Paige Goodall (shearmadness) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2017-02-13 22:05:00 |
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It wasn’t unusual for Paige to spend an evening on the phone with her ex-husband, even though thinking of the situation in such terms should mean that it was weird. But since she’d returned to Austin their friendship had progressed, getting just a little less awkward every day. It was a skill they were both doing their best to master and it was paying off. That night in particular, though, Paige thought that Nate sounded a little lonelier than usual with his roommate spending the night at his girlfriends (who just happened to be Nate’s sister, but it was only weird if you really paused to think about it) and the whole thing took a very strange turn when all of a sudden Paige had blurted out: “Why don’t you just come over?” The last time he’d been at her place was to help her bring boxes up, but as curfew approached and she heard a knock on the door, Paige tried to will away the nerves fluttering in her stomach. This was fine. They were friends. Nate needed a friend right now and Paige was going to be here for him. Pulling the door open, Paige smiled. “Hey, come on in,” she gestured for Nate to enter. “Hey,” Nathan replied. He’d had the drive from his place to Paige’s to think about the range of ways her offer could have been categorized, and eventually settled on not over-thinking it. It wasn’t that weird. He was just going to hang out, maybe crash on the couch if he had to (not that he thought he’d have to), and having company was better than being by himself. It’d been one of those things that he hadn’t actually mentioned to anybody, but maybe he hadn’t been as great about covering as he thought. But then, he wasn’t over-thinking things. “It looks real nice in here,” he commented with a look around. “That view is somethin’ else.” “Yeah, it’s really something to look at. It’s a shame I don’t spend more time here. Seems like I live in my workroom most days. You’ll be pleased to know that I’ve drawn the line at not getting a cot there. I don’t need to be further enabled to stay up way too late sewing,” Paige said, shooting Nate a smile as she laughed. He returned her smile with a half-grin, amusement pretty clear around the edges, like he knew she’d told him that so that he wouldn’t ask her about it. Walking closer to the windows, she looked out at the city, taking in the view. “Y’know, it’s weird because even in the couple of months that I’ve been here new businesses have opened and people have moved into other buildings around here that I notice when there’s a new spot of light,” she said, pointing to a few of the apartments lit up in the nearby building. “Those happened just in the last week.” Scanning the view, he nodded. “I’ve been noticin’ that too,” he said, leaning a hand against the glass before he hastily removed it. He didn’t think Paige would care too much about handprints, but it still had to be a pain to keep clean. “Never really seen a city come back to life before.” Even in the time he’d been back in Austin the city had changed so much. “A tex-mex placed opened up a week ago.” As far as restaurants went it was pretty okay, but not the best he’d had. “Made me think about how many tex-mex places there used to be. You remember the one a few blocks from campus?” Nathan couldn’t even remember the name, but he remembered that his fraternity brothers had always bought tacos from it. Paige gave a laugh and nodded. “You used to bring be quesadillas back sometimes after you were out. I don’t know what they put in them or what they did, but they were so good,” she laughed again, shaking her head. “I think they had some kind of Pavlovian effect on me because I used to crave them all the time, but only in the middle of the night.” He smiled and held in most of his laughter. “Those were usually apology quesadillas, even though I don’t remember doin’ anythin’ wrong when I brought ‘em.” He shrugged. “You know, the place closed a couple a years after we split. Nick told me ‘cause I was always talkin’ about it when I was down here visitin’.” Nathan dropped onto the couch, a little weirded out for a minute that it didn’t feel weird to talk about things they used to share. He’d been having moments like that more and more lately. “Really? That’s a real shame to deprive Austin of the best sleazy mexican food around,” Paige said, stepping back from the windows as well, she moved over to the kitchen to get herself some water. “Do you want anything? Water or tea? Or I could make a snack if you want? I think I have some popcorn.” “Popcorn’s fine,” he answered, kicking his feet up on the ottoman. “We could watch a movie or somethin’.” There wasn’t cable though, but maybe they’d be able to stream something. Having the internet was still new too. “Or we can talk, I’m good with that too.” He gave her another smile while he watched her move around the kitchen space. Paige put the popcorn in the microwave and pressed the appropriate cooking setting before taking her water plus the glass she’d subtly poured for Nate over to where she was sitting. “Talk about what?” She asked, holding the glass out to him. “Anythin’ on your mind? If you’ll remember, I’m a real good listener,” she added, offering him a smile. “I dunno.” Nathan shrugged, setting the water glass to the side on an end table. “Y’all don’t wanna hear all about my job.” Or maybe it was more like Nathan didn’t want to get into everything about it. “How about we talk about how well your shop is doin’,” he suggested instead, with curious eyebrows. He hadn’t made it to Clothes Encounter yet, even though he’d been meaning to. Paige would have listened if Nate wanted to talk, but she wasn’t about to pry it out of him. She knew he would get there eventually if he wanted to. Instead she just smiled -- or more like grinned because she couldn’t help herself -- and said, “Having an actual store makes it so different but really amazing. I’ve been making some basic staples that have been selling out almost as fast as I make them. And there have been plenty of personal commissions too, which is great,” her enthusiasm obvious. With a bit of a smirk, she added, “And speaking of, when are you going to let me make you something that actually fits?” “Just dyin’ to get your hands on me, huh?” The words fell right out like they were nothing. Like it used to be. Like Nathan had been careful not to do, until just then. But instead of cringing or apologizing he just kept on going. “How about this, I’ll come by your shop later this week. Y’all can give me the tour and take whatever measurements you need to take.” With Nate not making a fuss out of his very interesting word choice, Paige did her best to follow suit and only felt a little flush, memories of how often she’d had her hands on him before (and not in the clothes measuring kind of way) came rushing to the front of her mind. Clearing her throat, she said, “Well, as Austin’s only real fashion authority, it’s my job to help the people of this city. And that includes you.” There was no denying it to himself that he still felt something for her. New Year’s Eve had made that pretty damn clear, if his conversation with Savannah had been anything to go on. But he was an adult, and he’d been serious when he’d said he’d rather have her as a friend than nothing at all. He’d been doing a pretty good job of it too, lately. “Name a day and I’ll make it work.” Paige just knew that the first few days after Valentine’s were going to be busy with newly engaged women looking for engagement photo outfits or even for wedding dresses so after a moment, she said, “How about the 7th? We’ll let some of the madness from the holiday wear off.” “I’ll mark it down.” And somehow it felt like a win to Nathan in their friendship that they’d made it so far into a conversation without any kind of awkward hiccup, even with a couple opportunities for one to arise. Most of the evening had been a weird, subconscious exploration of deja vu for Nathan. Although they’d been talking a lot more, and a lot less awkwardly, tonight had been the first time they’d spent so much uninterrupted time together, and it kept reminding him of old times. It beat being at his place alone though, and it’d been nice, even with the occasional mental moments of dissonance. But the clock was creeping towards midnight, and although Paige was still a night owl, Nathan felt himself fading pretty quick, punctuated by a jaw-cracking yawn. “Y’all have stuff for the couch?” he asked her, stretching. It was past curfew, so getting back to his place wasn’t in the cards. “Or a sleepin’ bag for the floor?” It didn’t look like the most comfortable, but he’d make do. It probably still beat the bunks on a ship. Paige knew that it was well after curfew and Nate couldn’t go home, but somehow she hadn’t really thought it through that he would be sleeping at her place. Feeling flustered all of a sudden, she looked at the couch stupidly for a moment before blinking hard and turning her focus back to Nate. “Uh, yeah, of course. I have some blankets in the bedroom. They’re at the way top of the closet though so you better come along so you can reach them. Otherwise I have to drag one of the bar stools in there and I think my downstairs neighbor won’t appreciate that at this time.” Leading the way into her room, she pointed to the wardrobe. “There’s a few in there so take however many you need. Maybe an extra one to lay on? Whenever I accidentally fall asleep on that couch my legs get stuck to the leather,” Paige laughed. Grabbing an armful of blankets, Nathan chuckled under his breath, making a face at the thought of getting stuck to the couch. “I reckon that feels like tearin’ a band-aid off if you’ve been sleepin’ there long.” He didn’t stay long in her room though, making a beeline back for the other room almost as soon as he had the blankets for the couch. “But I’ll try real hard not to drool on it, at least,” he assured jokingly, dropping most of the blankets on the ottoman before he tucked one in around the cushions. “Wouldn’t want to owe you a new couch. I get paid alright, but this one looks like it was expensive.” If he kept rambling about the couch it was a lot easier not to think about the fact that Paige was going to be sleeping a room over; it felt a lot easier in Oklahoma, when Nathan was still mostly dumb to the fact that he was still carrying something of a torch for his ex-wife. “Here, you forgot a pillow,” Paige said, stepping over to the couch and placing it where she assumed Nate would be laying his head. “If you’re going to drool you can do it on that. The pillow cover is easier to clean I reckon,” she said with an amused smile. He tried not, really he tried, but he did a double take between Paige and the pillow. Nathan had planned to do without, but now it would only be weird if he gave it back to her. “Thanks,” he replied, using the excuse of the blankets not to look directly at her, in case she caught on to anything weird in his expression. “Do you need anything else before I turn in for the night?” The weirdness of this was hitting Paige as well but at least she had a good distraction in playing host for the night. “Nah, I think that was it.” Nathan straightened back up, sure that he’d at least gotten his face back under control, even if inwardly it still felt weird. It was just a pillow. “Thanks for lettin’ me crash. I reckon I’ll see y’all in the mornin’.” “Any time,” Paige said, though mentally kicked herself. It would probably drive her mad if this became a habit, but at least for tonight she was happy to be there for Nate. As a friend. “Goodnight,” she said, before turning around and going into her bedroom, closing the door. The next morning came far too quickly for Paige’s liking. She was usually one to sleep until the sun was in the sky, though lately she’d been more disciplined about waking at a reasonable hour now that she had her shop. Today, however, she woke in a panic realizing that she’d never given Nate a towel to take a shower. Knowing that he was a much earlier riser than her, she all but jumped out of bed and grabbed a towel from her wardrobe before quietly opening her bedroom door. Stalking out into the living room, still clad in her pajamas, she clutched the towel to her chest when she realized that Nate was already awake. And he was wearing less clothes than she’d seen him in last night. Cheeks flushing, she just sort of stood there. “Mornin’,” Nathan said, surprised and thrown that Paige was up early, and she seemed stuck where she was. A little confused too, since he might’ve just imagined it, but it kind of looked like she’d gone a little pink. “You’re up early.” Like stating the obvious was going to kill any of the weird tension that had creeped in. “I was fixin’ for at least another half hour to myself.” He threw her a smile just before he dug around for his shirt. His jeans were only half done up, since she’d caught him in the middle of getting dressed. But it wasn’t like there was any reason for him to rush getting himself put together, was there? Unless that was why she’d stopped so suddenly. Huh, he hadn’t thought of that. ‘If I’d known y’all weren’t going to sleep later I would of started coffee.” Half his words were muffled by the cotton of his shirt as he pulled it on. There may have been a little bit of ogling going on as he dressed himself, but Nate had always been too attractive for his own good. Most of the time Paige wondered what the hell he was even doing with a girl like her, but she hadn’t questioned it too hard because clearly she got to benefit from it. Clearing her throat, Paige moved into the kitchen, setting the towel on the island. “Well you would have been out of luck because the coffee maker is at the shop,” Paige said, glancing across the room to give him a sheepish shrug. “Haven’t had to worry about guests going without coffee yet. Sorry you had to be the learning curve.” “Lived through worse,” Nathan assured. “Reckon I can survive ‘til I’m back at my place.” Was their coffee at the house? He hadn’t checked in a couple days, but with just the two of them, him and Pete didn’t go through the essentials that quick. “Anyway, I should get outta your hair, I’m fixin’ to wear out my welcome if I stay much longer.” He grinned, and ran a hand through his hair to try and sort it out half-heartedly. She hadn’t even really realized that she’d been anxious about it, but Paige was suddenly quite relieved that Nate wouldn’t be naked in her guest shower while she was in the apartment. “Oh, well, I wasn’t about to kick you out or anything. Um, give me a couple minutes to get dressed and I’ll walk you out? Since I’m up already, I might as well get to work. Just give me, uh, five minutes,” she said, already starting her retreat before Nate could answer. She had a pretty good inkling that he was going to agree. “Yeah, sure,” Nathan replied, even though Paige had already guessed he would be okay with her not walking him out in her pajamas. He would’ve been okay if she hadn’t offered either, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that he didn’t mind, even though she had probably only said it to be polite. He pulled on his shoes while he waited, and was leaned against the counter when Paige appeared from her room again. “Cute skirt,” he said on autopilot, giving away the fact that he’d been looking in the first place. “Looks like one of the ones you used to have back in college.” And that didn’t make it any better, but if they could talk about the tex-mex they could probably talk about this too. He hoped. “I’ve always been a sucker for floral patterns but when I saw this fabric last year I really couldn’t resist,” Paige replied with a smile. Plus it matched her shoes, which was always a win. Paige grabbing her purse and keys then looked at Nate. Strange as it was that her ex-husband has spent the night on her couch, it was becoming clear that him being in her life again was the new normal and they were figuring out a way to make that work. Smiling a bit, she finally said, “Alright, let’s go then,” and began leading them out. |