Page 109 of Go Find Less
“You couldn’t be any more obvious,” I say, splashing his chest. “You lined up that job offer like one of Nolan’s plays.”
“That may be true,” he says hoarsely, leaning his head near my ear, “but that doesn’t mean you’re not in trouble later.”
There’s a splash as Frannie throws one of the dog toys at us, and Alex proclaims “You two are going to make me puke.”
Chapter 41
Fitz
“Areyousureyouwant to stay at my place tonight?” Piper asks for the tenth time as we park in front of her building. “I can just run in, grab Bex, and we can head back.”
“We’re already here,” I reason as Roscoe attempts to stick his head between us, leaning over to the passenger seat to give Piper a lick up the side of her face. She laughs, pushing him back, and then nods. “Good. Besides,” I start, leaning toward her, “we haven’t done anything at your place.”
“That’s because I share a wall with a little old lady, and another with a couple and a baby.” She points at me, eyes narrowing - her cheeks are pink from being outside a good chunk of the day, having finally sent everyone home from my house just a little while ago. Her curls are still pulled up, but some frame her face in wild tendrils, and all I can think of is how bad I want to sink my hands into her hair with her mouth on me - anywhere on me, at this point.
“I do like a challenge,” I manage before she rolls her eyes and opens her car door, one hand holding Roscoe’s leash as he bounds over the center console of my Carolla and out behind her. I follow her into the building, stopping to let Roscoe do his business, and we enter her apartment together, the air conditioning sweet relief after the already blistering late spring heat.
“I’d apologize for the mess,” she says, and then shrugs, dumping her bag on the kitchen counter and letting Roscoe off his leash to sniff around. He hasn’t been to Piper and Carla’s apartment, yet, and can probably smell that this is another dog’s territory. One that he’s comfortable, if not a bit cautious around, at my house.
Bex is in her kennel in the corner, curled up on her little purple bed, her head raised just enough that I can see her eyes shining in the dim light of the living room. When she sees us, she paws at the wire door, and Piper meets my eyes. “You wanna let her out?” I nod, pinching the door open and letting her sniff at my flip flops before jumping out, looking first at me, then Piper across the room, then Roscoe, who doesn’t look quite sure what to make of the tiny black furball on her turf.
At one point toward the end of our marriage, Olivia got a tiny little Yorkie thing named Ollie that she carried with her practically everywhere. Looking back, it was probably her way of trying to sate me on the whole kids discussion, but the second Roscoe batted that thing across the room like a soccer ball, I knew they were never going to be best buds.
Bex, on the other hand, sniffs at Roscoe’s paws while he stands completely still, towering over her. Then, she starts licking at his toes, and he settles down on the wood floor next to her with a huff, like he’s compromising in making this his territory, too. I see Piper’s shoulders relax from across the room.
“Be right back,” she says, and disappears into her bedroom. I think she’s going to change and start to sit down on the end of the couch, but I hear the sound of the shower starting and follow the sound down the hall just in time to catch her slipping behind the striped white curtain.
“And just what do you think you’re doing?” I try in my sternest voice, and with one foot in the tub, she turns and looks over her shoulder.
The look of surprise on her face, the way her curls frame her cheeks, the curve of her hips mid-step. I swallow hard, and immediately my body is at attention.
It’s these moments that I never expected. The times when I’m caught off guard, when she’s caught off guard, and it’s like everything in the last ten years is washed away. No - not washed away, exactly. Because as much as neither of us want to admit it, the events of the last ten years have shaped who we are in so many ways that have helped us fit together. Like the things that hurt us molded us into shapes that wouldn’t have worked together before, but now, after just a few months of having her in my life, I don’t know that I can picture it any other way.
“If you’re going to join me,” Piper starts, pulling me out of my own headspace, “I suggest you take some of that off.” She gestures down to the golf shorts and polo I’d thrown on before leaving my house, and without hesitation, I pull the hem of my shirt over my head. She gives a satisfactory smile, stepping into the water and letting it run over her shoulders before I strip and climb in after her.
Compared to the open space of my glass master shower, this feels small and intimate, the bar for the curtain just barely at my eye level. I duck under the shower head, wetting my hair and switching back with Piper so she’s not standing there freezing.
“Am I still in trouble?” she asks, working a soapy loofah over my back.
“Oh, yeah,” I answer, though the threat is empty. “I had fun today.” I’m not looking at her, but I can practically hear the smile when she answers.
“Me, too. Alex and Seer might be my new favorite combo.” I snort, and she swats me with the loofah, suds flying.
“Rude.”
“Says the guy who spilled all my secrets.” I half-turn to look at her face, but she’s still smiling, and can clearly tell that I was worried by her statement. “I’m not upset that you told your sister. I’m just not sure I’d admitted to myself that I needed to leave, really, until recently.” I feel her turn the loofah on herself, and pivot to watch, leaning against the shower wall. “It feels like a big change.” She moves under the water and I step forward with her, letting the suds wash to the shower floor.
“A good change?” Piper sighs deep, and I wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her to me. She’s being careful not to get her hair wet, and I’m trying to respect that, but damn if all I wanna do is envelope her with my body and remind her she’s safe with me.
“I think so.” She tilts her head back so she’s looking at me, and her mouth tips up at one side. “I have mixed feelings about working for you, though.”
“Workingwithme,” I correct, and she grumbles against my chest. “I know, I know. Semantics.”
“Semantics, and, you know, self respect.” She laughs when she says it, but I still look down and meet her eyes, and can feel the furrow in my brow. “Fitz, this…” Piper pauses like she’s looking for the right word. “This relationship is a newborn. And banking my professional reputation on a newborn has never been my style.” Her hand travels down my back, and then squeezes one of my asscheeks, and I jump, laughing. “No matter how good the orgasms are.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” I swat at her other hand, which is moving south at a dangerous speed. “So sue me, I wouldn’t mind seeing you every day.”
“We live five minutes from each other,” she says against my shoulder with a huff.