“Not that much, Paigey.” He flopped down onto my bed and threw an arm over his face. “You still have your own style and you’re certainly not over the top like that roommate of yours. She seems pretty nice though. I’m glad you ended up with someone like her. I’m sure you got sick of having a guy for a best friend over the years.”
I picked up a pillow and chucked it at his face. “Never, why would you think that?” He jumped up as soon as the pillow hit his face and headed for the stack that was on Kitty’s bed. A flurry of pillows attacked me as I tried to dodge each one and throw them back at him.
“I win.” His body tackled me to the bed and my laughter stopped when his piercing blue eyes cut through me. He lifted a hand to smooth my hair back and slowly traced his finger over each feature on my face, until his thumb brushed across my lip. “You are so beautiful,” he breathed out, lowering his head until our lips were only inches apart.
What was he doing? My insides were a mess and he was twisting them around even more. Didn’t he know this was going to change our whole relationship? I didn’t know how I felt. Dylan flashed through my head and before Jake’s lips could touch mine, I rolled out from underneath him.
“Um, I’m going to go change into my pajamas. I’ll be back in a little bit.” I rifled through my drawers in a hurry, grabbing the first thing my hands landed on and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
What in the hell was that all about? He said he was interested in someone the last time we talked and then he goes and hits on me? I mean ,I guess I’m not much better, I did cheat on Ben with Dylan and then I almost let Jake kiss me too.
I looked in the mirror, staring at the reflection. Have I really changed that much? Still the same sandy brown hair with the curls that drove me crazy, the blue eyes that I always thought were too wide for my face, the only big difference was maybe a little extra makeup that I didn’t use to wear. The old Paige Brinton would never string along one guy, let alone three.
I stripped out of my dress, which left me naked, since Dylan had ruined my panties. That boy owed me a new pair. Good, at least I grabbed something to wear that covers my body. A little bit. I pulled on a black tank top and a pair of red and black striped sleeping shorts that Kitty had bought for me, before tying my hair up and removing the little makeup I had on.
There. Just the good old regular Paige. Maybe Jake would forget about the whole kissing thing when he saw my new look stripped away. His eyes were playing tricks on him or something.
The lights were off when I walked back out and only the moonlight filtering in could be seen through the cracks in our blinds. It was quiet and I hoped that maybe Jake was asleep.
I peeled back the covers on my bed to meet Jake’s bare muscular chest, laying there in only a pair of black shorts. He had one arm tucked under his head, the other thrown over his tan stomach, and his eyes were shut while I sunk into the bed and covered my body with the comforter.
I lay on my side watching the rise of his chest, up and down, and the little scars that were scattered across his body that most people wouldn’t even notice. There’s one on his elbow, from when he had first taught me how to ride a bike. I was determined to go off on my own after just a few instructions from him and he was there to catch me when I tumbled over, scraping up his own body in the process.
Another that I lightly ran my fingers over, was on the knuckle of his right hand. A smile touched my lips when I remembered what that one was from. Robbie Newton. Jake had caught him spying on us at the creek one day and didn’t like it one bit when he saw me in my bathing suit, with his eyes practically falling out at the sight. So Robbie got a good beating for that one.
“Like what you see?” A smirk spread across his face and his eyes fluttered open as he twisted his body to lie on his side, face to face with me.
“I thought you were asleep.” I pulled my hand away but he grabbed onto it and interlaced our fingers. “Oh I get it, so you would only take advantage of me while I’m sleeping?”
I rolled my eyes at him and lowered my head onto the pillow. Of course that’s what he wanted to think, always so full of himself. “Why would you care? I thought there was some girl you were interested in. What’s happening with that?”
“Well right now, she’s laying right next to me, apparently with no clue how I feel about her.” His thumb reached out to brush my cheek and a small shiver escaped.
My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest at his confession. How could I have been so blind? I was the girl he was interested in? I guess looking back he had dropped hints every once in awhile, but had never come out and said anything straight to me.
“Paige, I want to try things with you. I know you’re worried that it will affect our friendship, but we don’t have to let it. No matter what happens, you’ll always be my best friend no matter what. But I can’t keep these feelings inside anymore, it’s eating me up inside. And then what happens? As soon as you get on campus, you get a boyfriend. It really didn’t surprise me. I’ve always seen how gorgeous you are, it doesn’t matter what clothes you have on or the makeup on your face.” I remained silent, really not sure what to say back to that but my heart squeezed in my chest at his words. I had never seen this side of him before and it was unexpected. His lips lowered to mine and this time I didn’t stop their path.
He moved slow and gentle, caressing his lips against mine before probing my mouth open with his warm tongue. His hand went to the back of my head and pulled me closer, so I threw a leg around his until our bodies molded together. He pulled back to lick a trail down my neck and nipped lightly on my bare shoulder.
“Can you at least give me a chance? That’s all I’m asking.”
“Jake, how would things work between us? We go to schools that are almost six hours apart. Do you really think we should start a long distance relationship? I don’t know how it would survive.”
“Baby girl, you think way too much.” His lips moved to touch the corner of my mouth, my nose, and my forehead. “Just think about it. I’ll always be waiting for you.” His arms wrapped around my waist and he ran a hand through my hair until the sounds of his heavy breathing filtered up to my ears.
I watched him while he slept, thinking about what he said. My thoughts kept flicking back and forth to him and Dylan. How could I choose? Was there even a choice to make?
Somehow, I was looking at Jake in a different light and it confused me. But Dylan…Dylan just drove me crazy. Every time I was around him, I felt like we were the only two in the room and I wanted to attack him. Finally, I drifted off to the sounds of Jake’s snoring, both boys running through my dreams.
Jake’s alarm on his phone woke me up early the next morning. We both woke up, our limbs intertwined, and stared at each other without saying a word. He looked like he was trying to read my mind, his blue eyes piercing straight into mine. “I need to get going,” he finally whispered out in a husky voice, still laced with sleep. “Coach will kick my ass if I’m late and I’ll have to hitchhike back to campus.”
“Oh please. Some college girl would drive by and slam on the brakes before you even made it five hundred feet up the road.” He let out a laugh as he pulled his t-shirt on over his head. “I’d only accept the ride if it was from you though.” He bent down to slide on his shoes and I had to cover my face with my pillow. I could feel the deep blush on my cheeks. Sweetness and Jake Niles just didn’t usually go together, and it was weird to hear.
“Wanna walk me out?”
“Sure.” I grabbed a sweatshirt off my dresser and slid it on before following him out the door. “Well I guess this is it, baby girl. You coming home for Thanksgiving?”
“Um…I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know when I find out.” I wasn’t about to let him know that my dad was going to be out of town. Jake would beg me to come to his house and I really didn’t want to put up with his mom and her snide comments. Kitty had extended the offer to come to her family’s and that sounde
d like a better idea.
“Hmm…well hopefully I’ll see you, if not we’ll have to get together soon. Maybe next time you’re at one of my games, you’ll actually get to see me play.” He wrapped me in a tight hug and I buried my nose in his chest. His scent was so familiar and welcoming. I felt tears trying to push their way through. He really was like home to me.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I whispered out. His lips brushed my forehead before he pulled away, grasping his black duffel bag over his shoulder, and I instantly missed his warmth.
“Think about what I said. Just not too much. I know how you love to over- think things.” He gave me a big wink, before slowly backing up and turning around to leave. I watched until he disappeared out of sight and I wiped away a stray tear that was rolling down my cheek.
I turned to head back up the stairs, thinking I might be able to get a little bit more sleep squeezed in before Kitty came home. “Wasn’t that sweet?” I jumped when I heard the voice and twisted my body around, locking eyes with Ben.
“Ben, what are you doing here?” He shoved his hands in his pockets and narrowed his eyes at me, moving just an inch closer.
“What am I doing? The real question is what are you doing, Paige? Pretty sure best friends don’t act like that. I knew you were too good to be true, especially after I witnessed everything last night.”
“Ben, Jake and I…it’s complicated. And what are you talking about? You weren’t even there. I don’t…”
“Don’t try to deny it, Paige,” he stepped closer, grabbing my upper arm and yanking my body towards his. “I just needed to see for myself what a little slut you were, so I followed you. I knew something was up when you didn’t answer any of my phone calls or texts the night before, Kitty told me you weren’t with her. And what a surprise it was when I not only saw you with him, but Dylan too. Sounds like you had a lot of fun in the bathroom, didn’t you?”
I stared back at him, as his grip grew tighter; guilt was coursing through my body at what I had done to him but a mixture of fear too. I had never seen his eyes so cold before. “Ben, I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to break things off. I just didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Hurt me? You don’t think it hurt me what you were doing behind my back? What, did you think I wouldn’t find out?” He yanked my body back to his when I tried to twist away, his fingers piercing into the sensitive skin on my arm. “Ben, you’re hurting me, let go.”
“Well you know what, Paige? I think you deserve it, so I guess you’ll just have to deal. And to think that I loved you.”
“You didn’t love me, Ben. We’ve been dating for like a month! Your still in love with Amy, how could you possibly love me? I mean, you called out her name that one night in your bedroom, did you even realize it?”
“Don’t even speak her name around me. You’re just like her, lying about everything. You two would probably be best friends. And don’t tell me how I feel, you apparently don’t care.”
“Ben, just stop. I’m sorry things had to end this way but…” The next few seconds whirled by in my head. I saw his hand raise and inch towards my face, like it was happening in slow motion, but before it made contact, he was shoved aside, landing on his back on the concrete stairs.
“You don’t ever fucking touch her like that again or I will beat the living shit out of you.” Dylan stood over Ben, his hands clenched in fists so tight they were turning white. Donuts and cups littered the stairs behind him while Ben slowly stood up.
“Oh, don’t worry about that I’m done with whores, she’s all yours.” Dylan’s feet quickly moved forward to follow Ben, but I grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Dylan, please don’t. It’s done now, so please just leave it. I really didn’t want him to get hurt like that but after the way he just acted I don’t feel as guilty.”
“You’re right,” he answered back, wrapping me in a quick hug. “I was trying to be thoughtful and all, bringing you breakfast, but I guess it kinda got ruined.” His hands motioned to the stairs and I picked up a can of Diet Coke that had rolled to my feet. “Was this for me?”
“Of course, although I think it’s pretty gross that you would drink pop with breakfast, I know you don’t drink coffee so…”
“Well thanks.” I placed a kiss on his forehead and tugged on his hand. “I’m sure I have something up in my room that we can scrounge up to eat.
We ended up in my bed, wrapped in each other’s arms. Even though Jake had just left, this just felt so right. We shared a package of Pop Tarts and talked for an hour before we both drifted off to sleep.
“What in the hell is going on here?” I woke up to Kitty’s voice and peeked an eye open, she had one hand on her hip and her green eyes narrowed at the sight. Dylan groaned and turned over onto his side, his nose nuzzling into my neck even deeper. Her foot came up, wedging into his ribs until he finally opened his eyes.
“What’s up, Kitts?” he murmured out in a sleep laced voice, running a hand through his hair that was even messier than usual.
“Um, well just wondering why you’re in bed with my roommate?” she bit out, her tone laced with ice as she stared down at the two of us.
“Hmm…well I don’t know if that’s really any of your business.” He jumped off the bed and leaned down to press a kiss onto my forehead. “I’ll see you later at work tonight, ‘kay?”
I answered with a nod of my head and couldn’t help the smile that curved my lips. Sure, I was going to be peppered with about a million questions in a minute, but at least I had seeing Dylan to look forward to tonight.
Kitty waited until the door clicked shut and then she started in. “So, how long has this little thing been going on? Were you with him the other night when Ben and I couldn’t get a hold of you? And to think I covered for you. What all have you been hiding from me, Miss Paige? And what about Ben, or even Jake for that matter? I can’t keep up with all the guys and to think how innocent you were when you showed up on campus. I am so proud.” Her hands clasped together and she let out a little squeal before plopping down on the end of my bed.
“So you’re not mad about the whole Dylan thing?” I scrunched up my nose at her, waiting for the answer. I could tell she had a crush on Dylan from the first time I had seen them together, but as far as I knew, Dylan had never let it go anywhere.
“Of course not,” she answered with a wave of her hand. “What I’m mad about is that I feel like I was left out in the dark. You’re supposed to tell me everything, so I can give you some womanly advice. Remember?”
“Ok, fine. Dating Ben was….nice, but I could tell something was missing and we weren’t serious. Dylan and I just seemed like we had some sort of weird connection the minute we met. He was always teasing me or flirting, I swear he gets me so flustered. And then one thing led to another at the party the other night.”
“Wait, which party? Last night when you sneaked off or the one at Chris’s place?”
“Well,” I answered, dragging out the word. “Both actually, but it started with the one at his place. We went into his room and well…let’s just say, I’m no longer a virgin.”
“O-M-G!” She let out a gasp, covering her mouth and jumped up to her knees. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me right afterwards. And then obviously you two snuck off together last night. What a little slut you are. Ahh, so how was it? Was he freaky or was he sweet and gentle? I have a feeling it was freaky, like so freaking ah-mazing, can’t walk for the next week kind of way. Am I right?”
“It was pretty amazing. So I told him I just needed a day to break things off with Ben, I felt so guilty but I knew I really had no feelings for Ben. And then Jake comes along, basically confessing his love for me.
“Ugh. He confused me so much. So he left me with my head spinning and then out jumped Ben all stalker- like, accusing me of being a whore. So I told him I wanted to break things off and that I was really sorry, and he want a little crazy.” I pulled up the sleeve on my sweatshirt and th
e outlines of Ben’s fingers were clearly evident. Kitty reached out a hand to gingerly touch it with a questioning look on her face.
“But then Dylan showed up with breakfast for me and thankfully diffused the situation. And that is how we ended up here.”
“Wow, first of all, that is some crazy shit with Ben. I mean he always seemed pretty laid back, I can’t believe he did that to you! He deserves a major kick in the balls with a pair of my favorite stiletto heels. Second of all, how in the hell did your life turn into a freaking soap opera? I’m supposed to have front row seats since you are my roommate and all.
“And now you’re involved in a love triangle? Ah the plot thickens. Dylan or Jake, which will she pick? Or will she pick one and then go back to the other. Did you at least use protection with Dylan? We really don’t need to add a love child into the mix that would surely end up as a Lifetime movie then.”
“Shit!” I sat up quickly, ramming heads with Kitty. “Shit, shit, shit. How could I have been so stupid?”
“Um, I’m assuming by that response, that’s a negatory. You really weren’t thinking, were you? Well don’t fret my pet, we’ll take you down to the health clinic and you can get put on the pill. We don’t want any little accidents happening. I don’t think we could really fit a baby into this room.”
I picked up a pillow, aiming for her head, but she ducked at the last minute and I missed my shot. “I’m so glad you’re here for such great advice. You wanna hang here today? We could eat ice cream and watch chick flicks all day. Let’s skip over Lifetime though.”
“Sure,” she replied, jumping up to look through the stacks of DVDs that were lined up above the flat screen. “We wouldn’t want to watch your whole situation reenacted on TV, now would we?”
Chapter 17
Dylan
Luckily, my nap with Paige had released some of the tension that had built up when I saw that douchebag’s hands on her. I really wanted to go off and beat the shit out of him after he called Paige a whore, but one look at her instantly calmed me down.
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