The Boy Next Door

paige and another brit

We pack up the things from today and store them under the booth's table. We clean up trash around the area, so it looks nice for tommorow. "Would you guys like to go out to eat tonight?" Asks Katie.

"Yeah!" We all say.

"I had this really nice on the water seafood place in mind."

"OOOH, that sounds YUMMY!" Says Hayley. Caleb, Annie, and I agree. We get a taxi to the restaurant. It looks super modern and it has a huge sign that says, The Pacific's Finest: Restaurant and Bar.

"Wow, it looks really fancy!" I say.

"I can't wait!" Squeals Annie. We go inside and Katie tells the waiter we have a reservation, and we are showed to our table. A woman is sitting at it, she's maybe twenty years old, and she's really pretty. She has long, curly brown hair, and perfect makeup, with long pink nails.

"PAIGE!" Scream Caleb, Annie, and Hayley all at once. They run to hug the young woman, and she hugs them back.

"I thought you couldn't make it this time!" Screams Annie.

"Well, I thought I couldn't, but then I could, so I called Katie. She said it would be better as a surprise... So, SURPRISE!" They all cheer and give the girl, apparently named Paige, huge hugs again. She has a slight southern accent, like what you hear in the wild west movies, but toned down a ton. Paige looks over to me and gasps. "This must be Ebony." She whispers.

"Yeah, Ebony this is my older cousin, Paige." Says Caleb.

"Nice to meet you Pai-" I begin saying.

"WELCOME TO THE FAMILY SUGAR CUBE!" She shouts and throws her arms around me.

"Oh, um... Thank you!"

"Caleb's been talkin bout you nonstop to me when we FaceTime, I just couldn't wait to meet you!" I look over to Caleb, who's looking at his feet and blushing.

"Wow, I-"

"And you're just SO adorable! Your accent is the cutest darned thing I've ever heard! Awe my lord, it feels like Caleb's still a little baby, waddlin around on his pudgy legs. Oh Caleb, remember the time you-"

"Okay Paige, that's enough!" Caleb interrupts.

Katie laughs, "forget moms embarrassing the kid in front of their girlfriends, leave it to your older cousin!" Paige playfully frowns and everyone laughs.

"I love you Paige!" Says Caleb, "but can we please sit down?"

"Alrighttt!" Says Paige, and we all sit. I sit between Caleb and Paige. The waiter comes, and we order appetizers that are really good. Then we order the main course. Caleb and I order lobster. The meal is amazing, and I get to know Paige. She has a YouTube channel, called Paigique, which is about beauty. By the end of dinner, we're laughing at baby Caleb stories, and Caleb's sulking with his arms crossed and his face red.

"We love you Caleb!" I say, and kiss him on the cheek. This cheers him up a bit.

"Well, I just lost any chance I had at impressing you with my manliness. Thanks to a certain someone named PAIGE." He says, his teeth bared.

"You don't need to impress me, Cae." He smiles. Once dinner's over, it's pretty late and we all take a taxi to the hotel. Paige is staying on the same floor as us. I fall asleep with my head on Caleb's shoulder on the ride back. He lightly shakes me awake and my eyes dart open and I whip my head up. It hits the window, making the edges of my vision blur for a second. Clumsy! I'm so freaking clumsy.

"Ebony! Are you okay?" He asks, alarmed.

"Yeah," I say groggily, "just a bit tired." Caleb helps me out of the car and puts his arm around my on the way upstairs. We get to my room, and I look at the clock. It's only 9:30, but I'm so tired. He sits me down on the bed, and say's he'll be right back. Katie, Paige, Annie, and Hayley come in and ask me if I want to watch a movie with them. I tell them thanks, but I'm going to go to sleep. They all hug me goodnight, and go to their room. I wait on the bed for Caleb. The door creaks open, and Caleb comes in. He's holding flowers.