Chapter 16 Paige
Chapter 16
Paige
“I’m never trusting Abby to write up a hockey game again,” Bonnie huffed as she met me by my locker at the end of the school day.
I stopped putting my books away and turned to her. “Oh no, what happened?”
“Well, she got half the players’ names wrong. Then she gave the incorrect final score. And don’t get me started on her general abuse of the English language. I spent my entire lunch period correcting her article. If this wasn’t a high school newspaper, I’d fire her so quick.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Bon.”
“Oh, don’t be, I’m used to it. I bet the editors at the New York Times don’t have to deal with this—” She gasped suddenly and reached out to grab my arm. “Oh my gosh, how could you let me blab on about Abby for so long! How’d it go?”
“How’d what go?”
“Uh, what else?” she scoffed. “Lunchtime. You. Damien. Grayson. Flirting. Jealousy. Drama. I missed the show, so you have to tell me everything.”
There hadn’t been much drama, and I wasn’t sure about the jealousy, but there was certainly flirting. “You didn’t miss much,” I said as calmly as I could. “But it went well.”
Bonnie gave me a look of disapproval. “Okay, I’m going to need way more details than that,” she said. “How did Damien react? Did he challenge Gray to a duel for your heart? Was he foaming at the mouth? Were any drinks spilled? Oh no. You didn’t do your nervous laugh again, did you? ”
She really had no faith in me. I guess that wasn’t surprising, after my very public flirting failure with Damien. But this time, with Grayson, it had been totally different. I’d been so nervous before I entered the cafeteria, afraid the lingering effects of my dream last night, or Damien’s proximity, might throw me off. But I’d taken a deep breath and gone for it. And from the moment I sat on Gray’s lap and crept my fingers along his firm shoulders, my nerves had almost entirely melted away.
Now, when I thought about it, a smile pulled at my lips and every inch of my skin tingled. It had been so fun to flirt with Gray. My lines hadn’t been particularly original, and I probably still needed more practice, but I couldn’t stop thinking of how he’d grinned up at me when I’d told him his number was the only one I’d wear. Gray’s smiles were so hard to come by, it always left me on a high when I finally brought one to the surface. And then his response, that he would never let me go...
That comment had briefly brought the nerves back. He’d said it so firmly that it took me by surprise. I knew he was probably just giving the performance a fittingly grand finale, but I couldn’t shake the feeling in the pit of my stomach that there was a little more to it.
“Uh, no, my nervous laugh didn’t show its ugly face today, thank God.” I shook my head, both to answer her question and to try and cool my warm cheeks. “And there were no drinks spilled, and definitely no duel, but I think Damien took the bait.” That was what I should have been excited about. Instead, I was wondering when I’d get a chance to flirt with Grayson again, and whether he’d enjoyed it as much as me .
“And . . .” Bonnie prompted.
“And there’s not much more to say.” I shrugged. “I was supposed to be ignoring Damien, remember?”
“You must be missing something. Did he say anything?”
“Um, yeah, I told Gray he was great at hockey, and Damien said something about there being other talented players on the team.”
“Oh, that’s definitely a good sign,” she said, nodding in approval. But she tilted her head as she watched me. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s pretty much it.”
“Paige, what aren’t you telling me?” Apparently, she wasn’t satisfied with my answer.
“What? Nothing.”
She tilted her head further and raised an eyebrow.
“I swear.”
Bonnie continued watching me, waiting for me to spill whatever she thought I was holding back. There was nothing more I needed to tell her. Well, nothing more about Damien.
“I just kind of enjoyed flirting with Gray, is all.”
“You did ?”
“Yeah. It was fun,” I explained. “Kind of how I imagine it’s meant to feel when you flirt. Maybe I’m getting better at it.”
Bonnie glanced around at the other students passing us by before she leaned in close. “Do you like him?”
“What?”
“Grayson. Do you like him?” She gave the word “like” even more emphasis the second time, to make sure I was under no illusion about what she was getting at.
“No, of course I don’t,” I protested. “You know we’re just friends. That’s what made the flirting so fun.”
“You seem far more excited about the fun you had with Gray than you do about how Damien reacted.”
I scoffed. “I’m just on a high from a successful mission.”
“Sounds like the mission went in a different direction than you intended.”
“No, it went exactly as intended.” I frowned at her. “It was just a little harmless flirting, Bon. The fact I enjoyed it doesn’t mean anything.”
She shook her head. “I think the fact you enjoyed it means you’re going after the wrong guy.”
“I think you’ve spent far too long editing newspaper articles today. You’re seeing stories where they don’t exist.”
“Or maybe I’ve just uncovered the best story of the year...”
“You’re crazy,” I said, closing my locker.
“Crazy observant,” she replied. “My reporter’s nose can catch wind of these things a mile off.”
“Well, your nose must be wrong. Even sniffer dogs aren’t always completely accurate.” I swung my bag over my shoulder and started for the exit, hoping that might put an end to her conspiracy theories.
She quickly fell into step beside me. “Okay, maybe you’re right, but you better be careful. All this flirting practice with your bestie sounds like it’s going to your head.”
It was hard to completely disagree with her, especially after my dream last night. But she was seriously reaching if she thought there was more to my feelings than friendship. It was just a little bit of pretend flirting. It would mess with anyone’s head. Bonnie’s nose was off this time, I was sure of it.
“Perhaps our retail therapy tonight will get my senses back on the right track,” she added.
“About that...” I started. “Grayson wants to come.”
Bonnie’s eyes practically popped out of her head. “He does?”
“Yeah, he thinks I need a guy’s opinion.”
“I mean, I guess a guy’s opinion couldn’t hurt. I just didn’t think clothes shopping was his thing.”
“It’s not,” I replied. “But he’s trying his best to help.”
“Well, you need all the help you can get if you want to fix this.” She waved a hand at my outfit.
I actually thought I’d done quite well today. I was wearing a bright blue dress and a cute navy cardigan. The blue was to catch Damien’s eye and the navy... Well, the navy cardigan was just because I’d gotten cold, but still, I honestly had no idea how the outfit could be improved. The last time I’d worn the dress, Gray had commented on how this shade of blue suited me. I figured if it was nice enough for Grayson to compliment me, it was nice enough to entice Damien with.
I looked up at Bonnie. “I like what I’m wearing.”
“So does Ms. Shannon...” She nodded down the hallway to where our English teacher had just emerged from the staff room. She was wearing an outfit almost identical to mine.
“That’s a slightly different dress,” I muttered, although I wasn’t completely sure that was true. There was only one clothing store in the main street of Ransom, and it looked like I was no longer the only person from school who shopped there. Nope, it was just me and our elderly English teacher. Everyone else went to the big luxury mall just outside Sunshine Hills .
“Paige, you’re even wearing the same sensible shoes as her.”
I grimaced when I glanced down to find I was in fact wearing an identical pair.
“Okay, so, maybe my outfit happens to look a little bit like our super-cool teacher’s...”
Bonnie laughed. “Don’t worry. By tomorrow you’ll look like a super-cool seventeen-year-old.” She grinned and nudged her shoulder into mine when I glared at her. “This is going to be fun. You’ll see.”
When we emerged into the parking lot, I immediately caught sight of Grayson leaning against his truck. His arms were folded over his chest, and from this distance, it was clear why people were a little cautious around him. He was such an imposing figure, and his default facial expression was far from welcoming. But the moment his eyes landed on me they started to sparkle, and it was suddenly impossible to fathom how anyone could consider him scary.
“I’m parked over here,” Bonnie said. “I can just meet you at the mall.”
“You don’t want to go together? Grayson can drive us.”
“Uh, no, that’s okay. Once we’re done, I’ve got to pick up some baby formula for my mom and then head straight home. She was freaking out earlier because she’s almost run out.” She glanced over at Gray, who was still propped up against his truck waiting for us. “Plus, I think your bestie would rather the two of you rode alone... ”
“Don’t be silly. He wouldn’t mind.”
“Uh, let’s not take the risk,” she replied. “I already spend far too much time skirting the edge of his shit list. Let’s not do something drastic and place my name firmly at the top of it.”
“He doesn’t have a shit list.”
“That boy was born with one.” She laughed before walking toward her car. “I’ll see you there.”
I was suddenly wondering if shopping with Bonnie and Gray was a recipe for disaster. The two of them rarely agreed on anything—I could only imagine how much their opinions would differ on what kind of clothes I should wear.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked as I approached Grayson’s truck.
He responded by opening the passenger door for me. “I want to do everything with you, Pidge.”
That feeling in the pit of my stomach was back. Why did my mind automatically go to places it shouldn’t? Seriously, how did Grayson not have a girlfriend already? I tried to remember if he’d always said things like this to me. He must have. But for some reason his sweetness wasn’t just washing over me like a cool breeze on a warm day. It was cutting deeper, sending shivers across my skin. Maybe I was coming down with something. A bad flu had been going around...
“I really don’t think you need this makeover,” Grayson said before I could respond. He was still waiting by the open door of the truck, so I shook off my thoughts and climbed into the passenger seat.
“Well, sometimes, Grayson Darling, you are wrong. The makeover needs to happen. No guy is going to ask me out when I dress like this. Especially not someone like Damien.”
“You could wear a paper bag, and I still wouldn’t think you needed a makeover.”
God, he was stubborn. But I didn’t get a chance to tell him, because he closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side.
“Actually, the paper bag would probably be an improvement,” I said once he was in the truck. “I was literally wearing the same outfit as a teacher today, Gray.”
That took a little of the wind out of his sails. “I’m sure the teacher just has good taste.”
“It was Ms. Shannon.”
I couldn’t tell if Gray wanted to laugh or cringe. His eyes were certainly wide with surprise.
“Then I guess we should go shopping.” He started the engine. “But for the record, Ms. Shannon is pretty cool for an eighty-year-old.”
I laughed. Perhaps shopping wouldn’t be so bad after all.
When we arrived at the mall, I got a text from Bonnie telling me to hurry up because she was already in the department store. I had no idea how she’d gotten here so much quicker than us, but by the time we’d made our way from the parking lot to the store, she was already rushing between the racks, her arms laden with clothes. Grayson watched in horror. He was probably already feeling out of place, and the sight of all the clothes Bonnie was carrying couldn’t be helping .
“Sorry, I didn’t wait,” Bonnie said as she continued adding to her pile. “I can’t stay...”
“You can’t?” She’d been the one pushing for this makeover. How could she bail on me before we had even got started?
She pulled another dress off a hook before scrunching her nose up and quickly placing it back. “My mom just called. Turns out she’s already run out of baby formula and Tabi won’t stop crying. She needs me to pick some up and bring it home now.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay, we can do this another night.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she replied. “Your wardrobe won’t survive another night without major surgery. Damien’s never going to ask you out while you look like you might give him detention if he talks out of turn.”
She gave the shop floor one final scan and sighed. “This will have to do,” she said before walking over and dumping all the clothing she’d selected into my arms.
“It looks like plenty,” Gray muttered.
Bonnie ignored him as she went on. “I’ve tried to find you a few options, but all of them are a little more revealing than the stuff you’d usually go for. And you want something that highlights your curves instead of swallowing them up. Make sure you try them all, okay? There has to be at least one outfit you like.”
“Uh, okay.”
Bonnie then turned to Grayson and pointed a finger at him. “I’m putting you in charge, Grayson. Don’t let me down.”
“Yeah, uh, I won’t.” He looked slightly unnerved by the idea and, maybe for the first time ever, I wondered if Gray was a little intimidated.
“Good. Now, don’t have too much fun without me.”
And, like a whirlwind passing by, she was gone. The aftermath of her frenzy was the towering mountain of clothes in my arms. I pasted on a smile as I turned to Gray.
“So, we should probably start looking through this stuff for the perfect mix of revealing and figure-hugging...” My voice trailed off when I noticed how hard he was scowling at Bonnie’s selection of outfits. I suspected he was already regretting his decision to come, but his cheeks were also tinged with the softest hint of pink. Was he embarrassed too?
“Let’s just get this over with,” he said as he eased the clothes from my arms so he could carry them for me. I jumped as his skin brushed against mine. What was with me today? There wasn’t anything different about the way Gray was acting. There was certainly no reason to jolt because his hands had brushed my arms.
He gave me a strange look and I tried to laugh it off. “I knew you weren’t excited about shopping.”
“What are you talking about? Clearly, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
There’s no way that was true, especially as he could have been playing hockey right now, but I was grateful he was here. Especially since Bonnie had to bail.
“Well, I appreciate it either way,” I said. “And cheer up. I’ll repay you with ice cream after.”
“I’m going to need a whole lot more than ice cream in payment for this,” he grumbled.
I realized my eyes had instinctively dropped to his lips, and I quickly turned in search of the fitting rooms. I could have sworn he’d glanced at mine too, but surely I’d just imagined that.
“It’s all in your head, Paige,” I mumbled to myself. “It’s all in your head.”