Chapter 8

 

"Are you tiptoeing right now?"

"Gah!" Paisley screamed and whirled around to face a dressed Carter. 

As usual, Carter had his suit on and his car key in his hand. 

She planted the heels of her feet to the ground and shook her head. 

"No"

He smirked at this and took a step towards her, prompting her to move back. 

"That" he said, pointing at her with an even wider smirk. 

"You're avoiding me"

"I'm not" she shot back. 

"It's kind of obvious. You keep shuffling backwards"

Paisley stopped in her tracks and forced a smile. 

"You should head to work. You'll be late"

"I can spare a couple minutes" he shrugged and slipped his hands in his pockets. 

"Is this about our kiss?"

Paisley felt her heart drop down to her stomach and climb back up in a second.

*Is he crazy?! Why bring it up?*

She gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her head. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

*Step one. Play dumb!*

This provoked an eyebrow raise from Carter and his smirk tuned to a smile. 

"Nice try" he said and took two steps towards her. 

"W-why do you keep getting closer?" Paisley stuttered, taking four steps back till she came in contact with a wall. 

Panic shot through her when Carter inched closer and she gripped the hem of her top. 

*Step two. Memory loss!*

"Did anything happen last night?" She laughed, trying hard to play it cool but only earned a laugh from him. 

He leaned closer to her ear. 

"You tell me" he whispered, fanning Paisley's ear with his breath and sending shivers down her spine. 

He pulled out, glancing at his watch and slipping his hand back in his pocket. 

"I'm heading out" he announced with a victory smirk and left. 

Paisley's knees buckled and she fell to the floor. Her heart threatened to leap out of her chest and she started into space. 

*He's an asshole. A complete asshole!*

She mused and pulled on her hair frustratingly.

*Why is he doing this to me?! Why?!*

She cried internally and trashed her legs around. 

"Is he a player? Is he trying to tease me?"

She paused a while. "But why? Why! I didn't do anything to deserve being taunted!" She cried. 

A kiss was enough to keep her up all night with a pounding heart, and she knew Carter enough to know that the stunt he pulled wouldn't be the last. 

*Carter that fucking oaf!* 

**

It was getting late, and Paisley found herself looking at the door at regular intervals. 

As she washed the dishes used to feed Karter, as she wiped the already clean counter, and as she browsed through the Tv channels. 

She found herself waiting for Carter to get back. 

The house felt empty. 

Her mind wandered to the kiss they shared the previous night and her fingers traced her lips; trying to recall how soft his were on hers. 

Just then, Carter walked in holding his iPad and shot her a smile when he caught sight of her on the sofa. 

Paisley unconsciously shot up from the sofa and intertwined her fingers behind her back. 

"You're back" she stated the obvious and Carter plopped down on the sofa. 

"I am" he said and tapped the sofa; motioning for Paisley to sit. 

"I brought back a sample of your book cover and biography. Tell me what you think"

Paisley rose a brow. "Does it really matter what I think? Also, isn't my editor supposed to be in charge of this?"

"Just check it out" Carter chortled and passed her the iPad. 

"Oooh" Paisley exclaimed and stared at the aesthetically designed cover. "This is actually really nice" 

"Of course it is" Carter boasted and earned an eye roll from her. 

Paisley scrolled to the next picture and read through her biography with a glint in her eyes. 

Carter noticed this and a smile graced his lips. 

"I feel like an actual writer" Paisley breathed a small laugh and zoomed in on her picture. "This is an actual biography" 

"Are you that happy?" Carter smirked. 

"Happy is an understatement" she chuckled and shoved the iPad in his face. 

"Woah!" Carter exclaimed with a low chuckle. 

"This has my face and information! It'll be printed and bought by several hundreds- even thousands of people!"

"You'll be famous" Carter stated and Paisley shook her head. 

"It's not about the fame. I mean, I don't mind it. But, I enjoy knowing that somewhere in the world, someone's lost in a world that I created. Invested and in love with my characters. Their attention, love and interest in every word is more than a blessing"

This earned her a smile from Carter. He stared at her while her attention remained on the screen; scrolling between the book cover and the biography. 

"You look beautiful when you're excited" 

Paisley paused; puzzled, and looked at him. 

"I mean, you're beautiful anyway. But, when you smile…you literally glow"

*This man will be the death of me.*

For a moment there, Paisley had forgotten all about their kiss. His sudden remark did nothing but remind her of that night. 

She looked away from him and placed the laptop on the sofa. 

"U-uh.." She trailed off and quickly got to her feet. "I should turn in for the night"

Carter didn't let her take another step forward. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. 

Paisley found herself seated between his legs; his eyes peering into hers. 

Her eyes widened at how beautiful his eyes looked up close. It was almost as if she was looking into the ocean. 

They sparkled. 

He leaned in a bit; smirking when he felt her tense up. 

"I want you to initiate the next kiss" he whispered in her ear, causing butterflies to erupt in her. 

He leaned back and smirked at an already red Paisley. 

She immediately rose to her feet and dashed for her room. 

Carter chuckled at this and leaned his head on the sofa. 

*Cute.*

He gushed internally. 

**

Paisley succeeded in her mission; Operation avoid Carter in the morning. As funny as the name sounded to her, she was willing to take it seriously. 

She got up as early as 5:30 and prepared breakfast for Carter. Then she entered Karter's room to check if he was awake. 

Surprised that he was still asleep, she decided it'd be best to let him get some rest and run into her room before Carter came out. 

Carter exited his room twenty minutes later and paused at the sight of breakfast packed and ready; with Paisley nowhere to be found. 

He laughed at this and took the note sticking out from under the lunchbox. 

*'Eat it. Every last bit of it'*

He laughed. "This note sounds awfully violent. She might just cut off my head if I leave a single crumb" 

He laughed at the image of an angry Paisley holding a large sword and ready to behead him. 

"I might actually like that" he smirked and walked out of the house. 

Paisley waited an extra five minutes before exiting her room. She walked up to the sofa and plopped down on it with an exasperated sigh. 

She could still hear her heart throbbing from last night's intense moment. 

*"I want you to initiate the next kiss"*

She placed her hands on her chest and stared at the tv. 

"Stop it" she breathed. "Stop beating so hard" 

*"I want you to initiate the next kiss"*

"Ahhh!!" She screamed. "Shut up! Shut up!" She yelled and banged her head against the sofa"

"I can't do this" she declared, getting to her feet. "I need Karter's cute smile!" She whined and ran to his room. 

"Still sleeping?" She questioned and rose a brow. "That's odd. He's normally awake and lively by this time of the day"

She reached for him and immediately withdrew her hands with a gasp. 

*W-wait….*

"K-Karter?" 

She felt his forehead and her hands flew to her mouth in shock. 

*He's hot!*

She looked around the room and found herself thrown into panic. 

"What do I do?"  She cried and ran out of the room. 

She grabbed her phone from the living room table and quickly dialed Carter's number. 

"Hello?" He answered.

"C-Carter" she called out shakily, already sobbing. 

"What's wrong?" Carter asked, already in alert and filled with worry. 

"I-it's Karter. He can't wake up and his body is so hot" 

At this point, Paisley couldn't think properly. 

"Paisley" Carter called firmly. "Listen to me"

"Mmm" she replied, barely able to say another word. 

"Take him to the hospital. There's one close to our place. I'll be there in 10 minutes"

The second Carter hung up, Paisley ran to Karter's room and carried his frail body in her arms. He was really hot and that scared the hell out of her. 

She quickly grabbed one of his blankets and ran out of the house. Hailing a taxi and begging the driver hurry up, Paisley had only one thought running through her head. 

*If anything happens to Karter, I'll never forgive myself.*