Chapter 7 #3
“Oh, hell yeah!” Remi lights up as she recognizes the name of the arcade. She’s seen posts about this place on Instagram and has been meaning to check it out. Remi turns to Paige with a wicked grin. “Great choice.”
A blush rushes over Paige’s cheeks, turning her fair skin a bright pink. She smiles shyly. “Not too niche?”
“No way. This is perfect.”
* * *
The practice date at the arcade was perfect. Remi kicked Paige’s ass in Mario Kart, and Paige crushed Remi’s high score in PAC-MAN.
Unfortunately, since then, Paige has been slammed at the inn and had to cancel climbing with Remi twice.
She had a free night yesterday, and Remi suggested they grab drinks to unwind from the long week.
It was a great night, and Paige is feeling confident going into the weekend as Remi’s “girlfriend.”
It’s finally the day of the wedding. Paige knocks on Remi’s door five minutes before she said she’d be here. Like the past couple of times she’s been early, she’s not expecting Remi to be ready when she answers, so the sight of her makes Paige’s mouth fall open.
It’s unfair how damn attractive Remi is.
She’s wearing a crisp white button-down with the top three buttons undone to allow the smallest hint of cleavage.
Her suit is a bright royal blue that makes the blue in her eyes pop.
The cut complements her athletic build perfectly.
She brushes her dark curls back from her face and gives Paige a small, sheepish grin.
Her stomach swoops.
“You look beautiful,” Remi says, sounding almost shy, which surprises Paige. She looks down at her matching blue cocktail dress and nude flats, then back at Remi, whose gaze continues to roam her curves. Her skin flushes hot.
“Sorry,” Remi says and scratches the back of her neck, forcing her eyes away.
“Don’t be,” Paige says. “You look pretty good yourself.”
The corner of Remi’s mouth ticks up. “Just pretty good?”
Paige catches her eye and holds it. She’s not sure she can put into words how good Remi looks, so she tries to communicate it with her stare.
They stand like that, gazing into one another’s eyes, having an entire conversation without uttering a single word. Remi smiles and nods, breaking their hold, and Paige takes a deep, steadying breath.
“Thank you,” Remi whispers. “I just need to grab my bag, and I’m ready.”
The wedding is taking place in a picturesque barn just outside of Blue Skies—a small town nearly two hours away.
They spend half of the drive discussing their favorite musicians and alternating song picks.
They fall into a comfortable silence and are ten minutes out when Remi lowers the volume and says, “Okay, so I have a question for you.”
“Yeah?” Paige asks, Remi’s serious tone making her straighten up in the passenger seat.
“How, like, flirty do you want to be?”
“Hm?” Paige squeaks.
“Like, since this is a wedding, I wasn’t sure if you would be okay with more”—Remi coughs to clear her throat—“touching or …?”
Paige swallows. “Do you mean like … kissing?”
“No, but …” Remi glances toward her once before refocusing her attention on the road.
“If you want? Sure.” She shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant, but the gesture is forced.
She scratches the back of her neck. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.
I don’t want you to feel pressured or do anything you don’t want to. ”
Paige wipes her sweaty hands off on her knees. Of course she wants to kiss Remi. She never thought Remi would want to kiss her.
“If you are okay with it,” Remi says. “I figured this could be like part of you feeling more confident with … you know, dating women in the future.”
It’s a kind suggestion, yet Paige’s face falls. It’s further confirmation that Remi’s not attracted to her. After the initial wave of hurt passes, Paige considers it. The practice dates are helping. Why would practice kissing be any different?
“I think kissing is a good idea,” Paige says.
Remi’s head whips in Paige’s direction. “You do?”
“Why’d you say it like that?” Paige giggles. “You’re the one who offered it.”
“No, I know.” Remi licks her lips as her hands tighten their grip on the steering wheel. “I just know you said you didn’t want to kiss to make your ex jealous—that you wanted it to be for you. I just want to make sure if we kiss, you’ll feel like it’s for you and not anything else.”
“Well,” Paige says slowly. “Do you want to kiss me to make your ex jealous?”
“She’s not my ex.”
Paige bites back her grin. “And?”
“No, definitely not.”
“Okay then. And Tyler won’t be there, so there’s no ex to make jealous.”
“Yeah, but—”
Paige sets her hand on Remi’s forearm to stop her. Remi meets Paige’s eyes. “You’re a great friend, Remi,” Paige says. “If you’re open to kissing me so I feel more confident when I kiss someone for real, then I’ll gladly take you up on your offer.”
Remi gives her a tight smile and nods. “Okay.”
“Besides, it’s a wedding. I think it would be weird if we didn’t kiss.”
“You may be right about that.” Remi chuckles.
They catch one another’s eyes and share a soft smile.