Chapter 21
I hadn’t been out around town too much since I arrived back, but I’ve driven by this small ice cream shop every time I’ve gone into work. There always seemed to be a line outside, which meant it had to be good. Even with the weather turning and wintertime on the horizon, the locals awaited what had to be the best ice cream cone in town.
There wasn’t a door to go inside, just a walk-up window where you placed your order. A big, neon ice cream cone sign lit up on the side of the building, enticing you to come by. It looked like a small wood cabin but with everything they would need to make up the perfect dessert. Cones, bowls, sprinkles, candy toppings and mix-ins. They even had espresso shots and coffee drinks, hot or cold. Something for everyone who was looking for a sweet treat.
It was our turn to order when Declan had me put in my order first; I already knew with the way he treated me at lunch that he would most likely pick up this tab as well. Plus, he was still holding my credit card captive, so I wouldn’t have been able to buy our ice cream anyway.
I looked straight ahead at the kid that had to be around Chase’s age and ordered my ice cream. “I’ll do a single scoop of the Very Berry Strawberry in a waffle cone please.” I waited for Declan to say his order next but couldn’t help noticing the strange look on his face.
“You’re the only person I know who likes strawberry ice cream. I mean, who doesn’t get some sort of chocolate-based ice cream?”
“Don’t judge me for what I like. Plus, I bet you get something basic and not fun like plain chocolate. At least my ice cream has fresh strawberry pieces mixed in,” I teased while waiting for him to tell the kid his order.
“I’ll, um… I’ll get a scoop of Plain Chocolate in a waffle cone, please.” His order made me chuckle out loud. He jokingly looked ashamed as he hung his head low with a small grin on his face.
Cones in hand, we walked around town, hoping we wouldn’t freeze with the chilly weather and cold desserts. Luckily, we came dressed for the cooler climate and the sun was still out for just a little bit before it set over the mountains.
“Come on, Mr. Boring. Let’s head over this way.” I guided him across the street and headed toward a park I knew was down the way just past the bar. I figured we could sit and talk, continue what we were trying to do in the car earlier, and get to know one another.
“I promise you, Paige, I’m the least boring person you have ever met.”
“Oh, yeah? Says the guy eating plain chocolate ice cream like he’s five years old,” I joked.
“In my opinion, you can really judge a place based on their basic flavors. You can never fuck up chocolate, and if you do, well then, the rest of it probably sucks,” he said as he licked the chocolate dripping down his finger from the cone. Maybe he wasn’t so boring after all. I’d seen that tongue in action the other week but watching him lick up the melted chocolate mess had me wishing I got to see more.
It was what he said next that really had me stunned.
“Paige, we need to talk.” I hated that phrase. Nothing good ever came from those four words. What the hell did we need to talk about? I’m sure the worry was painted all over my face when I tried to compose myself.
“What do we need to talk about…” I asked, hesitating in dread of what would come next. We weren’t even together. We had only kissed a couple times and flirted a whole lot. But was I getting the wrong idea? I mean, at first, I just wanted a little bit of fun, a distraction. But now that I’ve spent more time around him, I’ve started to realize how much I enjoyed his company. Maybe I should have expressed in a better way that he was a huge reason for keeping me around. These little moments and the way he joked around with me, he was bringing the joy back into my life that I didn’t know I was missing.
Was I getting ahead of myself?
“I can see the worry etched all over your face, so first of all, stop worrying. Us needing to talk is not a bad thing.” A small amount of relief washed over me.
“I want to get to know you, Paige. The way you were just drooling over me licking up my ice cream made me realize how badly I want to taste your mouth again. But fuck, the last thing I want you to think is that I’m the type of guy just looking for a physical relationship.”
His ability to act so much older than his age, so responsible and mature, it shocked me. As someone who normally expected the worst of everything, especially with how my life had been going lately, I didn’t expect a guy to want to put the physical stuff aside to get to know me.
“I was not drooling…” I lied. Maybe I was, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Yes, baby girl, you were. And I don’t blame you. I’ve been internally drooling at the sight of you flicking your tongue across your ice cream too but I’m doing my best to hold back my urges. We have spent our alone time lately with our mouths attached to one another and I just want to spend more time hearing that pretty voice of yours.” That might be the sweetest way someone had ever told me they wanted to pump the brakes on kissing me, and I wasn’t even mad.
“What do you want to know about me then?” I asked as I looked up at him, still trying to turn on the charm. I wanted to talk too, but I also wanted to make it tough for him to say no to me.
I wanted the thought of me to linger in his mind forever, that way it was damn near impossible to forget about our physical connection. I’d be getting another kiss by the end of this date we were on—if that’s what you wanted to call it—I’d make sure of it. I mean, after all, you could get to know someone and still kiss them at the same time.
“I want to know what you’re doing this year for Thanksgiving?” he asked. Why was it that everything that came out of his mouth today was so unexpected? I figured he’d ask me something lame like what my favorite color was or what my astrological sign was. The shock of the question was written all over my face.
He continued, “I’d love to invite you, your mom and brother over to my parents’ house. That is, if you don’t already have something else planned.” I doubt my mom wanted to worry about Thanksgiving this year for just the three of us. He could be on to something here.
A small smile found my face as the blush crept up my cheeks. “I’d love to come. I can ask my mom to make sure she didn’t have anything else planned for us. But I can say, I’m sure the last thing she wants to do is cook a turkey.” The idea of spending a holiday with both of our families combined didn’t freak me out like I thought it would. It was oddly… comforting.
We were lost in conversation about what our typical holidays looked like, and what we normally do with our families. I didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation because the honest answer was, I worked the holidays. It was an opportunity to make more money, and my family wasn’t in Phoenix. I never came home for the holidays, just made sure to send cards and gifts and video chat with my mom and dad before I went into work. There were a couple times they came out to Arizona to celebrate with me, and those years were probably my favorite. It was always so expensive to travel around that time of year, I didn’t blame them for the years they couldn’t make it.
We devoured our ice cream cones, and I was waiting for Declan to walk back to the car now that we were done with dessert. But to my surprise, we kept walking. Our conversation was flowing, and the day was about as perfect as it could get. That was until I saw a familiar face ahead I hadn’t seen in a while—not since our last interaction at the bar when Declan shooed him off. He was headed right for us when I tugged on Declan’s arm.
“Should we turn around and avoid this interaction?” I pleaded with a shakiness to my voice. I hated confrontation, but I’d have to admit, when Declan confronted Logan each time, it had been sexy as fuck to watch him be protective over me. He was so protective of me that it made whatever this was between us feel real.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the new couple in town,” Logan taunted as he walked toward us with a twisted smile across his face. Whereas Declan looked like trouble in a good way, Logan was trouble all around. Definitely not the good kind.
“Logan.” Declan offered a quick nod before putting his hand on my lower back to guide me around Logan the other way, but we didn’t get around him like we had hoped before Logan side-stepped, sliding his body in front of us.
“Look, I was just hoping to talk to Paige for a minute. I’ve wanted the chance to talk to you, but it seems you two are always attached at the hip these days.”
Yeah, and I wanted to keep it that way if it meant I was safe and away from you.
“Whatever you want to say to her, you can say with me standing right here. So, what is it? What is so important that you need to talk about it right now?” Declan added, clearly irritated.
“All due respect, this has nothing to do with you. So, Paige…” he looked me in the eye and ignored Declan completely before adding, “You mind if we chat for a second? Your bodyguard can stand right over there and watch us talk if he needs to. It’s not like I’m going to do anything to hurt you out here in the open.”
Hurt me? I thought back to our last interaction at the bar and my mind couldn’t help but twist his words. If we were in private, would all that go out the window? Would he only keep calm because we were in public? Part of me wanted to see what he needed to say. I wanted this to be the final interaction with him. If we talked and got everything out that he needed to say, maybe that meant he could leave me alone. If I just gave him the opportunity to talk, then he would move on and this would all be over.
I’ve been waiting years for him to just leave me alone.
“Give us a second, would you?” I asked Logan when I pulled Declan to the side. He stepped away, giving us a sliver of privacy.
“You can’t seriously be considering talking to him, Paige. Not after how last time went.” Declan sighed, shaking his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. I could tell he didn’t approve of this. But the more I thought about it, I needed this for me, and maybe that was something Declan couldn’t understand right now.
“I want closure. I want him to be done seeking me out and trying to talk to me every chance he gets. If I give him just a few moments, with you standing here, it’s a win-win. I can talk to him about whatever he needs to say and move on with it. All while feeling safe because you’re standing right here keeping an eye on me,” I begged him to understand.
“I don’t trust the guy. I don’t think this is his last time lurking around, but I trust you. Get it over with, and I swear, if he tries anything stupid, I’ll be over there with my hands around his neck.” Feral Declan was hot. I loved how he defended me. Feeling slightly turned on in the absolute wrong moment, I took the opportunity to ease his mind while also getting what I wanted.
Since we originally agreed to put this show on because of Logan, I wanted him to see how crazy Declan was beginning to make me feel. My hands found the nape of his neck, toying with the sandy blond hairs laid below his trucker hat and pulled him into me. Not denying my attempt, he met me halfway. Not normally one for PDA, I took this chance to be quick and get my point across. Declan had me feeling different about PDA lately—I wanted to get my hands on him whenever I had the chance.
Going straight for his lower lip, I gave it a light pull with my teeth to draw him in closer to me. I could feel the heat from his hands radiating into my lower back, and I suddenly forgot how cold it was outside. Our kiss could easily be taken further if we weren’t in the middle of the sidewalk with my ex-boyfriend practically breathing down our backs. His lips were soft, and I could taste the chocolate on his tongue as mine swiped across it only a few times before I had the opportunity to pour every ounce of me into this kiss and get completely lost in it.
Breaking the heated kiss apart, I whispered in his ear, “I’ll be right back, okay?”
Before I could pull away, he said, “I’ll be watching you. If he does anything stupid, I’ll be at your side in a heartbeat.”
I pulled away and let my body slowly disappear from his grip. Suddenly, I was missing the signature Juniper and Sage smell as I walked further away from him and toward where Logan was standing. My body went from warm and safe in his arms, to cold and uncomfortable and begging for this conversation to be over quickly.
“Don’t worry, bro. I’ll have her back to you in no time!” Logan hollered back as we walked just down the way to a small brown bench by the park. His hand slipped to my lower back, guiding me to the park ahead. The feeling of his hand on my body gave me the ick.
At the same time I pulled away from his touch, I heard Declan shout in a stern voice, “Hands off my girlfriend, asshole!”
Once again, his protective side made me feel warm inside. Even though I was standing next to Logan, I felt completely safe with Declan in close proximity.
It was just him and I, and I couldn’t rely on Declan doing the talking for me, so I had to say something to get this over with.
“What do you want, Logan?” I asked with an irritated look on my face.
“Whoa, what’s the rush? We haven’t talked in years. Might as well catch up a little bit before you make it all serious.”
As we approached the bench, I took a seat on the opposite end of him, propping one knee up to my chest. The ice cream was starting to sink in, and I was feeling colder by the minute. I didn’t want to sit out here and listen to him talk all evening.
“Look, Logan, I’m not here for the small talk. We aren’t old friends getting together to catch up. I’m supposed to be spending my afternoon with Declan, my boyfriend , and I’d like to get back to that.” The word boyfriend slipped off my tongue, trying to make my point clear. He didn’t need to know Declan wasn’t my actual boyfriend, but it seemed he already had the idea it was all a ruse anyways.
“Oh, I’m so sorry I interrupted your date with your boyfriend, ” he blurted out sarcastically as he made air quotes with his fingers. I started to stand up from the park bench when I realized this conversation wasn’t going anywhere.
“Wait, Paige, I’m sorry. Fine, I get it. He’s your boyfriend. But just tell me one thing, what do you even see in him anyways? In my opinion, he seems pretty untrustworthy.” He had quite the nerve acting like he had any control over who I dated. Like he was a fucking saint or something. Why was he acting like a jealous teenager? We don’t even know each other anymore.
My guard was up as I responded with a stern look on my face.
“It’s none of your business what I see in him. But what I can tell you is he doesn’t get mad at me for spending time with family and friends. He doesn’t flip out on me for not texting back thirty seconds later. He isn’t wishy-washy with his moods.” I knew he was bipolar, and maybe that was hitting below the belt, but I didn’t care. He needed to get over whatever his attachment to me was. Plus, after all these years, I was feeling kind of petty.
“I feel safe with him. I never felt safe with you, Logan. You need to get over it. It’s been so many years, haven’t you moved on and had other girlfriends?” I added.
“I have. But they never compared to you.”
“You mean, they didn’t let you walk all over them like I did.” I said this as a statement and not a question. When we were together I was young and scared, and he was my first relationship. I made the mistake one too many times of allowing him to walk all over me.
“Whatever, Paige, this isn’t what I wanted to talk about.” He rolled his eyes like I was the one who was an inconvenience here.
“Okay… Out with it then. I don’t have all day.” Hugging my legs close to my body, I waited for him to explain what the hell we were doing sitting on a cold bench when I could be inside my warm new car with the heater blasting.
“I know who was behind your dad’s accident. The hit and run.” My eyes widened at his statement. The blood drained from my face, making me feel pale as a million different questions ran through my mind.
This day just kept coming with more surprises. How was I supposed to respond to that? What did he even know and why hadn’t he gone to the cops then? He was just trying to weasel his way back into my life, and this was a new low, even for him. Trying to find the words to say, I was silenced. Nothing came out of my mouth when I swallowed the lump building in my throat.
He spoke again, interrupting the thoughts that were racing through my head, “I bet your new boyfriend knows a thing or two. Why don’t you ask him what his brother Myles was up to on the night of October 8th?” He nodded toward Declan, who was standing just down the way, arms folded with a scowl on his face.
“Don’t be a dick and make shit up, Logan. If you knew anything, why the hell would you be sitting on that kind of information and not telling the police? You know it’s an open investigation.” When I stood up, my body was shaking. I didn’t know if it was because I was cold, or angry. I wasn’t just angry, I was fuming. I wanted to scream at him, but I didn’t want to make a scene. I didn’t need to sit here any longer and hear him make shit up.
Logan was a waste of my fucking time.
Declan was on high alert and started to walk in my direction when he noticed the shift in energy. He looked just as angry as me when we met in the middle.
“Fuck you, Logan! Keep my family and our business out of your mouth!” I called out behind me.
“What the fuck did he say? Do you want me to go over there and handle him? I swear, Paige, my patience is running thin when it comes to that prick. But I need to make sure you’re okay first.” We were on the exact same page when it came to Logan. I went into this chat with him hoping it would be the last I’d have to see of him. But let’s be honest, this wasn’t the end.
Not even close.