Page 38 of Grumpy Darling

Bonnie: Obviously!

“Paige?” I glanced up and found Damien staring down at me. Apparently, while Bonnie and I had been texting, I’d somehow ended up right in front of him.

My brain emptied as I tried to figure out what to say. All I needed was a simple hello. But that’s not what came out.

“Do you have chemistry with me?”

“What?” Damien tilted his head slightly.

“Uh, like at school.” I sounded such an idiot. “You know, the periodic table, atoms, gases...” Was I really talking about gases? I needed to stop talking, right now.

“Sorry, Paige. I’m not taking chemistry.”

“Right. Yeah, me neither.” I laughed. That was what Bonnie had told me to do, right? Unfortunately, it had come out as some kind of strange, high-pitched giggle that made me sound more like a squealing pig than a human being. The look of confusion on Damien’s face only increased. I was clearly failing to make a good impression and needed to say something to fix this fast.

“I lost my phone number, have you seen it?” Wait, no, that wasn’t the line. What was wrong with me? I blamed Bonnie for putting those stupid pick-up lines in my head. “Sorry, I mean my phone, I lost my phone.”

“Uh, I think you might be holding it...”

I glanced down at the phone in my hand and gave an awkward laugh, making sure it resonated at a slightly lower frequency this time. “Oh yeah, there it is.”

“Glad I could help solve that great mystery.” His smile seemed genuine, but it was probably the same one he gave all the other crazy girls who talked to him. I wondered if elite hockey players like him needed coaching on how to deal with deranged fans and groupies. Smile, nod, and don’t make any sudden movements; effective with both dangerous animals and awkward girls.

To my surprise though, Damien gestured to the ice bucket on the counter beside him. “Do you want a drink?”

Given the way I’d been acting, he probably thought I’d already had one too many. But I was only too eager to accept. I needed to do something, anything, to reset this conversation.

“That would be great, thanks.” He handed me a bottle and I took several large sips. Unfortunately, the drink did little to calm my nerves.

“Great party, huh? Are you having a good time?” he asked.

Another ridiculous giggle erupted from my mouth, and I quickly clamped my lips shut. The pressure of trying to impress this guy was clearly getting to me. I was losing it.

He patiently waited for my response, and by some miracle I managed to stammer out the words, “Yeah, you?”

Instead of making some excuse to get the hell out of there, Damien surprised me again by answering. He seemed happy enough once he got chatting, and somehow he diverted the conversation back to the game today. Before long, Damien was deep into the epic tale of his assist during the first period. Technically, I wasn’t sure it counted as an assist. He’d passed the puck to Reed, but an opposition player had intercepted it. They’d only had the puck for a split second though, before Reed stole it back and scored.

I didn’t dare interrupt Damien. I doubted he wanted to be corrected, and there was every chance I might embarrass myself again. He seemed quite content to have an audience for his story, and Bonnie had said to let him do most of the talking, so at least I was getting one thing right.Just listen and nod and do anything other than talk or giggle, Paige!

“Were you at today’s game?” he asked.

Oh no. He wanted me to talk again. I went to take a sip of my drink to delay my response, but I was so distracted I missed my mouth completely, sending the entire contents of the bottle down the front of my top. I gasped and swore under my breath as the cold liquid soaked through my top and hit my skin.

“Are you okay?” Damien reached out to me. “Do you need some napkins or a towel or something?”

“I’m fine,” I squeaked.

“Are you sure, because I can—”

“I just need the toilet!” In my panic, I practically shouted the words at him as I took Bonnie’s final piece of advice: I bailed.

My attempt to flirt with Damien had been a complete disaster, and the thought of us kissing after my abysmal performance was laughable. He was more likely to take out a restraining order on me.

As I fled the scene, looking for the bathroom, I almost collided with Bonnie in the corridor. “What happened?” she gasped, her eyes immediately dropping to my soaked top.

“Let’s just say I don’t only need a Plan B after that, I need an overhaul of my entire personality.”

“Oh no, was it that bad?”

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