Finding Paige: (The Paige Diaries #1)

by D. K Lake

  "You need to stop overthinking everything. You're never going to be happy if you keep pushing him away."

  "I don't need him. I don't want anything to do with him. I wish he would leave me alone." I say firmly, adding Maverick's name to my contacts list.

  "No, you don't."

  "You're not helping."

  "I am. I'm trying to show you what is plainly obvious to everyone but you, that you love Dario. You have since you were teenagers and you won't be happy with anyone else."

  I shake my head. "You're wrong...and I'm going to prove it."

  "Please don't." she says just as my phone beeps.

  It's a message from Maverick with the address to the party.

  "Maverick invited me to this party and now I've got the address, and I intend to go and have some fun."

  "With Maverick?"

  "Why not with Maverick? We're both adults. Maybe this will be just what I need."

  "Maverick is just a distraction from the bigger problem here."

  "Are you coming or not?" I jump off the bed and open the closet.

  "Fine." she huffs with a sigh. "Have fun with Maverick...but we both know you're still madly in love with the boy that just walked out of here. You have been for years. Nothing will change that, no matter how good a distraction Maverick is."

  "We'll see." I smile and lift out one of Em's cute little dresses and she shakes her head. "What? The other day you were telling me to have fun, so that's what I'm going to do. So, either get over here and help me pick out something to wear or disappear."

  "I don't like this side of you." she admits.

  "What side is that? I'm just going to this party to have fun with Maverick, not caring for once where it goes. I just want to have some fun and forget about..." I trail off.

  "I think I preferred quiet, book-loving Paige."

  "Well, this Paige needs a drink. Are you in?"

  "Like I'm gonna let you go alone." She smiles at me and hooks an arm around my neck. "Come on, then. Let's do this."

  Chapter 10

  I find myself on my way to my second party in less than a week. I've only ever been to one other party and that was the one Emily dragged me to last week. It's funny how things changed and I had to practically drag her here.

  Em had to drive but we've already agreed if we both drink too much we'll just get an Uber back and pick the car up in the morning, or depending on what the place is like we might be able to curl up on a couch somewhere. The address Maverick gave me is an hour's drive away in the middle of nowhere.

  I spot the sign and tell Em to turn left and we start to drive down a long dirt track. We both glance at each other in wonder. Where the hell is this dirt track going to bring us out? It’s a bit dark and scary out here. I'm imagining the party being at some rundown shack in the middle of the woods, and a random horror movie flickers through my head of teens being lost in the woods. So, I'm pleasantly surprised when we pull up in front of a large cabin that overlooks the lake.

  "Wow. Who owns this place?" I gape, leaning forward to stare out the window as the car rolls across the gravel.

  "It’s Ethan's party. I only spoke to him briefly at the last party, but he told me he's Maverick's older brother."

  "Maverick has a brother?"

  "Yup. He's in his last year of college."

  "Does he have any other siblings?"

  "Not that I know of. He wasn't at school for long enough for any of us to get to know him."

  "So whose house is this then?"

  "I'm guessing it belongs to Ethan’s and Maverick’s parents."

  I look back at the house in awe, wondering what it must be like to grow up in a wealthy household. We had money when I was growing up, but we weren't super-rich or anything.

  There are cars parked on the gravel but not too many. I can hear music and see people out on the porch, but it's not as crowded as the last party. Also, the cabin is the size of a small mansion.

  "This is nice." I say as Em reverses into a spot.

  "Nice? This is gorgeous. There's even a dock with a boat!" She points across the grass.

  We climb out and head into the house. I don't recognize anyone on the porch, but they all smile and one girl waves at us and they seem friendly enough.

  "I'm pretty sure she's in my sociology class. She's a little snobby but she's friendly enough." Em whispers as we step inside. " And I recognized a few of them from the year above in high school. This must be a private party for rich kids."

  "I didn't know Maverick came from a wealthy family," I say, remembering he turned up to English class in the same baggy jeans and worn Chucks all week. He doesn't exactly look like he has money.

  "I already told you Maverick's parents are loaded. They took him out of school, and he lived abroad for nearly a year. I think his dad is some big-shot attorney and his mom used to be a pageant queen."

  "You made it!" Maverick says from out of nowhere and we both look up and see him standing at the top of the spiral staircase.

  I casually wave at him and he jogs down the stairs to meet us. He's still wearing the same jeans I've seen all week although he's dressed it up with a black button-up shirt that he's rolled up to his elbows, and underneath he's wearing a white tee. I spot a silver chain around his neck and see he's wearing a designer watch. It's the first time I've noticed his jewelry. On second glance, I realize he does have money, he just doesn’t flaunt it, and I never noticed before. I wasn't interested in him for his money anyhow. He’s a sweet guy and he makes me laugh. Isn't that what really matters?

  "Hi." I smile and he surprises me when he pulls me into a friendly hug. He smells like cherry cola and he's chewing on some fruity gum.

  "Hey," He squeezes me. "I wasn't sure if you were going to show up." He lets go of me and smiles at Em.

  "I decided to take you up on that offer. About changing my mind,"

  "Ah. Well, I better make sure you enjoy this party then." Maverick says, watching me.

  "Where's Ethan?" Em asks. "Isn't this his party?"

  "He's out by the pool. He just turned twenty-one."

  "There's a pool?" Em's eyes go wide.

  "Yeah, there's a pool." Maverick laughs.

  "I didn't bring my bikini." she whines.

  "I don't think a lot of people brought their bathing suits, so they're in there in their underwear."

  "I'm going to check out this pool." Em abandons me in search of the pool.

  "You look nice." Maverick tells me.

  "Oh, thanks." I smooth my hands over my dress.

  I had decided on something that covered a little more. A knee-length yellow dress with capped sleeves and a pair of wedge sandals to give me some height. I probably look more suited for the beach, but I'm comfortable which is the main thing. I didn't want to dress up for anyone. Em's in her favorite denim miniskirt and red crop top which she can totally pull off. Literally. She'll probably be in the pool in the next five minutes in only her bra and thong. Em has no problem with her appearance. She doesn't worry about the small details, like if she has a mole here or there, or if there's a weird stretch mark on display and I love her for it. She's got more than enough confidence for the both of us.

  "Would you like a drink? Wait. Are you driving?" Maverick asks.

  "No. We’ll probably catch an Uber back."

  "What?" Maverick laughs as though it's the funniest thing he's heard all day. "No way. You can take my room."

  "What? I can't sleep in your room." I frown.

  "Sure you can. I'll take the couch. You can bunk with Emily. There's no way I'm letting you take a random Uber back to the dorms in the middle of the night. You never know who you're getting in the car with."

  He leads me into a large, open kitchen where the countertops are covered with an assortment of alcohol bottles.

  "Any requests?" he asks.

  "I don't know. I don't really drink."

  "We have lots of beer or I can mix you a drink, or you can have one of these." He picks up
a green bottle. "All the girls love them."

  "What is it?"

  "Some fruity drink that has alcohol in it. You can have tropical or there's apple."

  "Apple is fine, thank you." He pops off the lid and hands it to me and I take a sip.

  "Mmm. Nice." I say.

  "Yeah?" He smiles and helps himself to a beer bottle. "Do you want to sit in the garden or the living room?"

  "Garden."

  We find a spot on a sun-lounger and sit side by side. I set my bag on the patio by my feet and watch Em as she cozies up to some guy sitting on the wall. Someone inside turns the music up and the bass thumps through the walls and Maverick drums a little beat out on his knees.

  "Who's that sitting with Em over there?" I ask and nod my head in her direction. She's down to her miniskirt and bra and is barefoot.

  "Ethan. My brother." Maverick replies.

  I look back at Ethan and can see similarities between them, although Ethan's hair is a lighter shade of brown, and he has blue eyes. His frame is lankier compared to Maverick who is lean, and his biceps are bigger. They look similar but you wouldn't know they are brothers just by looking at them.

  "Different moms." Maverick says as though he's reading my mind.

  "Ah," I sip my drink, noticing how easy it's going down.

  "Another drink?" he asks. "Or I can get you a water bottle, or some food?"

  "Another one of these will be fine."

  He takes my bottle and disappears back inside the house. I catch Em waving at me and I wave back, she leans over to whisper something to Ethan and he waves at me too. I'm still waving when I hear a phone ringing. I look around and wonder where it's coming from and then I realize it's coming from my bag. I lean down and pick up my bag and quickly unzip it and lift out my new phone. I Miss You by blink-182 is playing. I open the phone to stop the song. I don't want to hear it.

  I first heard it when I was at work one night with Dario and it came through the speakers. I asked Dario who sang it and he laughed at me as though I was joking. He eventually told me the name of the group and it became one of my favorite songs.

  I see a message from guess who?

  Dario: Guess what my favorite color is?

  What?

  Delete.

  "I thought you didn't have a phone?" Maverick makes me jump appearing out of nowhere and shadowing over me.

  "Oh, uh...it's new." I show him my shiny new phone.

  "Does this mean I can get your number?" he asks, handing me another bottle of the apple stuff.

  "I don't know. I don't usually give my number out to strangers."

  He chuckles. "Well, maybe we can fix that." He holds his hand out to me for me to shake. "Hi, I'm Maverick Wilder. My birthday is on February 15. I hate spiders. I eat too much peanut butter. I have a weird birthmark on my foot. I had a dog called Thor when I was younger, and he was my best friend before he passed away. I only drink coffee cold. Iced is best. I have two tattoos, one anchor which is on my wrist and is to keep me grounded, and a Batman symbol here," He lifts up his sleeve to show me the top of his arm. "I can play the guitar. I broke my arm when I was eleven when I fell off my bike. I like superheroes and comics. I'm kind of a nerd if you haven't already guessed." He nudges me with his shoulder. "I've only ever kissed one girl, other than my mother, and her name is Kira and we dated for a bit while I was in Italy." He claps his hands together. "Your turn."

  "Okay...um..." I think about what I want to say. "I don't know what to tell you. I'm not very interesting."

  "Oh, I don't know about that." He flicks my hair over my shoulder.

  "I have a sister called Kelsey who is a year older than me, and two younger siblings, a little brother called Archie and a little sister called Anna-Marigold."

  Maverick smirks and I can tell he's trying not to laugh.

  "Don't even go there. My dad remarried a younger woman and it was all her idea. Uh...I like my coffee hot. I love peanut M&M’s. I like baking. My birthday is also in February. February 20. I hate spiders, too. I can speak French. I never had a dog. I've never broken anything. I have a birthmark here," I show him the inside of my forearm where I have a little red splotch that looks like a raindrop. "I'm obsessed with Fanta. No tattoos or exotic piercings, apart from my ears. I'm a big fan of Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars. I keep a diary. I’ve always wanted to go to Australia and it’s on my list of places to visit. And I've never had a boyfriend." I admit as my phone starts singing again. "Sorry," I apologize and quickly open my phone and see another message from you know who.

  Dario: You have to guess.

  Me: No. Leave me alone!

  Dario: It's easy to guess my favorite color…

  "Someone is persistent." Maverick jokes.

  "It's uh...an old friend." I say with a shake of my head.

  Me: Fine! Pink? Green? I don't know, ok? What's your favorite color?

  Dario: You're wearing it.

  What?

  My eyes ping pong around the garden and quickly land on a familiar frame leaning against the side of the wall. Dario's watching me with his arms folded and a crooked smile on his face.

  Chapter 11

  I think my face says it all.

  "Do you know him?" Maverick asks, noticing my reaction.

  "What?" I tear my eyes away from Dario and force a smile.

  "You look surprised to see him."

  "Who? Dario?" I laugh it off.

  "Who?" Maverick frowns.

  "I'm sorry. Who are we talking about?"

  "Boston?" Maverick says.

  "Oh, right. Yeah, I forget everyone calls him that."

  Everyone knows him as Boston and there are only a few that know his real name is Dario, they all think Boston is his first name.

  "We uh...went to school together. I haven't seen him in a while. What's he doing here?" I act casual.

  "Ethan probably called him."

  "What for?"

  "People like to party. Boston delivers."

  "Right. Of course."

  How could I forget he's a drug dealer?

  "It's mainly just weed." Maverick tells me.

  Ethan gets up from his seat and walks over to Dario and I see an exchange of money and drugs, and it doesn't look like weed. I spot pills and a couple of bags of white powder.

  "I thought you said it was just weed?"

  "It was." Maverick sighs. "He says it's not a problem, but he can't seem to stop." Maverick adds, watching his brother.

  I then see another familiar face saunter up beside Dario.

  Spencer.

  The guy that delivered the phone to me. Em notices them and can't take her eyes off of Spencer. He happens to catch her looking and I see a smile on his face before he turns away. The three of them talk for a few minutes and Ethan pats Dario on the back and gestures to the seating area that is set up under the gazebo. Dario and Spencer head into the gazebo and help themselves to a beer each. I tip my bottle back and drain the rest of my drink.

  "Whoa. You can drink." Maverick laughs.

  "Not really. I rarely drink. I've probably drunk too much already."

  "It's okay, you're not driving, and it is a party. Anyway, I’m here to take care of you."

  "You are?"

  "Sure. I won't let anyone mess with you."

  "And who wants to mess with me?" I lean into him and can smell his fruity chewing gum we're so close.

  "No one, but just in case some drunk idiot gets all hands-on, I'll be here to protect you."

  I smile at Maverick and can't help but glance at the gazebo and find Dario glaring my way. Spencer is talking to him although he doesn't seem to be listening, keeping his eyes on me while he sips his beer.

  "So, what do you do at a party? This is my second party ever." I confess.

  "No way?"

  "Yup. Last week was my first one and I felt ill and had to leave," I explain. "This is my second."

  "Well, there's usually lots to drink." Maverick holds up his beer. "Beer pong is a
favorite game. Skinny dipping is not unknown. Dancing if it's your thing," He lifts his hand with the beer bottle and tips it toward the house where the living room is starting to fill up and people are moving to the beat of the music. "For some reason, people love to play Truth or Dare, but I don't get it. It's not fun when you're being dared to jump in the lake naked or down a can of cold beans."

  "Ew." I laugh.

  "Yeah. I don't play anymore." Maverick chuckles.

  "I hate that game, too."

  "Good. We can sit it out together in protest."

  "Anything else?"

  "Um...the pool's fun." Maverick gestures to the pool where there’s an inflatable shark and doughnut that people are sitting on and falling off. "But I'd wait until later when it's empty if you want to go for a dip. Not unless you want to get dunked under." he says just as a girl screams and is shoved under by some idiot. She comes up screaming again and tells him off.

  "And then there's kissing. Sometimes more than kissing." He wiggles his eyebrows.

  "Kissing, huh?" I say with a shy smile.

  "But that's optional,"

  "So, if I want to find a willing participant, who should I ask?" I am surprised at my sudden boost in confidence. I put it down to the alcohol sloshing around inside my belly.

  He taps my nose with his finger.

  "I'm gonna have to keep an eye on you, aren't I?" he teases.

  "Maybe," I giggle and look back at the gazebo. Dario is gone. I scan the garden and soon find him sitting in a deckchair with some yappy blond on his lap.

  What the hell?

  He's looking straight at me as the girl chatters away to him, with his beer bottle touching his lips but I can still see the smile from all the way over here.

  I don't care. He can do whatever he wants.

  I just wish he'd do it somewhere else and not in front of me. I turn my back on him and decide to ignore him.

  "Do you drive an hour back and forth to college every day?" I ask, fiddling with the hem of my dress.

  "No," Maverick responds. "I'm living in the dorms."

  "Oh, really? Which one?"

  "C block." he says before finishing his beer.

  "Huh. That's my dorm."

  "I know." He glances over at me with a hidden smile. "I have a confession?" he starts.