Chapter Five
Pierce
Where do you take the girl of your dreams on a first date?
To be fair, I can’t know for sure Pierce is my dream girl. If I had a list, I think she would check off all the boxes. Beautiful? Check. Funny? Check. Sweet? Check. Tastes sweeter than my sweetest strawberry tart? Check, check, check.
Watching her storm into the diner determined and devastatingly beautiful, might have changed my entire life. It was the kiss of a lifetime. I heard horns, saw angels, and felt my world tilt on its axis. All I have been able to think about is kissing her again. And again.
After I kissed her that night at my place, I thought I had screwed up. Read her signals wrong or said something wrong. Whatever I had done had changed the mood, so I thought I had blown my chances with her. Not that I had truly believed I had any chances with her.
“Gotta be positive dude,” Brenden declares as he watches me pull out clothes from my closet. “Got to tell yourself you’re getting the girl.”
Sending a look at him, I frown. Easier said than done if you ask me. “You can say that—you got the girl. Never would have guessed you and Blair would hook up. Should have known since you wanted her, like what, our entire lives?”
Grinning at me as he glances at the ring on his finger, he nods. “Yeah, pretty much our whole lives. We’re going to have one hell of a story to tell our kids, huh? Well, kids, she was my dad’s wife until she was my wife.”
Laughing, I shake my head at his light heartened joke. “For sure one hell of a story, dude. Who marries their stepmom? Guess it is the 80s, anything goes, right? If you find the right one, you do something about it. Even if she was married to your old man,” I tease him, laughing when he flips me the bird.
“They got divorced first, dude. Like, duh. Should of been me she married in the first place anyway. Dinner at the holidays will be weird.”
Chuckling, I nod. Everyone knows Blair and Brenden make way more sense than her and his —. It is not as scandalous as it sounds anyway. They were married on paper alone. Never even shared a bed, it turns out. Which I am sure Brenden was relieved to find out, considering how in love with Blair he had been for so long.
To be honest, I envied his relationship with her even before they got together. They were close friends, hanging out even more than we did sometimes, and they shared something special. We were shocked when his dad married her, but they were both alone, a little scared, and it gave Blair a home when she lost hers. It caused a rift between Brenden and his dad, but they’ve been working on repairing that since he and Blair got married.
Knowing he loved her the way he did, even through her sham of a marriage to his —, showed me love can happen anywhere. That true love, if you mean it, if it matters to you, can survive anything. I never believed it might happen to me of course. Thinking of Paige, I wonder if I could have something with her that is even close to what he has with his wife.
“I bet. Does this work? Am I trying too hard?”
Posing in some acid wash jeans, a light blue polo shirt—collars turned up—with some loafers, I wait for his opinion. Brenden chuckles, shaking his head. Standing, he comes to fix the collar, laying it flat. Grabbing a battered brown leather jacket out of the closet, he hands it to me, and I slip it on.
“There. It’s a little bit better. Laid back a bit. Not trying too hard, can we ever try too hard for a woman we want to impress?”
“Speaking of that...can I borrow your car? I cannot skateboard us all over town, man.”
Laughing again, he nods, handing me the keys. I can drive. I do drive if my beat-up van is cooperating. There is no freaking way I am taking Paige out in that beast. With wall-to-wall black shag carpeting, glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceilings, and a small waterbed, she would think I am just trying to get laid. I am not that guy, but my shitty van tells a different story.
“Don’t want to take a new girl out in the shag van, eh?”
“Shut up. I don’t want to take anyone out in that thing, dude.”
“Dude, I love the van. It’s wicked cool. For tonight it might be best not to show the girl the doublewide waterbed, though.”
Tossing me his keys, he tells me good luck and heads out. I take off the leather jacket three times before leaving it on. Brenden is a married man, after all, he knows a little more than I do about impressing the ladies. Noting the time on the lock, I rush from the room, anxious to see Paige again.
Almost skidding to a halt outside of her place, I curse myself. No flowers, no wine, nothing. How am I screwing up a date before it even starts? Kicking myself, I start to turn back, to go find some flowers or perhaps another stray kitten to give her. Before I can, I hear her soft, sweet laugh.
“Bailing on me before the date starts?”
Flushing hot, I shake my head with another curse, turning back. I almost swallow my tongue once I see her. Because there is no way any manin his right mind would bail on her looking as good as she does. My jeans get too tight as I take in the vision of her waiting for me.
Paige wears a short, white linen skirt with peekaboo floral patterns that show off her creamy skin. The top is cut high beneath her breasts, flashing her soft stomach. Paired with thigh high white stockings and bright red shoes, she looks like every man’s wet dream. I take a few steps forward, wanting to scoop her up, shove her inside, and tear the cute outfit off her.
Tear it off with my teeth, to be more specific.
“No. No. No way I am bailing, babe,” I tell her at last.
Beaming up at me, she nods her head. “Good. I did not do all this work for nothing.”
Unable to help myself, I reach out, sliding my hand around the back of her neck. Her face is beautiful, her cute tiny nose, her full pink lips, and those stunning green eyes. There is evidence she put work in with her made-up eyes and her glossy lips, but I ignore it all. Bending my head, I lick her mouth and she moans, opening to let my push my tongue inside to taste her.
“Paige,” I growl before I deepen the kiss, sliding my arm around her to pull her flush against me.
Her tongue takes over, stroking mine, her teeth nipping at my bottom lip. Kissing her is like touching magic. Having it wind its way around me, setting my senses on fire is faster than a shot of whiskey or a hit of weed. I cannot get enough of her mouth, how sweet she tastes, how good she feels pressed against me, giving me these soft, little sounds that make me ache.
“Behave now, Pierce. We have a date tonight. Wouldn’t want me thinking you don’t want to take me out on the town, would you?”
Grinning at her, I trace my fingertips over her mouth. “No, babe. I most definitely want to take you out tonight.”
Taking her hand, I lead her from our hallway towards the parking lot. It takes me a minute to find Brenden’s car. Unlocking the battered truck, I help her in, kissing her gently before I close the door. Rounding the back of the truck, I do a little dance, my spirits soaring.
“Don’t you drive a van?”
Surprised by her question as I slide behind the wheel, I hang my head. I could lie, claim this is mine and not Brenden”s. I decide not to start out with lies. With the car idling, I turn towards her, taking a deep breath.
“I do. It is...it is not fit for a date night with you, Paige.”
Paige tilts her head, reaching out to touch my face. “Oh, honey. I do not care what you drive. Could have taken me out on a skateboard,” she teases, making my chest ache because, damn, I almost had to.
“I want to have a good night, Paige. I want it to be our first date, not our only date. I just want tonight to be perfect...”
Paige presses closer, her mouth fitting to mine. I sigh into the sweet kiss, gathering her hair in my fist as I cradle her neck. We sit there kissing for a long time. So long that I almost forget I planned a night out for us. I pull back reluctantly to tell her I have something special in mind for her.
“This feels pretty special, honey,” she whispers back.
Grinning, I press one more kiss against her lips. This is already the best date of my life. If I can show her a good time and that I am a good guy, maybe it really will be just the first of a lot more dates. Pulling from the lot, I let her choose the music, thankful she turns on some Foreigner.
“Tell me all about Pine Grove, Pierce.”
“Well...I guess I ought to know a lot being as I’ve never Pine Grove. You know how we got the name? Half of the town was pine groves, growing trees for the holiday season. Being as we don’t get much of a Christmas here, it was a boom for the town to ship the trees off to places who do.”
“No Christmas,” Paige puts on a pouty face as her voice goes soft. “I love Christmastime, Pierce. The lights, the sweets, giving presents.”
“Can’t remember the last Christmas I celebrated,” I admit sadly.
Paige presses close to me again, burrowing her face against my neck. It is calming, soothing, her gentle, warm touch. Stopping at a light, I tip my head and she is there, kissing me softly. It is so simple with her. It might be our very first date, but it sure doesn’t feel like it.
“We will celebrate it together this year, honey,” she whispers gently.
My heart expands three sizes, putting anything the Grinch felt to shame. I want to be with her on Christmas. I want to see her by a lit-up tree with all the presents she could ever want beneath it. Kissing her softly until a horn blare behind us, I make a wish with this kiss.
I wish to be with her at Christmas, New Years, and any other holiday she wants to celebrate.
Shooting through the intersection, I hold her hand, bringing it to my lips to press kisses to the neon painted tips. Beside me she sings along with all the songs on the radio, telling me her favorite bands. Laughing as a Janet Jackson song comes on and she completely loses it, I watch her sing it as she shakes her ass in her seat, belting it out at the top of her lungs.
“Anytime my world gets crazy,” she hums with a cute smile on her face.
“You are totally adorable,” I tell her as I smirk at her.
Paige bows her head shyly. I won’t have it. Reaching out, I tip her chin up, brushing my thumb over her pink mouth. Those light green eyes stare up at me and I see an entire lifetime in them. It should scare me. To look into this woman’s eyes and think I can see my future looking back at me.
I can’t shake what she has me feeling—and I do not want to.
For the first time in my life things are going my way. A pretty girl who is way out of my league is going out with me. Talking about more dates, more time together before the date is even over. Kisses me as if she cannot get enough of me. Sings Janet Jackson at the top of her lungs because she is at ease with me. The same way I am at ease with her.
“Nothing else seems to matter,” I sing with her, both of us smiling like dweebs as we harmonize together. “It”s when I think of you, baby.”
“When I think of you!” She shouts with a huge smile on her face.
Leaning over, I press a peck of a cheek at her lips, and she sighs against my mouth. Once again, we hold up traffic as we kiss, bodies moving to the song flooding the bed of the truck. Sure, it is the same guy—who can’t see a romance blooming in front of him—back there, I flip him the bird.
Red and blue lights, followed by the unmistakable sound of a police siren, fills the air. I groan as Paige giggles, turning to watch as an officer slowly makes his way to my door. Ducking his head, he recognizes me with a single glance. Holding my breath, I offer a sheepish smile as he smirks.
“Pierce? The hell you thinking, jackass?”
“Thinking you weren’t a cop catching me kissing my date at a red light.”
Ducking his head lower, he looks past me at Paige. As a comical look of surprise overtakes his face, I curse beneath my breath. Yeah, I am way out of my league with Paige, he doesn’t have to tell me that. It pisses me off that he notices it. Swinging his shocked gaze back to me, he smiles slowly.
“Well, I can’t say I blame you, man. How about you keep it off the roads. Prefer to keep the streets of Pine Grove PG.”
Chuckling with him, I nod, agreeing not to stop traffic to make out again. Sailing through the intersection, I am overwhelmed with shame. Not just because we got caught. Because it was clear to him I had no business being with Paige. If it is that obvious, she will see it soon enough.
How could I have ever thought I had a real shot with someone like Paige?