Free Must Love Wieners by Casey Griffin Page B

passed that pop quiz, but she’d forgotten to set her alarm that morning and missed it altogether. She snorted. “Head of the class? You couldn’t have identified a flea if it bit you in the ass. You were only doing as well as you were because you were copying off your friends.”
    “That’s the story you managed to convince our professor. I wonder how you did that?” Her eyes narrowed. “Well, I suppose lying is your specialty. Only for our professor you were lying on your back.”
    “I wasn’t sleeping with the professor!” But no one heard her because Laura had turned to plead with the crowd, talking over her.
    “I just want to move on with my life. She follows me everywhere I go. Someone please get her away from me. Call the cops.”
    Piper was steaming. Random people started getting to their feet uncertainly. A couple of her SFAAC friends took a few steps toward Laura and Piper, as though about to intervene.
    Laura turned to Piper and beamed triumphantly, speaking low enough for only Piper and Aiden to hear. “You know, if it’s in self-defense, I can’t get in trouble for hitting you.”
    “I would have to attack you first,” Piper said.
    “Look around.” She glanced back at the park. “All these people have witnessed that you’re here to harass me. Who knows what you’ll do when we cross paths again?”
    Piper took a step forward, but Aiden spoke first. “Do it and she can press harassment charges. And lay another finger on her and I’ll call the cops. That goes for the rest of you.” He gave the advancing onlookers a threatening glance.
    “This is a protest. We got a permit and everything. We’re not doing anything wrong.” Laura glared at Aiden. “But Piper here looks about ready to hit me. Are you going to hit me?” She tapped her own cheek, egging Piper on. “Come on. Do you want to punch me?”
    “Don’t tempt me.” Piper’s hands balled at her sides.
    Aiden’s warm hand clasped over hers. The touch was so unexpected, so gentle, that her fist relaxed in shock. His fingers interlaced with hers and he began to draw her away from the tense crowd.
    All Piper could focus on was the sensation of his warm hand in hers, his own steady composure contrasting with her behavior, chastising her. She’d thrown a hissy fit like a five-year-old who hadn’t learned how to play well with others, and here was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company who had probably never lost his cool in his life.
    Who gave a shit about Laura, anyway? About what those people thought? About anything else but that hand in hers?
    The park faded into the distance, the chanting, the yelling. She barely heard Laura call out to her back, “Maybe someone should expose you for what you really are, Piper! You hear me? Force you to confess how you cheated me out of a university education.” Because Piper couldn’t hear anything over all those morphos fluttering around inside her.
    When she and Aiden had walked a little ways—she wasn’t paying any attention to how far—his hand dropped away.
    “I’m sorry,” Aiden said. “I thought it was best to leave. There was no reasoning with her.”
    Piper nodded, not trusting her voice. Of course, he wasn’t really holding her hand. He did it to get her out of the situation. Don’t be stupid, Pipe, she told herself. She felt a pang of disappointment but quickly smothered it with annoyance. She didn’t need him to interfere. She was doing just fine on her own.
    She picked up her pace, marching ahead on the path so Aiden was forced to jog to catch up. With her shoulders pinned back and her chin raised high, she marched forward at a brisk clip.
    A moment later, she felt Aiden’s arm grab her firmly around the waist, stopping her in her tracks. Thrown off balance, she swung into him and found herself chest to chest with him. He held her, smiling down in surprise.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” she managed with a trembling voice.
    “Uh, you were about to…” He glanced