Page 71 of Grumpy Darling

“Let’s just get this over with,” he said as he eased the clothes from my arms so he could carry them for me. I jumped as his skin brushed against mine. What was with me today? There wasn’t anything different about the way Gray was acting. There was certainly no reason to jolt because his hands had brushed my arms.

He gave me a strange look and I tried to laugh it off. “I knew you weren’t excited about shopping.”

“What are you talking about? Clearly, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

There’s no way that was true, especially as he could have been playing hockey right now, but I was grateful he was here. Especially since Bonnie had to bail.

“Well, I appreciate it either way,” I said. “And cheer up. I’ll repay you with ice cream after.”

“I’m going to need a whole lot more than ice cream in payment for this,” he grumbled.

I realized my eyes had instinctively dropped to his lips, and I quickly turned in search of the fitting rooms. I could have sworn he’d glanced at mine too, but surely I’d just imagined that.

“It’s all in your head, Paige,” I mumbled to myself. “It’s all in your head.”

Chapter 17

Grayson

I hated shopping more than anything. More than heights. More than an empty stomach. Even more than I hated when the weather got above 75 degrees. It was essentially my idea of hell. The fact I was here with Paige when I should have been at practice was hard to believe. But more unbelievable than that? I was enjoying it. Paige could turn just about anything into something fun. I just wished we weren’t working toward getting some other guy to ask her out.

“So, what do you think?” she asked, stepping out of the fitting room with a flourish.

She was wearing a long teal-colored dress. It looked innocent enough at first, but then she spun to reveal it was backless. The straps were just a thin line of fabric, and it swept from the neckline in an uninterrupted curve to her waist. The style really suited her, but it was too easy to imagine Damien placing a hand against the exposed skin on her lower back, so I had no choice but to hate it on principle.

“You look beautiful, Paige.”

She rolled her eyes. “You said that about the last two outfits.”

“I guess you looked beautiful in them too.”

“Well, we have to pick one.” She sighed and went back into the fitting room, pulling the curtain closed. She raised her voice so I could hear her from the other side. “I need you to start giving me some constructive criticism, or we’ll never make a decision.”

I hadn’t been lying. She’d looked amazing in all the outfits she’d tried on, but she hadn’t looked like herself. It didn’t feel like she was convinced by Bonnie’s fashion choices either. It was easy to tell when Paige was excited about something, because her whole face lit up and enthusiasm radiated from every pore of her body. Unlike me, there was never any doubt about what emotion Paige was feeling, and so far, it was obvious to me she was underwhelmed at best, and uncomfortable at worst.

When she reappeared in her next outfit, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.

“You want to wear that to school?” She was in a pair of jeans that were so skintight they looked like they were painted on, and her dark top was low cut and fitted, I didn’t know where to look. I clenched my hands on my lap as I scanned the outfit, resisting the urge to let my eyes linger anywhere they shouldn’t. This outfit seemed to meet Bonnie’s strict criteria: more revealing than what Paige usually wore, and figure-hugging. If she showed up in this outfit at school, we were both going to get expelled. Paige for breaking the dress code, and me for breaking the nose of the first guy who checked her out.

“Okay, I know I wanted some constructive criticism, but I didn’t expect such a strong reaction,” she said, looking down at the outfit. “I don’t look good?”

“That’s not what I said.” She definitely looked good. Too good, if anything. But like all the other outfits Bonnie had picked, it just wasn’tPaige.

“But that’s what you wanted to say?”

“No,” I protested. “It’s just different to what you normally wear, that’s all.”

“That’s the whole point, Gray,” she replied with a laugh. “I’m supposed to look different. And see, the top has little stars on it. You know how much I love stars...”

I squinted slightly at the top and saw there were small stars faintly imprinted in the dark material. I shrugged. “You love stargazing. This isn’t that. And the stars aren’t the problem.”

She crossed her arms as she stared at me. “What’s the problem then?”

“I can tell you’re not comfortable.”

“Yeah, my butt kind of feels like it’s about to pop the seams,” she said, laughing again. “And I think if I bend over, my boobs might fall right out of this top.”

Calm thoughts, I told myself.Calm thoughts.

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