The bar is packed and we squeeze our way into an opening, ordering our first drinks. Well, our first ones of the night, anyway. I think we’re all still buzzed from the island. I scan the crowd as we wait and find Kip almost immediately. He’s dressed in a dark pink button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to quarter-length, exposing his freshly tanned muscles. Paired with dark gray jeans and the messy way he’s styled his hair, he looks absolutely edible. And he’s wearing his glasses.

Why those black frames make my legs weak, I’ll never know.

He finds me seconds after I find him, and his lips curl up into a soft, relaxed smile. He tips his drink in my direction and Jess hands me mine just in time for me to return the gesture. She follows my eye-line and her brow pops up when she turns back to me.

“Seriously, Skyler?”

The heat rushes to my face and I look away quickly, taking a sip of my drink. It’s pink and fruity, something with rum. “What?” I ask, feigning innocence. Jess just keeps her eyes fixed on mine.

“Listen, I think Erin is going to be fine, but you need to break this to her easily. Explain to her. I think we all know that you had real feelings for Kip when this whole game started and it’s clear they haven’t gone away. Are you the reason he officially called things off with her?”

I’m not sure if I should admit to that one, so I shake my head subtly and take another drink so I don’t have to speak. Jess nods, but she seems unsure of my response. “Good, at least you can say it was over first.”

“They were never dating,” I clarify, feeling like I need to defend myself. I’m not a home wrecker. Kip was mine. At least, it felt like it. Ugh, the stupid game has my head all twisted. I don’t know how to tell right from wrong, anymore.

Jess takes a long swig of her drink and kisses my cheek. “You don’t have to defend yourself to me, Sky. I’ve been team Kip and Skyler from the beginning.”

My eyes grow wide and I pause mid-drink. “Really?”

She smiles, nodding. “Do you even have to ask, Sky? Erin was crazy to pull the shit she did, honestly. I’m just glad it’s all over. And from the way you’ve had that big ass smile plastered on your face for the past week, I’d say you feel the same.”

“You have no idea,” I reply, letting out a long breath.

“It’s good to have you back. Sad Skyler and Pissy Skyler outstayed their welcome.”

I smack her ass playfully and she yelps before grabbing my hand and pulling me toward where our sisters are gathered around the piano.

As the night goes on, the drinks get stronger and everyone is singing at the top of their lungs to every song the piano man plays. After the third round of Benny and the Jets, Kip’s brothers start chanting his name and shoving him up toward the piano. I eye him curiously just as the man at the piano wipes his head with a white rag and stands, letting Kip take his place at the bench with a smile.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m told we have a pretty good piano player here on board from Palm South University,” he says and everyone goes nuts, including Clinton and his brothers. Kip blushes a little and I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a red tint on his cheeks. If possible, it makes him even sexier and I find myself smiling without even realizing it.

Everyone starts chanting Kip’s name again and the piano man steps back, taking a seat behind Kip and sipping on a bottle of water. Kip moves his hands over the keys, playing a soft melody with no direction as he finds his groove. “Go easy on me, guys,” he says softly and I swear I feel all the girls swoon in unison. Me included.

Damn him.

His brothers all continue cheering and I can tell from the soft glaze of his eyes that Kip is definitely past buzzed at this point, but maybe that’s where he found the courage to play. If it is, then I need to get him buzzed more often. I’ve been dying to hear him play ever since I saw the keyboard in his apartment.

Slowly, he begins playing a song that sounds familiar. When he sings the first line into the mic, his eyes find mine, and I’m locked in place. His voice floats over the crowd, smooth and dreamy, but everything feels muted to me. The cheers from his brothers, the swooning screams from the girls, the clinks of drinks in the air – it’s all lost as he sings straight to me. His blue eyes dance in the soft light of the bar and he smiles through every note of the Michael Bublé song. His hands work methodically over the keys but I fantasize about having them on me instead, feeling lightheaded at the thought.

It’s so silly, this stupid game we’ve been playing, but I got completely caught up in it. Everything that seemed to be so important to me just a short three months ago now seems trivial. Kip sees me for who I really am. I’ve never been more comfortable in my life, whether I’m wearing a ball gown or nothing at all – he sees the beauty in me, the beauty I’m not even sure I see. I don’t know where we go from here, where the story will take us, who will still be in it and who will flee the pages, but I think I’m finally ready to find out.

By the time the song ends, everyone around me has their arms high in the air, the cheers roaring through me, but I’m standing completely still. When the feeling finally returns to my legs, I move toward Kip before I can double think it. He stands from the bench just as I reach him and pull him down by the collar of his shirt, pressing my lips to his.

If I thought the crowd was loud before, it’s deafening now. Cheers and whistles ring out and Kip smiles against my lips, picking me up and spinning me a little to liven up the show. When he pulls back, the smile remains. “You do realize we’re in front of people, right?”

I grin, shaking my head before pulling him back into me. “Who cares.”

We kiss for years, or maybe it’s just a few seconds, but I feel it all the way to my core. It’s out now, no more secrets. Well, maybe there are still secrets, but none that matter now. I’m with Kip. Kip is with me.

And the rest of the world can just deal with it.

“You’re so handsome,” I say, my words slurring a little as Kip unlocks the door to my room. He laughs, pulling my arm over his shoulder a little tighter and guiding us through the opening.

I may have drank just a little too much tonight.

After Kip played, everyone knew what was going on and, surprisingly, it didn’t seem like anyone cared. Clinton came up to chat with us, giving me shit about hiding everything from him. He seemed to like Kip more once he started talking about football and Kip was able to join in and actually knew what he was talking about. I had to rub it in his face that maybe jock and nerd actually do mix.

The girls were all complimenting Kip on his piano skills and Kip was still buying shots for everyone, so that helped our case. Even Erin was still hanging around us, though she did seem a little irritated, but not like what I expected. None of my other sisters seemed upset, either. If anything, I’d say they were like Jess – on team Kip and Skyler.

I think I like that team, too.

“You must say that to all the boys.” Kip drops me down onto the bed and I let my body fall back against the plush comforter as he lifts my feet, unstrapping my heels.

“No,” I draw out the word, shaking my head. “Just you, silly.”

Kip pulls me up long enough to unzip my dress and slide it up over my head. My body reacts instantly, need spreading from my mouth to my stomach and down between my thighs. But, just as quickly as he has the dress off, he’s replaced it with one of my long t-shirts. I try to pull it up and over my head, but Kip stops me, laughing.

“Keep your clothes on, Sky. I can’t be responsible for what I do if you take them off.”

“But I want you,” I whine, realizing only after the words slip out how ridiculous I sound. That’s how it works when you’re drunk, isn’t it? The words come out before your brain has the chance to tell you not to be stupid.