I huffed out a quick laugh. “First of all, that is not how the song goes. At all. Second of all, no. But being around him is like being surrounded by so much color. So much feeling.”
“So much red…he makes you angry?”
I shook my head, not sure if she was teasing or seriously confused. “No. Damn it, Quinn! He makes me feel like I’ve never felt before. It’s intense. He’s intense. But it’s like everything around me bursts into the most vibrant glow when he’s around. He makes me feel red.”
“I still have no clue what you’re talking about, but I like it. Did you ever feel red with Colin?” she asked, mimicking me.
“No. Not like this. Not even close. This makes everything with Colin feel so superficial. I can’t explain it.” I blew out a breath and sank deeper into the cushions on the couch.
“Well, try to explain it in color then. How did Colin make you feel?”
I laughed and blurted out the first color that came to mind. “Pink. Colin made me feel pink. He was light and fluffy, but nowhere near as serious or intense as he’d like to think he is.”
“That’s ’cause Colin’s a pussy,” Quinn blurted out, and I slapped a hand across my own mouth as if I were the one who’d said it.
“Quinn!” I yelled through my fingers.
“What?” She laughed. “He is. You even said it. He makes you feel pink. What kind of man makes you feel pink?” she said pointedly.
“The metrosexual kind, I guess? I don’t know. Think about Ryson.” I paused and she moaned. “See? Ryson makes you feel in color. And I’m sure it’s not pink either.”
“He does make me feel in color. Horny colors. He makes me green! Like an M&M!” she said with a moan.
“Gross.”
“You’re gross.”
“No, you’re gross. Now, stop thinking about green M&Ms and help me!”
“Help you what? Sounds like you’ve got a good thing over there in wherever the hell you are again.”
“It has been a nice break from reality.”
“But you have to come back,” she said, and the truth hit my stomach like a boulder crashing off a cliff.
“I know,” I said sadly as I hugged a throw pillow and tucked it under my chin.
“But not yet. You don’t have to come back right now, Paige.”
“I know that too. But I can’t stay here forever. And then what?”
“Then what, what?” she asked, and I could picture the face she was making in my head. I knew her face was pinched as she tried to read my mind and guess what I was about to say before I said it.
“I mean, what do I do about Tatum? I really like him.”
“Then you enjoy him. Enjoy every cotton-picking minute you have with him. Do they say that there? Cotton-picking?” Quinn amused herself as she continued. “You’ll enjoy him. And you’ll take some damn photos of him for your best friend!”
“You really are no help.”
“Eh. Apparently my superpowers don’t work on you when you’re in another state. Who knew?” A loudspeaker blared in the background and I tensed as I heard Quinn’s name being paged. “I’ve gotta go. Call me later, okay? I love you. Take pictures!”
The line went dead. Quinn was on the set of her newest movie, and I must have caught her during a break in filming her scenes. Thankful that I’d caught her at all, I placed the phone down and brought the pillow to my nose. It smelled like Tatum, and I breathed it in for a moment. Feeling a little foolish, I set it down and got up. I hung up the phone and made my way back to the main house, where Mrs. Montgomery waited for me to make the pie.
On the way back to the house, I stopped on the porch and daydreamed about kissing Tatum. If I thought Tatum had consumed my thoughts before, I was wrong. Every moment I wasn’t around him, I wanted to be. A giant had awakened inside of me. A giant who wanted one thing…Tatum’s mouth.
“Girl, get in here. What are you doing out there?” Mrs. Montgomery called out from the side window, and I coughed, startled by her shouting.
“Be right in,” I called back before heading inside.