Author's Note:
This chapter was a struggle to write. I don't know where on the line of the T/M rating this is but it may be tamer than most?
Paige put her phone down. Walter reassured her. "Paige, it will be fine. We're adults. He will be happy for us." He paused a few seconds, waiting to see her reaction. She nodded. "There are still..." He continued, "...things to talk about."
Walter, don't use my words against me!
All she wanted to do in this moment was kiss him. If she were being honest with herself, she had wanted to kiss him since that night she asked him out to eat with her and Ralph a couple of weeks after they had met. He had said no. They had ended up on the roof of the garage with the team grilling burgers. Walter had visited Megan instead, later joining them up there. That was their first big "near miss", she told herself. She had been sure he was going to ask her out and was disappointed when he didn't. There would be more encounters like that, but that wasn't worth dwelling on right now.
"Paige?", Walter called her name, but she didn't hear him.
The thought of his sister was a bit melancholy. She had died far too young, and her death had had an effect on Walter that slowed their development. For sure, she told herself, if Megan had lived, they might have avoided some of the minefields they had hit on the way toward being a romantic couple. Megan was what Toby could never be. She always had Walter's best interest at heart. She could not say that about Toby.
"Paige?", Walter spoke a little louder this time. She blinked. "Where did you go?", he asked.
"Ah, sorry. I was a little bit down a rabbit hole of my own, I think. I was looking back to that day you told me about Megan. How I had wanted to kiss you ever since that night. You turned me down for dinner with Ralph and I." She could see Walter was playing back that day in his head.
Now Walter was down a little memory lane himself. That night. In hindsight, he wished he had taken them with him to see Megan. He had wanted to ask her out even then. He hadn't remembered rejecting her. Had remembered almost having the courage to ask her up on the roof that night. But something always got in the way. "Timing", he muttered.
"What about Megan?", he asked. "She always told me to snap you up before someone else did. I never could quite get out of my own way before she passed."
Paige replied, "I was thinking that if she was still here, we would have confessed to each other much sooner, and maybe avoided a round of heartache. And I would have a bridesmaid for our wedding. I'm sorry to bring it up, Walter."
He was lost. He knew Paige anchored him in ways that Megan never could. He wished Megan was still here, so he could share the news with her. That he finally listened to her and did as she requested. That they were going to get married. She would have been so happy for the two of them. She would have been a great aunt to Ralph. At least Ralph got to meet her.
Walter's thoughts shifted to Sylvester. How could he have been so cold to Sylvester that night in the garage? How could he have thrown Megan in his face? Walter felt so ashamed thinking back on it now. That was no way to treat a brother. He had been jealous that Sylvester talked to his parents more than he did. He questioned why he was jealous, considering he hadn't put the effort in. That wasn't Sylvester's fault. Only I am to blame for that. Walter resolved he needed to make an honest effort to connect with his parents. Maybe it was time to visit Callan as a family.
He came out of his fog. "Paige, I need to make amends with my family. With my parents. And with Sylvester." She could see a tear falling from his eye. "It's okay that you mentioned Megan. I needed to remember. I wish I would have taken you to see her that day. I see it now as a great regret I did not."
Paige embraced him and attempted to console him. She could see the hint of sadness in his eyes. She wanted to wash that away, they were supposed to be happy tonight, not sad.
"Walter", she whispered. "Water under the bridge at this point. What matters is you are here now and so am I. We are together, we will build a life together." Something must have tripped in that moment as he dove in and kissed her. Not the easy, soft kiss of earlier. This was deep and passionate.
Wow, Walter!
Paige opened her lips to his. Their tongues wrestled for dominance. They held the kiss until they both needed to catch a breath.
Paige whispered, "What got into you and where has that been?"
Walter replied, "With you looking like that, it's taken all I had not to kiss you like that the moment I walked in the door."
Paige retorted, "You caught me in my usual bedtime outfit, Walter. You should remember your shirt!"
Buckle up, Nerd!
Paige's resolve had crumbled at this point. Her heart and mind were in alignment. There would be no going back if Walter continued down this path.
Walter's brain was back to that first night back from the island. Tonight was going to rival that night, he just knew it.
He could have sworn he heard her say Buckle up, Nerd. Just as it was that night. Of course he remembered that shirt.
Oh boy!
He went back for another kiss, but Paige pulled him away. She held his hand and led him down the hall toward her bedroom. No, he supposed it was their bedroom now. Not that they had talked about where they would be cohabitating.
Walking in, her bedroom was just as he remembered it. The sheets were the same as the last time he had been over. He wondered if she had changed them at all, as he didn't detect any whiff of fresh detergent. The thought of that made him sad on some level, sad that he had caused her to be miserable. She certainly would have changed the sheets if she had been over him, he told himself. Though he knew that already, he told himself. She would have never opened the door if she had been.
She stopped, turned around, and kissed him. That quickly brought him out of his wandering thoughts. It was just as deep as the last one, only her hands started roaming his body. No going back now, he thought. Just a different kind of talking. Coming up for breath, he let his hands trace her skin, causing her to gasp when his right hand trailed over her left nipple. It wasn't all that long ago, but it felt like an eternity since the last time. If he had any resolve left before her gasp, it was fading fast now.
"Walter, have you ever had make-up sex?", she asked. He shook his head. "It can be some of the best sex, right after an argument is over. Some say it is a heightened level of passion." His eyes were following her but his hands were busy. They had trailed down her body and one slipped under her pantyline. "If you keep that up this will be a short talk. Unless you planned on talking again later."
She was more forward than she intended, but she did not regret it. They had been taking turns this evening in that department. The ball is in his court, she told herself. Well, balls. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself. As if to give him a nudge, she whispered, "I'd really like for you to talk to me now." Walter blushed at her emphasis. Paige didn't stop, her hands wandered down to his waistline. She lifted his shirt off over his head and threw it on the floor. His eyes were wide as she kissed him again. Her hand wandered back down and she could feel that he was ready to talk.
Walter didn't need a second invitation. He knew exactly what she meant. Her hands unbuttoned his pants while he freed her of her panties. Oh, she was ready to talk, alright.
She slid off his pants, first the left leg, then the right. She admired the sight of him in just his tented boxers, looking up at him with a firey look in her eyes. She made quick work freeing him from the boxers. She stood there with only his shirt on. It was time for the talk to begin.
He heard Tchiakovsky's 1812 Overture - but he wasn't sure if it was all in his head. Either way, it was about the perfect soundtrack for their talk. She led him over to her bed, forced him down on his back, and kissed him. Fireworks, yes, he thought. Fireworks indeed.
Walter remembered every detail of every intimate encounter they ever had. This one was nothing like the others. It was raw, full of passion, but yet it was gentle. As he lay on her bed, with her head on his chest, naked, all was right in the world.
The real work would come tomorrow morning unless there was more talking to do. Yet he could not bear to wake Paige in this moment. He was on top of the world. He had all that mattered to him. Well, almost. He still needed Ralph's consent.
He would stay awake half the night just looking at her. Thoughts ran across his head, memories of their past. Dreams for their future. He needed to try better for her friends. He eventually dozed off, content being there with her snuggled up with him.
He did not expect Paige to wake up before him. She wasn't there when he woke up. When he heard the water running in the shower, he got up out of bed. He knocked on the door. He thought he heard Paige say come in, so he opened the door. She was sitting there naked. Was she okay? He was confused; concerned. She wasn't in the shower. Just sitting on the floor.
"Paige", he asked in a soft tone, "are you okay?"
What did I do wrong?
He got down on the floor and put his arms around her. She didn't flinch.
Maybe it's something else?
She didn't answer. It looked like she had been crying.
Did she regret last night?
Walter was worried. He looked to see if she still had the ring on her finger.
Was she having second thoughts?
A wave of relief came over him when he saw it was still there.
"Paige?", he queried.
"It's okay, Walter." A wave of relief went across him. "I wanted to talk, just talk, after we had breakfast. I want to help you reconnect with the team. But there is something you need to know. But this is not the time."
What does that mean?
"I thought you were having doubts. Why were you crying?", he asked.
"God, no. Walter, I am just as elated now as I was last night when you asked me. I can't explain it. I had to pee. I started to think about how miserable I was, and now how fortunate I am. These are tears of joy, Walter. I can't wait to become Mrs. Walter O'Brien."
Hearing this, Walter kissed her. Easy at first, but he would be lying if he wasn't aroused by seeing Paige, his Paige, naked. He deepened the kiss, almost as if his life depended on it.
Paige now knew it was not a dream. Walter was here, in her arms. Her left ring finger was adorned with diamonds.
Thank God, she thought. One cannot dream that kiss, that passion. She was melting all over again replaying his proposal. It was so Walter. Yet so unexpected. Not that he asked. Just that he asked now.
Oh Boy. And he was ready to talk. And it wasn't even 6am.
"Walter, join me in the shower?", she asked, peering deep into his eyes. He grinned.
He helped her up off the floor, and into the shower. They certainly needed one after their talk last night. Once he stepped in and closed the curtain behind him, she leaned in to kiss him. She was going to be good, but she couldn't pass up that opportunity.
"I love you, Walter", she murmured into his lips. Her hands were all over him, lathering him up. It was more sensual than sexual, but she lathered him there, too.
"I know", was all that he could muster. His hands wandered her body, taking the sponge from her. He caressed her breasts, working the sponge down her body. The light touch was not making it any easier on her. She instinctively deepened the kiss. A wave of passion rippled through them as Walter returned the kiss. So much for being good. She was ready to talk again.
