Chapter 13 #2
“That’s because you’re like this little, freaking fairy-tale chick with perfect skin and… Oh my god! No freaking way!” Cameron shouts.
Paige’s laugh reaches me. “I just need to set it all up.”
“You are out of your damn mind if you think I’m letting you open that container and risk you ruining the final product.”
“I am a human, not a product.” Her humor is clear.
“Still,” they playfully argue. “One time I opened a lid off a soup Ari made, and it sprayed all over me from the evaporation or pressure or some weird shit. Not happening. Not before your first date.”
Brady kicks me, and I kick him back.
“Oh my god, how many times do I have to tell you it’s not a date?” Paige whisper-hisses back.
I raise a brow at Brady, unable to hide my smirk of satisfaction.
He goes to open his mouth, but then there’s a knock at the door.
I don’t realize I jumped to my feet until my hand wraps around the handle, and my boys chuckle behind my back. I yank it open, my eyes connecting with Prescott.
He smiles wide, a big, pink bouquet in his hands, as predicted.
Should I tell him she prefers softer colors?
“Hello, Chase.”
I nod my chin, standing there blocking the doorway until a throat clears behind me.
I blink and step back but don’t motion him inside.
I close the door, leaving him on the other side, and when I turn, the air is sucked from my lungs.
Paige stands there in a soft peach-colored dress.
It’s elegant, graceful on her tiny frame, resting on her shoulders and falling to her feet, the color making her blond hair shine a little more.
Her blue eyes are brighter than normal, and I think it might be from the thick, dark shadow swiped across the lids, far more than I’ve seen on her before.
Her hair is up in a ponytail but fancy, with curls falling down her back and she’s just…
“Damn.”
Her lips part, but she doesn’t speak, her tongue pressing to the roof of her mouth before she drops her chin a little. She’s fighting a smile, and I wish she wouldn’t.
I wish she’d give it to me, full force.
In my peripheral vision, I see movement and turn to look at my friends, all three staring at me expectantly. I glare, and every single one makes some sort of face that tells me I am not doing what they want me to here.
I don’t even know what I want to do, so what the hell?
And what is this shit anyway? When did my feelings for this girl become public knowledge?
Her hand wraps around mine on the knob and I snap back to reality—me subconsciously keeping her from him.
“You look gorgeous, Shortcake.”
“Wait!” Cameron jumps forward, literally pushing on both our shoulders to step between us, her growing grin a little scary. “Did you just call her—”
“Cammie,” Paige rushes.
“Ohhh no.” Cameron is laughing and it’s definitely maniacal.
“Okay, I should go! She’s a little overstimulated,” Paige teases. She looks back up at me. “Um…yeah.”
She squeezes by, pulling the door open and I just…watch her slip out.
Cameron throws her hands up, flicking the lock and putting her back against it, her arms crossed and a little glare in place. “I swear to god, Chaser. I swear…to freaking…GOD.”
“Is she okay?” I turn to Brady.
He scoffs, glaring at me and I look back to Cam.
She gives this sassy head roll. Lips pinched tight. “Guess what’s in the kitchen, fresh and hot out of the oven, the reason she was late getting ready by the way—the reason her hair is in a damn pony, instead of down like it should be. Can you guess?”
“No,” I fight a laugh. “But I bet you’re gonna tell me.”
Cameron huffs and walks away.
“She’s about to have so much fun with this.” Payton laughs, and Ari’s smile follows her friend into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Cameron comes out with a little plate, dropping it dramatically on the coffee table for us all to look at.
My eyes lock on the sweet treat, and a rush of something hot floods under my skin.
“Oh shit.”
“Yep.” Cameron throws herself down on the couch, just to then scoot to the edge and flay me with a stare. “Strawberry freaking shortcake. Chaser, what the actual hell? I cannot believe you’re seriously letting her go on a date!”
My mouth falls open, and Brady hops to his feet, clapping his hands loudly. “That’s what I said!”
She points at him and cocks her head at me, all bratty. They really are perfect for each other. I don’t know how we didn’t see it before.
“You’re the one getting her all ready and excited and shit.” It’s a weak argument, but it’s all I’ve got.
“Hello!” Her eyes bug. “Do you really think I don’t have a backup curling iron for my backup curling iron?! Pah-lease. That was all a part of the plan.”
“Cameron!” Ari playfully admonishes her, but her laughter tells me she’s on Cameron’s side.
“Bitch, you knew this. Don’t play.”
I can feel my cheeks heat, but I just shrug. “Who says I care?”
The entire room laughs this time. All of them.
My mouth clamps shut, and I shake my head, trying to come up with something to say, but I’m saved by the baby.
Deaton sits up, wiping his little eyes as he smiles around the room, most of his favorite people in one place, just the way he likes it.
Naturally, his eyes fall to the dessert on the table and he smiles.
Happy for the out and for the uncle points that being the one to serve him is about to give me, I scoop him up. “Come on, D. Let’s taste test Paige’s baked goods.”
“You’re silly. It’s not Paige’s.” He pats my shoulder, reaching into the open container sitting on the counter the second I place him on it.
“No?” I ask, opening my mouth so he can feed me a small piece of strawberry, then he feeds himself one, the sugar-soaked fruit making my mouth water.
“Nope.” He smiles, reaching for the bowl of homemade whipped cream. “It’s for you. She telled me she was making you something special and she couldn’t wait for me to try some.”
I look his way, and he just keeps kicking his legs, watching as I pile his berries on the angel food cake, then hands me a spoon when I don’t move to scoop some of the cream.
I clear my throat, taking the spoon. “Thanks, little man.”
“Thanks for letting me try some.” He smiles, digging in the second I’ve added his topping.
I smile at the little boy, my eyes falling to my own plate.
She was thinking of me.
All day, they ran around getting her ready for this outing. This date with another man.
With a real man. A safe man.
But somewhere, at some point, it was me who crossed her mind.
I close my eyes, searching for a way out of the life that’s become mine and into one that would make me the guy worthy of the girl. And then it hits me.
I don’t want a way out.
I don’t want distance.
I don’t want to be the guy who lets her go.
I want to be the guy she chooses. The one she looks at and never looks away from.
I open my eyes, pulse hammering. For the first time, I stop thinking about what I don’t have, what I can’t give her.
And I think about her.
What she wants. What makes her laugh.
What brings sadness to her eyes and a smile to her lips.
The way she’s shared her most precious memories, openly and without pause.
The way that she made me this damn dessert.
Fuck.
Shit.
I should have stopped this before she left. Should have told her I didn’t want her to go, at least not as his date—not as his anything.
I can fix this.
It’s not too late.
Picking Deaton up, I set him and his plate down at the mini kitchen table, kissing his temple. “I’ll see you later, little man. Love you.”
“Love you!” he shouts, and I’m already at the door, yanking it open.
“Where you goin’, Chaser?” Cameron teases.
A low laugh leaves me, and I look over my shoulder at my friends, my grin matching theirs. I don’t say a word, just pull the door closed and laugh at the celebration on the other side, jogging to my truck.
Paige thought of me today.
It’s about damn time I stop pretending I don’t think of her all damn day.
Too bad for me, it takes until I reach the curb to realize two very important things I’ve overlooked.
One, I didn’t drive here today, so my truck is on the other side of campus.
Two—and the most important part—I have no idea where he’s taking her tonight.
I drop my head back, glaring at the sky. “Fuck.”