25. First Kiss

After finishing up dinner she took their dishes into the kitchen, Paige immediately got down to washing the dishes and put them in the strainer. She was sliding her shoes on when he came into the living room. "Normally after dinner I go for a walk, it's so beautiful tonight. Do you want to go?"

"Sure," he agreed.

Barely giving him the opportunity to give an answer she was taking off, swinging open the door she eagerly motioned him to follow her. She seemed to be a bundle of nerves tonight. "You're rather energetic."

Paige grinned. "Yeah I normally go on walks every night, but haven't been able to the last couple of nights. I normally go for runs in the morning too, but I'm not too familiar with the neighborhood so haven't been able to."

"If you ever want to go for a walk if I'm home I'll be happy to accompany you," Noah blurted out before he even knew what he was saying.

Her face lit up. "Really?"

"Yes," he agreed. If it made her this happy, then who was he to rescind the offer he'd made to her? Besides, Noah knew this would be the perfect opportunity for them to spend time together. In the hopes of getting to know each other better and finding out the truth of who Paige really was.

The two of them walked around the neighborhood what had to be for a good hour, occasionally she sparked up conversation, though mainly silent. Then seeing how long it'd been since the two of them had left, they immediately turned back to head to the house before it grew too late.

While she raced up the stairs to get cleaned up from the day Noah dropped down on the couch and grabbing the remote decided to watch some TV. Some time had passed when the sound of footsteps gained his attention, glancing up he saw Paige descend down the stairs in a baggy shirt and shorts.

"Decided not to go to bed?" he mused.

Climbing up onto the opposite side of the couch from him, curling her short legs up underneath her, Paige shook her head. "I can't sleep."

When in all reality she simply could not sleep when someone else was up inside of the house, especially when that someone turned out to be a man. It wasn't merely a habit, rather a fear ingrained inside of her, stemming from the number of years of living with Eric Maxwell. Her step-father had always waited until nightfall to give his brand of "discipline" to his step-daughter, when her mother was sleeping unaware. Even though Noah hadn't made any untoward actions towards her and didn't seem like the kind of guy to raise his hands, she couldn't help it.

Settling back into the couch Noah flipped through the channel until he found a movie she didn't have a problem with watching, then put the remote down. Yet seeming unable to get comfortable in her spot Paige spent several long minutes shifting around on the couch from one position to the next. Seeming to suddenly come to a decision on her own accord she moved further down the couch to get a better view of the television, putting her feet in the opposite direction.

Noah stiffened a bit when he came to realize she was only mere inches away from him, but calmed down when she made no further move. Only halfway into the movie her head slid further until it was on the curve of his shoulder, glancing over to see at some point she'd fallen asleep. Then in the next moment sleeping Paige nestled completely into his body, her head settled on the curve of his neck and body pressed comfortably into his side.

Even though every fiber of his being urged him to move, to get far away from this woman taking liberties no one else had been allowed, he didn't. Because as much as Noah refused to admit it, no matter the amount of times he rejected her presence in his life, he liked the feel of her in his arms. The reason why when her arms wrapped themselves across his chest, and pressing her body more firmly into him, he didn't attempt to stop or move.

Once the movie was finished seeing it was nearly one in the morning, Noah clicked off the television and gently rose from the couch. He didn't attempt to rouse the girl from sleep, aware from the passed few days she wouldn't wake, so sliding his arms underneath her he hefted her into his embrace. Instinctively Paige's arms immediately wrapped themselves around his neck and her face burrowed into his chest, as if anchoring herself to him.

Noah is in the midst of getting her settled down into bed for the night, which seemed to becoming a routine for them, when he suddenly froze. Still fast asleep and unaware of what was going on, when he came close Paige pressed a tender kiss to his lips, then snuggled deeply into the duvet. For several long moments Noah became frozen solid where he sat on the edge of her bed, dumbfounded he touched his lips where she'd kissed him. His wife would have no idea she had kissed him in the grips of her sleep, nor the fact that she was the first one to have ever dared to do so.

Ever since he'd been a little boy Noah had had an aversion to anyone of the female gender coming near him, aside from family members. In more than twenty years he'd kept all of them far away from him, never allowing them to even shake his hand, let alone snuggle into him. Paige alone had this pleasure. One of the reasons his family had begun to grow terrified he'd spend the rest of his days alone and his nana had been so determined to find him a wife.

Finally finding the strength to climb back to his feet, Noah closed the door behind his departure and numbly made his way back to his own bedroom. His thoughts were still consumed by that kiss when he settled into bed, his mind growing from confusion one minute and anger she'd dared to in the next. Unbeknownst to everyone, most especially when it came to him, when Noah slipped off into his dreams there was a smile spread across his face.