Chapter 5
Carter had moved in his things by Saturday afternoon—speaking as few words to Paige as he could.
Aside from a gruff “hello” and “is it okay to leave the car parked there?” he silently brought in his few boxes with AirPods in his ears and what looked to be a slight scowl.
It was a true shame Paige couldn’t ignore his sour attitude and poor manners, because damn was Carter nice to look at.
Even though they were halfway through November, his skin was still tanned—an olive complexion worthy of the red carpet.
His jawline was strong and accentuated by a neatly trimmed stubble, something Chance was never able to grow.
On Thursday his dark hair had been slicked back for a more professional look, but today he had some curled strands falling down around his eyes, giving him an added boyish charm.
His look was more casual than at their meeting on Thursday, and Paige hated how well he pulled off both looks.
He wore a Lululemon shirt that hugged his biceps, and as he reached for a box at the top of the stack near the doorway, she couldn’t help but see a six-pack hiding underneath.
Because why wouldn’t he have washboard abs?
Paige immediately turned on her heel and went for a glass of water.
She hated that a man this annoying could be so hot. Maybe that’s why she tried starting another conversation with him.
“So,” Paige said at a volume loud enough to penetrate the AirPods, “not that many boxes I see. You ditch all your belongings to run from the mob or something?”
She gestured her elbow into the air next to her as if she were knocking it into someone’s shoulder.
Carter must have barely heard her because he glanced in her direction with a confused and annoyed look on his face as he took out his right earbud.
“What?”
“Oh, um, I just said it doesn’t look like you brought much with you and asked if you were hiding from the mob,” she said, noting it was definitely less funny the second time around.
Carter didn’t say anything. He stared at her as if she had just said the Earth was flat. Finally, he rolled his eyes and said, “Not that it’s your business, but I only brought what I needed for a temporary stay. Storage units are a thing, you know.”
And with that he put his earbud back in, grabbed a box, and retreated into his room.
Paige could feel her skin getting hot again. This guy is the actual worst. But she shook off her frustration, remembering it was only temporary.
She grabbed her laptop and started studying other marketing freelancer websites and LinkedIn pages so she could have a good idea of how to position herself when she quit her job in a couple of months.
Later that night, Paige decided to give Carter the benefit of the doubt, so she went out to buy some beers and frozen pizzas from the grocery store to extend one last olive branch.
So far, their interactions had been at the end of a workday and in the middle of moving into the apartment.
Paige couldn’t count on one hand the number of stressful days she had had in the office.
Perhaps that Thursday they met up had been packed full of meetings that could have been emails.
And Paige hated unpacking after a brief weekend vacation—so moving and unpacking into her apartment had been torture.
Maybe she was judging him too harshly given the circumstances of both times they’d been around each other.
Paige walked up to his door and knocked. Nothing. She knocked again. Still nothing.
Just as she lifted her fist to knock a third time, the door swung open.
“Yeah?” Carter asked, the scowl still present on his stupidly handsome face.
“Okay, hi to you too. I just wanted to let you know I got some beers and pizzas to welcome you to the apartment if you want to join me for dinner in twenty minutes?”
“No, thanks,” he said cooly and started closing the door.
Paige stood dumbfounded by his response and instinctively put her hand out to stop the door.
“Are you serious? I’m just trying to be a good friend here. You’re not even going to try to act polite?”
He stared at her again before answering, “I’m not here to make any friends. I just need a place to live for a while—preferably a place where everyone minds their own business.”
And with that, Carter closed the door in Paige’s face.
What. A. Prick.
Paige could hardly believe anyone could be this off-putting, but lo-and-behold here was the man to prove her wrong.
***
Days passed and Paige barely saw Carter—a fact she mostly appreciated.
He left quietly for work each morning and often returned around nine or ten in the evening and went directly to his room without any effort in speaking a word to her. Was it really so hard to say good morning? Would it kill him to fake a smile as he headed out the door?
Although she could have sworn she noticed him checking her out the morning she wore her I-have-a-client-meeting dress. It wasn’t often Paige’s bottom-tier clients came into the office for an in-person meeting, but when they did, she made sure to wear her most flattering girl-boss outfit.
But as much as she didn’t want to interact with him, she didn’t hate her new roommate’s lingering glance.
And it would be a lie if she said she didn’t return the favor. Every time she laid eyes on Carter he looked so fine.
Most mornings he left in a suit, and in the evenings he’d either return in casual business attire or joggers and a T-shirt if he was coming from the gym.
Unlike the saying, she did love to see him go, because that meant she didn’t have to deal with his arrogance.
But she also had to admit she loved to watch him walk away.
For the first time in a long time, Paige was acutely aware of how she looked at home. She and Nadia had never minded looking frumpy when it was just them, but now with Carter’s presence in the apartment, Paige thought twice about going braless.
And it wasn’t even that she felt she had to change her at-home style. It’s more that she found herself wanting to.
What is Carter doing to me? She caught herself glancing at herself for an extra two seconds in her bathroom mirror.
On Thursday night, Nadia came over for dinner and the Love is Blind finale, hoping to spot her replacement in the flesh.
“I can’t wait to see if Mr. Hollywood lives up to his profile picture,” Nadia teased from the couch, her first glass of wine almost empty.
“Trust me, the handsome effect wears off real quick once you exchange five words with him.” Paige rolled her eyes, partly because she truly disliked him, and partly to try to convince herself that she wasn’t still attracted to him.
“Honestly,” Paige continued, “it’s really not that bad of a setup. It’s pretty much like living alone . . . I’m just getting paid for it. He is never here. I’ve actually never even seen him open the refrigerator. I’m not sure he eats!”
“That explains the abs you were drooling over last weekend.” Nadia winked.
Paige had obviously filled Nadia in on Carter’s move-in weekend, from his arrogance to his washboard abs.
“I was not drooling over them. I simply noticed them, burned the image into my memory forever, and texted you immediately to update you about said image of abs.”
“Whatever helps you sleep, or er, not sleep at night,” Nadia said with a little shoulder shimmy. “Okay, enough about Carter. How have the apps been going?”
After downloading the dating apps, Paige had solicited Nadia’s help in creating her profile.
“Well, it started out strong, but then quickly went downhill. So far I’ve gotten at least fifteen ‘What u doing later?’ messages, seven requests for my Snapchat username, and one unsolicited dick pic. So, I’d say par for the course!”
“Oh god,” Nadia groaned. “Where have all the good men gone?” She dramatically tilted her head back with the back of her hand to her head.
“You’re telling me! You should be extra grateful for Linus tonight after you see the mess that is dating apps in Chicago. Sure, there are some normal guys on there, but no one who really . . . stands out.”
“You mean there’s no one as hot as Carter?” Nadia couldn’t hide her smile as she said it.
“Oh my god, Nadia, don’t you dare bring him back into this!” But Paige had to admit there was some truth to what Nadia had said.
“I kid, I kid. I just want you to be happy, and most of all I want you to be getting some while you’re still young.”
Paige stared at Nadia blankly from across the couch before throwing a pillow at her face.
“Careful with the wine, Paige! And speaking of wine, I need a top-up.”
Nadia jumped up from the couch and made her way to the kitchen counter to where the open bottle was waiting and started pouring, while Paige opened up one of the dating apps on her phone to see if there had been any major changes since the last time she checked.
“Oh!” Paige gasped, looking down at her phone.
“OMG, what?” Nadia inquired, rushing back to the couch as fast as she could with a full wine glass.
“I matched with a guy named John a couple days ago and he’s just messaged me asking to go out on a date tomorrow night.”
Nadia snatched the phone out of Paige’s hands within seconds.
“Okay, John.” Nadia whistled. “He dresses well, has a good smile, and looks buff as hell. Pretty hot for a bald guy.”
Nadia started typing while mouthing out, “I’d love to! Name the time and place ;)”
“Nadia! What are you doing? Give it back!”
“Too late! Already hit send.” Nadia locked the phone and tossed it back to Paige. “This is good for you, Paige. It’s time to get back on the horse. You’re growing cobwebs down there.”
Nadia pointed below Paige’s waist without apology.
“Wowwww. You are the worst.”
Paige knew Nadia was right. It had been ages since she had hooked up with a guy, and she was starting to wonder if she’d even remember how to flirt.
“That’s what best friends are for, babe. If I don’t nudge you back out into the dating world, no one will.”
“Fine. One date. But I don—” Paige’s phone screen lit up. “He just wrote back.”
Sunda in the West Loop at 7:30. Looking forward to it :)
Paige couldn’t help but blush. She was going on a proper date, which was more than Chance had been doing for her near the end.
He was the king of “let’s just order takeout” and put on a movie at home. Which Paige didn’t mind now and then, but she had hoped her boyfriend would put at least some effort into wooing her.
“All right,” Nadia said. “Now that we’ve settled things with your love life, we can get back to the train wreck that is this season of Love is Blind.”
The girls ate sushi on the couch, downed the rest of the wine, and watched as the drama unfolded on TV.
Just shy of ten o’clock, the door opened and Carter walked in.
Nadia hit pause and leapt off of the couch to intercept him.
“Hi! You must be Carter, I’m Nadia, I used to live here,” she said in one giant breath.
“Hi,” Carter said, keeping it short as always and taking a side step to get around Nadia.
“So, Paige tells me you’re a busy guy! What is it that you do?”
Carter turned around just as he reached the door to his room. “I’ve had a long day. If it’s all right with you, I’m going to skip the chitchat and turn in for the evening.”
And without waiting for her response, he entered his room and shut the door behind him.
Wow, Nadia mouthed as she turned back to where Paige sat on the couch, making her way back to her usual spot.
“Now you see what I’ve been dealing with,” said Paige.
“I mean, yeah, he’s not the friendliest, but like, WOW is that man gorgeous.”
“After an interaction like that, the only thing you take away is how attractive he is?”
“How can you not? Paige, you need to go to the doctor and get your eyes checked. Maybe you aren’t seeing what I’m seeing,” Nadia said with a wink.
Oh no, I’m definitely seeing it. But unfortunately for me, his looks are overshadowed by his personality, she thought, not wanting to give Nadia the satisfaction of knowing she agreed.
“Like I said,” Paige countered, “he keeps to himself and I’m basically living on my own while getting a nice monthly check. As long as I don’t need to engage with him, I’m perfectly fine with how things are.”
“Suit yourself,” said Nadia as she hit play and settled back into the couch.