But first, I watched as Booker tucked himself into his jeans, then grabbed his shirt off the floor before going out the door. Man there was something wrong with me. Seeing him handle himself that way, made me want to throw him down onto the bed and do it all again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Booker
I was still pulling my shirt over my head when I got to the kitchen and found my dad sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. He looked exhausted. Happy but the crinkled lines around his eyes made him look a little older. All this medical stuff with Mom had taken its toll on him, too.
“Hey,” I said as I crossed the room, grabbing Paige’s shirt and bra on my way, then stopping at the fridge for a bottle of water.
“Are there any surfaces in here I shouldn’t touch?” Dad asked.
I did my best to stifle a laugh by wetting my lips with my tongue and biting them together between my teeth. Then I answered. “’Course not.”
He held his hands up in defense. “Just checking.” Then he took a drink of his coffee. “I’m assuming those are Paige’s?”
I didn’t answer, instead choosing to busy myself by taking a drink.
“So things went well when you got home?” he asked.
I shrugged. This wasn’t something I’d normally talk to him about.
“She’s your mom’s nurse,” he pointed out. “How’s that going to work?”
Now I sighed. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“Of course you didn’t.”
Anger rose in my throat, though I tried to control it. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve always been impulsive. Listen, I don’t have a problem with you and her being together but we do have to think about your mom. How it’ll affect her recovery. If we’re going to have to find a new nurse. Shit like that.”
I snorted as I sat across the table from him. “That’s funny.”
“How’s that funny? You run around doing whatever the hell you want without much concern for the anyone else.” Dad took a deep breath the continued. “I’m just saying, there are things we have to think about.”
“It’s funny because if you told the rest of the band… or hell, Paige, that I’m impulsive, they wouldn’t believe you. I’m the least impulsive. Actually, I think things over too much.”
Dad began shaking his head. “You’re trying to tell me that up and leaving in pursuit of a pipe dream at sixteen wasn’t impulsive.”
I dropped my fist against the table so hard that my bottle fell over and his cup shook. “No!” But then I brought everything back to an even level. Yelling matches with him never ended well and we never got anywhere that way. “It wasn’t impulsive, Dad. I agonized over it for months. Even I knew how big of a chance I was taking. But it was an opportunity I was never going to get again.”
“You didn’t know that.”
“I did.” I took a deep breath. This was the most he and I had talked about me leaving since I’d left. “That was my chance, Dad. Those don’t come around very often. Honestly, I’d say I made the right decision. It’s working out.”
“And if you hadn’t?”
“I would’ve come home with my tail between my legs, finished school, and figured out what else I wanted to do with my life.”
“You would’ve come back?”
I nodded. “Well, yeah. I know I can always come back here.” Dad blinked five times like he couldn’t believe his ears. “No matter how painful you might make it,” I added.
Now he chuckled. I’d meant it to be funny, but at the same time, the truth was the truth.
“All right.” He cleared his throat. “I just came home to take a shower, then I’m going back to the hospital. We’ll have to figure some things out.”
“Like?”
Dad narrowed his eyes on me and cocked his head to the side. “Like I said, if you’re together, it’s unlikely she can keep working for us. It’s not a normal situation. You’ll want to take her with you, right?”
Well, that I had to think about. Not the taking-Paige-with-me part. That was a no-brainer. I wanted her with me, but I doubted she’d go. At least not permanently. Paige wasn’t going to be satisfied just being taken care of. She’d told me she’d gotten her first job in an ice cream shop at fourteen. No way would she not want to work. Maybe I could convince her to come with me for a little while, but shit… Dad was right. He had some things to figure out.
With me not answering, Dad cleared his throat, stood up, and stretched. He’d been sitting in that hospital room all day and he sure as hell wasn’t used to that. I got up from the table as well, grabbed Paige’s clothes, her phone, and headed back to her room.
Stepping inside, I knew it was too much to ask that she’d still be naked in bed waiting for me. Instead, I heard the hairdryer going at full blast in her bathroom. Instead of stepping inside as she dried her hair, I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb. I loved watching her move. Loved watching her run her fingers through her hair without her knowing I was there.
“Fuck!” she screeched when she finally saw me. “How long have you been standing there?”
I chuckled quietly. “Not long enough. You showered?”
“Felt like I should.” She glanced over at me. “Did you get my clothes?”
I handed everything to her, and she dropped them in the hamper next to her but set her phone on the counter. I noticed it in the kitchen and decided to grab it just in case.
“Was your dad out there?” she asked, her body pulled into itself like she was ready to cringe. I nodded. “Damn it,” she said.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. That was so unprofessional.”
I shrugged. “In most cases, I’d agree, but you live here. This is your home right now. You weren’t on the clock and are allowed to have a life.”
“Well.” She set the hairdryer down and turned to me. “Maybe in the future I should keep my life contained to this room.”
I nodded, then added, “Or mine.”
Paige rolled her eyes as she came over to me, clutched my hip, and dropped her head to my chest. I wrapped my arms around her as she moved to look up at me.
“Have you been traveling all night?” she asked.
“Not exactly. After my dad called, I packed my bag and headed to the airport. There weren’t any flights out, so I had to wait until early this morning.”
“Did you sleep at the airport?”
I shrugged her off. “A little.”
“Ohmygod.” She pushed off me and covered her face. “I’m so selfish.”
“How’s that?”
“You came to see your mother at the hospital and followed me here instead. You slept in an airport, but I was more concerned with my feelings than yours. That’s the definition of selfish. Then this… ” She waved her hand toward her bed. “You shouldn’t have been in here with me. You should’ve been with your mom or sleeping. I’m awful.”
There wasn’t any possible way to school the humor on my face, even if it was going to piss her off. The fact that Paige thought I was anywhere other than exactly where I wanted to be was priceless. I took her hands and led her over to the bed so she could sit, but I dropped to my knees in front of her. She’d left her hair down, making her appear innocent, vulnerable. Wait…
“Why do you wear your hair up so much?” I asked. “It’s beautiful down but you wear it up most of the time. Is there a reason for that?”
She furrowed her brows at me. Yeah, that wasn’t what I’d intended to ask, either. But I did want to know.
“Uh… work. I think I’ve told you that.”
“Is that the only reason?”
Paige adjusted her position on the bed before answering. “I guess, since I was so young when I started working, I thought people would take me more seriously. I always thought it made me look a little older.”
“You think it makes you look older and more serious?”
She nodded.
What Paige was telling me without telling me was that looking older and more serious made her feel protected because in her life, she hadn’t been. Or at least she hadn’t always been so she had to protect herself.
“I like it down,” I said softly as I ran a few strands through my fingers. “You don’t have to worry about being protected, Paige. I got you.”
She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. I would’ve sworn her eyes began to water, too. When she leaned in and placed a kiss on my lips, she did it so softly that my heart broke.
“You should get ready to go back to see your mother,” she said, ignoring what I’d told her.
“Yeah. You’re right. Give me five minutes.”
I dropped one more kiss onto her lips I left her alone in her room.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Paige
How embarrassing to basically be caught in the act by a guy’s parents. I mean… not actually caught, of course, but Joe knew exactly what we’d been doing. I wasn’t sure how I’d face him again. Or look him in the eye. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to do either anytime soon. Hopefully, Booker would get ready and we could slip out without seeing Joe.
Minutes later when there was a light rap on my door, I hadn’t moved a muscle. Quickly, I grabbed my crossbody purse, dropped my phone inside, and flung it around my shoulder before I opened the door.
“Ready?” I asked Booker once I saw him. He’d obviously taken a quick shower because his hair was still a little damp. He’d put on fresh jeans and a T-shirt, but I wondered if he still wasn’t wearing any boxers. When he’d left my room, he hadn’t been. What a dumb thing to think about at a time like this.
Booker insisted we take his rental car, so I hopped in the passenger side. On the way to the hospital, he held my hand the entire way. Halfway there, he pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed it.
“What were you thinking?” he asked.
“When?”
“When you opened your bedroom door. This look crossed your face.”
“A look?” I asked.
“An amazing look,” he said back. “An interesting look that made me feel like I really wanted to know what was going through your head.”
“Oh. Nothing.” My skin heated with the mark of embarrassment.
“Well, now I have to know.” When I glanced over at him, I found that he’d been looking at me and of course he’d seen me flush. He needed to watch the road.
Damn it.
“It’s stupid. Nothing, really.”
“Paige.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed but kept staring out at the road in front of us. “When you left my room to get my shirt and bra from the kitchen you… didn’t put your boxers back on and the thought that you still may not be wearing any after you changed kind of passed through my mind. But it was quick and not really—”
“So you thought about whether I was wearing boxers or not?”
I sat silently and clenched my jaw. I wasn’t going to confirm it. I’d already said too much.
He shrugged, but his hand tightened on the wheel. “You could just check.”
“What?” I snapped my head toward him in surprise.
“You can check. Whenever you want. You don’t even have to ask.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe. But still… just so you know, it’s an open-ended offer.”
Perhaps if we weren’t going to see his mother in the hospital, I’d take him up on that, but for now, I’d just have to wonder.
Booker took my hand in his and didn’t let go as we entered the hospital, the elevator, or even his mother’s room. I guessed this meant we were going to be public about our relationship. Sure, we still had a lot to talk about, but there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we were together. And we had held hands in front of them once before anyway.
“How are you feeling?” Booker asked his mom.
Marina smiled when he kissed her forehead, but her gaze dropped to where Booker still held my hand. I tucked my hair behind my ear and looked away from her.
“Much better than even this morning,” she answered, then she sighed dramatically.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on her and checking the monitors for signs of distress. Then I let go of Booker’s hand and looked over her IV bags as well as the pump settings. Everything looked good.
“I’m going to have to find a new nurse, aren’t I?” she asked, glancing from Booker to me.
He burst out laughing, but I was still confused.
“She means”—he moved closer to me and took my hands in his again—“she’ll need to find a new nurse because we’re together. She thinks she’s funny.”
“Oh.” I should’ve known that. “Right.”
It would be pretty weird for me to be her home nurse, I supposed, if I was sleeping with her son. But fuck… that meant I’d need a new job. Plus move back to Ann Arbor, which was fine. I loved living in Ann Arbor but it was too far from Stone Creek where I assumed Booker would be when not on the road.
“I guess I’m back to job hunting,” I said, mostly to myself.
“Hey,” Booker said as he lifted my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “We’ll get everything figured out. Let’s just not freak out, OK?”
I nodded quickly, then smiled and went back over to Marina. “I know some awesome nurses I can recommend, if you want.”
“That would be great,” she said.
A little anxiety and panic bubbled up inside of me. I loved Booker and I wanted to be with him. That wasn’t a question. But in all of it, I hadn’t considered how dramatically different my life would become. I’d need a different job. Would going back home to share my apartment with Barrett even matter considering he’d have to get back out on the road? I hadn’t bothered to ask how long he’d be home for this time. I didn’t think long since he’d just gone back out there in the first place.
Once Joe arrived again, Booker wanted to leave to give his parents time alone and so that his mother wouldn’t get too tired out. On the plus side, they were moving her out of the ICU later that evening.
On the way home Booker asked me about those moments where my anxiety had kicked up. In the interest of being honest, I told him my worries. That was what people in relationships did, right? I told him I worried about seeing him once I lived further from Stone Creek. That, yeah, I was a little worried about finding a new job. I still had this one for now and I wasn’t going to leave it until I had another in place. I couldn’t be unemployed ever.
“We can figure all of that out, but I hate that I’m causing you all this trouble.”
“I’d rather have you, anyway,” I said without having to think about it. “The job with your mom was always temporary. I was leaving at some point.”
“That’s true. But honestly, I’d like to get things figured out before I go back to the tour again.”
“That’s soon, right?”
“I’ll stretch it as long as I can, but I don’t want to quit the band.”
“Well, duh.”
“I just want to know where I’m going whenever I come back,” he said as he pulled off the highway.
“Because you’ll be going—”
He cut me off. “Wherever you are.”
Booker turned into his parents’ long driveway and slowly brought us to a stop. After he turned the engine off, he moved to get out, but I grabbed his arm. Then I ran my hand down his chest until I met the waistband of his jeans. This was the boldest thing I’d ever done in my life. I was excited and alive with butterflies taking over my stomach.
“Maybe now is the time to check the boxer situation,” I said as I popped the button on his pants.
“Hell yes,” he said, sliding back a little, giving me more room for easier access as I pushed the zipper down.
Then just as I was about to reach inside to get my answer, Booker grabbed my wrist tightly and held me back. I looked up at him with wide eyes. While I may not have bee
n good at what I was about to do, I had wanted to try and never considered he’d stop me.
“Wh—”
“Gonna need to wait on that,” he said.
“Why?”
Instead of answering, he pointed out in front of the car toward the porch. Five people were scattered around. Two women sat on the steps along with a man. Then two more men were standing in front of them, one hopping around like he had far too much energy.
“Is that… ?”
“Cross, Dixon, and Ransom.” Booker rebuttoned his jeans and pulled the zipper up before he stepped out of the car.
“What’re they doing here?” I asked after I also got out of the car. He met me on my side.
Booker smiled widely. “Let’s go find out.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Booker
“What are you doing here?” I asked them all as we approached.
The guys sprung forward and enveloped me in a big group hug, forcing me to release Paige’s hand. She took a few steps back and watched them huddle around me. Indie and Bellamy on the porch were giggling as Ransom pretended to dry-hump me. Somehow, I still saw the girls approach Paige and introduce themselves.
“You guys are idiots,” I said when I was finally able to push them away, then I ran a hand through my hair to straighten what they’d done. I didn’t know what had gotten into them.
“They really are,” Indie agreed. “How’s your mom?”
“Getting better every day.”
“Good to hear.”
I moved back over to Paige and took her hand in mine. “Let’s go inside.” Once the entire group of us settled around the living room, I asked, “So what’re you all doing here?”
“Well… ” Indie had spoken, which surprised me but probably shouldn’t have. She was involved with band news as much as any of us and honestly, she had more experience than the rest of us. “Remember how my dad had that bad cold not long after I first came for a visit?” she asked.
“Uh… no,” I answered. This was something that must’ve happened before I joined the tour.
Booker (Courting Chaos Book 3) Page 15
