Free Loving Piper by Charlotte Lockheart Page B

and the location had changed. There it was again, maybe calling to its mate. And now it seemed to have a rhythm to it. The tree frogs certainly had a wide variance in their calls.
    He furrowed his forehead, cocked his head and listened intently. After a moment he let his head drop and laughed out loud. Piper jumped up, alarmed.
    Rob jumped too in an attempt to quickly reveal himself. “Piper, it’s just me—Rob.”
    “What the…heck are you doing out here?”
    “Sorry, listen, I’m sorry, I thought I heard a tree frog at the back of the yard, but they’re hard to spot. Shy little buggers and I’d just about given up when you walked out. I didn’t intend to scare you.” He made his way along the path to the patio.
    “What made you laugh?”
    “Uh, I’d rather not say.” He searched for a plausible lie.
    “Oh, come on, better to say than look like a nut laughing maniacally by yourself in the middle of the night.”
    “Well then, to be honest, it was you.”
    Piper stood there, a puzzled expression on her face, and then sat back down. “Me? Now that you say it, I can see how just the sight of me could provide infinite amusement, a festival of clowning around, right here in your backyard at the location of—moi.” She was clearly enjoying herself now. “Yes, I am a reliable trigger for knee-slapping hilarity…okay I give up.”
    “If you really wan—”
    “I do.”
    “It was that sound you were making, a sort of cross between—”
    “I call it singing, if you really want to know.”
    “Oh, I see…I thought it was another tree frog.”
    A moment of quiet followed and then they both erupted. The sound of Piper’s husky voice was infectious and they continued laughing far beyond the point Rob knew it made sense to stop. Eventually the gasps wound down and Piper wiped her eyes.
    “Thanks for that, Rob. I haven’t had a good belly laugh in a long, long time.” She started to rise from the chair, sank back into it, then finally stood and headed for the door. “Good night. Sweet dreams.”
    Rob sat outside alone for another fifteen minutes, relishing the silence in the aftermath and noticing his own contentment, still hearing echoes of Piper’s throaty laugh. He could get used to that. A laugh that washed away constraint, made him feel ready to break out. When he got into bed that night his heart was pounding a little and he closed his eyes, happy to be drifting towards desire.

 
    LOVING PIPER
     
    Thanks for reading Part 1 – Up and Down ! I love Piper and hope you feel the same about our heroine. She’s up to more, she’s in a little deeper in Part 2, The Piper Pitfall . It’ll be available soon. Come back for that!
     
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    I’ll let you know when it’s ready! I’m as anxious as you are!