“I see you every night, Tia. Care to tell me why you’re sneaking around?” She lets out a yawn and sits up.
“It’s fun?” I shrug.
Van and I have been hot and heavy for a few days now and each night I sneak out of my cabin and into his. I don’t really sneak back in the morning since we shower at his place and get ready before he walks me to the lodge. I make us breakfast before everyone else gets there since he gets up early to tend to some of the animals. I don’t like the thought of him going off without a full belly and he doesn’t like going anywhere without the taste of me on his lips.
“You don’t sleep here. Why not just move your stuff?”
She throws her feet over the side of the bed before getting up and going into the bathroom. She leaves the door open, waiting for me to respond. In all honesty I’m slowly moving there. Each day more and more of my stuff ends up at his place.
“I’m moving it,” I finally say, and I hear a flush. The water comes on and then she walks out a moment later. She gets right back into bed and smirks at me.
“Everyone knows you guys are doing the nasty.”
I can’t help but laugh as she calls it that. Van and I aren’t the most secretive and Van is handsy. I think he has an inner battle with himself because he always wants to touch me and wants people to know I’m his. I also think sometimes he holds back from touching me because he thinks people will imagine what it would be like to touch me too. He doesn't want anyone thinking anything sexual about me and it’s crazy. We’re learning as we go, which has been wonderful. Van also thinks I need time for things to settle in for me and he’s probably right. The man knows how to read me.
“You don’t think Honey and Ford would mind that Van and I were dating for only a few days before shacking up?” I ask.
Honey and Ford know something is going on with Van and me. Van calls me his in front of them and even kissed me tonight right in front of his mom. She only smiled and kept on reading from her book as her husband played with her hair. He hadn't noticed, or maybe he had. To me it looked like he was too busy touching Honey to care.
“They let you call her Honey,” Piper reminds me. “They’re also real parents and care about their son’s happiness.”
I don’t miss the bite of her words and it gives me another peek into the life Piper is trying—and failing—to hide.
“I really want to move in with him.”
That’s the truth but I think a small part of me fears moving again. I’ve moved around so much in my life and I hate that I let fear rule me. I can’t believe anything would go wrong since Van is the other half of my soul. I can feel that to my bones.
I can tell he gets off on the sneaking around thing but he’s also over it too. It might turn us on to have these dirty moments of almost getting caught, but it would turn us both on more if I gave in and we admitted that we live together now. I don’t think Van will be able to hold out much longer. The only reason he lets me go back to my cabin at the end of the night right now is because he knows I’m hanging out with Piper.
“Then do it.” She tucks herself under the blankets. “Your man wants you and wants you to stay. He’ll be there when you wake up in the morning. You should grab a hold of that, Tia. Not all men are like that.”
“Piper?” I clear the distance between us, pulling her into a hug because I can hear the pain in her words and see it written on her face.
She hugs me back. “I’m fine,” she says in a sad voice. “We’ll be fine.” And it’s the first time she’s openly mentioned the baby to me.
“You will be.” I pull back and look at her. “We both can make a home here. I’ll be here for the both of you.” I look down at her small baby bump and think that I could be pregnant myself. We could do this mom thing together.
“Thank you.” She hugs me again and I can feel her warmth in it. “Now go be with your man. I need my beauty sleep.”
I kiss her cheek before letting her go and walking out of the cabin. I wonder what dipshit left Piper on her own. If I ever meet the man I’m going to give him a piece of my mind. I’m not one to cause a scene but for that man I would. I have a feeling that day will come. I can’t see Piper giving herself over to a man that would walk out on her. Something isn’t adding up.