Page 58 of Grumpy Darling

I might have missed my chance to use the facial to my advantage, but maybe watching a movie with Paige on my bed presented a new opportunity to get closer to her. Nerves churned in my chest at the thought, and I did my best to shut them down.

“I think I better take this off,” I said, gesturing at my face. “Delightful as it is, I’d hate for you to forget I’m not dessert while we’re watching the movie.”

“Ha, ha,” she deadpanned.

I quickly rinsed my face in the bathroom before returning to the room. I switched off the overhead light and got onto the bed beside Paige. She had a bunch of pillows fluffed behind her and I rested my arm across the top of them. Even though I’d failed to get snacks from downstairs, she’d already raided the private stash of candy I kept for her.

“Want one?” She offered me the packet of gummy worms.

“Sure.” Paige loved all candy, especially gummy worms, but I’d never been a huge fan. I always ate one or two whenever she was here though, because I didn’t want her to realize I only bought them for her.

“You ready to have your soul soothed?” she asked as she took a bite of one of the worms.

I grunted in agreement and got a quiet laugh in response. A chick flick wouldn’t have been my first choice for a movie, but I didn’t mind them so much when I was watching with her. I’d do just about anything if it meant having Paige nearby.

The movie started and she scooted closer, resting her head against my chest. She was close enough that whenever I breathed, I inhaled a subtle scent that was uniquely her. I often thought she smelled like the first sign of spring after a cold winter, and I loved that smell more than anything.

I’d been right about the movie presenting another opportunity. Reed had told me to use every possible chance to get close to her. To touch her. To act differently. But she was only lightly pressed against me, and I was already struggling. I was too afraid to move. To breathe. Because each inhalation was pain and temptation and another reminder of how hard I was fighting to resist her.

The worst part was how oblivious she was to my inner turmoil. She was so completely immune to me that before we’d even reached the halfway point of the movie, she fell asleep. I’d let the moment pass once again. As I felt her instinctively snuggle even more deeply into my arms, I tried to focus my mind on a solution to my problem, rather than wallowing in the hopelessness of it all.

Clearly, I wasn’t doing a very good job at seizing each opportunity as it arose. Maybe I needed to take Reed’s advice and plan ahead, so I knew what was coming. Once Paige was satisfied we’d completed our flirting practice, she’d want to move on to getting a guy’s attention. Specifically, Damien’s attention. How in the world could I help her do that without sabotaging myself? Damien was already getting in the way; I didn’t want to make him an even bigger obstacle.

My body tensed as Paige sighed, and I glanced down at her, still asleep against my chest. Her face was relaxed, a faint smile softening her features. She looked like she was dreaming, and I wondered where her thoughts might be. I soon regretted it when I realized they were probably on a romantic first date with Damien.

She let out another sigh, louder this time, and her lips parted. I didn’t dare move, just in case she was on the verge of waking up. But then she bit down on her lower lip and let out a soft, deep moan of satisfaction.

God, now I really hoped this dream didn’t include Damien. She looked like she was enjoying it far too much. I felt the sudden urge to wake her up and drag her back to reality, with me, but before I could move, her eyes fluttered open.

Although Paige was looking directly at me, her gaze was clouded with sleep.

“Grayson,” she whispered, a content smile still on her lips. “You were...”

She blinked a few times, as though she was trying to fully return to wakefulness, and then looked at me again, this time with confusion in her eyes.

“Grayson?”

“Uh, yeah?”

She jolted up and out of my embrace before moving away, until she was sitting on the edge of the bed. She glanced around the room, almost as though she wasn’t completely sure where she was.

“What time is it?”

“I’m not sure. The movie’s only been on for an hour. You’ve been asleep for about half that.”

“Oh, right,” she muttered, almost to herself. “The movie. That’s what we were doing.”

“Are you okay?” I asked

“Yes,” she said, another whisper. “Of course. I was just . . . We were just . . .”

She paused and her eyes locked onto mine. I felt frozen to my spot on the bed as I waited for her to go on. Clearly, something had addled her. But then her phone broke the silence with a loud buzz.

Paige swore and grabbed it from the bedside table. “That’s my mom, I need to take this.”

She practically leaped off the bed and was out the door before I could even let out the breath I’d been holding. I wasn’t quite sure what had just happened, but for some reason it felt as though she’d been running away. And once again, I found myself wondering what, or who, she’d been dreaming about.

Chapter 14

---