Chapter Twenty-Nine
Michael
Paige and I still hadn't talked, and I was kicking myself for it. I needed to know why she had been acting so strangely toward me. At least I had been upfront with her about my desire to continue hooking up; that was a start. I grinned, thinking back to last night's kitchen antics. Man, what a good start.
At least, until I'd caught sight of her face afterward. I could tell something was upsetting her, and I knew we needed to talk about it. But right after sex, when we were both blissed out and tired and altogether not thinking clearly, I didn't think it was the best time. Instead, I had led Paige into the bedroom, and we had finished stripping off our clothes. Then, we had wordlessly climbed into bed, and I had pulled her into my arms.
I couldn't stop thinking about what it could be. Was she upset about the pregnancy? Or was she, like me, having second thoughts about this whole contractual relationship? I wanted something more, and I wondered if she did as well.
We should have talked, the night before. But I wasn't going to stop her when she got down on her knees in front of me.
I rolled over and stared at Paige for a moment. She was sleeping peacefully, her face more relaxed than I'd seen it in a while. That was good at least. I knew she had come hard the previous night, and I had hoped that would take enough out of her that she would be able to sleep away some of her exhaustion. It seemed to have worked, and I was proud of myself.
Unfortunately, it meant that we still wouldn't be able to talk about what was wrong, because I had to get to work soon, but I didn't want to wake her up when she so clearly needed the rest.
I sighed and lightly kissed her shoulder, noting that she didn't stir even in the slightest. She was out, then.
I thought back to the guy at the bar the previous night, and I suddenly had to wonder if he had anything to do with the way she had been acting. Maybe she had lied about him. Maybe he was an old boyfriend of hers or someone she had had some sort of a relationship with, anyway.
I frowned. If an old flame had come into town, her pregnancy had to complicate matters. But then again, if he was some old flame, would she have agreed so quickly to continue hooking up with me?
Unless she thought she had to, in order to get you to pay her the rest of the money. It was an ugly thought and one I didn't want to consider. What if Paige thought I considered hooking up to be part of our contract? There was nothing that specified we couldn't keep seeing one another, but there also had been nothing that stated we didn't have to continue seeing one another. Maybe Paige thought this was the relationship I intended when I drew up the contract, and she thought I would refuse to pay her if she didn't go along with what I wanted.
I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling uncomfortable being there in bed with her. We needed to talk.
Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen just then.
I rolled out of bed and went to get ready. I wasn't overly noisy as I dressed and washed up, but I didn't make any extra effort to be quiet, either. I didn't know what I wanted, for her to wake up so we could talk or for her to continue sleeping.
Whatever I wanted, she continued to sleep, and finally, I couldn't linger any longer. I scrawled a quick note for her, telling her that I hoped she had a good day but we really needed to talk. I left it next to the bed, on the bedside table where I had left the first note for her, and then I went to work.
The day dragged on, and I waited for Paige to call. Or at least to text me. Maybe I shouldn't have left a note for her, I thought. Then, I could have called her instead. As it was, it felt like I had put the ball back in her court, and now I had to wait for her to initiate the conversation. Given the way she had been avoiding me, I wasn't sure she would.
I frowned, wondering if I was going to have to go to The Shift for the third night in a row. Then I frowned even deeper, wondering if the guy from last night would be there again. Maybe I should go, either way, just to make sure Paige was okay.
I shook my head. I was starting to sound almost obsessed with Paige. Surely, I could wait until she contacted me. Besides, I had to leave the note for her that morning. I could only imagine how she would feel if she woke up to an empty bed and no note from me. She would probably start thinking that I regretted what we had done last night. That maybe I didn't really want to keep hooking up with her.
I had no regrets, and I wanted to keep hooking up with her. I only hoped that she continued to feel the same way.
It was nearly time for me to go home for the day, and I realized I still hadn't heard from Paige. I deliberated for a moment and then decided to call her. If nothing else, we could schedule a time to talk. I couldn't look too desperate if I just wanted to stay organized.
Paige's phone rang three times before she answered it. “Hello?” she asked, sounding groggy.
“Hey,” I said. “Are you still asleep?”
“Yeah,” Paige said. She sounded totally disoriented, and I suddenly realized she was probably still in my bed asleep. I mentally congratulated myself on helping her sleep so well, even though I was also worried about how exhausted she must have been feeling.
Again, I wished I could convince her to quit working at The Shift, sooner rather than later.
But for now, I just smiled. “Are you planning on blowing off work tonight?” I asked her.
“What time is it?” Paige asked.
“Nearly 5:30,” I told her. “I was just getting ready to head home.”
“Oh wow,” Paige said, sounding a bit more alert. “Shit, I didn't realize it was that late.”
“Yeah, you must have been totally out of it,” I told her. “How are you feeling?”
“Good,” she said. “Really good, actually.” I heard rustling, and I assumed she was stretching. I could feel my dick twitch in interest as I thought of her spread out on my sheets, covered by only a thin blanket, but I sternly reminded myself now wasn't the time. Paige and I needed to talk about us before we engaged in any more sexual activities.
“What time are you supposed to work tonight?” I asked her.
“Not until 7,” Paige said. “But I need a shower, and I need to go home and get some fresh clothes. Erica's probably worried about where I am, too; I didn't tell her I was going home with you last night.”
“I'm sure she knew where to find you if she was worried,” I pointed out. Unless she's been sleeping with someone else.
Again, I had to push those negative thoughts out of my mind.
“True,” Paige said, but she still sounded embarrassed.
“How about this,” I suggested, “you give Erica a call and let her know where you are and that you'll still be coming to work tonight. Take a shower. Borrow one of my shirts to wear with your jeans. I'll stop for takeout on the way home, and then we can eat a quick dinner, and I'll drive you over to work.”
“You're a lifesaver,” Paige said warmly.
I grinned. “All right, I'll see you soon,” I told her.
As we quickly downed the food I had brought home, I kept watching her. She looked so lovely like this, fresh out of a shower, her hair curling around the edges. She didn't have any makeup on, but even in her natural state, she looked gorgeous. It was those bewitching eyes of hers, I thought.
“What's up?” Paige asked, giving me an inquisitive look.
For a moment, I wanted to have that talk with her. I knew that she must have found my note because it hadn't been on the bedside table anymore when I'd gone in there to change out of my work clothes. But she hadn't mentioned the note or the need to talk, and when I really thought about it, I wasn't sure right before she went to work was the best time for it. I didn't want to upset her, after all. And it wasn't like we had unlimited time, either.
I sighed internally, resolving to wait for another time. Again.
“It's nothing,” I told her, in answer to her question. “I was just thinking about how pretty you look. And how much I like seeing you in my shirts.”
Paige grinned over at me and plucked at the collar of the green checkered flannel that she had grabbed out of the back of my closet. It was a shirt that I rarely wore anymore since it wasn't nice enough to be worn to the office. Now, I almost wanted to tell her that she could keep it, except that I liked the idea of having it here at my place in the future, and of her wearing it around my apartment with nothing underneath.
She must have seen something in my look, because she quickly turned her eyes back to her food, focusing intently on it. “I'm never going to get to work on time if you fuck me right now,” she told me, her tone bland.
I laughed outright. “That's a fair point,” I said. “But a guy can dream.”
“Well, keep dreaming,” Paige said. “But I hear delayed gratification is worth it.”
I grinned, appreciating her dirty words. But I chose not to comment, knowing if I allowed myself to think too much about how badly I wanted her, I was either going to end up hard and desperately wanting, or else she wasn't going to make it to work after all.
And we would end up having sex again, rather than talking.
I smiled and let it rest for the time being. After we finished eating, I escorted her down to the limo.
“You don't have to come with me,” Paige protested as I climbed in afterwards. “I appreciate dinner and the ride, but surely you could just tell your driver to drop me off.”
I shrugged. “It's not like I have anything better to do,” I told her, wondering why she didn't want me there.
When we got to the bar, I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew why. Was it a coincidence that the guy from the previous night arrived there at The Shift just before we did? I frowned. “You know, why don't I hang around for a little while?” I suggested. “Have a drink or two. I'm sure I know somebody in there, and I haven't really been keeping in touch since you and I have started sleeping together.”
Paige frowned at me, but I didn't think that she had seen the other guy go in. She had no idea what my true motives were. Something about this whole situation didn't sit right with me, though, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. What better way to do that than to keep both of them in my sight. Maybe I could ask Paige about it again tonight. Confront her, ask her why she had lied to me.
I really hoped that she hadn't lied to me, but again, this just seemed like too much of a coincidence to be ignored. And given the way that she had been looking at him the previous night, well.
I got out of the car and followed her inside.