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Post by Paige Owen on May 9, 2009 12:31:32 GMT -5
Paige just stared at him for a minute, not sure what to say. It was rare for Paige to be struck completely speechless, but his words were something she had not expected. She had known guys who were gentlemen before, but this... this was something new. She liked it... but she didn't know how to trust it.
In her experience, guys never stayed. Not even the good ones.
When she was younger, she had believed in love. But after too many empty relationships and quick encounters, she lost her faith in it. Austin could make her believe again, and in her eyes, that was dangerous. She'd learned how to get what she wanted from guys while giving them what they wanted, but here was a guy who didn't seem to want anything but her. The one thing she couldn't give him.
Finally, impulsively, she leaned up and pressed her lips to his.
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Post by Austin Hancock on May 9, 2009 12:50:59 GMT -5
He wasn't sure why Paige was looking at him like that. Austin wasn't going to do anything with Paige. He had already made that decision. That night he took her back to her place, he realized that she was someone that he wouldn't mind running into again and again. If he let anything happen, then that wouldn't ever occur again because he knew that she would pretty much just vanish.
Austin wasn't quite expecting her to kiss him. He froze for a moment as her lips were pressed to his. Once he realized what she was doing, he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away from him gently. "Paige," Austin started. "Why don't we just take this slower? Hm? Friends maybe?"
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Post by Paige Owen on May 9, 2009 15:26:25 GMT -5
Friends?
This was utterly incomprehensible to Paige. Guys didn't want to be just "friends," not without wanting something else. Besides, she didn't exactly have a lot of friends. She wasn't good at it.
"I don't know how to take things slower," she confessed.
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Post by Austin Hancock on May 9, 2009 16:28:39 GMT -5
"Well, there's a first time for everything." Austin gave her a smile. "We could start off with a few innocent times to go out and eat. You know, get to know each other fairly well. If things seem to be going well, then there's always the chance to go a step further." He looked at her questioningly.
"It won't be that bad, unless of course you don't want to see anymore of me."
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Post by Paige Owen on May 10, 2009 20:38:27 GMT -5
Paige was generally an impatient, impulsive sort of person. She had never had a single relationship where she didn't sleep with the guy on the very first night. That was what she did. Why wait for the good stuff? If a guy wasn't good in bed, what was the point in continuing to see the guy?
And yet, like most girls, there was that little secret part of her that wanted to be romanced. To be swept off her feet. She wanted the roses and chocolates and doors held open for her. She just didn't believe in it. Guys who did those things... they were just putting on an act to get what they wanted, and once they had the girl, they turned into jerks. That was her experience.
If she let Austin do all that and he turned into a jerk... Paige was certain it would break her heart.
"Look... I think this was a mistake. I think I should go." She stood up and turned her face away from him so that he wouldn't see the confused tears in her eyes.
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Post by Austin Hancock on May 10, 2009 20:59:20 GMT -5
He was still slightly confused with Paige. Austin didn't really understand why she just wanted to sleep with him, well he could in a way, but still. Was she afraid of something or did she just not really like him?
"Paige," Austin started. What was he supposed to say? Stay? He knew that she wouldn't do such a thing. He wasn't going to just agree to give her what she thought that he was going to give her at first. Austin didn't like the hit it and quit it thing. He was getting old enough that he just wanted to have a relationship at some point and possibly settle down. He wasn't automatically thinking of settling down with Paige, he just thought that he might try out some kind of relationship. However, at the moment it seemed like that chance was going away.
He stood up right after she did. "What do you mean a mistake? Am I that ridiculous? Or boring?"
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Post by Paige Owen on May 10, 2009 21:10:04 GMT -5
She wanted to run, but even she couldn't quite explain why. Was he not offering her all the things she'd always secretly longed for? But the idea of getting that close exposed a lot of Paige's secret insecurities. And there was the added fear that if she let him into her heart, he would break it. There had been others that she'd liked and cared about and had come close to letting them into her heart, and they'd all let her down. How was she supposed to trust him now, when everything she'd ever experienced in the past warned her not to?
At his words, she looked up at him and sniffled, revealing that there were tears streaming down her face. "No... no, you're not ridiculous, and you're not boring. You're perfect. And that's the problem."
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Post by Austin Hancock on May 10, 2009 21:17:56 GMT -5
Unsure of her reaction, Austin kept his hands by his side instead of wiping away her tears. He looked at her confusedly. There was no way that he was perfect. "There's no such thing as being perfect," he said. How was he supposed to get to her without scaring her? He could tell that Paige was trying to hide herself, but he didn't want her to. Finding out how to get her not to was going to be a challenge.
"But what do you mean? How am I supposed to be?"
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Post by Paige Owen on May 10, 2009 21:27:36 GMT -5
Paige shook her head. She was still crying, and she was getting confused. She didn't know what she wanted or how to act, or what to say.
"You should be yourself. That's all. I just..." She let out a sob, then looked at him, her brown eyes swimming with tears. "No one's ever said the kinds of things to me that you're saying, and I just... I've known a lot of guys, and I've been used and tossed aside and... I don't know how to do what you're asking."
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Post by Austin Hancock on May 10, 2009 21:31:44 GMT -5
"You've just been in with the wrong crowd," he offered. "Because not all guys are going to be like those in your past. They'll never grow up. Besides, I speak the truth. You should be treated like you're supposed to be treated and not some play thing." Austin was willing to be at least a friend if she wanted that.
"And the only thing I'm asking of you is that you just think about what you always wanted. Surely not sleeping with a guy one night and leaving the next morning is what you want your life to be like."
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Post by Paige Owen on May 10, 2009 21:48:13 GMT -5
Paige stared at him. That secret, insecure side of her was now whispering damaging thoughts in her ear. What if that was all she was good for? What if she couldn't settle down? What if she was meant to be a butterfly, flitting from flower to flower and never stopping to land? What if it wasn't the fault of all the guys she'd been with before? What if it was her fault? What if Austin was wrong and that really was the way she wanted her life to be like?
"I think you're too good for me," she whispered.
Then she turned and ran for the door.
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Post by Austin Hancock on May 10, 2009 21:57:53 GMT -5
"Paige," he called for her. He started after her, but she had already opened the door and left. Austin knew that he shouldn't stop her because she was just going to run from him anyway. He didn't understand it. Even though she had run from him, claiming that he was too good for her, Austin knew that there was no way that he was giving up. Paige had become someone that he didn't mind to be around on a day-to-day basis. Several of the people he knew, he didn't want to be around them everyday or all day.
Today was just the start of Austin actually going after someone. Paige just confirmed that he should try harder, and maybe flowers sent to her desk the next day would be just the thing.
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