Page 20 of A Roommate for Christmas
As he turned to walk toward the door, Paige could have sworn she saw his mouth curl back up into a smile.
He opened the door to find Nadia standing with enough groceries to feed a small army.Without offering to help, he stepped around her and headed to where his Uber was waiting on the street.
Real classy, Carter.
Any of the butterflies Paige had felt at the sight of Carter’s smile quickly flew away.
“So, I take it Grumpy isn’t joining tomorrow?”Nadia quipped as they hauled all the bags inside.
“Nope, but I did just have a conversation with him that lasted more than ten seconds,” Paige said, unable to keep a smile from creeping up on her face.
“OMG, and??!!Why are you smiling??”
“Settle down!Trust me, it’s not nearly as juicy as you want it to be.As par for the course, he ended up making fun of something I said, which got me all flustered.But I think heenjoysmaking me mad.Like there is some sick obsession with getting a reaction out of me.Because, Nadia, the smile on his face ...”
Paige’s mind drifted off to the mental picture she had taken of his face just minutes earlier.
“Earth to horny Paige,” Nadia said, her voice interrupting the thought.
“Ugh.Why does he have to be so freaking dreamy?”
“Because you have literal cobwebs in your vagina, that’s why!Which is exactly why you need to give the apps another chance.Clearly you have ...needs ...that aren’t being met.And it seems you want Carter to meet them.”
There was no way Paige was going to let Nadia know this was exactly what she wanted.
“I could not look at myself in the mirror if I let myself stoop so low to sleep with a guy who is that rude and narcissistic with no remorse for how he speaks to people.”
“Easy.Just cover up the mirrors,” Nadia smirked.
Paige rolled her eyes before continuing, “Itwasweird, though.I told him to tell his parents happy Thanksgiving, and for a second he had this look on his face.Like I had told him his puppy died or something.”
“Odd.I’m assuming he didn’t say anything?”
“Nope.Went right back to looking like he’d rather be anywhere else but in my presence.”
“That’s the Carter we know and love,” Nadia said sarcastically.“I’m sure he’s just keeping his distance because it’s a temporary arrangement, or because he is recently single and heartbroken, or because he’s a man in a woman’s apartment and doesn’t want to come across as creepy.Sure, he could be a little warmer, but if you put yourself in his shoes, he’s probably just trying to keep a respectful boundary.”
“Yeah, I guess?Whatever, it doesn’t matter.I’m hoping it’s only a few months before I can kick him and his moodiness out,” Paige said, thinking about the cash she could store away with Carter’s rent payment.
“Get that money, girl,” Nadia chimed, changing the subject back to their Thanksgiving agenda.“Okay, I say we start with the homemade stuffing since that takes a while.And then we can move on to the creamed corn.”
“Yes, chef!”Paige held her hand up in a salute and got to work unpacking the bread.
Chapter 7
Thanksgivingwentoffwithouta hitch.
The meal, in all of its many courses and side dishes, was delicious as always.This year, their Friendsgiving included Paige’s colleague Laura, Nadia’s colleague Jason and his boyfriend Kyle, plus Linus and his childhood friend Mike.The day provided lots of laughs, which kept Carter far from Paige’s thoughts.
She and Nadia had just returned from their Black Friday shopping spree, which ended up being more window shopping than actual shopping.But Nadia had nabbed a cashmere sweater that was on sale for Linus’s mom, leather gloves for his dad, and a candle and trinket dish for his sister.
Paige had already told her parents that her presence would have to suffice as their main present this year, but she took advantage of the bookstore’s buy one get one fifty percent off deal and got them each a book so she wouldn’t be completely empty-handed on Christmas morning.
Now it was time for their favorite part of the day: decorating.
Each year, Paige and Nadia surprised each other with a new holiday-themed sweater to wear while they were decorating.It was always so hard for Paige to keep her sweater a secret, but the grand debut after they returned from their Black Friday hunt was a highlight of the day.
This year, Paige found an oversized knit cream sweater with embroidered Christmas-themed items scattered over the front and back.Nadia showcased a sweatshirt with actual blinking Christmas lights.
