“Oh no, I forgot about her!” She scrambles out of bed, muttering under her breath as she grabs her glasses and a hair tie.
I get up more slowly, adjusting my morning wood slightly in hopes of it calming down somewhat. When I make it to the kitchen, Paige is standing in the open doorway, encouraging the puppy to go to the bathroom. I make myself busy with the coffee maker, getting two mugs ready, pointedly trying to ignore how domestic this all feels.
After the puppy is fed, and the coffee is made, I carry both mugs back into Paige’s bedroom and settle myself against the headboard to wait for her. A moment later, she walks into the room, pushing her glasses up her nose as she approaches the bed.
“What are you doing back in bed?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I ask, then instantly wish I could take back the words. It’s so easy to forget how inexperienced Paige is in intimate relationships. Chances are, the two guys she was with before me didn’t even spend the night. And when I think back to the times I’ve slept over so far, we’ve always gotten up quickly in the morning to go our separate ways. But I remember her telling someone at the fundraiser yesterday that the store would not be open again today, so I assumed we could have a lazy morning in bed. I envisioned introducing Paige to shower sex and showing her how fun it was to be dirty as fuck while getting clean.
I lift the blanket and pat the bed beside me. “Come here.”
She slowly walks around to the other side and climbs in, but there’s too much space between us. I reach over and pull her into my side, covering her mouth with a kiss. When I release her lips, the nervous look is gone from her face, replaced with a dreamy, satisfied smile.
“We’re gonna cuddle, and drink coffee in bed, then we’ll figure out what we’re doing today.”
Her eyes blink open and a small line appears between her brows. “Wyatt, I have to go to the store today.”
I can’t deny the jolt of disappointment at that. “I thought you weren’t opening?”
“I’m not, but I have several online orders to catch up on.”
“That’s fine, we can do that after we do something fun with Polly. Don’t you want to take her for a walk? Maybe down to the boardwalk in Westport?” I don’t mean to sound needy, but it probably seems that way. Fuck, who am I, practically begging a woman to spend time with me?
I guess Paige is also surprised by my request as she scoots herself into sitting more upright. I’d rather she was still in my arms, but at the same time, I appreciate the space because these weird reactions and feelings I’m having around her are unsettling. I’ve never wanted to spend so much time with one woman before. A part of me wants to just enjoy it, enjoy her, and another part of me wants to run away. Thankfully, I’m smart enough to listen to the part that wants to stay.
“How about this. Let’s drink some coffee, take a shower, then we can go to the store first, if you want. I’ll help you with the orders, if you’ll let me choose what we do after.”
Finally, she smiles. Thank fuck. I hand her one of the cups of coffee.
“That sounds nice.”
Mentally I pump my fist in the air. Like a goddamn idiot. She’s got me all twisted around into some messed up version of myself that I don’t even recognize. Actually, I do. It’s the version of myself I was before Ryder died.
Thinking of him, of the me I used to be, the me I could have been, is a dangerous path to go down, so I set my coffee aside, take hers and put it on the bedside table next to mine, and push her down on the bed. I lower my head and take her breast in my mouth, sucking her nipple through the fabric of the tank top she wore to bed.
“Wyatt!” she gasps, arching her back.
I lift away, only to grab the hem of her shirt and pull it up and over her head. Then my mouth finds her breast again and I lose myself in the taste, sound, sight, and feel of her. I can only hope that fucking her will chase away the ghosts of my past.
Turns out, that was a bad attitude to have before sex. When it was over, I feel wrong. Dirty, and not in a good way. I feel like I used Paige, and that thought makes me sick to my stomach.
We shower separately, and I take the opportunity to make up some breakfast while she’s getting ready. Her pleased expression when she walks into the kitchen to see me setting plates with eggs, toast, and fruit in front of her does a lot to reassure me that she wasn’t harbouring any negative thoughts toward me. Thankfully, she seems completely unaware of where my headspace was at.
After cleaning up breakfast, we pack up and head out. Paige agrees to head to Westport for a walk first, so I hit the highway, driving the short distance to the neighbouring city. We happen to pass the new location of Crawford Books, and I inwardly wince at the reminder of the secret I’m keeping from her.
We hit the boardwalk and attempt to walk. I say attempt because Polly has us stopping every five steps so she can sniff something.
“Is it normal for puppies to be so easily distracted?” Paige asks, but I can tell by the happy cadence to her voice that it’s a rhetorical question. In response, I scoop up Polly and tuck her under my arm, taking Paige’s hand with my free one.
“Yeah, pretty sure it is. How about we give her a break and get some lunch before we head to the store?”
“That sounds lovely.” Paige flashes me a sunny grin, and we make our way over to a food truck parked nearby. The smells coming from it are delicious, and soon we’re sitting at a table eating some incredible fish tacos.
“Damn, this is good.” I close my eyes as the flavours hit my tongue, and I can’t hold back a moan. “Fuck. Tell me this isn’t the best taco you’ve ever had.” I open my eyes to see her looking at me, her hand holding a taco halfway to her mouth. “Paige?” I ask and she blinks, shaking her head slightly.
“Sorry. I…I have never seen someone so, umm, happy? No, that’s the wrong adjective. So blissful eating a taco.”
I can’t resist the opportunity to ruffle her feathers a little more. “I’ll have you know, I’m always happy eating tacos…”
