pizza. “You’re too much, Jen. And stop being worried about that part of me.”
I feel her burning gaze on me. “You haven’t been sleeping with Easton. Don’t tell me I’m wrong because I know he hasn’t been here in the house or the town. And your mood is always better when you get a little something after hours.”
I say nothing.
“Ask me to watch Ainsley.”
“I’m not sleeping with Carter,” I whisper hiss, knowing that Ainsley is watching television in the other room. “And keep your voice down. I don’t need her hearing you.”
Her hands go up in mock surrender. “So, you’re not going to sleep with him. Not now. But you might down the line if you two progress to that point. And— Don’t give me that look, Piper! There’s nothing wrong with you trying to have somebody in your life. Don’t make excuses as to why you can’t be happy.”
I sigh. “I am happy, Jenna.”
“But Carter could make you happier…”
Once again, I’m silent.
“Please?”
“It’s complicated with us,” I reason. She knows he’s my professor and it doesn’t seem to deter her. She likes that he gave me a chance to assist him, and even more that we knew each other when I was younger. In her mind, we make sense. In mine? “We’d be a mess.”
“You don’t know that.” Then. “Ask me, Piper.”
“No.”
“I’ll watch Ainsley.”
I glare. She smiles. Shaking my head, I finish the pizza and put it into the oven without looking at her. I know she’s watching me because the back of my head burns. She’ll do this all night unless I tell her to stop. Even then, she’ll find other ways to annoy me.
Turning, I grip the edge of the counter and look at her puppy-dog eyes. “Why do you want me to go out with him so bad? There’s a lot against us, you know.”
“You’re my friend,” is her reply, her shoulders shrugging. “I want to see you happy. If things with East aren’t going to progress as more than casual sex, you should at least try with Carter. He knows you, your past, and might be able to help with the Danny thing.”
Jaw ticking, I go back to busying myself by cleaning up my dirty utensils. “I don’t know what you mean.”
She helps, saddling up beside me to wet a rag for the counter. “You refuse to let go because it makes you feel something. But don’t you want to feel more than pain? More than loss? What if Carter can give you that, Piper?”
Can he though? “I just don’t think it’s worth the stress,” I admit quietly, running water for the dishes. “He knows I liked him. Everybody did—”
“That was then,” she cuts me off. “He said it himself, dude. You have a chance. Anything can happen. You’re both older, consenting adults.”
“Who have a complicated dynamic.”
“You’re graduating soon!”
Narrowing my eyes, I shift to look at her. She means business, staring back at me with her arms crossed over her chest. The rag is left on the countertop, long since forgotten. “Do you think that makes a difference if people find out something happened before then? That’s still a relationship we could both get in trouble for.”
“Well I don’t think you should wait.”
Taking a deep breath, I count to five. “I don’t think you have any say. It’s not your life that could be ruined. It’s mine.”
She’s quiet, too quiet, and it doesn’t take long for hurt to spread in her eyes. I feel bad, but it’s the truth. Her life hasn’t been flipped upside down like mine has. Jenna has no idea what it’s like to be in my position.
“I have Ainsley to think about,” I add, turning away from her and scrubbing one of the plates in the sink. “It’d be selfish to even think about getting involved with somebody like him.”
“Because of her or you?” The counter question throws me off, but I don’t falter from moving onto the next dirty plate. “I mean it, Piper. You’re the queen of excuses. I understand why you’re hesitant, but you’re not a reckless person. It isn’t like I’m telling you to have sex with the guy in the classroom in front of everybody. Hell, ignore each other. You already went out on one date with him. And don’t tell me otherwise. He paid even though you could have used the gift card. That’s a date.”
“Don’t say that.”
“It was.”
“Jen—”
“What are you so worried about?” she demands firmly. “I love you, but you honestly annoy me sometimes.