One Month Later...

Nick and I have been living together for a month. He's been one of the best people to live with. He works fulltime and manages to have dinner on the table for me when I walk through the door after I've finished my shift at the café.

If I'm working at Donna's bar 'n' Grill Nick would drive to the place and have dinner. He would ask to sit in my section so I could serve him.

Donna's never had a problem with me serving him. She did tell me once that if Nick steps out of live he won't be able to come back.

I told him what she said and he promised to be on his best behavior.

Renee puts the closed sign on the door before she walks back to the counter where I'm wiping it down. She pulls the till out and starts counting the money. Stepping out from behind the counter I walk over to the tables and wipe them down. I put the chairs on the table before I move to the next section.

Once all the tables are cleaned I move towards the kitchen and do the dishes. When that's done Renee walks into the room and she looks around. "You can leave now, Paige. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Renee. I'll see you tomorrow." I grab my bag from under the counter and walk out the door. I walk down the road to my car. Opening the car door I place my handbag on the passenger seat and start the engine. Before I pull away from the curb I hear someone call my name.

Looking around I see a girl that I went to high school with. She runs over to the car and leans against the passenger window. "Hey, Paige."

A smile spreads across my face. "Hey, Luna, was it?"

"Yes," she smiles. "I wasn't sure if you'd remember me. Since it's the long weekend and some people are coming back from college I was wondering if you'd like to come to a party at my place?"

"When's the party?"

"Tomorrow?"

Leaning across to the passenger seat I grab my phone and have a look at what I've got going on. I open the calendar and see that I'm working at the café and Donna's Bar 'N' Grill. Looking at her I say. "Sorry, Luna. I won't be able to make it as I have a double shift."

She shakes her head. "That sucks. I was hoping to have someone that skipped going to college to be with me when our old classmates came home." She steps away from the car. "I'll see you around." Luna walks away from the car and then dashes across the road as she see's someone else.

I pull away from the curb and drive to the trailer park. On the way to the trailer park I see a liquor store and pull the car over. Grabbing my bag I head inside the store and look at the selection of wine they have. I see a red a wine and grab that.

Walking over to the counter I place the bottle down. The guy looks at me and says. "Can I see some ID?"

I pull out my fake ID and place it on the counter.

He looks at it before giving it back to me and scanning the bottle. He tells me the price and I pay for it.

There's a group of guys standing in front of the manager's office, talking loudly about who's going to break in. I beep the horn and gain their attention. Sticking my head out the window I yell. "Get the hell away from the office."

A blonde flips me off and says. "Keep your nose out of our business you nosey bitch." He starts to walk away with his group.

I hope it wasn't them that broke into my trailer a couple months back. If it was I'm going to make them pay for taking things that belonged to my parents that worked hard for everything we got.

I continue to drive to the trailer. As I pull around the corner a girl runs across the road to get her ball. I slam on the brake before I can get too close to her.

"Heather, how many times have I told you to be careful when you cross the road? You need to make sure it's clear before getting your ball." The mother looks in my direction. "Sorry, Paige."

I wave at her. "Its okay, Maggie."

Maggie grabs Heather's hand and they walk back to the trailer. She places the ball in the seat before ushering Heather into the house.

I drive to my trailer and park behind Nick's car. Grabbing my purse from the seat I step out of the car. I lock the door before walking up the couple stairs that leads to the trailer. Opening the door I step into the trailer.

Nick looks up from the stove. "Hey, Paige. Dinner will be ready soon." I hear the timer go off as I sit at the kitchen table.

I pull out hand sanitizer and wash my hands. Pulling out the bottle of red wine that I brought on my way home. I pour us a glass and then put the bottle to the side of the table.

Nick puts the food on the table. "Can I have your plate, please?" I give him my plate and he puts a steak on my plate and he puts the sautéed onions on my plate with broccoli and beans. He puts some sauce on the steak."

I look at the steak. "What kind of gravy is that?"

"It's steak Diane. I'm sure you'll like it, Paige. I'm sure you're not used to eating stuff like this."

I shake my head. "Mom and Dad couldn't afford to buy steak. If they did they brought three and it had to be shared between five people."

The rest of dinner is eaten in silence. I walk into the kitchen and I start doing the dishes. When the kitchen is done I walk over to the lounge and sit next to Nick. He wraps his arms around me and I snuggle into his chest.

Nick changes the channel and he puts on Rookie Blue re-runs. He turns towards me as McNally runs down the alley way and tackles a guy with black, greasy hair. "I would be totally fine is that was you tackling me like that."

My face heats up and I turn away from him. "Shut up!"

He laughs. "I love it when you blush." He kisses the side of my head. "Did you send off the application form for UCLA?"

I nod. "Yeah, now all I have to do is wait for my acceptance letter. I hope I get in. It would be great to start the New Year with something going my way."

"Luck will be on your side. Your family seem to be having some luck this year. Your father got a new job and a roof over his head when he moved. You've got two jobs and you work your butt off six days straight. You also have a great trailer mate, who's hoping to be more with you."

I'm not sure if I want to be more with him.

I turn towards him. "Nick, we've known each other for years and all I've ever seen you as was a brother. Now, I'm not sure what I see you as. But, for right now can we just go with the flow and not put a label on things?"

He nods. "I'll give you the time you need."

I look at the bottle of red wine sitting on the table. "Do you want some wine?"

"Yes, please. I'll get it." He rises and moves over to the bottle of wine. He pours the wine into two glasses and gives me one. "Are you working tomorrow at Donna's?"

"Yeah, do you want me to book a table for you?"

He nods. "I don't feel like eating alone. I love the company there."

I laugh. "I think you like checking out the waitress that's going to serve you. But, you need to remember not to get jealous. I have to flirt with some douchebags to get tips." I take a sip of the wine. I set it on the table and watch the rest of Rookie Blue.

Nick places his arm behind me and looks at me. "I'm not going to get jealous of the douche bags that you serve, because I know for a fact that it's none of them you'll be going home."

A smile spreads across my face. "Do you want to know a secret?"

"Sure,"

"I like coming home to you. Sometimes, I wonder if this is what it feels like to come home to your partner every day."

He laughs. "I'm sure it is. Except we're not in a relationship. We're just two friends sharing a place while we figure what the hell we're going to do with our lives." His phone starts to ring and he looks at me. "I have to take this." He walks out of the room.

I grab my glass of wine and start drinking it. Turning my attention back to the TV I see Andy fly across the screen the screen and land on the ground. Her face is covered in blood after she was talking to some girl who wanted to skip the line to get into the concert.'

Nick walks back into the room. "What did I miss?"

"Andy got shot. Now, Sam's worried about her."

"Are you a McSwarek shipper?"

"Yep, what about you?"

"Nah, I don't really care too much about the show." He sits next to me and turns his attention back to the TV.

There's a knock on the door. "Are you expecting anyone?"

I shake my head.

Nick picks up the bat he keeps against the wall. He opens the door with the bat raised. "What the hell are you doing here?"

I hear a voice. "Can't I spend a couple days with my Big Brother and Best Friend?"

Nick looks into the trailer. "Not, when you're supposed to be at school, Jody. So, what did you do to come home for the weekend?"

Jody enters the trailer and she walks over to the lounge. She hugs me. "I missed you, Paige."

"I missed you two. Did you bring a guy home with you?"

She nods. "Can we stay here until we need to leave on Monday? We got a long weekend and I wanted to come home see the family."

I look at the door. "You should invite your boyfriend in. It's rude to keep him outside."

Jody walks over to the door and she opens it. "Come in."

A guy enters the trailer. He stand at 6.1ft, dark hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. "Hey, I'm Jay Harris." He extends his hand to me and I shake it.

I smile. "Hey, I'm Paige and that's Nick."

The guy shakes Nick's hand. "It's nice to meet you both. I've heard good things about you two from, Jody. I was surprised that she wanted to take me home to meet the parents, brother and Best Friend."

Jody moves over to me. "Where are we sleeping? I'm beat?"

I look at the lounge. "You'll have to sleep on the lounge. We don't have a bed in the spare bedroom. Nick and I weren't expecting other people to stay with us. I'm sorry."

"That's alright. I'll buy a mattress tomorrow and place it the spare bedroom for when I stay again. I don't want to bother my parents when I come for a surprise visit."

Nick pulls the couch apart and sets up the bed for them. He walks to the hall and gets some blankets and sheets from the cupboard. He makes the bed for them. "I'm going to go to bed. I need to get some sleep before the big day I have tomorrow." He hugs his sister. "We'll talk over dinner at Donna's."

She smiles. "I love that place. How long have you been eating at Donna's?"

He looks at me. "Ever since Paige got a job there. I don't like eating alone. So, I go over to work and eat alone. But, I have beautiful waitress that comes over all the time to talk to me."

Jody laughs. "I knew you two would eventually hook-up. I didn't think it would take the two of you to live together for that to happen."

I cross my arms. "We're not dating."

"Yet! You're not dating yet. But, I can see it in your eyes that you two like each other. I don't know why you're fighting this. I just hope you don't like that douchebag ex of yours still?"

I shake my head. "He's not the one holding me back. It's my decision not to move on with someone. I just don't want Nick up be a rebound for me. He deserves better than that." I yawn. I hug my best friend. "I'll see you in the morning." I make my way to the bedroom. I pull off my clothes and climb into bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow I'm out.