Reed: Book 1 of The Bachelor Collective

Chapter Twenty-Five

Her voice was more beautiful than I remembered. I felt my emotions bubbling beneath the surface and it took every ounce of self control to not blurt out everything I had to say.

"Hi, it's me... uh... Reed," I answered into the box.

Silence followed. Shit.

"You there?" I asked.

"Yes."

"I was hoping we could talk," I tried to keep my voice from begging.

"Reed, I don't know--"

"Please," I cut her off. "Fifteen minutes, you can time me."

My heart thundered as I waited for her response. A loud buzz told me that she was letting me into the building. I quickly swung open the door and took as many steps at a time as I could to get to her.

She was standing in the door of her apartment. Her hair was tied up in some kind of messy knot on her head and she wore a pair of worn sweats and a loose t-shirt. It was the least put together I had ever seen her, and she couldn't have looked more stunning.

As I reached her my chest was heaving up and down from walking to quickly. I stopped in front of her, our eyes holding each other. Then like two magnets drawn to each other our lips crashed. I held her as tightly to my body as I could. She began to pull me inside, and I didn't need any convincing to follow her. I pushed her body up against the wall lifting at the hem of her shirt, desperate to feel her skin again.

"Wait." I had to pull myself away from her despite every fiber of my being wanting to pick her up and throw her on her bed.

She was breathing heavily as she gently tugged at the buttons of my shirt. She looked up at me, her eyes full of longing.

"I came here to talk," I said. "I mean, I want whatever all that was, but I came here to talk to you."

She nodded. "Talk."

She slid out from beneath my grasp and headed towards her living room. She looked over her shoulder at me. "You coming?"

I followed her down her small hallway past her kitchen and into her living room. Her cat had taken up residence on the couch and Piper shooed her off. She gave a loud meow before disappearing.

I sat down on one end and she sat on the other.

"I don't want you to think I came for that." I pointed down her hallway. "I really did come here to talk."

"Yeah, that shouldn't have happened," she admitted as she rubbed her neck sheepishly. "I've just...." She paused, seeming to not want to finish her sentence.

"I'm glad it did."

Her eyes darted up to meet mine. "Really?"

"Piper, I've missed you." I slid a bit closer to her. "There haven't been many moments that you've been far from my mind."

"I've missed you too but... I can't do it Reed. I won't compete with your family," Piper said.

"No, baby, you don't have to." I reached out and took her hand. "And I am so sorry that I ever made you feel like you have to."

"Reed...."

I slid even closer. "Piper I don't care if my name is on the wall of a hospital. I don't care if people recognize my name at all." I pulled her hands to my lips and kissed them. I could feel tears stinging the backs of my eyes. "I care that you want my name."

Her eyes widened. "Are you asking me to marry you?"

I chuckled. "No. But I know that you're it for me. If you let me, I will love you with all of me until the day I die." I felt a tear slip. "I will never make you question you worth or your place in my life again."