soon as Audrey had showed up tonight. "That's what changed. You figured it out."

Audrey's silence was confirmation enough. She looked away, her jaw tight. "I went to the movies with my friend earlier," she admitted quietly. "I don't know how I didn't realize it before."

Piper swallowed down the disappointment and the frustration. But what surprised her was the sense of loss. She'd been enjoying the anonymity, the chance to just be herself without the weight of her celebrity status. And now, that fragile bubble had burst.

"So that's it then?" she asked, hating the way her voice wavered. "You're just going to walk away because of who I am?"

Audrey finally met her gaze. "It's not that simple, Piper," Audrey said her own voice rough. "Your life is so different from mine. The fame, the spotlight, the paparazzi."

Piper felt a surge of frustration. She stepped forward, closing the distance between them. "But that's not all I am, Audrey. If you hadn't seen that movie, you wouldn't have known."

Audrey sighed, her shoulders sagging. "But I do know now. And I can't pretend I don't. I've been down this road before, Piper. Falling for someone who lives in a different world. It never ends well."

Piper's heart ached at the pain in Audrey's voice, but it didn't stop her from saying exactly what she was thinking. "When was the last time you did something without thinking about it?"

Audrey's expression was impossible to read in the flickering candlelight. "What?"

Piper held her gaze. "When was the last time you just... Let yourself feel something, without overthinking it or worrying about the consequences?"

Audrey opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again, and Piper stepped closer, her heart pounding. Another rattle of thunder filled the air, but Piper barely noticed. She reached out, her fingers ghosting along Audrey's arm on her way down to her wrist.

"Because right now," Piper continued, her voice low and intense, "I'm not thinking about how different our lives are. I'm just thinking about how much I want to kiss you."