infatuated

four

       Paige and Tyler went their separate ways for the night, Tyler pulling off his clothes and heading into the shower that was right next to his room. Luckily Archie left him a pair of sweatpants to sleep in, putting them on after and laying wide awake in his bed. All he could think about was Paige. He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help himself. Where would it had gone if he didn't stop it? He knew the answer but tried to push the thought away. Eventually he was able to fall asleep, waking up fairly early and gathered his wet clothes. He peeks his head out of his door, not seeing anyone before creeping out. Although the house was huge, and no one would likely hear him, he was trying to be as quiet as possible. He comes around the corner to see Paige standing there in a big t-shirt with her arms crossed.

       "Where are you going?" She asks, Tyler sighing softly. "I'm going home Paige." He says, looking over at the time. It was only 8 am, hopefully Mel was still asleep and he could avoid her for at least a few more hours. "Well can I have your number or something? I mean just for emergencies or anything like that. Nothing weird I promise." She says smiling. Tyler laughs a bit, nodding his head. He gives her his number, typing it into her phone before handing it back. "Only for emergencies. Seriously. Mel will think I'm cheating on her or something." Paige nods in agreement before giving him a hug. "Okay well if she doesn't kill you, try coming over more often." Paige says pulling away as Tyler nods with a smile plastered across his face. "Okay." He says softly before leaving.

        Tyler drives home with pure dread running through him as he parked, grabbing his wet clothes and tossing them on the front patio before going in. He walks in, not seeing Mel by the door which was a good sign. He walks straight to the kitchen, grabbing a water from the fridge and downing it quickly. Right as he finished, he hears footsteps before a door opened and slammed immediately after. He groans softly, hearing Mel storming down the hallway. "Are you f*cking stupid Tyler?! What the f*ck were you doing last night?! Since when do you think you can just do whatever the f*ck you want?!" She says, clearly pissed.

       Tyler just stands there, not even responding as she continued to go off on him. "What does this marriage mean to you? You can't just go to someone's house and turn your f*cking phone off and not come home! That's f*cking bullshit." Tyler takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a few seconds. "No f*cking way you just asked me what this marriage means to me..." He says staring at her in disbelief. Mel crosses her arms, quickly responding, "Well I just did you asshole." Tyler shakes his head, almost laughing at how absurd it sounds. "What the f*ck does this marriage mean to me? What does it mean to you Mel? Does it mean you can go f*ck your boss? Does it mean you can just shit on me for any little thing I do?" He responds, Mel just staring him for a few seconds before saying anything. "Don't you dare bring that up. That's not fair." Tyler rolls his eyes, walking right past her towards their room. "What you did to me was not fucking fair Mel." He says before slamming the door behind him.

        Tyler laid on the bed, his mind still stuck on Paige. The argument didn't even matter to him at this point, he was so checked out of the relationship. He didn't know what to do with himself, all he could do was lay there. Mel went on with her day, acting as if nothing happened. Mel had a way of trying to ignore the real problem between her and Tyler, which got no one any where. Within the next couple of weeks, Tyler found himself eager to go back over to Archie's just to see Paige. Luckily, Archie had a dinner planned for all of his employees as well as families to join in. Archie of course chose a very high class place to dine in at, having everyone wear formal attire. Tyler got out of his car, fixing his tie before walking into the restaurant. He was taken to a large private dining area, scanning the room to find any familiar faces. He quickly lands on Sam, walking over to him smiling. Sam greets him with a quick hug, "Hey Ty, how are you?" He asks as Tyler sighs softly. "As good as I'll get." He says as Sam sighs. "Mel again?" He asks, Tyler nodding. "Where's Archie?" Tyler asks as Sam points up towards the front of the room.

       He looks up, not even looking at Archie, but looking directly at Paige. She was wearing a tight, short black dress with heels, her hair curled and makeup nice. He smiles as Paige looked around the room, finding his face as well and smiling back. "I'll be right back." Tyler says, pushing his way through all the people and making his way over to Paige. Paige held her drink in her hand, sipping on it and looking at him as he approached. "Drinking again?" He asks with a smirk as Paige nodded. "My dad got me one." She says smiling. "You look amazing by the way." He says as Paige motions her hand towards him. "As do you. No Mel tonight?" She asks as Tyler just shakes his head. "When do I get to meet her?" She asks as Tyler laughs. "For your sake, hopefully never. Where's your dad at?" He asks as Paige points to a table nearby that had her family around it. "He's talking to all the family. C'mon, I'll take you over." She says grabbing his hand and leading him over to the table. Tyler was quickly welcomed by Archie, going around to introduce him to everyone.

       Once all the introductions were over, everyone started taking their seats as Archie grabbed a glass, clinking his fork against it. "Thank you everyone for coming out tonight, it's been a delight to see everyone and meet new faces. As our company continues to expand, I just thought a lovely dinner was a great idea. I'm grateful for each and every one of my employees who have worked hard to make everything happen and allow great opportunities. I'm happy to announce that we will be having a few more locations added to the company, which is a big milestone for everyone involved. Once we get those locations up and running, the possibilities are endless. Thank you everyone again for coming out, as well as supporting what was once just a dream of mine. Please continue to enjoy yourselves throughout the night, you are more than welcome to help yourselves to whatever you wish, all expenses will be paid by me. Enjoy!" As Archie finishes, everyone claps of course and goes back to enjoying their dinner.

       Tyler excuses himself to the restroom, walking towards the closest one as Paige notices and follows behind. She comes up and taps him on the back as he walks, stopping him in his tracks. He turns around seeing her before quickly looking around the room out of paranoia. "Paige what are you doing?" He asks softly as Paige smiles. "I just wanted to see you, without a million people around." She says as Tyler shakes his head. "Paige you don't need to see me without anyone around, it makes this look suspicious." He says laughing as Paige furrows her eyebrows. "Why would anyone think it's suspicious, it's not like anything's happening." She says with a slight smirk on her face. Tyler rolls his eyes, grabbing onto her hand and pulling her into the single stall bathroom.

       He locks the door behind him, Paige still holding onto his hand. He lets go of it before picking her up and setting her on the counter. "Paige you need to keep your distance, okay?" He says leaning in close to her. Paige grabs onto his hands, gently placing them onto her hips. "Why do I need to keep my distance? Am I gonna get you 'in trouble'?" She says, almost mocking him as she throws up her hands in air quotations. He sighs softly, nodding his head before looking down. He takes a deep breath before looking back up at her. "Yes Paige. You are." He says sternly, Paige reaching up and placing her hands on his cheeks. "Maybe I want to." She says smirking. Tyler shakes his head slowly, grabbing her hands and placing them in her lap. "You don't want to do that Paige. Really." He says as Paige nods her head. "I do, I really really do." She says biting her lip gently. He sighs softly pulling away, placing his hands on her knees. "C'mon, you gotta go." He says before Paige hops down from the counter. She sighs softly as she walks over to the door, looking back at him. "Well whenever you want trouble, I'm here." She says with a smirk before walking out.