Page 10 of Protecting Paul

“Nice sell.” He chews on his lip for a moment in thought before nodding. “Fine. Just for the week though or until he leaves. I’ll make it up to you.”

“No need to do that.” We begin to walk in unison. Our hands swing between us, and his fingers graze mine a couple of times. I try not to let it get to me too much, but I’m warm all over by the time we get close to my apartment. “This is it. You can borrow some of my stuff for tonight until you grab yours from your place, or we can run back and get your bag.”

I look over at him, and he’s way closer than I thought. He’s shorter than me, but not so short that his face isn’t close enough I could lean over and kiss him if I want to. I take a deep breath. There’s a heavy silence between us.

For a moment, it really does feel like we’re about to kiss. It takes everything in me not to lean in. After what feels like forever, Paul steps back. I quickly turn to lead the way upstairs without a word. Even as I try to push past it, I can feel my heart thrumming in my ears.

6

Paul

It’sbeenfivedayssince Sam offered me a place to stay while we worked on evicting my psychotic uncle. When he first offered, I wasn’t entirely surprised because Sam hadn’t changed over the years. He is as sweet and caring as I remembered.

I admit, I’m a little sad about leaving Sam’s place. I’ve been sleeping on the couch, but it isn’t uncomfortable. There was a little awkwardness the first night, but we’ve settled into a friendly routine, and I’m managing to squash the urge to throw myself at him. He’s so incredibly nice, and so mouthwateringly attractive, but I can’t see a future, and I don’t want to hurt either one of us by starting something that just can’t work out.

Every day Sam makes dinner, and sometimes he makes breakfast when he has time. From what he’s told me, his dad taught him to cook. He seems to enjoy it, too. After the first day, I started offering to help him cook. It feels domestic as hell.

“What if we go out for dinner tonight?” he asks me. “You’ll be going to work at the house soon, so I was thinking we could have a night out.”

“That sounds awesome,” I say, and smile widely. I know it’s not technically a date, but I secretly wish it was. “Where do you have in mind?”

“Leeanne’s? There’s no way you don’t miss her pies.”

A flood of memories fills me. “Damn straight.” I still haven’t found better pies than the ones Leeanne makes. Ever. “Give me a minute to get ready.”

“Of course.” Sam gives me that sweet, dimpled smile that always makes me swoon. I have to look away to hide the blush on my cheeks.

I pull on my favorite pair of jeans and a purple shirt that my friend Lee gave me before I left. I run some pomade through my hair, noticing that the teal is fading. I don’t know where to get colorful hair dye in this town.

I walk out of the bathroom and see Sam buttoning up a shirt. He looks incredibly handsome. His dark hair falls across his forehead in a stylish and messy way. The dark blue of his fitted shirt looks great with his black jeans.

I watch him bend over to pull his boots on and can’t help but stare at his ass. He’s always had a squeezable ass, and age only improved it. I tear my eyes away to put my sneakers on and ignore the rapid beating of my heart.

“You ready?” He asks as I finish tying the laces of my shoes.

“Yep!” I say, a bit too eagerly. To my surprise, he offers me his hand when we walk outside. As if my heart wasn’t going wild before, it’s about to beat out of my chest now as I take his hand and we head downtown. “You think Leeanne will remember me?”

“Of course,” Sam laughs softly. “I don’t think anyone could forget you, Paul. You’re something else in the best way.”

I try to think of a smooth response, but I can’t. I have to wonder if Sam is just being nice or if he’s intentionally flirting. I mean, this feels like a date in every way. It’s been so long since I was worried about a guy I liked. It was easy for me with most of the guys I dated or hooked up with in Denver. To be fair, though, I knew how they swung and their intentions.

“You okay over there?” Sam asks when he notices my silence. I realize I’ve been lost in thought for the entire walk over. “We’re here.”

“Yeah, sorry,” I laugh nervously. “It’s still just weird to be back here with you, doing the same things we used to do.”

“A good weird or a bad weird?” He lets go of my hand and opens the door. I miss the warmth of his hand instantly.

“Good weird,” I assure him when we pick a booth to sit at. This makes him beam at me, and I swoon again. I look down at the menu to hide my reaction. Luckily, Leeanne comes over and interrupts my blushing.

“My, my, is that Paul Boyd I see?” I look up at her, and warmth fills me. Leeanne was always a motherly figure, and I never experienced that kind of thing. It was nice to have some maternal energy in my life sometimes. “I haven’t seen you since you were a teenager. I heard about your daddy. How you been holding up, sweetheart?”

“Ups and downs. We weren’t close, though, so it’s not too bad,” I admit, but I shrug it off. “I was in Denver for a while, but I’m back here to work through some things and fix up the old house.”

“I’m glad to hear that, honey,” she says with a genuine kindness that I almost tear up. “I’m happy to see you boys back together. You two used to always be in here eating up all my pies.”

Something about how she looks at us tells me she knows about our past relationship even if we never came out and told her. I guess we were pretty obvious back in the day. We order some hamburgers and fries before Leeanne walks away to the kitchen.

“Can I ask you something?” Sam says softly when we’re alone again. I look at him enquiringly. At this moment I’m willing to tell him anything. “Are you a little less upset to be back in Shafter Falls now?”

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