Page 65 of Grumpy Darling

The bell rang and Paige glanced up at the sound. “Oh, is lunch over already?”

She went to stand, but I instinctively gripped her waist tighter, keeping her firmly seated on my lap. Her mouth popped open, as though I’d caught her by surprise, but then she smirked. “Aren’t you going to let me go?”

“Never.”

“N-never?” she stammered her reply, making me realize how serious I sounded, how intently I’d been looking up at her when I spoke, and how shallow her breathing had become. Had I gone too far? Revealed too much? I considered backing down, but I was tired of doing that. If I wanted to make progress with Paige, I was better off doubling down. I might only get to play this game with her once, so I wasn’t going to half-ass it.

I leaned in a little closer. “Why would I, when I’ve got you right where I want you?”

She inhaled a sharp but silent breath, her eyes darting down to my lips again. It really did feel like I had her right where I wanted her, in more ways than one, but then she let out a light laugh, shattering the illusion.

“Well, you have to sometime,” she said. “I’ll be late for class. You wouldn’t want me to get in trouble, would you?” She attempted to lift herself off my lap once again, and this time, I let my hands fall from her sides. I hated the cold air that replaced her soft warmth. “I’ll catch you later, Gray.”

As I watched her leave, I wished the bell hadn’t rung so soon, so we could have kept playing pretend forever.

Damien was watching her walk away too, and he gave a low, drawn-out whistle. “If I’d known Paige had such a thing for hockey players, I would have talked up my skills more on Saturday night.”

I ignored his comment and stood from the table, intending to put as much distance between Damien and myself as possible. I’d done my part, clearly too well.

He caught up to me though as I left the cafeteria. “You two really aren’t together?”

“No.” I was short with him, hoping he’d take the hint. But as always, he remained oblivious.

“So, she’s free for the taking?”

I stopped in the middle of the corridor and faced him. “You don’t justtakeher,” I said. “She’s a person.”

He smirked. “You know what I mean.”

“I know that if any guy hurts her, they’ll have me to answer to.”

I realized too late that I’d broken my promise to Paige. I wasn’t allowed to intimidate other guys, and I certainly wasn’t supposed to be directly threatening Damien. But I couldn’t stand by and say nothing. Not when he was talking about her like that. I was always going to protect her, promise or not, and Damien needed to realize that Paige wasn’t just some toy you could pick up and then toss aside once you got bored.

Damien sniggered in response. “Okay, man, I got it.”

“I’m not joking,” I growled.

“Yeah, because that would be a first, right?” He laughed again before slapping me on the shoulder. “See you later, Gray.”

I stood there, staring after him. Damien truly wasn’t afraid of me. He hadn’t even noticed my threatening tone. That really was a first. It wasn’t all that surprising, given how self-absorbed the guy was. But it did worry me. If Damien went after Paige, there was nothing I could do to stop him from breaking her heart. I was just going to have to stick with my plan so he wouldn’t even be a factor.

As if my thoughts alone had summoned her, Paige appeared before me, her eyes sparkling and filled with hope. “Well, how was that, Coach?”

“You were very convincing,” I said, trying not to sound disappointed. Paige had certainly put on a good show, but it had both sparked Damien’s interest and added fuel to the fire already burning inside me.

“Really?”

“Yep. I forgot my name and everything.”

“You weren’t so bad yourself.” She laughed and glanced away from me before tucking her hair behind her ear. “Especially that line about never letting me go.” She kept her eyes focused on her feet, which she scuffed on the hard floor. “Where did that come from?”

It had come straight from my heart, where I usually kept all my secret feelings for Paige locked tightly away. Coaching her was allowing me to briefly release them into the wild though, and it felt good. Terrifying, but good.

“I guess you just inspired me.”

Her gaze finally lifted to meet mine and she smiled. But then she looked over my shoulder and nodded to where Damien was disappearing down the hallway.

“Do you think it worked on him?” She sounded cautiously hopeful, and I hated it.

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