Page 46 of What if I Told You

Paige gasps. “Oh my gosh! No way! Tell me everything. I’ve never experienced an earthquake before! What’s it like?”

“Scary as fuck, that’s what it’s like!”

She laughs. “Were things falling off the walls? Does Auggie live in a tall building? Did it sway? Did you have to take cover? Did the ground open up and suck everything down inside this deep black hole? Ella how are you even still alive?”

I laugh at her barrage of questions. “Okay first of all, you watch too much television. There was no sucking of the world down into an open earth hole. At least not in Auggie’s apartment. But yeah, things were falling off walls and onto the floor and I woke up to my bed shaking and I screamed for August because I didn’t realize what was going on.”

“So, you weren’t sleeping together then obviously,” she states.

“No, but as soon as he mentioned aftershocks I was like, oh hell no, and so he offered to let me sleep with him so I wasn’t alone if those happened throughout the night.”

“Aww that was sweet of him. He’s such a good guy.”

“Yeah, but there’s more.”

She smiles and rests her chin on her palm. She must be at work in her antique shop.

“Do tell girl! And don’t leave out any details!”

I recount for Paige what happened earlier in the evening when I finally met the guys on the team and what August had to say about my unattractive breasts.

“What the fuck was he thinking?” She seethes. “I can’t believe he said that!”

“Right? That’s what I thought, which is why it stung a lot. I mean I know we’re not like…a couple or anything but geesh. A little compliment would’ve been nice, you know? Especially in front of his friends.”

“I’m going to have to have a talk with that guy,” Paige mumbles. “He doesn’t get to treat you like that.”

“Well, he may have made up for it last night.”

Paige quirks her brow. “Oh?”

A sly smirk spreads across my lips. “Yeah. So, I may have been wearing this sexy little purple number when the earthquake hit. After I walked out on August and the rest of the team, I decided I was going to bed looking and feeling like a million bucks so I put on this sexy sleep set. Purple lace and satin. Paige, I can’t lie, I looked fabulous.”

She beams. “I have no doubt!”

“So, when he took me to his room we were laughing about the temperature in there because the man sleeps in an arctic tundra. Seriously my nipples were screaming. And when he turned around to say something else he finally noticed what I was wearing.”

Paige squeals. “Aaaand?”

“And let’s just say he was extremely uncomfortable and I didn’t give two shits. He tried to tell me I couldn’t wear the outfit to bed but wouldn’t give me an answer as to why so I threw it in his face that he said I was unattractive and so therefore it’s no big deal what I wear. And then I climbed myself right into bed.” I shrug, tearing off another bite of cinnamon roll. “I mean it didn’t stop him from climbing in behind me and pulling me against him.”

Paige’s gaze latches onto mine and her smile grows. “Uh huh, aaaand?”

“Aaaand he may have been a little turned on because he was poking my ass!” I can’t help but giggle especially when my friend does the same. “And because I’m a pot stirrer when I’m in the right mood, I wanted to drive him a little crazy. We’ll call it punishment for being an asshole earlier in the evening. So, I may have shuffled back against him a little. And he may have told me if I didn’t cut it out he would end up having an extremely awkward night.”

She laughs even harder.

“And when I asked why, he told me it was because for the first time ever there was a girl in his bed—side note, he’s never brought a woman back to his place! Can you even believe that?”

She bobs her head. “Makes sense I guess. Privacy and all.”

“Yeah. That’s exactly what he said. Anyway, he said I was the first woman to be in his bed and then said I was hot as fuck, his words not mine, and that I had tits any man would be lucky to have the opportunity to handle.”

Paige nearly chokes on her drink. “No, he did not say that!”

I nod. “Yes he absolutely did.”

She gasps. “Ella Montgomery, does he like you? I think he likes you! Like, likes you likes you!”

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