Page 37 of A Roommate for Christmas
Now it was Carter’s turn to blush.She saw a slight pink tone appear in his olive skin.
“I’m quite sure I saidpretty funny.”He held her gaze, resisting a smile.
“My mistake then.”She said, fully aware that she was now the one blushing as they maintained eye contact.
This has to be flirting, right?She thought.Should I really be doing this?He is technically my tenant.And he seems like the kind of guy who flirts with any girl.Don’t let him lure you into his charming trap, Paige.You don’t want to get hurt again.
“So,” she said, snapping out of the trance.“What movie to pick?”She stroked her chin in thought.
“I’m at your mercy, oh Mario Kart champion.”Carter bowed his head.
For being Chicago’s hottest man, he sure is dorky, she noted.Like I needed another reason to be more attracted to him.Focus, Paige, andnoton Carter.
“I’ll give it some thought this afternoon.There’s a lot riding on this decision, after all.This might be my only chance to show you the light,” she said.
“No pressure.”He grinned before adding, “All right then, I’m gonna go do a workout to get all this Mario Kart adrenaline out of my system.”He jumped up from where he was sitting on the couch and made his way into his room.
Paige tidied up the kitchen and then the living room.A few minutes later, Carter’s door opened.He was once again without a shirt.His skin was slightly dewy with sweat and his biceps were bulging.
Paige gawked at him as he walked over to the sink, water bottle in hand.
Thankfully, she regained her composure before he turned around and noticed her.He removed his headphones from one ear and said, “Forgot my water.”
He gave her a slight head nod and proceeded back to his room again.Paige was still frozen in place, trying to process the image she had just seen.
If she hadn’t already come to the conclusion, she was sure of it now—she was down bad for Carter.
In the past few weeks, she had decided she was open to dating again, but now ...now she was realizing she might only be open to datingCarter.It would be impossible to get him out of her head now.
Even when he was being an asshole, he was in the back of her mind, and now that she was getting to know the man he actually was inside—and the man he was under his T-shirt—she couldn’t shake the massive crush building up inside.
Paige could have sworn that he had been sending her flirty vibes.He said he made her pancakes to try to impress her, he had smiled when she told him she enjoyed their day together, he laughed at her jokes, and he definitely called her pretty—even though he tried to deny it.
But she just couldn’t determine if any of this was genuine, or if it was all just a game he played to get women into bed.
I mean, come on, she thought.A guy who looks like that can’t possibly be flirting with me because he genuinely likes me.
Paige was objectively attractive, and she wasn’t a stranger to being on the receiving end of male attention, but Carter was just in a whole different league.
She didn’t want to place any hope in him liking her back inthatway.It would hurt too much if the feelings weren’t reciprocated.
Plus, the jury was still out on whether he was recently single, and she didn’t want to just be his rebound fling.She was already in too deep.
She finished folding a blanket and placed it over the back of the couch.Then she retreated to her room to call her parents in lieu of being on a plane to see them, and, most importantly, come up with the Christmas movie she would watch with Carter.
If they only had a few days together before she went home for Christmas—and before he moved out—she was determined to make the most of it.
Chapter 13
“I’vemademydecision,”Paige announced later as she and Carter stood in the kitchen boiling spaghetti noodles.“We’re watchingElf.”
Paige didn’t want to admit how much thought she’d put into this decision.It was borderline embarrassing.
She wanted to pick a movie that had some comedy, because she had picked up on the fact that Carter liked to laugh.And admittedly,sheliked to watchhimlaugh.But it also had to have just the right amount of Christmas cheer without being too cheesy.The situation was delicate indeed.The wrong choice could cement Carter’s dislike of Christmas, yes, but it could also paint her as just some girl who gets swept away in the Christmas fantasy.
Home Alonecould be seen as too childish.The Grinchwas too obvious.So, after careful consideration,Elfwas the strongest contender.
“Oh, is that the one with the guy fromStep Brothers?”Carter asked.“Will Ferrell, right?”
