Paige's pupils started to dilate ever so slightly. Her breath became a bit shallow and she shifted in her chair just a bit. All completely imperceptibly to Bryan but he did notice something subconsciously; there was a change in the air. Something in his gut told him that she was feeling what he wanted her to feel. A gut feeling which he immediately dismissed without recognition.
"What do you think of this place?" Bryan asked, pointing with his chopsticks at the half-eaten bibimbap in his foam container.
"Yea, it's good -- I've gotten from here a few times. It's not my favorite Korean place but its close and I had a free delivery so..." Paige trailed off recalibrating back to normal.
He wasn't thinking it so specifically anymore but in the back of his mind Bryan was always thinking of her being aroused, wanting her to be attracted to him. He had wanted her for so long and had thought about it so many times that it was just one of those omnipresent thoughts somewhere in his mind, just sort of swimming around down there in the undercurrent.
'I wonder if she ever thinks about what it would be like if we slept together' Bryan thought idly to himself as Paige's lips trailed slowly along the length of her chopsticks. She seemed distracted.
Paige and Bryan did actually date once, but he acted like a dog that had finally caught the garbage truck; he didn't know what to do. They were really young back then, over 10 years ago when they were in their early 20s. Bryan wasn't confident back then and even though she had said "yes" to him and they were dating, for some reason he still had some mental block which prevented him from accepting that it was working for him. She broke up with him after just a few weeks thinking he had lost interest in her. Completely understandable based on the way he acted back then. Paige was pretty upset and she actually still is when she lets herself think about it. Bryan is really sweet. He's handsome, funny and her family even likes him. They stayed friends after they broke up which was easy in one respect because they both still liked each other so much. But on the other hand, it was so difficult. They would spend time getting too close and then, like opposite poles of a magnet, they would blow apart. That's the trouble when relationships are ambiguous and emotions are high.
They had finished their meal mostly quietly, talking about mutual friends and old stories that they liked to use to make each other laugh. That seemed to always be the goal between them: make the other one laugh. Paige leaned over the table to clear the containers and napkins away but not before pulling her hair back and laying it to one side of her collar bone. With outstretched arms and the slightest tilt of her head she gave Bryan a view which he never failed to admire. Her slender neck trailing down into her V-neck shirt showed him just enough to grab his attention, but not nearly enough to satisfy him. He had learned to not make it so obvious when he stole a glance and from behind his side-eye he thought simply 'show me more'. Paige stacked the containers and in a final act of cleanliness, she placed her left hand on the table and reached forward with her right hand wiping the surface with a napkin. She moved slowly from right to left and as she swayed, her left arm pushed her left breast into the V of her shirt making a beautiful, mocha-colored mound just as she glanced upward toward Bryan making the briefest eye contact.
Paige was gorgeous. She was around 5'5" 120 lbs with voluminous dark brown hair; she was proud of her hair. She had a cute round face with big brown eyes and a wide smile. Bryan could see all of her emotions in her eyes, not that she was ever any good at hiding her emotions anyway. She had D cups, long legs, but absolutely no ass which maybe Bryan wasn't crazy about but hey, nobody is perfect. She had beautiful light brown skin that Bryan frequently imagined swimming in. But she wasn't just looks; Paige was probably the only woman Bryan had met that could make him laugh the way she did. She was so quick-witted. Bryan was used to being the funny one but with her he really didn't feel that way which probably contributed to his timidity all those years ago.
"I'm so glad you came over tonight! I miss you! I feel like we never get to hang out like we used to and we always have so much fun." Paige said through her classic, beaming smile as she handed Bryan a fresh beer and sat down next to him on the couch.
"I miss you too! And you're totally right, we need to see more of each other. I'm starting to get jealous of John Wayne here for all of the time he gets to spend with you" Bryan joked as he scratched Paige's cats chin.
"Well you probably should be jealous of him, he's the cat's meow!"
"Seems like kind of a pussy to me.."
"WHOA. I'd be LION if I said that wasn't a little bit clever, but you watch what you say ab-" Paige started to say as her neck gradually began to flush.
'God you're cute' Bryan thought.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Bryan quipped noticing a bashful smile creeping over Paige's cheeks. The thought of her tongue lingered in his mind as she slowly licked her lips. Then, snapping out of it she giggled her surrender in the battle of puns.
They hung out together from time to time now but the schedule of a 30-year-old is not the same as the schedule of a 20-year-old so once in a couple of months was all to be expected. They never talked about it, but there was also a sort of guilty feeling felt by both of them during times when they were dating other people. Not that they would ever cheat, but Bryan always considered 'if my girlfriend really knew how I thought about Paige, she would not want us hanging out'. Paige's feelings were similar so whenever one of them was in a relationship, they did not see each other often. A sort of unspoken tendency that they had. But today they're both single and catching up over takeout at Paige's apartment.
"What movie do you want to watch?" She asked as she flipped her hair to face Bryan.
"Eh. Dealer's choice"
"Mighty Ducks it is!" She exclaimed pushing herself up from the couch and placing a hand on his knee. Small touches like that always sent Bryan's mind spinning. 'A little higher next time' he pleaded inwardly.
"That would be funny if I thought you were joking."
"I don't joke about the Mighty Ducks." Her face deadpan.
