I wish you would - Paul Lahote

Chapter Thirteen

Paul had been doing well at keeping his jealousy in check. He would even go so far as to say excellent. Each time Trinity would draw eyes to herself by walking past someone he would just shoot daggers and step a little closer to her. Whenever one of the guys in the pack would mess with her and she would accidentally get a little scrape or cut, he would swat whoever it was when she turned her back. But as soon as Trinity told him that her friend from Florida, her male friend, was coming for a week, he had a bad feeling settle into the pit of his stomach. Which was why he was grateful when Jared suggested a guys night for a few of the guys the Friday before the friend arrived.

"So he's a friend?" Seth asked, taking a bite of his greasy burger. They had holed up in a little bar in the center of town. Paul picked his cup up, nodding his head. Seth snorted and swallowed his bite. "Yeah, I would definitely fly across the United States to spend a week with a friend that has an ass as nice as hers" He chuckled out and almost missed Paul's swing across the table. Paul gripped his ear and squeezed until Seth hollered and said 'sorry'.

"Don't objectify her.. I should be the only one looking at her body" Paul glowered, tapping his fingers against the table. Jared nudged his best friend with his shoulder, drawing his attention in an attempt to get the murderous glare off of Paul's face.

"If it helps, Aliyah said she's heard a lot about the guy. Not to mention, the dude is staying with you. In your house. He wouldn't be dumb enough to try anything with a grumpy old man in the next room" He joked. "And apparently he plays for the other team" Jared hinted, tossing a fry in his mouth. Seth leaned in and looked between the two, confused as to when they switched to sports talk. Jared rolled his eyes. "He's gay. I meant hes gay. Jeez, Seth.."Jared shook his head and chuckled a little. " Paul sighed a bit and leaned back in the booth, watching the people outside.

"Yeah that's what Trinity said." He murmured, grabbing a napkin and rubbing his fingers off with it. He took a deep breath. "You know, I'm not even going to worry about it. I am going to let it go and relax. I trust her. I don't trust him. But I do trust her. I'm turning a new leaf and won't let him bother me." He spoke firmly, even nodding his head at the end for added affect.

"Wow, our little Paulie is growing up guys." He said, faking a tear. The guys laughed and conversation went back to normal topics, like the sex of Jared and Aliyahs baby. Paul watched his friend turn from a normal guy to a ball of mush as he began talking.

"Yeah, we've had two different ultrasounds now. The baby just doesn't want to be seen i guess. I'm OK with it being a surprise, but you guys know Aliyah." Jared leaned back in his seat, grinning to himself. "Either way I hope it looks like her." He said. The guys all laughed and agreed, teasing him. Paul found himself thinking about kids. He never really thought about kids and being a Dad but he supposed it might be nice in the future. The guys carried on talking and ordered a few beers. Paul got back home around 11 and was surprised to see all the lights off. He parked the truck by Trinity's car and walked in the house quickly. Rosa greeted him at the door and he flipped the light on. Trinity sat curled up in the chair sleeping. He moved towards her as she opened her eyes and sat up. She glanced towards the clock on the wall and cut her eyes to Paul, glaring. It didn't take long for him to realize what he did.

"Oh my gosh I completely forgot to text you back..i didn't have service when you texted me at the shop and I forgot." He explained, moving closer and apologizing. She stood up.

"So you forgot to respond to the 14 texts and 3 calls I've sent over the past 6 hours...i expected you to come home after work, Paul, I made dinner and got scared because you didn't come home. It only took a call to Aliyah to find out you guys went for drinks after work." She grabbed the blanket from the chair. "Now I'm going to sleep in the spare room. I'm getting up in the morning to go meet Miles at the exit. You're still welcome to come with in the morning but for tonight don't touch me." She moved away from him and up the stairs. He patted his pocket for his phone and pulled it out. Seeing the missed calls and texts. He sat on the couch and felt terrible. He couldn't even be mad at her because he knew how he would feel if the roles were reversed. He sat on the couch for a bit before heading up the steps. He jiggled the door handle and realized she had locked him out. He sighed.