Missed Me, Missed Me, Now You Gotta Kiss Me

The Sleepover (Chapter 40!!!!)

   Lulu told me I was hanging out with Liam more than her the official last day of school. The drama friends agreed. So we planned to have a sleepover Saturday night at Lulu’s house.

  Thursday was my parents’ anniversary and Friday they were going up to Nashville for Fan Fair—an annual country music thing—and were going to catch the concert Saturday night, so they would be gone for the weekend.

  Their only rules?

  “No boys,” my mom said, giving me the eye.

  My dad kind of glanced at her before nodding. “You can do the sleepover at Lulu’s, but make sure you lock up.”

  “We’ll be back Sunday afternoon,” my mom said, kissing my forehead. Even pregnant, she looked ready for a weekend of fun with her husband of twenty-three years.

  My dad gave me a half hug and kissed my forehead. “I have my cell if you need us.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Jeeze, you guys act like I’ve never been alone before,” I teased.

  “Liam will be here for the rest of the day, too, if you need him,” Dad said.

  Mom added, “He has the day off tomorrow.”

  I smiled at the both of them. I hadn’t told him Liam and I were official yet. I wanted to wait until after their weekend. It’d be nice to chill with Liam for the rest of the day today. If I had told them, there would be no way they’d leave me alone.

  “I know,” I said. “Lulu’s picking me up in the afternoon. So no worries. You guys go, have fun.”

  “Alright, sweetie,” my mom said, her stern eye softening. “We love you.”

  “I know,” I said, refraining from rolling my eyes again. They did this every time they left. “Love you, too.”

  I waited until they were out of the drive way before I ran down to the barn. Liam was riding Velvet—which was supposedly my dad’s horse, even though he barely rode him—in the front pasture and I leaned against the front gate to watch him. I loved to watch him ride. He was such a natural, even more so than I was. He just had a way with horses that said ‘I’m-not-taking-your- shit’ but also very gentle.

  He was such a cowboy.

  “Quite starin’ at me, Piper!” Liam called out.

  I jumped, startled. His back was to me. “How’d you know I was down here?”

  He turned Velvet around to smirk at me. “Honey, your parents just left. Where else would you be? ‘Sides, you’re not a quiet runner.”

  I smiled widely at him. “Wanna finish our Harry Potter marathon tonight?”

  Liam raised his brow.

  “Totally innocent,” I added at his increasingly incredulous look.

  Liam snorted, walking Velvet up to the gate. “That’s what you said last night.” He turned her so her side was against the gate.

  I climbed the gate with a grin, sliding onto Velvet’s butt, locking my arms tightly around Liam, though I didn’t really need to so much as wanted to. “Oh, c’mon. You’re on the sixth one now. Highly boring, but informative. And I’ve gotta get you caught up before the new one comes out because you’re gonna take me to go see it.”

  Liam tapped Velvet’s sides and she started walking. “I am, am I?”

  I nodded. “Yup. And we’re going opening night.”