Chapter 12
The city looked the same the next morning. There was still at least three feet of powder on the ground, with snow continuing to flurry. It was hard for Paige to see down the street from her bedroom window.
She checked the airline app and saw exactly what she expected—CANCELLED.
Looks like I have another day locked up with him.
She slept terribly. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she had developed a big crush on Carter.
Sure, she thought he was handsome from the day she laid eyes on him in Starbucks, but there was something about their interactions yesterday that had her heart in a full-on tailspin.
And Carter blatantly ignoring her at the end of the night not only hurt, but it re-solidified her initial reasons for hating him.
Hmm, that sounds so strange! And you’re SURE there was no little wave or smile?
Nadia’s text read.
Paige had texted Nadia the full synopsis of her day before she had gone to bed.
I’m positive. It was like the time we spent actually hanging out never even happened. I’m almost starting to wonder if I dreamt it all?
I’m sure there is a reason. I know he hasn’t been the warmest roommate, but I just can’t believe he was purposely icing you out.
Nadia, why are you constantly Team Carter? You are ALWAYS defending him.
I’m not team Carter, Paige. I’m just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, that’s all. Based on what you told me about yesterday, it sounds like there’s a really good guy in there. Don’t write him off just yet.
Paige heard some rattling coming from the kitchen.
Well, I think I hear him in the kitchen. I guess I’ll just go out there and see what his reaction is. But if he ignores me again, I swear I’m gonna kick him out in the cold . . .
Haha, well, I have a good feeling you’ll be snuggling together for warmth soon ;)
Paige grabbed the Christmas sweater that was lying on the chair in her room, pulled it on over her T-shirt, and opened her bedroom door to the smell of pancakes and coffee.
“Morning, roomie,” Carter said with a smile. “I thought I heard your water running so I figured I’d get started on breakfast . . . well,”—he looked at the clock—“brunch.”
Paige immediately noticed that his black T-shirt had dust from the pancake mix on the front, which somehow made him look even hotter. He flicked his head to get a runaway strand of his hair away from his eyes as he flipped over the pancake he had on the pan. It was the perfect golden color.
She was too shocked to say anything.
“I hope it’s okay I’m using the kitchen and all of your pans,” he said, filling the silence. “I just got a bit too excited to show off my one culinary ability. Oh! And there’s a coffee for you.” He pointed at the Nespresso machine.
Sure enough, there was a coffee that still had steam coming off the top waiting for her. Who is this man, and what has he done with the Carter I saw last night?
“No, no, of course it’s fine! Sorry, I’m just surprised, that’s all,” Paige said, grabbing the mug.
“All right, one pancake ready to go.” Carter handed her a plate with a perfectly cooked pancake on it. She sat down at the island, where he had already laid out silverware and syrup.
“What’s the occasion?” She asked him, still in disbelief that she was receiving royal treatment.
“Well, for starters, a thank-you for sharing your rations with me. Next, because it felt aligned with the Christmas spirit you’re so desperately trying to summon in here,” he teased. “But also, I was just looking for an excuse to try to impress a girl.”
His back was turned because he was mid-pancake flip, which Paige was grateful for. Her cheeks were warm from blushing, and she didn’t want to give Carter the satisfaction of knowing his little trick was working on her.
After all, this was his move, she had to remind herself. He does this for his own purposes—don’t fall into the trap.
She composed herself just as he was turning to give her a second pancake. Perfect, again.
“Well, it takes a lot to impress me,” she quipped. She put the first bite in her mouth.
Carter stood across the counter wide-eyed, waiting eagerly for her review.
“I’ll hand it to you,” she said after savoring and swallowing the bite, “this is a near-perfect pancake.”
He smiled at her as if she had just told him he had won a million dollars.
“You hear that, Dad?” he said, looking up toward the ceiling. “Another fan of your work.”
Paige’s heart melted into a puddle to match the syrup on her plate. How could she stay mad at this guy? Before she could think it through, she blurted out, “So, what was up with you last night?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, looking suddenly confused.
“You completely ignored me when you came into the kitchen for that pizza. I started talking to you and—”
“Oh shit,” he interrupted. “I’m really sorry. I was doing some exercises and was totally in the zone. I didn’t hear you over my music. Seriously, I’m sorry.” He paused before adding, “Now these are also apology pancakes.”
Dammit, Nadia, Paige thought. Of course he has a valid excuse.
“Don’t worry about it. Sorry I took it so personally. I just . . .” She hesitated again but decided to just come out with it. “I just wanted to say that, while yesterday started rough, not being able to go home and all, I ended up having a really fun day . . . with you.”
A smile crept back across Carter’s face.
“Me too,” he said. “So I guess that means we really need to knock today out of the park now.”
“I guess so,” she agreed. “And if these pancakes are any indication, we are off to a great start.” She stuffed another full bite into her mouth.
“There’s more where that came from.” Carter turned back to the stove and poured more batter onto the pan.
They spent their meal engaged in the usual small talk you make with someone you just met. Paige was surprised at how little she actually knew about the guy living in the room across the condo, and how little he knew about her.
Carter was in finance, which she had known, but she learned more about what his job entailed on a day-to-day basis and the direction he wanted to take his career.
He talked more about his mom, and they bonded over growing up as only children.
He talked about where he went to college—Duke—and she learned he was a student athlete on their lacrosse team.
That explains the body, Paige thought.
She told him about growing up in California and life on the west side of the country. She talked about her job at the marketing agency and how ready she was to leave. She even told him about her dream of freelance consulting.
“I think that sounds awesome,” Carter said. “You should totally just go for it. Life is too short to continue doing something that makes you unhappy. It took me way too long to learn that.”
“You know from experience?”
“Yeah, uh . . .” He paused briefly. “I guess you could say that, but I won’t bore you with the details.”
He stuffed a big bite of pancake into his mouth, leading to their first string of silence of the morning, but it gave Paige some time to clean up the dishes while she thought of what to say next. Talking with Carter was easy, and she wasn’t ready for him to retreat to his room just yet.
“So, I’m thinking first on our list of activities for the day,” Carter cut in before she could think of anything, “we compete in a friendly game of Mario Kart,” he said as he pointed at the Nintendo Switch by the TV.
List of activities? Seems like I’m not the only one who wants more time together . . .
“Oh, heck yeah.” Paige turned toward him. “Are you sure you’re ready to get your ass handed to you so soon?”
Carter looked stunned at her reply.
“I see how it is. You don’t know the can of worms you’ve just opened up.” Carter smirked. His golden-brown eyes twinkled at the mention of competition.
“Bring it on,” Paige said, throwing the dish towel on the counter and scurrying toward the TV.
The light trash talk only strengthened the tension that was building in the room.
They picked their characters—Princess Peach for Paige and Yoshi for Carter—and played for two hours straight, going tit for tat until their fingers were stiff. To spare their hands from permanent carpal tunnel, Carter proclaimed the next race was for all the marbles.
“What do you say we make this interesting?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
Paige felt her cheeks starting to flush as she responded, “Keep talking . . . what do you have in mind?”
What the hell is he about to suggest? She thought. And why do I low-key hope it’s a game of strip Mario Kart? She tried to shake the image of a shirtless Carter from her mind with little success.
“If I win,” he said, “you put away ten Christmas decorations of my choosing, which will most definitely include that large Santa over there.” He pointed at the corner across from his bedroom door where Paige and Nadia always put their vintage light-up Santa.
It was technically meant to be an outdoor decoration, but the girls loved the classic Christmas vibe it brought to the condo.
“Oh, you mean the one that scares the shit out of you?” she teased.
Paige had noticed Carter jump on more than one occasion upon leaving his room, and although it was funny to see him get scared by a plastic decoration, she had to admit it was a bit much.
“I will neither confirm nor deny the answer to that question,” he said, avoiding eye contact.
“Whatever you say, scaredy cat. So, what happens when I win?”
“If you win . . .” He paused while he contemplated his next words. “If you win, I will watch a Christmas movie of your choice with you tonight.”
A little disappointing this isn’t strip Mario Kart with his six-pack abs on display, but this is major progress.
“Wow, so you’re telling me that if I win, Mr. Grinch himself will watch a full-length Christmas movie?”
“Yep. And if I win, then Mrs. Claus needs to send the tacky Santa back to storage. So, do we have a deal?” He stretched out his hand toward her. Despite his dig at her festive knickknacks, Paige shook it and felt that familiar electricity run through her as their skin touched.
They zoned in as the race started, mashing buttons and cursing at every inconvenience.
On lap three, they were neck and neck until Paige got hit by a red shell from a computer player behind her, allowing Carter to take the lead.
As she hit the gas again, a blue shell flew past her, its sights set on Carter.
The shell hit him just short of the finish line, taking out the computer opponent in its wake, allowing Paige to speed past them and over the finish line in first place.
Carter slung some expletives at the screen while Paige jumped up and down, pretending to bow for an invisible cheering crowd.
“Oh, Carter, don’t look so . . . shell-shocked,” she teased.
He stared at her blankly for a second before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. It was contagious enough that Paige joined in.
“Damn. You’re pretty, funny, a cookie master, and you can whoop ass in Mario Kart. Why am I moving out?”
Paige’s heart skipped a beat.
“Pretty, huh?” she asked, feeling bold.
Now it was Carter’s turn to blush. She saw a slight pink tone appear in his olive skin.
“I’m quite sure I said pretty funny.” He held her gaze, resisting a smile.
“My mistake then.” She said, fully aware that she was now the one blushing as they maintained eye contact.
This has to be flirting, right? She thought. Should I really be doing this? He is technically my tenant. And he seems like the kind of guy who flirts with any girl. Don’t let him lure you into his charming trap, Paige. You don’t want to get hurt again.
“So,” she said, snapping out of the trance. “What movie to pick?” She stroked her chin in thought.
“I’m at your mercy, oh Mario Kart champion.” Carter bowed his head.
For being Chicago’s hottest man, he sure is dorky, she noted. Like I needed another reason to be more attracted to him. Focus, Paige, and not on Carter.
“I’ll give it some thought this afternoon. There’s a lot riding on this decision, after all. This might be my only chance to show you the light,” she said.
“No pressure.” He grinned before adding, “All right then, I’m gonna go do a workout to get all this Mario Kart adrenaline out of my system.” He jumped up from where he was sitting on the couch and made his way into his room.
Paige tidied up the kitchen and then the living room. A few minutes later, Carter’s door opened. He was once again without a shirt. His skin was slightly dewy with sweat and his biceps were bulging.
Paige gawked at him as he walked over to the sink, water bottle in hand.
Thankfully, she regained her composure before he turned around and noticed her. He removed his headphones from one ear and said, “Forgot my water.”
He gave her a slight head nod and proceeded back to his room again. Paige was still frozen in place, trying to process the image she had just seen.
If she hadn’t already come to the conclusion, she was sure of it now—she was down bad for Carter.
In the past few weeks, she had decided she was open to dating again, but now . . . now she was realizing she might only be open to dating Carter. It would be impossible to get him out of her head now.
Even when he was being an asshole, he was in the back of her mind, and now that she was getting to know the man he actually was inside—and the man he was under his T-shirt—she couldn’t shake the massive crush building up inside.
Paige could have sworn that he had been sending her flirty vibes. He said he made her pancakes to try to impress her, he had smiled when she told him she enjoyed their day together, he laughed at her jokes, and he definitely called her pretty—even though he tried to deny it.
But she just couldn’t determine if any of this was genuine, or if it was all just a game he played to get women into bed.
I mean, come on, she thought. A guy who looks like that can’t possibly be flirting with me because he genuinely likes me.
Paige was objectively attractive, and she wasn’t a stranger to being on the receiving end of male attention, but Carter was just in a whole different league.
She didn’t want to place any hope in him liking her back in that way. It would hurt too much if the feelings weren’t reciprocated.
Plus, the jury was still out on whether he was recently single, and she didn’t want to just be his rebound fling. She was already in too deep.
She finished folding a blanket and placed it over the back of the couch. Then she retreated to her room to call her parents in lieu of being on a plane to see them, and, most importantly, come up with the Christmas movie she would watch with Carter.
If they only had a few days together before she went home for Christmas—and before he moved out—she was determined to make the most of it.