What the hell?
Dear Lord, please make him do it again. And then again. And then he can move straight on to my mouth and never stop. Ever. Tatum may have lost his mind, but don’t help him find it. Not if it means he’ll stop kissing me.
I decided to address the crowd as well. I didn’t want Tatum to be speaking for me when I felt like I should be the one explaining myself to them.
“Like Tatum said, no one knows where I am right now, and I really want to keep it that way. I love your town and I’m enjoying spending time here. I’m not quite ready to leave, but if it gets out that I’m here, I’ll have no choice. So I just want to thank you all in advance for respecting my privacy. I really appreciate it. And once I do head back to LA, feel free to post our pics together wherever you want.” I smiled broadly, making eye contact with everyone who surrounded me.
The group immediately shouted their approval and then swarmed me for pictures and autographs. Everyone was incredibly sweet, but they were overwhelming as well. Hollywood was such a foreign concept to them, in the same way that their way of life was to me. They had a ton of questions that they weren’t afraid to ask. Anything personal I politely refused to answer, but questions about living in LA and my work, I happily answered. I understood the appeal and figured that I’d do the same thing if the shoe were on the other foot.
“Paige, do you want something to drink?” Tatum’s voice shouted over the questions being tossed at me.
I knew he meant alcohol, but I honestly didn’t want to let my guard down in this situation. “Do they have sweet tea? I’ve grown kind of fond of it,” I said as I gave him a huge grin.
“Sweet tea it is, Princess!” he shouted before taking off.
More laughter and shouting came from somewhere behind me, and I turned in time to see Brina and Celeste exiting a Jeep Wrangler. They both looked amazing. When Celeste caught sight of me, she waved like crazy and I waved back. The group surrounding me turned to see who I was waving to, and a few whispers accompanied the revelation.
“Hey, girl! So, what do you think?” Celeste asked with a big smile before giving me a quick hug.
“Is everyone here so good-looking? I mean, really!” I said, deliberately complimenting everyone within hearing range.
“It’s the curse of the South. Gorgeous people stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one to find them.” She laughed, tossing her head back, and her fiery hair fell from around her shoulders and spilled onto her back.
“You made it.” Brina leaned in to give me a quick hug and my defenses sharpened.
“Yep.”
Brina looked me up and down before commenting, “Nice boots.”
I looked down. “Oh, thanks. They’re Mrs. Montgomery’s.”
Her eyes widened as her lips pressed tightly together. She turned to look at Tatum, who was busy talking with a group of guys, drinks in hand. When he didn’t acknowledge her, she turned back to me. “It’s nice that you get along so well with her.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant exactly. Was she hinting that she and Mrs. Montgomery hadn’t gotten along when she dated Tatum? I couldn’t imagine that, so I dropped it, hoping I could ask Tatum about it later.
A strong hand found its way onto my lower back once again and I leaned into it after making sure it belonged to Tatum. “Here’s your tea.” He handed me a red plastic cup filled to the brim.
“You didn’t spike this, did you?” I asked playfully, peering up at him through my eyelashes.
He took a swig of his beer before winking. “Want to get out of here?”
“But we just got here,” I said, disappointed. “And you’re drinking.”
“No. I meant here,” he gestured to the crowd still surrounding me, “away from the crowd and picture taking.”
I looked around, wondering what exactly he had in mind before I agreed, not that it really mattered. I’d follow Tatum anywhere he wanted. “I guess.”
“Come on.” He reached for my hand and interlaced our fingers before pulling me away. I waved my cup at Celeste, who had a smile ten feet wide plastered on her face, and Brina, who wore a scowl about the same size.
“Where are we going?” I whispered.
“Just over to my truck.”
We walked to the back where Tatum lowered the tailgate and placed our drinks on the ground. He spread out a thick blanket he had brought across the bed of the truck, then hopped in. “Hand me the drinks, please,” he drawled, and I happily obliged. Putting them down, he reached out a hand to pull me up. Two beanbag chairs were pressed against the cab of the truck, and he straightened them out before sitting down on one and patting the other one for me.
I plopped down next to him and looked up at the darkening sky. I’d never seen so many stars before and it was barely dusk. LA had too m
any lights that drowned out the night’s sky almost completely. Even during nights when I thought I could see a lot of stars, it was nothing compared to this. I found myself wishing again that a camera would do any of this justice, but I knew it was up to my memory to capture the view and hold on to it.