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“Paige, you aren’t ‘nobody’ or ‘nothing’, and I don’t think there’s anything better I could have done this summer than spend most of it with you. Now hurry up and get ready, you worry wart,” he laughed.
“Where are we going? I don’t even know what time it is,” she said with a snort as she got out of bed.
“It’s almost noon. We’re gonna go downtown, do some shopping,” he told her. She raised her eyebrows.
“Shopping? Why? We just went shopping the other day,” she pointed out, heading into the closet.
“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure we’ve seen every article of clothing each other own. If I’m gonna take you to a four-star restaurant and then dancing, we gotta step it up,” he explained, following her.
“Wow, dinner and dancing, you know how to treat a lady,” she laughed, turning to head to the shower. She almost bumped into him. He'd moved so he was standing right behind her. She swallowed thickly and tilted her head back to look up at him.
“I told you, I can’t imagine doing anything better this summer than spending it with you,” he said in a soft voice.
Paige found it difficult to breathe, but before she could think of a response, he winked at her and turned around. Her jaw dropped as he walked out of the closet. Soon after she heard the glass door slide shut.
She grumbled and hurried into the shower. He couldn’t just drop a bomb like that and then walk away. He would say such incredibly sweet things to her, but then acted like it was nothing, like it wasn’t a big deal at all.
She was still rolling his words around in her head when she finished getting dressed, pulling her still damp hair up into a ponytail. She looked in a full length mirror, and for the first time, really wondered what Parker thought when he looked at her. She was tall for a girl, and kinda scrawny. She hadn’t worn a real pair of pants since they'd been together. Her hair was always up in a ponytail.
She frowned. He must think she was a total tomboy. Well, she could admit shewaskind of a tomboy, but she could shine up pretty nice. She decided to make an effort for him.
So while they were at the shops downtown, Paige shopped carefully. She was a very frugal person by nature, she had to be the way she lived. She knew she could wear her black skirt and her ankle boots and still look nice if she could find a cute enough shirt.
But she couldn’t spend a lot of money – as it was, she knew she would have to find some easy work sometime soon. So after going to several girly stores together, Paige offered to meet him later and they split up.
It took her over two hours, but she finally found the perfect shirt. She would never be a prissy, frilly type of girl, but she knew she could look presentable when she made an effort. The cream color of the sleeveless blouse looked perfect against her dark tan. She picked out a pair of intricate hoop earrings to complete her look and checked out before going to meet Parker.
He'd raised his eyebrows at her only carrying one small bag, but he didn’t say anything. He had a bag containing a shoe box and another bag that looked like it had some kind of clothing in it, but he refused to show her what after she'd refused to show her items. They stopped for a bagel and some coffee before heading home.
Paige took her time getting ready, taking another shower to really scrub herself down and shave her legs. She didn’t do anything too intricate with her hair, just pulled the brown locks into a messy, loose French braid, then pinning the short tail underneath the mass. She then clipped all the loose layers that hung around her face to the top of her head, getting all her hair off her face. She stared at herself in the mirror – she couldn’t remember the last time she'd worn her hair completely up. In fact, she couldn’t even remember the last time she'd done anything nice with her hair.
She changed into her clothes, tucking the shirt into her skirt and checking out the look from all angles. The loose, flowy material off-set the tight skirt and she smiled. She felt like she looked perfect for a night out in a city on the Gulf. She had to search for the little makeup she traveled with, and then took a while carefully applying eyeliner and mascara and all the rest. At last, she finally put on the new earrings and her ankle boots, then studied the completed look.
As perfect as she was gonna get.
She found Parker downstairs and was in for a shock. He was standing at the kitchen island playing on his cell phone, so he hadn’t noticed her entrance. He'd styled his hair, pushing most of it up off his forehead. He was wearing a black blazer, a gray button down shirt, and black slacks. The new shoes he'd bought were black leather. The watch she'd played with that morning sat on his wrist. It was all simple and tasteful, and it all looked expensive and incredibly good on him.
She suddenly felt silly, like a kid playing dress up standing next to someone who did it regularly. She should’ve bought a new skirt, new shoes. She should’ve gotten her hair done. She huffed out a breath and practically stomped into the kitchen, dropping her purse on the island next to him.
“I didn’t think you were serious when you said four-star,” she stated, eyeing him up and down like she was ready for him to make fun of her.
“Oh my god, Paige, you look amazing,” he exclaimed. He looked her up and down as well, but he looked more like a kid at Christmas. She stilled.
“Are you joking? Cause that’s not funny,” she told him. He laughed and finally looked her in the eye.
“What are you talking about? You look great. Your hair, I’ve never seen it all up like that. I’ve never really seen you do your makeup. You just look ... amazing,” he used that word again, his eyes wandering all over her face. She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks and she smacked him in the arm with her purse.
“Well, one of us has to look good. Let’s get out of here,” she said quickly, turning around and storming towards the door. He hurried around her.
“Jesus, Paige, how about you let me be the guy, just this once,” he laughed, opening the door for her with a flourish. She laughed.
“Okay, but only for tonight.”
She let him open the car door for her, and again when they got to the restaurant. When they were following the maître d', she shivered when Parker placed his hand on the small of her back. She could get used to this. He pulled her chair out for her and expertly ordered a bottle of wine for them. When they were alone, Paige gawked at him while he just grinned.
“What?” he asked.
“Where is this all coming from?Chateauneuf du pape?I don’t even know what that is – Parker, where are you from?” she asked.
