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Within seconds, it turns into an all-out flour war. Even the dough ends up in pieces and thrown against the wall. And when we finally fall to the ground, unable to breathe from laughing so hard, I cradle her in my arms. It's just another example of how much better off I am with her in my life.
Before she came back, I was just the shell of a man, going through the motions. But she has me laughing again, and actually wanting to wake up in the mornings. It's refreshing.
"You're the worst," she tells me as her laughter calms.
I hum, but instead of answering her, I bend down and press my lips to hers. It feels different, since we're both covered in God knows what, but the effect is the same. She moves her mouth against my own, but neither one of us takes it further than a kiss.
The moment I pull away, I can already see the overthinking written all over her face. "What's wrong?"
She shakes her head and looks away, but I grab her chin and turn her to face me again. With a caring look, she finally caves.
"I just..." She pauses for a second, as if she's trying to figure out how to word it. "What are we doing?"
My brows furrow. "Sitting on the ground in a mess that Carter will probably kill me for?"
"No," she chuckles. "This. You and me. What are we doing?"
"What do you want to be doing?"
"I don't know. I mean, I don't think either one of us are in the right place for a relationship. With my dad's condition, and no one will tell me what the hell is going on with you…I don't want to start something that's doomed to fail." She turns and glances up at me, looking unsure. "Does that make sense?"
I nod slowly. "It makes perfect sense."
And I'm not just telling her that to make her feel better. It genuinely makes sense. Granted, she might not know exactly what is going on with me, but she knows it's something. And everything with her dad, I feel like I'd be selfish to say we both don't need to work on our own things before we have an actual relationship. But still, I don't want to stop this.
"What if we just don't define it?" I suggest.
"Like friends with benefits?"
I tilt my head from side to side. "Like a pending relationship with pre-order perks."
The corners of her mouth raise in amusement. "You're really selling this."
"Oh, come on." I groan. "Think about it. Do you really think we'll be able to keep our hands off each other now?"
"Probably not," she admits.
"Exactly. So why even try?"
It takes her a minute of thinking about it, but I can tell the minute I win by the way she sighs and pulls me down into another kiss. Her arms stay wrapped around my neck, but when I go to deepen the kiss, all I can taste is flour. She must taste the same thing because we both cringe.
"Okay, that's gross."
I carefully move her off my lap and stand up before offering her my hand. "Come on."
She takes my hand, but looks confused. "Where are we going?"
"Showering," I tell her as if it's obvious. "Unless you want to stay covered in flour until you go home."
"Together, though?"
I chuckle and head toward the bathroom. "Oh, man. We're going to see each other naked. How awkward."
My teasing tone only gets a response from an even sassier Paige. "Eh, old news."
"Ouch," I say, moving my hand to my chest. "You wound me."
"You'll get over it." She pats me on the side before slipping past me and through the bathroom door.
