I crossed my arms. “An arsehole you married.”
Mum threw her arms in the air. “And that was my mistake. I know. We’re allowed to make mistakes. Even parents are human, honey.”
I knew that. And I knew it wasn’t fair to take out my anger at my dad – more like sperm donor – on her. But it was better than thinking about me and Bash just then.
“Your dad is meant to be the last guy to break your heart. We both know this. But we can’t change him,” Mum said softly.
I nodded and sniffed the sudden heat in my eyes away. “I know, Mum.”
“Good. Then you’ll also know that Bash isn’t your dad.”
“I am well aware.”
“Good.”
“I’m not sure why you think I’d need the reminder,” I huffed.
“I just didn’t want you going around, afraid of opening up to someone else and being rejected again. That, unfortunately, is just life.”
I sighed. “I’m aware.”
“Great.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s anything serious. I’m just enjoying hanging out with him.”
“More than any of your exes?”
“Make it sound like I have a line of them around the block, why not.”
“There are quite a few.”
“Mu-um!”
She shrugged. “Sorry. I just mean…” She sighed. “My whole point to this was positive. I wanted you to know I thought it was good you were spending time with him. I can’t say I see the charm personally, but that’s not really relevant.”
I smirked at her. “He’s a teenage boy–”
“I was a teenage girl once!”
“I meant he’s a teenage boy so he’s bound to let me down at some point. But I’m happy to see where it goes until then.”
“Honey, if you go through life thinking people will let you down, they will.”
“I thought this was positive.”
“Sue me for caring about my daughter’s wellbeing!” she huffed, but there was a smile in her eyes and I knew she wasn’t really grumpy with me.
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just… I don’t really see this whole Bash and me thing having staying power. He’s fun, but…”
“He’s not reliable?”
I shrugged. “No. Just…”
“He’s not nice?”
“No. He’s fine. He just…”
“Sounds like a normal guy?” Mum hedged and I frowned at her.
“He’s just not the long-term sort of guy.”
“So be done with him.”
“I…” I blinked. “But I’m enjoying spending time with him.”
Mum shrugged as she stood up straight and picked up her mug. “So, you’ll string him along until you’re done with him?”
“No. I–”
“Just can’t admit you’re equally as afraid he won’t let you down?”
“Can you not get all barrister-cratic on me?”
“I’m just saying, think about it.”
“Why?” I grumped.
“You never know,” Mum said as she wandered out. “He might just surprise you.”
I stopped to think a bit about what Mum had said and I had to admit I’d been purposefully not letting myself think about it.
Could Bash surprise me? Could he be different to all my exes? Was there a chance he wouldn’t let me down after all?
A part of me wanted to believe it. A part of me wanted to take the time we’d spent together and say it was different, say that Bash and I were different to any of my exes and me. But this was Bash ‘Casanova’ Baker we were talking about. Even if I got him to fall in love with me, if I didn’t break his heart, he’d break mine eventually when he got bored.
Chapter 17: Bash
The weather had been uncomfortably hot all week and now suddenly it was raining again – oh hi, Spring. So, all plans Paige and I had made needed to be changed at the last minute. As we stood in her front hall, deciding what we were going to do, Heidi appeared all dressed up.
“You’re going out?” Paige asked her.
Heidi looked between us and I felt like there was something going on. “Yes. The clan organised a last-minute dinner.”
Paige looked like she was trying to hide a smile. “Oh, they did, did they?”
“The clan?” I asked.
“Mum’s group of friends,” Paige explained. “Most of them have been friends since school.”
“The rest we met at uni.”
I nodded. “Cool.”
“So,” Heidi said. “I’ll be out of your hair if you want to stay in. Get some pizza, watch some movies? What is it you kids do these days? Netflix and chill?”
I choked as I swallowed and tried to cover with a cough.
“Oh, Mum. You’ve embarrassed him.”
“I was a teenager once, Bash,” Heidi said with a wry smile. “Don’t think I don’t know what you two are thinking. And if you’re going to do it, I’d rather it was–”
“All right!” Paige said loudly, with an awkward laugh. “We get it. Bash, how do you feel about pizza and movies?”
“Big fan,” I said, trying not to grin at Paige not just because her mum was watching me carefully.
Paige nodded. “Okay. Happy?” she asked her mum.
“Very. I’ll be home late. Let you know when I’m leaving.”
Paige nodded quickly. “Great. Thanks.”
Heidi kissed Paige’s head and nodded to me. “Have a good night, guys,” she said as she left.
Once the door was closed, Paige and I both laughed.
“So, my mum thinks we’re doing it.”
I nodded. “She does.”
Paige looked around as she bit her lip. “Uh. So… I guess my room? Unless you’re hungry?”
“To be clear, you’re offering me either going to your room or food… And you need me to answer?”
Her smile was infectious and warming and knocked the fucking wind out of me. “I’m not offering you anything except a movie in my room.”
I nodded. “That’s all good.”
“And how are you hunger-wise?”
“My desire for food is irrelevant right now.”
Paige snorted. “Okay. Come on then.”
She led me to her room and grabbed her laptop before falling on her bed – queen-size, very nice. I kicked off my shoes and joined her.
“Thoughtful,” she quipped.
“Comfortable,” I replied and she smiled.
“What do you want to watch?”
“Don’t care. You pick.”
She put on ‘Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse’ and I was about ready to marry this girl – hyperbolically obviously.
“You’ve seen it, I presume?” she asked, all cheek and sass.
“Of course. It’s Leo’s current favourite. We watch it like once a week.”
She grinned. “I don’t blame him.”
We watched for a while, the two of us getting closer and closer until my arm was around her shoulder and she was leaning on mine. I looked down at her and she smiled back up at me. Something in me hitched and I was pretty sure it was my breath.
But can you blame me? Paige was gorgeous. And I don’t just mean her physical appearance – though I was incredibly partial to it. She was a gorgeous person. She was a dizzying mix of sweet and dirty that I hadn’t expected, she was funny and down to earth, and she was far smarter than I’d ever be.
I was hooked on seeing her smile. I was always jonesing for the next time I heard her laugh. And I was only about fifty percent focussed on getting in her pants, and I didn’t even need to get anything out of it. The drive to please her plagued me, and it wasn’t just my pride reminding me that no woman walked away unsatisfied – I just wanted her to feel good.
I gently grazed my knuckles down her cheek and her smile grew.
“What?”
“I was just thinking.”
; “About what?”
“Well… A lot of people could suggest this was our sixth date…” I said slowly.
“I can think of at least one who’d disagree.” She smirked.
“Oh, you don’t think we’ve been on dates?” I teased and was gratified when she laughed.
“I’m just not sure why it’s relevant all of a sudden.”
“I was just wondering how much longer I get to hang out with you.”
“And why is that a concern? Is that a concern? Or is it a good thing?”
I snorted. “Just a question. Everyone knows Paige Nicholls doesn’t do more than five dates or two months, whichever happens first. So, I’m just wondering how you’re doing the Math, I guess.”
She nodded, biting her lip as she was thinking. “I guess I could agree and say that this could be our sixth date,” she said eventually.
“And would you actually?”
She bit her lip as she nodded. “Sure.”
I grinned at her. “So, what does that make me?”
“In what way?”
“Well, if I’m still here when I shouldn’t be, what does that make me?”
“Maybe that makes you the guy to make me believe not all guys are shit?”
That warmed my heart more than it should have so I tried to lighten the mood. “I’m the guy to pop your love cherry, you might say?”
She laughed. “I did not say that!” But there was something in those gorgeous hazel eyes that made me wonder if her love cherry had been popped already and it had been a less than ideal experience.
I nuzzled her neck. “How about your actual cherry, then?”
“That? You’ll have to wait and find out.”
“Is it going to be one of those awards for good behaviour?” I joked.
“Maybe,” she giggled. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“What state is your love cherry in?”
I pulled away to look at her and smiled warmly. “That’s…yet to be popped,” I told her, filling my words with a little too much implication that I was close to popping, and it was entirely accidental. “But I’ll let you know.”
Her entire being was soft – her eyes, her body language, her smile. She looked at me like I’d given too much away, because I damn well might have. The idea terrified me, but there was an excitement to the terror that was slightly more comforting, but also incredibly confusing.
“So…” she started slowly.
“So?”
“Can you remind me what word I was supposed to say?”
“For what?” I had a feeling I remembered, but I wanted to hear her say it.
She bit her lip. But she wasn’t nervous, she was teasing me. And God did I love it when she teased me. Her eyebrow quirked up and her smile was all self-confidence. “For those hands to be mine.”
I grinned at her, feeling like all my birthdays had come at once. I didn’t care if it went no further than that. She was ready. That had to mean she was starting to trust me.
“Just tell me you’re ready, princess.”
“I’m ready, Casanova.” I leant down to kiss her, but she stopped me when she added, “See if you can make me purr,” like the sassy little thing she was.
“Oh, baby. I’ll do better than that,” I promised.
“Wait. Wait!” She said, wriggling out from under me.
I was about to deflate – in more ways than one – but accept it, when all she did was pause the movie, put the laptop on the floor and settle back on the bed half under me.
“Okay. Now, I’m ready,” she said with a wide smile.
I laughed as I leant down to kiss her. She didn’t wait until I went to her, she met me halfway. Her arms went around my neck, her leg hugged my hip and she kissed me back unhesitatingly. Her body arched towards me and I think I very nearly melted on the spot.
I pulled away for a moment.
“What?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Let’s just say Jendo reads too many romance books, and it makes me…”
“Horny?” she teased.
I laughed, then went all serious on her. I watched her eyes go wide, but it was excitement and that excited me even more. I grabbed the back of her jeans and dragged her down the bed with me.
“Holy shit,” she giggled as she held onto me tighter.
“You good?” I asked.
She nodded. “Brilliant. I’m guessing horny was right?”
“Let’s just say his books give me ideas.”
“Oh,” she cooed. “Like what?”
“I hear girls like being dominated.”
She waved her hand between us. “Does whatever just happened count?”
I licked my lip slowly. “I think so.”
She nodded, her eyes going a little hazy. “Then Jendo’s books do not lie.”
I chuckled roughly. “You liked it?”
She nodded again. “Probably more than I should have.”
My eyebrows rose suggestively. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She giggled as I went to kiss her neck, “Please do!”
I kissed her all over her neck, her cheeks, her lips, in no particular rush for my hands to find their way down below.
“Oh, my God,” she laughed breathlessly. “Talk about a tease.”
I grinned at her. “You don’t like being teased?”
“Not as much as you apparently.”
“Only if it’s you teasing me.”
“Is that supposed to be cute?”
“Of course, it is,” I said like it was obvious.
“Okay. Well, I’ve got my own cuteness.”
“Do you now?”
“Yup.”
“Tell me, then.”
She leant her lips to my ear and, in the most seductive voice I think I had ever heard – seriously tingles shot down my spine – whispered, “Please me, Casanova,” before she grazed her teeth over my earlobe.
I just about exploded on the spot. But I held it together. “Your wish is my command, princess.”
No more teasing. She wanted pleasing? She’d get pleasing. Or I’d give up my reputation to Mr Trombone then and there.
As I kissed her hard, my hand went to her jeans and deftly undid them. But when it came time to slid my fingers under her panties, I went slowly. I’d give her enough time to tell me to stop. But sensually; I wasn’t about to give her more cause for complaint.
She kissed me fiercely and if her words hadn’t told me she was ready, her body was doing all the heavy lifting for her; her leg shifting to give me easier access to her.
I ran my fingers over her softly, feeling her out – more than just literally here – and seeing what she seemed to like best. The angle was a little awkward with her jeans being so tight. But a man makes do with what he’s got.
My finger slid down to find her wetness and she moaned softly against me.
I felt my dick straining in my jeans and told it to shut up – this was about her, not me.
As I rubbed her, changing the pace and exact placement depending on her reaction, her kisses became more frantic, her breathing got shallower. I made sure to keep my touch just as light, but upped the pace and she breathed in deeply as her back arched off the bed and she moaned.
“Jesus, Bash!” she moaned, shoving her fist in her mouth as her legs tightened around my hand and I felt her shaking.
I couldn’t help but smile as my lips went to her neck.
All I did was kiss her and stroke her very softly until I felt her starting to relax. As her breathing evened out, my fingers headed back down and slid slowly into her. She was wet and warm and tight, and I had to take a breath to calm myself down.
Paige pulled my head up to kiss her again as I pumped my finger steadily. I could tell when she was close again as I felt her contracting around me and she stopped kissing me. She just leant her head to mine and rode it out.
After
a breathy, chuckled release of, “Holy fucking shit,” she relaxed back into the bed and threw her arm over her eyes.
I gently extricated my hand from her pants and – totally classy – wiped my fingers on my t-shirt. When I looked back to her, she was still smiling.
As I went to kiss her again, I ran my hands down her side and she curled up and giggled.
“Sorry! Ticklish,” she explained.
“Is this one of those situations?”
She nodded, still all smiles. “Yeah. Post…orgasm, I get really ticklish. That was…”
“The best you’ve ever had?” I asked, all cocky arrogance.
She looked up and shrugged. “It was okay, I guess,” she teased.
I smiled and nipped her neck.
She giggled and held me tighter.
I nuzzled into her neck and just found words coming out. “So…tomorrow night?”
“Hm?” she murmured as she snuggled into me. “What about it?”
“How about I return the favour?”
I felt her laugh. “How do you return a favour you gave?”
“I meant the whole hosting thing.”
“Are you inviting me to your house?”
I nodded. “Leo’s got a sleepover and Mum’s working.”
“I see. And when does your mum’s shift finish?”
“She’s starting at eight and I think she’s on about ten hours.”
Paige’s hand tightened in my hair. “The house all to ourselves all night?”
I ran my nose up her neck. “Yep.”
“Are you expecting anything?”
As my nose ran over her cheek, I slid my finger gently between her legs again. She sighed as she arched towards me. I watched as her eyes closed and she licked her lip before she swallowed hard.
“I’m more than happy with however much or little you feel comfortable with,” I told her honestly.
Her hand ran down my back as her hips rocked towards me and she pinned my eyes with hers. “Keep saying things like that and I’ll definitely be comfortable with everything.”
That win made this big ball of light and warmth burst in my chest. But it wasn’t the idea of winning the bet – as gratifying as that would be – it was the winning her trust that did me in.
I was so far gone for this girl, it wasn’t funny.
And I didn’t know how much longer I was going to be able to keep telling myself this was all just a bet. The fact I was fully aware of that suggested it was already too late. The only problem was, what was I going to do about it?
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