Love for the Game- Paige Bueckers

C H A P T E R 13

Paige had her hair down and un-straightened for once, and had on lots of jewelry accompanied with a black long sleeve shirt and blue jeans. It was nice to see her sort of dressed up for once because usually you only saw her in practice clothes or pajamas, and you rarely saw her with her hair down, especially in its natural wavy state.

As you two walked out to the car, you asked once again, "Seriously Paige, where are we going?"

She shrugged as she opened the car door for you, allowing you to climb in while she shrugged, "I don't know."

"Yes you do!" You whined, growing more and more impatient. However, she remained silent, pressing her lips into smile as she leaned in to peck you on the lips. You rolled your eyes as she shut the door and got in the driver's seat, but you couldn't stop the small smile that crept onto your lips.

The sun was setting as the car drove down the road, casting a golden glow across the world and highlighting everything in a beautiful hue of orange. All the windows were down and the sunroof was open as music softly played in the background. Paige had one hand on the wheel and the other supporting her head. Her elbow rested on the car door and her hair blew wildly in the wind and you questioned if she could fully see the road in front of her. 

Getting an idea, you stuck your head out the window and breathed in the fresh evening air. Paige's smile got impossibly brighter, and she watched you with complete admiration and compassion. Life felt unreal in this moment, and you couldn't process how lucky and blessed you felt.

Plopping back down in your seat, Paige threw her head back in laughter at your now disheveled state. "Hey, stop!" You hit her playfully, laughing as you tried to smooth down your hair.

"Here," she muttered as she tucked a piece of hair behind your ear, trying her best to fix it.

"Thank you," you said in a hushed tone before realizing that she was paying no attention whatsoever to driving. "But you need to keep your eyes on the road, driver," you teased.

She backed up and resumed her previous position, "Well, it's your fault."

"How?" You exclaimed, mock offense splayed across your face.

"You keep distracting me!"

"I'm not even doing anything though!"

"Yes you are, you're being too pretty," she spoke sweetly, and butterflies fluttered in your stomach.

"Oh," you blushed, looking down. After a while of comfortable silence, you leaned over the glove department to be closer to her, smiling as you asked, "So really, where are we going?"

"There," she pointed to what looked like an Italian restaurant, and it actually looked pretty fancy. You gaped, physically surprised. "What?" Paige chuckled.

"I didn't think you were a romantic person," you explained, looking at her slyly.

She blushed, looking back at the road and suppressing a smile, "Well I kinda asked Nika for advice," she muttered.

You giggled, kissing her on the cheek as she drove into the parking lot. After parking, you unbuckled your seatbelt and started to open your car door, but Paige had other plans. She practically ran to your side of the car to open the door for you.

A wide grin broke out on your face at her actions, accepting her hand as you stepped out of the vehicle and playfully rolled your eyes, "You know I can open the door myself, right?" She smiled, shrugging before throwing her arm over your shoulders, holding you close as the two of you entered the restaurant.

A waitress soon seated you at a booth right next to a window with a marvelous view of the busy streets, car lights blending together and twinkling lights of the buildings shimmering in the now night sky. You sat across from Paige, the warm glow of the dim lights casting shadows across her beautiful face.

You leaned over the table, whispering in her ear, "You're gorgeous." Pulling away, you saw Paige's face flush before she looked down. You were finding that complementing Paige was becoming one of your new favorite things, loving the way her face became bright red and how surprised and endeared she got.

Before you could say anything else, another waitress was standing over the table, asking what you would like to drink. The two of you both ordered water, then fell into an easy conversation.

Something you were learning about Paige is that she put up a very tough persona, but was really one of the sweetest and most sensitive people you had ever met. Another thing was that she was very good at hiding her emotions and pretended to be happy all the time, but was actually a very anxious person.

The two of you were sharing more about your families after receiving drinks and appetizers and placing your orders for food. You were also learning about Paige's faith, and you were loving it. She was so passionate about the subject, and you enjoyed the way her eyes lit up and how she talked with her hands, rambling on about her beliefs and how important it was to her.

You were smiling like an idiot when she suddenly ceased talking, chuckling and looking down, "Sorry."

"For what?" You replied quickly, confused.

"I was talking a lot," she explained, slightly embarrassed.

"What? No, don't worry, I love listening to you talk," you said quickly.

Her whole face lit up, and you saw that look in her eyes return, "Oh, ok."