Good night, guys! :) Here's the next chapter. Even though it's a little bit shorter than usual, this was fun to right, so I know you will love it. I don't know when I will be able to publish the next chapter, 'cause next week I will have zero time, but I'll do my best. English is not my mother tongue, so I apologize for my mistakes in advance. Let me know your thoughts about this story. It really motivates me to keep writing.
Sheirome: Thank you so much! This kind of support is the one that makes me want to keep on developing an interesting storyline.
Rudy Maro: Hahaha. I hope this is not the cause of death for you. I don't want to mess with your health. :D Anyway, you will have mixed feelings and I think you'll love it. This chapter is really important to define the course of the story and things will get more interesting from now on. :)
Guest: I'm glad you like it so far. Let's see if I can get improving. ;)
MJ: You didn't have to wait a lot, right? xD My imagination is not as good, it's really not. I just spend a lot of time thinking about different scenarios and storylines and then choose the ones that make the story more addictive. It's a long process for me, so my imagination could be way better. Anyway, thank you so much for your praise. It feels good, indeed. :D Both of the girls are like ticking time-bombs, that's way it's so funny that they keep behaving like that. I honestly think Emily is being nice and patient taking into consideration the way Paige is acting. She has a limited patience though. :D I'm glad you love it, because that means the story is developing correctly. ;) Have a nice weekend! PD: focus on your homework. LOL
Alexzmc: Paige is a little bit mysterious, and I already figured out what is really going on with her. But I don't want to spoil you or you'll stop reading. ;) My first language is Spanish, I'm from Spain. :)
Thank you so much for everything. :) Enjoy! :D
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE
: Chapter 5 – Wasted:
I'm walking around the apartment, thinking about what I'm going to do about that note she left on my desk. I already had dinner and it's already 9 PM, the exact time she wrote on the paper that I'm holding and staring at right now. Spencer is still working and she won't be home for about three hours, so I need to decide if I want to stay home alone or be with the beautiful woman that captivated me in spite of her rudeness. I walk towards the paper bin, I get rid of the note, I get my purse and leave the apartment without thinking of the consequences. Sometimes it's better to forget about second thoughts and do what your guts tell you to do. And in this case, I'm dying to see her, so I don't have any other choice. Once on the street, I walk tall and with a spring on my step. The pub I was supposed to meet her is only a few blocks from the apartment. Before opening the door of the pub, I look from outside, searching for the person I came to see. There are a few people having a drink and sitting on some tables. There's only one person sitting on a stool at the bar. I head over there and sit next to her, but I don't say a word. She wanted to meet me, so I guess she has to break the ice. I turn my head to the left to look at her, and she smiles shyly. She looks beautiful. She's not wearing make-up, she doesn't need it though. The tight jeans and black blouse that she's wearing make my heart pound faster. It's actually a simple outfit, she doesn't need anything else to look sexy though.
"I didn't think you'd come." I think it's the first time I see her smile at me, and it makes me melt.
"I was curious," I add, and I'm being honest.
"Thank you for coming. I hope this is a fresh start for the two of us. I'm so glad that you accepted this job." She looks happy, relaxed and more talkative.
"Really?" I add, a surprise hint on my voice. "I thought you hated me."
"How could anyone hate you?" Her smirk makes me flush. I'm not imagining things, she's flirting with me. I mean, I'm not going crazy, right? "I don't trust people. That's my problem. However, I like you." And the blush invades my face again.
"By the way, thank you for your gift. It was delicious." I change the subject. That was really nice of her and made my day.
"It wasn't very hard to know that you liked those. I remember you buying a thousand boxes of them." I laugh when she mentions my little incident at the airport.
"Then, why did you tell me you didn't remember me at the airport?" I am curious about this, I don't get why she lied about it.
Her witty smile makes it difficult to stop staring at her beautiful face and captivating eyes. "Because I'm a moron. That's why. It's… I don't know, I always push people way." Her shyness is really cute.
"Can I ask what were you doing in Turkey?"
"I needed to clear my head, just forget about my problems and traveling always works for me. How about you?"
"The same. I was going through a personal crisis and I needed time alone."
"And your body needed to eat sweet things too. Am I right? That always helps in difficult times." I nod at her with a huge smile on my face. I didn't expect she could be funny. And I've always had a weakness for girls that make me smile.
She takes a sip of her drink and calls the bartender. "Hey, Jimmy!" The young man smiles when he sees Paige is the one that pronounced his name. "What are you having?" she asks me, with that sexy voice of hers.
"A beer would be nice," I add, trying to avoid my cheeks going red again.
"Could you please get this beautiful woman a beer?" He laughs loudly. It seems like they know each other. This is not the Paige that I met a few days ago. I think she's a little bit tipsy, that's why she's acting like this. "And another shot of whisky for me, sir."
Jimmy hands me the beer and holds Paige's arm. "Don't you think you've had enough?" I was right then. She's drunk. Now I get why she's being so nice to me.
"Are you my dad now?" she jokes, but Jimmy's facial expression serious suddenly gets serious.
"This is the last one. I don't want you to end like yesterday." I suddenly feel bad for her. So she got drunk yesterday too.
"You know, you're a partypooper, Jimmy." She smiles at him, but he is not in the mood to give her an answer.
"Why are you drinking so much, Paige?" I look her in the eye and I see her drunkenness more clearly now. She will probably get defensive and mad at me, but I can't bear seeing her like this. Suddenly she doesn't look as happy as before. She gulps the whole drink and looks away.
"We all have our problems. I came to have fun, don't ruin it." She frowns at me.
"I care about you. That's why I'm asking you if there's something going on. Is there anything I could do?" I'm trying to be nice, but I realize alcohol is taking control of her personality and I have a feeling I won't like what's going to happen next.
"You don't know me. You don't have to lie. You don't give a shit about me." Rude Paige is here again. I know how this will end, so I just ignore her, leave some money on the counter and get my things to leave the pub.
"Don't, please," she begs me, those big sad puppy eyes staring at me.
"You're drunk, Paige. I can't keep having this conversation anymore, because I know how it will end and I don't want that to happen. This was supposed to be a fresh start." She keeps staring at me with a sad facial expression. "If you don't want me to leave, then you'll have to do something for me." She nods at me, she seems ready to do as told. "I will bring you to your place and you will sleep it off. You need to rest. So…" She unexpectedly interrupts me.
"You're right. I need to rest." I didn't see this coming, and it kind of feels good. "I need to go to the restroom and then we can leave." I feel the satisfaction a mother must feel when her wayward son behaves well. This is a victory.
I finish my beer as I wait for Paige to come out of the restroom. Jimmy approaches me and I pay the bill he hands me.
"I don't really know if you're her friend, but she needs help. Working in a bar gives you the capacity to realize when someone is troubled. I spend all day talking to people that tell me their problems. It's like I was their psychologist. I have come to understand people's problems: alcoholism, depression, low self-esteem…" He takes a breath and continues with his speech. "What I'm trying to say is that Paige is not an alcoholic, she feels alone. She needs a friend. I'm not forcing you to be that friend she so desperately needs, I know her and she can be a jerk. But she's an adorable person and I'd love if you gave her the opportunity to get to know the most human client I've had in years." He takes the money and leaves like nothing had happened. I'm speechless. I don't know if she feels alone or what problems she may have, but I don't like that he told me that. What am I supposed to do know?
"I'm ready," I hear a voice saying. She approaches me and I realize that she's drunker than I thought by her unsteady walk. She was sitting on the stool since the moment I entered the pub, but now I can clearly see that she has way too much alcohol on her blood. I can't help but find her sexy despite her intoxication. I have to stop thinking like this.
Once we're out, she keeps walking staggered, she barely maintains balance. I walk next to her, maintaining a security distance. It actually seems we are strangers. I don't want to touch her, even if she could lean on me to make her lack of balance more bearable. I know she might be bothered and I don't want to make things worse. I prefer to just walk with her till we get to her place and then leave. I don't want to force things and look desperate. Even though she doesn't really know I like her, I want to act like an honest person. My only mission here is to get her safely to her place and go back to Spencer's. My goal suddenly gets complicated when a young man approaches her, not knowing I'm with her, and that she isn't alone.
"Hey, gorgeous! Are you lost?" He gets really close to Paige. I hate people that try to benefit from other's weakness. She ignores him and keeps walking, but he doesn't desist. "Do you want to come to my place? I have beer and a surprise for you."
"Leave me alone," she adds, trying to avoid his persistence.
"Why? Do you have a boyfriend? He doesn't need to know anything about tonight, you know." Suddenly he holds her waist. That's when I decide to intervene. I won't allow this.
"Hey! Stop!" I look him in the eye, with the intention of intimidating him. But when I see his crooked smile I realize that he won't let her go. He's still holding her from the waist.
"Who are you? Her bodyguard?" His grin disgusts me.
"Fuck off!" I raise my voice, boiling blood rushing all over my body. I push him and I suddenly feel fear. What if he attacks me? I couldn't let him do that, but his anger look makes my heart beat strongly. "If you don't go away I'll call the cops," I add, as I show him my cell, drawing courage from God knows where. He gives me a hatred look and luckily leaves. I see him distance from us, but my heart keeps pounding furiously.
"Thank you," Paige adds shyly, avoiding my gaze. "It wasn't my intention to get you into trouble and you…"
"You didn't do anything wrong, okay?" I interrupt her. I get closer to her and I can see she's feeling a little bit ashamed. She's not as happy as she was a few minutes ago. The effect of alcohol must be decreasing. "Now forget about that and try to focus because you need to remember where you live," I joke, trying to improve the situation. A shy smile appears on her face. We walk in silence for five minutes and we get to a nice building. She takes the keys from her purse but doesn't manage to open the door due to her drunkenness. I help her with the door and we get inside the elevator. Once we get to the tenth floor, she points at a door and mumbles something unintelligible. I guess she's trying to tell me that's the door of entrance. She tries to open the door, but she fails again, making it obvious she's really wasted. She looks at me and I take a few steps forward to help her open the door of the apartment. She gets inside and turns around to look at me, a few inches separating us. Obviously, she won't let me in, but she's staring at me like she's waiting for me to say something.
"Drink a lot of water and sleep." Giving her an advice is not the most appropriate thing to do at this moment, but my nervousness makes me say those words. It makes me feel like I'm her mom. My mom would have told me those exact words. That was not very intelligent.
She takes a step closer and a few seconds later she's hugging me. I just stand there, my heart about to explode. "Thanks, Emily. I won't forget this," she whispers in my ear, her husky voice sending shivers down my spine. She gets inside her apartment and closes the door, like what happened was nothing. I guess alcohol made her hug me, but that doesn't subtract from the fact that she was kind of affectionate to me. I stand in front of the door for a few minutes, my mind still wondering if what just happened was a dream. I hope, like she said, she doesn't forget what I did and the alcohol doesn't ruin the good feelings I had tonight. Life is full of surprises.
To be continued…
Stay tuned! ;)
