Control You (26 page)

* * * *

Saturday morning I woke up at the butt crack of dawn. I’d headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, and then to catch up on the recorded TV shows I’d been missing lately, but Blaire had coerced me into slurping down my coffee as quickly as possible and heading to the university fitness center with her. Even though I wasn’t technically a student anymore, I still was able to get in. Once we stretched and picked our machines out, I realized this was exactly where I needed to be. There was too much pent-up energy charging through me.

“Spill it,” Blaire pressed as we continued a steady pace on our elliptical machines. “I know your stomach is all in knots over there, because you’re nervous about your date with Cameron tonight.”

I pushed a few strands of hair away from my face. “It’s not a date. It’s more like a celebratory thing in honor of the shop’s grand opening.”

“Not a date, just a thing, huh?” Blaire laughed. “Gee, that sounds familiar. Now you sound like me. Wasn’t it you and Lauren who told me back when I was feeling the same way about my first night out with Jason that I should call it what it is—a date?” She glared at me and her lips twisted into a smug smile. She was enjoying this moment a little too much. “Now, let’s go over the rules. Never go someplace secluded with him while you’ve been drinking—that means no riverside walks. And always,
always
use protection if you should happen to do it on the first night. Got it?”

I chuckled, but at the same time, my heart dropped to my stomach, because I knew it had to have been hard for her to speak so candidly about such things. That was how she’d gotten pregnant by Jason, a one-night stand type deal, and then she’d lost the baby. Things had worked out between them, but they’d had a rough last few months.

“I’ve got it.” I nodded, hoping my voice sounded chipper enough.

“All right, then you should be good.” She moved her arms and legs in sync, but quickened her pace a little. “By the way, I like him. I think the two of you are a good fit. He’s got that whole bad boy look going, but I don’t think that’s who he really is.”

“It’s not,” I panted. Jesus, I was out of shape. Just because I was petite and skinny didn’t mean crap in terms of being fit.

“I hope you guys have some fun tonight.” She reached for her bottle of water and took a long swig. “Ugh, it’s that couple I was telling you about.” She pointed to a guy and girl who looked as though they should be personal trainers.

My eyes skimmed over the two, taking in their perfectly fit bodies. The girl looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her. I zeroed in on her abs, watching when she bent over to see if they still looked as good or if they transformed into a roll of flab like mine. They didn’t.

“I would kill to have her abs,” I muttered.

“Seriously, but aren’t they like workout couple of the year or something? There really should be an award for how dedicated they are.”

I shook my head, and then took a long sip of my water to wet my dry throat. “No, they need to be told they’re obsessed. I mean, look at them, I bet they don’t even know what chocolate and pizza are, they’re that hardcore. Jesus.”

I eyed the picture-perfect couple while they set up on their machines near us. Biting at my bottom lip, I took note to how shiny the girl’s hair was, how busty her chest seemed, how tanned her perfectly blemish-free skin was, and felt sick to my stomach. Maybe my mom was right. Maybe I needed to work out more, eat better, cut my dead-ends off my hair more than twice a year, and go to the tanning bed to obtain that perfect complexion. Damn it, why did I agree to come here? Looking at this girl was worse than flipping through a beauty magazine when you already felt down on your appearance.

“I know.” Blaire laughed. “She’s my motivation to get in better shape.”

“Motivation, yeah, I can see that. After you get past the crippling blow to your self-esteem when looking at her,” I whispered.

The girl laughed, and I realized who she was and where I knew her from. She was the girl Cameron had helped at the party Craig threw at his parents’ house, the one I’d seen him getting water for. My eyebrows dipped. Crap, if that was the type of girl he was into, then why was he even bothering to ask me to dinner? My stomach knotted. Maybe we really were just going as friends or something. Suddenly, I felt stupid for thinking for even a second that it could have been anything more.

CAMERON

After putting the final touches on the painting I’d been working on for the most part of the last hour, I glanced at my cell to check the time. Deciding there was just enough to take a quick shower and head to Norhurst to scoop Paige up, I rinsed my brushes out and did just that.

My heart pounded as I pulled into a parking space at her complex. Finishing the final few drags of my cigarette, I put it out and made my way to her front door. I popped a mint in my mouth before knocking, afraid for the first time since picking up the bad habit of smoking someone else might detest the strong stench. I knocked and took a step back. Blaire answered the door, pulling it open enough for me to step through.

“Hey, Paige will be out in just a minute. Come on in,” she insisted.

“Hey.” I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

Jason was sitting on the couch with a beer in his hand and his feet propped up on the coffee table. The smell of garlic and tomatoes lingered in the air, making me wonder what they were cooking. Obviously, they were having a dinner-in sort of night. I smiled at the thought of ever being able to do that with Paige. Maybe even a few long weekends at my place.

“What’s up, man? How you been?” Jason nodded in my direction.

“Decent, and you?”

“Not too bad.”

Paige walked down the hall then, saving me from more meaningless chitchat. Not that I minded Jason, I was just wound a little too tight to be holding a conversation with anyone.

“Hey.” Paige smiled. She turned toward the kitchen and picked up a tiny purple purse from the countertop.

“Hi,” was all I could manage. She looked stunning dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a tight-fitting sweater top. The brown boots she wore came up past her knees, and I could smell her signature scent from where I stood—a lemony aroma that made me want to eat her up.

Cramming my hands into the front pockets of my jeans, I watched her as she smiled and talked with Blaire for a moment.

“I don’t know.” She glanced over her shoulder at me and grinned. “He hasn’t told me where we’re eating yet.”

“Good thing for you Paige enjoys surprises.” Blaire flashed me a friendly smile.

“You’ve got it easy then, man. Blaire doesn’t enjoy surprises as much,” Jason chimed in from the couch.

My eyes locked with Paige’s. “Good thing for me then, because I love surprising those I care about.”

Care about?
Oh fuck, that was a little much. Way, way too soon. Paige didn’t seem to mind my word choice though. In fact, her smile grew. This canceled out the heart failure moment I thought I’d created, and my shoulders relaxed a bit.

“All right, I’ll be back later.” She dropped her purse and bent down to retrieve it. Her shapely ass in those tight-fitting jeans drew in my eyes like a magnet. The edge of her sweater pulled up, revealing about an inch and a half of the creamy skin of her lower back, and I felt my jeans grow too tight. “Oh, and I’m saying this to both of you. I do not, I repeat,
do not
want to walk in on any hanky-panky crap. Okay?”

I pushed my hands farther into my front pockets, hoping to draw my jeans a little farther away from my semi-wood growing by the second as I chuckled at what she’d just said.

“Oh, whatever.” Blaire laughed.

“I’m not making any promises, Paige.” Jason winked at her.

“Oh, God, come on. Let’s get out of here.” Paige looped her arm through mine and tugged me around to face the front door.

Her sudden touch didn’t help the situation in my pants any. Fuck. I hadn’t been so worried about springing a boner since middle school.

“So where are you taking me?” she asked once we made it to my car and climbed inside.

I cranked the engine and glanced at her. “No place fancy. I’ll tell you that. I’m more of a laid-back sort when I eat. Is that all right with you?”

“Absolutely.” She grinned.

* * * *

When we pulled up in front of The Point, Paige seemed content with my choice. I’d been worried she had been expecting something a little nicer and quieter, but that wasn’t me. I liked to drink a beer with my food, eat with my fingers, and listen to decent music in an entertaining setting when I went out to eat.

We strolled through the double doors and paused, casing the place out while searching for a seat. Taking Paige’s hand in mine, I wove through the slight crowd of people drinking and mingling with others while standing in the way. Choosing a booth tucked in the back, I stopped and let Paige choose which side she wanted. Generally, I preferred the one overlooking the place, but decided the one with my back to everyone wouldn’t be too bad for the night after she sat in my spot.

“I really like the atmosphere of this place tonight. It’s alive.” Her eyes widened with excitement and I smiled.

“I know.” I reached out for the small plastic sign listing all the different types of beer available, and skimmed it. “I’ve only eaten here a few times.”

Our waitress came over, and we both ordered a beer as she handed us our menus. When she walked away to give us a moment to glance over the menu, I leaned my elbows against the table and fixed my eyes on Paige. “So you’re a beer drinker, huh? I’m surprised by that. I figured you were more along the lines of a mixed drink or wine type girl.”

She raised an eyebrow and leaned against the table, mimicking my motion. “I didn’t know there was a specific type to drink beer.”

I chuckled. “Oh, there is. There definitely is, and I didn’t peg you as being one of them.”

“Well, I’m glad I surprised you.”

“So, tell me how sales were after Monday. Did it pick up like I anticipated it would?”

Paige focused her eyes on a few sesame seeds from someone’s burger bun left on the table, pushing them around with the tip of her burgundy-painted nail. “It could have been better. I’m hoping the word gets out that I’m there soon and I can draw in more people. My parents are a little iffy on whether I can hack this job, and I desperately want to prove to them that I can. Plus, I hired Lauren since she was there helping me with everything anyway. Now I’m worried I won’t be able to pay her after a few more weeks when my money left over from renovations runs out.”

“Give it time. It’s not going to become a thriving, booming business overnight,” I insisted. My mind churned with different ideas to get the word out a little more. Maybe I needed to buy her some time on a billboard.

“Thanks.” She smiled. “I know that, I just want this so badly, you know?”

Sadness shone in her eyes. It tugged at the edges of my heart and made me wish I could make it disappear from her eyes all together. “I know.”

Our waitress came back with our beers and asked if we were ready to order.

“I’ll have…” Paige glanced over the menu once more. Her eyelashes fluttered against the tops of her cheeks, and the sudden urge to paint her gripped me. “The honey-glazed wings with a side of coleslaw, please.”

“And for you?” the waitress asked, directing her attention to me.

“I’ll take wings as well, but mild and with blue cheese dressing. And I’ll have fries with mine.” I took Paige’s menu and placed it on top of mine, before handing them both to the waitress.

Silence grew between us after the waitress walked away. I struggled, as I never had before, with trying to find something to say. I hated how I always seemed to feel this way in her presence.

“So, how have things been for you this week?” Paige asked, finally breaking the silence.

I took a sip of my beer, stalling until I could think of something of interest to say. “Not bad, I guess. I painted a few more things and rearranged some furniture in the house.” Goddamn, I had turned into one boring motherfucker.

Paige’s lips twisted at the corners, as though she could hear my inner dialogue. “Sounds interesting. Did you paint anything good?”

“Depends on what your definition of good is.”

“Touché.” She grinned.

I sat up, straightening my back, and pulled my beer to the edge of the table. “I’d like to paint you though.”

Her eyebrows drew together as her cheeks became a beautiful shade of pink. “Paint me? Why?”

“Because you have a classic beauty to your features that I find captivating.”

My heart thumped in my chest. I’d never mentioned the fact that I painted to anyone I dated, let alone told them I wanted to paint them. Paige’s rosy tint deepened and I couldn’t keep away the smile that spread across my face.

PAIGE

Cameron wanted to paint me? That would be awkward. In fact, there would be no way I could sit through something like that while sober. I’d blush through too many shades of red and worry he’d find too many imperfections in my appearance he’d feel forced to smooth over while having them permanently embedded in his mind.

“You think I’ll ever have the opportunity for that?” he asked, putting me on the spot.

I took a small swig from my beer. It tasted like skunk in a bottle, but I hadn’t wanted to order a mixed drink and get toasted in the first few minutes of our date. Nothing good could come from that. In fact, I’d probably end up sleeping with him before we even left the parking lot. My eyes trailed over his face, taking in all the little things about it that I’d liked since first meeting him—the set of his jaw, the colors of his eyes, the way his upper lip poked out just a bit farther than his bottom. Yeah, sleeping with him on a first date wouldn’t be half bad, but then I remembered Craig and everything about this date felt wrong.

This was the exact reason he’d gone insane last weekend, because he’d thought something had been going on between us. Now here I was, on a dinner date with him. How much more confirmation could I give the guy that I had, in fact, had the hots for Cameron? I’d just never acted on it until now.