Page 108 of Grumpy Darling

“Everything you...” Realization slowly dawned in her eyes.

“You’re everything, Pidge.” My speeding heart had moved from my chest to my throat as I took her hands in mine. There was no going back now. I couldn’t afford to hesitate or let any doubt set in.

“I’m sorry I’ve taken so long to tell you this,” I continued. “But somewhere along the way, you became much more to me than just my best friend. I get butterflies when you enter a room and sparks on my skin when we touch. I’m happiest when I’m with you, and when I’m sad, you’re the person I want by my side. I know you deserve so much better than me. And I don’t want to mess up what we have, but I’ve always believed our friendship can survive anything—including the fact I’ve...” I paused, but only for a moment. I refused to let fear take hold of me again. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Paige.”

It was both freeing and terrifying to release those words out into the open. I could feel them lingering in the air between us, and the part of me that worried I’d never be good enough for Paige wanted to reach out and steal them back. But I couldn’t keep this bottled up any longer. I’d done my best over the last couple of weeks to try to get Paige to see me differently; it had either worked, or it hadn’t. There was nothing more I could do now.

“Crap,” she murmured.

My heart started to sink. “You don’t feel the same...”

“It’s not that,” she said. “I think I might have wasted my wish.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, either I wasted my wish, or the stars work really fast,” she replied with a cautious smile. “I wished for you, Gray. I wished that this date was real. I wished that one day you’d see me as more than a friend. And I wished that you, no one else, would be my first kiss. Because I’m in love with you too, Grayson. I think I always have been. I just didn’t realize it was love. I thought it was just... us.”

“You really wished for all of that?”

“Yes.” Her eyes were big and bright, and her smile so pure. The sight of her looking at me that way was more than I could have ever hoped for. It chipped away at my nerves and insecurities. It lifted the heavy weight of doubt on my heart, and my own smile started to grow in return.

“It seems like a lot to wish on one star,” I replied. “Sounds a little greedy.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but I leaned in, placing my hand on her cheek as I stared into her eyes. “I would have wished for all of that too.”

I closed those last few inches between us and our lips finally met. I’d spent a long time imagining what it would feel like to kiss Paige, but my dreams were nothing compared to the real thing. One touch from her lips, and it was like we’d taken a torch to our friendship, burning it down and building something new in its place.

She tasted just liked she smelled, sweet and fruity. And while we were both tentative at first, when I felt the soft stroke of her tongue against mine, I lost all self-control. My hands tangled in her hair, and she gripped my jacket to pull me closer. My whole body came alight, and my heart was so full I thought it might burst. This wasn’t just a kiss. I felt it everywhere, from my lips to the depths of my soul. Her kiss marked me in a permanent way, like she’d tattooed her name across my heart.

When she drew back there was a shy look in her eyes, and she bit her lower lip. “Was that okay?”

“Was thatokay?” I shook my head in disbelief. How could she think that was anything less than earth-shattering?

“I don’t have anything to compare it to, so you’ll have to tell me if it was good or not.” She was rambling a little, and I quickly answered to put her mind at ease.

“Trust me, that was the best kiss I’ve ever had.”

“It was?” She perked up. “Because I thought it was pretty amazing too.”

“Though, you should probably take my opinion with a grain of salt, because I don’t have anything to compare it to either...”

She blinked slowly as though trying to understand. “You don’t?”

“No, Pidge. That was my first kiss too.”

“But... What? Who?” She blinked. “How is that possible?”

“Why would I kiss someone else, when I was waiting for you?”

Her cheeks turned pink as she smiled. But then her expression flipped, and she thumped me. “I hired you as my dating coach, even though you hadn’t been kissed either?”

“Uh, firstly,ouch. And secondly, what do you meanhired? I don’t remember being paid.”

“Still, it’s practically fraud! I should sue.”

“Can you really blame me?” I asked. “I’d do anything for you.”

She looked like she couldn’t decide whether to kiss or thump me again. If I was at risk of receiving another punch, I might as well get another awkward conversation out of the way.

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