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“Because you have no clothes. We already established that, Paisley,” Luca signs.
“I know that, but we don’t need to get them now!” I sign back aggressively.
“Think of them as like an early birthday gift, then, mi amor. We want you to be warm and comfortable all the time. The whole ride up here, if you hadn’t had Luca’s jacket, you would have been shivering. Don’t argue with us, please,” Mateo replies.
“GRRRRRRRR!” I huff, even more frustrated at them.
I turn and walk toward the camping gear, on the lookout for the twins. I just want to find them so we can get this stuff and get out of the store. Them buying me all these clothes is making me a little uncomfortable. I know they are taking care of me, but it’s not something I’m used to, so it’s awkward.
“Did you grab a new pair of shoes? I don’t think you need hiking boots, but I’d like you to get new tennis shoes at least,” I hear one of the twins say as they round the corner.
“No, the pair I have now are perfectly fine,” I retort.
“Wallflower, your shoes are coming apart at the seams. There are even some holes on them. Besides, a beat-up, super old pair of Converse will not be good for your feet while hiking. You will get blisters if you use those shoes, which we can’t have,” replies Atlas.
“Fine,” I grumble, tired of being here already.
I just want to leave this store now. The guys all lead me to the shoe section, and I just grab the first shoe that looks decent and ask for it in my size. I don’t care what it looks like. It’s just a shoe that will get dirty. That’s why I didn’t care what the old Converse looked like.
I finally put my foot down after they have grabbed several other shoes that they think I might like, “This is enough! I don’t need anything fancy. Please, can we just go? I’m getting uncomfortable. I know you want to take care of me, but I’m not used to it. I’m trying to be okay with everything you are doing for me because I trust you, but it’s a lot in…what, ten minutes?”
“We never even thought of that, Paisley. We’re sorry,” Kade says.
“I know, I know. That’s why I let you guys know how I feel.
“Okay, but we just have one more thing we need to take care of. Would you prefer to have your own tent, or would being in one big tent with us be okay?” asks Kade.
I sit there and think about that for a minute or two. On one hand, I want to be in their tent with them. I would feel safer being close to them. On the other hand, I don’t want it to seem like I want something more. Not that I think they would expect anything from me, but it’s still in my head that they might...
So I go with option three: conversation.
“If we have one big tent, you wouldn’t expect anything from me, right? Like we would just sleep? No fooling around?’’ I quickly let out, embarrassed I’m asking this.
“No. We wouldn’t expect anything from you, Paisley. It’s about your safety more than anything else,” Atlas says.
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Then one tent is perfectly fine with me, but I’d like my own sleeping bag, please, if that’s okay?”
“One tent it is, and of course. We were already going to get you your own sleeping bag. It’s black. We didn’t know your favorite color, so we figured we would just all get the same color. It’s just easier in the long run,” says Kade.
After the guys grab the tent, we head up to the register and throw everything on the belt for the cashier to ring up. I don’t even bother looking at the price. I know the clothes alone were over five hundred bucks, just by looking at what they had themselves.
After the guys pay, I grab some of the bags and start walking out toward the car. When I look behind me, all the guys have their hands full. I giggle. Kade is having a hard time juggling everything and is struggling.
“Why are you laughing, huh, Paisley Girl?” Kade speaks up, also laughing under his breath.
Next thing I know, I’m being tickled from behind. Giggling uncontrollably, I try to get away from the onslaught of hands, except I drop the bags.
“You know, I will never get tired of hearing your laugh,” Kade whispers in my ear.
My breath quickens. His whispers do something to me every time. I swear, it’s like he knows they do, and he does it on purpose.
“I’ll let you off easy this time, Paisley,” Kade says, chuckling as he backs away from me.
He picks up the bags I dropped, while grabbing his things as well.
CHAPTER42
PAISLEY
