Begin Again Read online

  “No, Pax. That’s not how this works.”

  “Not how what works?” Paxton looked at her.

  “You can’t just pay for everything for us.”

  “I wasn’t planning on it,” Paxton replied. “Look, I get how important your independence is to you, Chris. I told you how sexy that is to me.”

  “Yet, you’re trying to pay for his car?”

  “No, I want to pay for the repair to make his car safer. If he wants to pay me back over time, that’s fine, but it’s also not necessary. Wes is a great worker. I’ve probably saved money because of how hard and how fast he worked. It would have taken a crew of three to do what he did in as many hours. I’d like to consider this a bonus for his hard work. But if you have a problem with it, I’ll tell the shop to get you the estimate.”

  “A bonus?” Chris checked.

  “It’s not a handout. It’s not charity.”

  “Okay. Just make sure to tell me how much it is.”

  “I will. Does he need a rental in the meantime?”

  “No, I’ll take him wherever or he’ll get a ride from a friend,” Chris said. “There’s no way I’m letting you get him a rental car.” Paxton rolled her eyes. Then, she returned them to her laptop screen. “Hey, Pax?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  CHAPTER 16

  “Hey, Pax.”

  “Hi, Wes. Are you here to see your sister? She’s upstairs somewhere,” Paxton replied.

  It was a little after four in the afternoon. Paxton had been working outside using her phone as a hotspot. She’d been playing catch-up at her day job. She had payroll to do and some emails to send. Chris had been up in one of the guest rooms that had been completed by the crew. She’d been painting for the past hour or so. Paxton told her she didn’t have to do that; the crew would take care of it. Chris had insisted. She’d been the one to pick out the colors for that room. She wanted to see it all through. Paxton had left her to it from there.

  “I was actually wondering about my car,” he said. “I got a ride here and figured Chris could just take me home when she’s done.”

  “Your car has a few problems. The shop called me a couple of hours ago. They’ll have it ready for you by the end of the week, though.”

  “Ready for me?”

  “Yeah,” she said.

  “I came to find out how much the tow was so that I can pay you back. I don’t know if I can pay for repairs, though. I thought they’d just do an estimate. Don’t I have to approve it before they do anything?”

  “The car is technically in your sister’s name. She approved it. She and I talked about it this morning.”

  “About my car?”

  Paxton walked around her makeshift worktable and nodded for him to follow her over to the railing overlooking the lake.

  “Here’s the thing, Wes. Your sister might get mad at me for telling you this, but sometimes, you need a little help to make something happen. You know I own my own real estate business.”

  “Yeah.” Wesley matched her posture, leaning over the railing.

  “I saved and saved and still needed help. I had to borrow money from my big sister to make it happen,” she said.

  “You did?”

  “It wasn’t much. And I’ve paid her back since then. It killed me, having to ask her, because I’d done everything else on my own. I had this dream, though, and I knew she could help me achieve it.”

  “So, you’re helping with my car?”

  “I figured we could make a deal that would appease you and your stubborn sister,” Paxton said with a smile. “Do you have a summer job lined up yet?”

  “I was planning to pick up hours at the bookstore.”

  “What if you worked here? I have no idea what shape this place will be in by May, but you can do odd jobs. Or, we can figure something else out. I’ll pay your regular salary, but you work a few extra hours a week for me, and that’ll take care of your car.”

  “That’s it? A few extra hours a week?”

  “Over the summer. While you’re in school, you’re focused on that.” Paxton turned her head to him. “Deal?”

  “Deal.” He turned to her, putting out his hand for her to shake, which she did.

  “Awesome,” she said.

  “Hey, Chris and I do this movie night thing every so often. It’s usually when she doesn’t have to work, or I don’t have practice. We have one tonight. Do you want to come over?”

  “I think that’s your thing with your sister, Wes. But I appreciate you inviting me.”

  He squinted his eyes at her and asked, “You like my sister, don’t you?”

  Paxton turned back to the water and said, “Is it that obvious?”

  “Not as obvious as your car in our driveway in the middle of the night,” he replied.

  “Shit…” She shook her head. “I should have parked on the street.”

  “Come over tonight, Pax. It’ll be fun. I like when my sister is happy; and I haven’t seen her happy a lot.”

  “And you think me being there tonight will make her happy?”

  “I don’t know. I won’t know for sure unless you show up,” Wes replied with a wink. “Seven. Bring Chinese food if you really want to win her over. Egg rolls from Sammy Chang’s are her favorite. Make sure to get extra soy sauce and extra sweet and sour. She mixes them together. It’s gross.” He squished his face together in disgust.

  “And what do you like?” Paxton asked.

  He looked surprised at first and said, “The number four and number seven.”

  “Any sauce?”

  “Nope. I’m a classic kind of guy.”

  She laughed at that.

  ◆◆◆

  Paxton sat in the driveway with Chinese food in the passenger’s seat. She’d been out back working when Chris and Wes had left for the day. Chris had texted her goodnight and that she was excited about tomorrow. Paxton had yet to text back that she would see her later that night for two reasons. She thought Chris would tell her not to come, and she really wanted to go. She also wasn’t sure, despite the fact that she wanted to, if she would actually go to this movie night. She’d gone to her apartment, showered, and changed. Then, she’d gone to the restaurant and ordered two of each – number four and number seven, three orders of egg rolls, a number sixteen with extra shrimp, a number twelve with extra chicken, and asked for enough soy sauce and sweet and sour sauce for an army. It was now all piled up in bags next to her. When she worked up the courage to grab the bags and head to the front door, she rang the bell and waited.

  “Pax?” Chris asked when she opened the door.

  “Hey,” Paxton replied, holding up the bags. “I brought reinforcements.”

  “Hey, Pax.” Wes waved at her from the couch.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I invited her,” Wes said, standing and making his way over to the door. “I got these.” He took the bags from Paxton’s outstretched hands. “We’re watching The Matrix tonight.”

  “We’re actually watching The Matrix for, like, the fifteenth time.” Chris chuckled. “It’s his favorite movie. I gave in easily tonight.”

  “He invited me. I wasn’t sure if I should come or not,” Paxton said just to Chris. “I can go.”

  Chris considered for a moment and said, “He’s never invited anyone to these things before. I haven’t, either.”

  “Right.” Paxton looked down at the concrete under her feet and the linoleum under Chris’s, along with the threshold separating them. “I should’ve gone with my gut and just declined. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

  “Pax, come in.” Chris tugged on her arm. “He invited you because he wants you here.”

  “But you don’t?”

  Chris put her hands on Paxton’s hips and replied, “I’m a little surprised, but I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Oh, my God! Come in. The movie’s about to start,” Wes replied for Chris.
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br />   Chris laughed silently. Her eyes met Paxton’s. Paxton wanted to kiss her then. She wanted to lean in and give Chris a soft kiss to get reacquainted with one another in that way after a long day at work where they both left this part of their new relationship behind. She wanted to, but she didn’t. Wes was in the kitchen, pulling cartons out of bags. Instead, Paxton tried to express with only her eyes what she wanted. Chris smiled at her, leaned in, and did what Paxton hadn’t done. She kissed her softly.

  “Come in,” Chris said.

  “Gross,” Wes replied. “And you got so much food.”

  Paxton laughed as she made her way into the small house and said, “I got what you told me to get.”

  “You told her what to get, Wes?” Chris pulled on Paxton’s hand, and they made it over to the kitchen.

  “I have my own Christina Florence cheat sheet,” Paxton said.

  “Then, I need to get closer to your sister so that I can have a cheat sheet of my own.”

  Paxton laughed at the thought of Chris using Adler to supply her with details about her. They doled out food onto paper plates. Paxton watched Chris mix soy sauce with sweet and sour. It did not look good, but Chris dipped an egg roll into it and smiled as she chewed. She passed Paxton the remainder of the egg roll after dipping it in the sauce for her and telling her to try it. Wes told her not to because it was disgusting. She did it anyway. Wes was right. Chris laughed. Wes laughed. Paxton nearly choked.

  She’d seen the movie a few times herself. She didn’t pay much attention to it until Wes started telling her little pieces of trivia about the movie. He explained that the numbers one and three were all over the place in the movie. Neo was an anagram for one. Then, there was a character named Trinity. The numbers spotted in the background of scenes also had the numbers one and three in them. While Paxton found this all very fascinating, what she liked more was the fact that she was sitting between Chris and Wes on their sofa, and Chris had been running her hand through Paxton’s hair since they’d finished eating. Paxton had her arm over Chris’s knee. It wasn’t moving, but they were touching, and that was enough.

  “I’m going to bed,” Wes said as he stood.

  “The movie’s not even over yet,” Chris replied, noting there was still about twenty minutes left in the sequel they’d put on after the first film ended. “You made me put this one on.”

  “I know. But I forgot how boring this one is. I’m about to pass out, and I have lifting tomorrow before class,” Wes said. “And practice after,” he added.

  “Fine, quitter,” Chris replied in jest. “I’ll see you in the morning. Good night.”

  “Night. Good night, Pax.”

  “Good night,” she told him.

  “I’ll see you in the morning?” Wes asked with a lifted eyebrow.

  Paxton turned to Chris.

  “Go to sleep,” Chris said to her brother.

  Wes waved at them both. Then, he departed for his bedroom.

  “I’ll stay and watch the rest with you if you want,” Paxton said. “And then I’ll go home.”

  “You can stay,” Chris replied.

  “No, I can’t.” Paxton shook her head at her. “You’ve been touching me in one way or another for the past couple of hours. Let’s just say–”

  “Oh,” Chris interrupted. “You’re turned on?”

  Paxton looked over her shoulder to make sure Wes had closed his door.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Chris looked over her shoulder, too. Then, she climbed into Paxton’s lap, straddling her waist.

  “Well, that’s not helping.”

  “No?” Chris leaned down. Paxton held onto her hips as Chris’s lips met her own. “This isn’t helping?”

  “No, it’s not.” Paxton leaned up to capture those lips again. “It’s torture, really.”

  “We could go to my room.” Chris moved Paxton’s hair off her neck and kissed the skin there. “You were touching me, too, you know?”

  “Barely.”

  “Do you want to do more?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then, let’s go to my room,” Chris replied, sucking on Paxton’s earlobe.

  Paxton let out a few shallow breaths. Then, she lifted Chris’s chin in order to look her in the eye.

  “I would love nothing more than to go in that room, take your clothes off, and touch you everywhere.”

  “Then, let’s go.”

  “This isn’t a date, Chris. This was me spending time with you and Wes. Tomorrow night will be our first date.”

  “Pax, we’ve already been together. I appreciate you being noble right now, but we don’t have to follow all the rules.” Chris kissed her gently. “I want you to stay. Will you at least stay?”

  Paxton couldn’t resist the soft blue eyes and those somewhat pouty lips. She kissed them once more before she tapped Chris’s hips with her thumbs, signaling that she should get up. They stood together. Chris loaded up all the leftovers into the refrigerator. Paxton took the trash out to the bins. She went back inside, finding Chris turning off the TV. Chris took her hand, kissing the top of it sweetly. Paxton smiled at her and followed her into the bedroom.

  CHAPTER 17

  Chris woke up to Paxton holding her from behind. She smiled because they’d fallen asleep naked again. They hadn’t done anything more than kissing. Then, they’d stripped off their clothing. Chris had gone to take her shower. Paxton had showered quickly after her. They hadn’t bothered dressing before slipping beneath the sheets.

  “I have to tell you something,” Paxton had said.

  “What?” Chris had turned in her arms, thinking this was a serious conversation.

  “I just got off in your shower,” Paxton had replied, following with an immediate laugh.

  “You did what?” Chris had asked, laughing and rolling to face her. “You just masturbated in my shower?”

  “Yes.” Paxton had rolled onto her back. “But can you really blame me? You were touching me all night. Then, you got naked. And, your shower smelled like your shampoo. I couldn’t help myself.”

  “You needed it that bad?” Chris had asked with a smile.

  “Yes. I wanted to sleep tonight.”

  “Well, guess what, Champ.”

  “What?” Paxton had looked at her.

  “I did the same thing.” Chris had given Paxton her wide eyes. “Now, good night.”

  Paxton had laughed. Then, she’d held her all night. Chris knew when she woke that she could get used to this. It worried her. It couldn’t be this easy, could it? She couldn’t have just met someone she could picture sharing her life with. It couldn’t be Paxton Williams, could it?

  “Hey,” Paxton whispered in her sleepy voice and kissed Chris’s shoulder.

  Chris thought for a second that yes, it could be this easy.

  “I should probably get going before Wes wakes up.”

  “Do you have to?” Chris asked, turning in Paxton’s arms. “He knows about us.”

  “Knowing and seeing are two different things. I can stay, but are you sure?” Paxton asked.

  Yeah, it could definitely be this easy.

  “I’m sure. You’re sweet for checking, though. If he were younger, I’d probably care more. But he’s seventeen; he knows how this works,” Chris replied and leaned up to kiss Paxton’s lips. “Good morning.”

  “You know what’s nice about working together?” Paxton asked, resting her elbow on the bed and her hand on her head, looking down at Chris.

  “What?”

  “We’re each other’s excuse for being late.” Paxton rolled on top of her. “If you can spare a few minutes, I’d like to make out with you now.”

  “I think I can. But you should know that you’re naked and on top of me. I might not be able to–”

  There was a knock on the door, and then Wes said, “Hey, I’m not coming in there, for obvious reasons… Just wanted to tell you that Steve can’t come to get me this morning after all. He just texted. Can you take me t
o the weight room, Chris?”

  Chris sighed, met Paxton’s eyes, and gave her an apologetic expression.

  “I’ve got him.” Paxton slid off her and stood. “You take your time this morning. Meet me at work whenever.”

  “You don’t have to–”

  “Wes, I’ll take you,” Paxton yelled through the door. “Give me two minutes, okay? We’ll stop for breakfast on the way.”

  “Pax,” Chris stood and wrapped her arms around Paxton’s waist, leaning in. “Thank you.”

  “Why don’t you take the day off?” Paxton suggested.

  “What?”

  “When was the last time you had a day to yourself?” Paxton asked, kissed her, and then pulled away in order to get dressed.

  “I don’t know. Why?” Chris ran her hand through her hair.

  “He’s going off to school. I’m going off to work. You should stay here and relax. I’ll pick you up for our date around six.”

  “I can’t take the day off. I haven’t even been working for you for–”

  “With me.” Paxton kissed her after donning her bra and shirt. “And that’s an order.”

  “If I work with you, can you even give me orders?”

  “I just did.” Paxton buttoned and zipped her jeans. “Oh, can you stop by Morgan and Adler’s store? Adler has something she keeps forgetting to give me. You should use it.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ll let that be a surprise,” Paxton replied with a smirk. “You’ll like it, though. They can no longer use it for reasons they can disclose to you.” She winked. “I’ll pick Wes up after practice and bring him home, too. Then, we can go on our date.”

  “Pax, this is a lot. Are you sure? I still have to finish painting room nine.”

  “And that can wait until tomorrow. Plus, that’s not actually your job. You’re in charge of the restaurant, and there’s nothing you need to do with that today. I’ll see you tonight,” Paxton said.

  Just like that, she and Wes were gone, and Chris was left by herself in her own home. She felt strange. Having a day off was strange in and of itself. She ate cereal and drank coffee in silence. Then, she made her way over to McBride Outfitters, at Paxton’s request; while the woman, herself, sent Chris a text message as a reminder to do so an hour after she’d left the house.