Page 78 of Cold Carnage

"And what about you?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"I'll wait here until everyone's wrapped up," she said. "Then, I'll help with the cleaning."

"Cleaning?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not going to be rude and leave a mess," she said matter-of-factly.

"By yourself?"

She arched an eyebrow at me. "Are you volunteering?"

I looked away, feeling a mix of reluctance and something else I couldn't quite place. The thought of spending more time around Paige was both irritating and strangely appealing.

The silence stretched between us for a moment before she chuckled softly. "I'll be fine, Ryker. You can go."

"Maybe I don't want to," I said, surprising myself as much as Paige.

Her eyes widened, the shock evident. I could see her mind racing, trying to process my sudden change in attitude. She cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "Well then," she said, her voice steady but with a slight edge of uncertainty. "Why don't you talk to Margaret about taking some of the trash out? I'm going to fix the dressing rooms..."

She swallowed hard, the sound almost audible in the quiet space between us. She was nervous. Good. I wanted her to be.

I nodded, pretending to consider her suggestion seriously. "Sure," I replied, turning toward where Margaret was bustling around with a clipboard in hand. But my mind was already spinning, wondering why the hell I didn’t just leave like she suggested.

Paige's presence tugged at something deep within me, something I wasn’t ready to confront or even acknowledge. But there it was, staring me in the face every time she looked at me with those damn expressive eyes.

Margaret gave me a once-over as I approached her. "You offering to help?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Yeah," I grunted, trying to sound nonchalant. "Where's the trash?"

She pointed toward a stack of black garbage bags near the back exit. "Those need to go out to the dumpster."

I nodded and grabbed two of the bags, slinging them over my shoulder. The weight was nothing compared to what I was used to lifting on the field. But as I carried them out, my thoughts kept drifting back to Paige.

Why had I offered to stay? What was it about her that made me want to stick around?

Dumping the bags into the dumpster outside, I took a moment to clear my head before heading back in for more.

As I worked through the remaining bags, my mind remained tangled in confusion and frustration.

When I finished with the trash and walked back inside, I washed my hands before heading back over to the main floor. Margaret gave me an approving nod. "Thanks for that."

I just shrugged and headed towards where Paige had disappeared into the dressing rooms. The door was slightly ajar, and I could hear her moving around inside.

I pushed it open and leaned against the frame, watching as she meticulously organized clothes on hangers and picked up stray tags from the floor.

"Need any help in here?" My voice sounded casual but carried an underlying challenge.

She looked up, startled for a moment before narrowing her eyes at me. "I thought you were taking out the trash."

"I did," I replied simply.

She bit her lip, clearly torn between telling me off and accepting my offer.

"Fine," she said finally, tossing a pile of clothes into a bin. "Help me fold these."

But I didn't. I shut the door behind me, pulled the clothes out of her hands, and pulled her in for a searing kiss. Her lips were soft and warm against mine, and for a moment, all the tension between us melted away. She stiffened in my arms at first, clearly shocked by the suddenness of it all, but then she responded, her hands clutching at my shirt as if grounding herself.

I felt a fire ignite inside me, one that had been smoldering ever since I first laid eyes on her. Her breath mingled with mine, and the sensation was intoxicating. I broke the kiss only when we were both breathless, my forehead resting against hers as we caught our breath. Her eyes were wide, filled with something deeper that mirrored my own turmoil.

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