“You look great,” I say when we’re both settled in our seats.
She smiles while putting the key in the ignition. “Thanks.”
“And equally important, you were fast, which will help maximize our off-campus time.” I’ve got to say, there are a lot of things I despise about Wallingford, but it is nice how the school has trained girls to shower, do their hair, and put on makeup all in fifteen minutes. Lora used to take over an hour, and it drove me crazy. I can’t think of a single movie we made it to on time. There’s no way Paige would be late to anything.
“Anyone else coming?” I ask once I’m buckled up. During study hall on Wednesday, she asked me out, though she didn’t stipulate whether it was a date or not. I didn’t prod her, figuring she’d let me know one way or the other when she was ready.
“Nope. Just us.”
Okaaaay.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“It’s a surprise.”
“If it’s another hike from hell, I should change my shoes.” The gray Chucks I’m wearing wouldn’t be my first choice for climbing up a mountain.
“No wardrobe change necessary. You’ll fit right in where we’re going.”
Now I’m intrigued. The only places to hang out in town are the Dairy Barn and the burger joint, but they’re filled with cadets, so I’d fit in even if I were wearing my uniform. My black jeans and flannel shirt are much more reminiscent of Logan from public school, which makes me wonder if we’re leaving this tiny town.
My phone vibrates, indicating I have a message, but I stop it without looking at it. Whatever it is can’t be more important than my date. Or non-date. Whatever this is.
“Do you need to get that?” she asks.
“Nope.”
“It’s fine if you do. I want to call my grandparents anyway.”
“Okay. Five minutes and then we’re out of here. I need some quality non-Wallingford time.”
She nods and grabs her phone out of her bag. I wait until she’s talking to her grandparents before I look at my messages.
Call me ASAP.
Where are you? We NEED to talk.
I dial Gordy’s number. It doesn’t even ring one full time before he answers. “The new Marvel movie is lit! You gotta see it.” Only in Gordy’s world would a movie be worthy of an urgent text.
“I doubt it will happen until I come home for Christmas.”
“I thought you got partial parole on weekends.”
“I do, but I live in the boondocks. No theater within like fifty miles or something.”
“What do you do when you leave campus?”
“Mostly hike.”
“Hike?” he asks, like it’s a foreign word. And, I guess to him, it is. It was to me up until recently.
“Yeah.”
“Are you hiking right now?”
“No, I’m on a…” I don’t want to say “date” with Paige sitting right next to me. Even though she seems like she’s concentrating on her call, she might hear me. “Hanging out with a friend. I’m not sure where she’s taking me.”
“She?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s her name?” he asks.
“Paige.”
“Is she hot?”
“Uh … yeah.” I know there’s no way her grandparents could hear this conversation, but I move the phone to my right ear, just to be sure.
“What’s she look like?”
“My height, athletic, long black hair, pretty green eyes.”
“What about her ass?”
“None of your business.”
He laughs. “Send a picture.”
“Okay, hold on.” I switch my phone to camera mode and tap her shoulder. She looks at me, then smiles when she sees what I’m doing.
“You should get it in a sec,” I say after sending it to him.
He’s silent, probably checking his texts.
“Daaaaamn,” he says. “She is hot.”
“Yep.”
“And looks like she could kick my ass.”
“Yep.”
“What is it with you? You can’t go for the sweet and innocent girls anymore?”
“She’s sweet and innocent.”
“Other than being lethal.”
I can’t dispute him. Noah told me her aim with a rifle is deadly.
Paige is no longer talking; instead, she’s scrolling around on her phone, which is my cue to end this conversation.
“I gotta go.”
“I’ll expect details tomorrow!” Gordy says.
“Not gonna happen. Later.”
“Later, Lo.”
I tuck my phone back into my pocket as Paige stuff hers into her bag. “How are your grandparents?” I ask.
“Fine. I told them about the Air Force Academy.”
I raise my brows. I can’t even believe she went behind her dad’s back and applied there. I never would’ve imagined she’d have it in her.
“They respect my decision,” she says.
“Are they going to say anything to your dad?”
She shakes her head. “No. I told them I’d talk to him soon.”
“Are you going to?”
“Yeah.” After a sigh, she adds, “Over Thanksgiving break. It’s time. I need to do it, but I want to wait until we have a few days together.” She turns the key in the ignition and pulls out of the parking spot.
“So,” she continues, glancing over at me.
“So,” I reply, wondering what in the hell we’re doing.
She waits until she pulls through the gates before continuing. “After serious consideration, I would like to, assuming you’re agreeable, try dating you. On weekends only. We can continue to spend time together during breakfast, lunch, study hall, and our club activities during the week, but that will be the extent of it.”
So this is a date. She finally caved. After our kiss, I thought this might happen, but then again, Paige is an enigma so I figured there was an equally good chance she’d tell me to get lost.
“Of course,” she continues, “there will be no PDA on campus. And I will not give you preferential treatment on campus, so you should continue to respect me as you would all officers. Leah is watching over my shoulder to make sure I don’t lose perspective.”
She takes a breath, but I remain silent, assuming there’s still more.
“And, finally, should either of our grades drop, we will terminate this arrangement.”
“Arrangement?”
She nods.
“Did you write up a contract for me to sign?”
“No, but I can. I’ll do it tonight, if you’d like.”
“I’m joking, Paige.”
“Oh, right.”
I reach for her hand resting on the console and wind my fingers through hers. She jumps in her seat at the contact. “What are you doing?” she asks, looking down at our hands.
“Starting our date.”
“Oh, okay. So you’re agreeable?”
Of course I’m agreeable. I still fear for my life a little, but I’m all about living on the edge. Okay, not really, but she made it seem like my safety should be the least of our worries. That’s probably true with her dad since he’s only here occasionally and it’s always on campus where it’s not like we can even hold hands. Jernigan is the bigger problem, but hey, if she’s got my back, then I should be good. I have a feeling she could easily take him down if necessary.