“I don’t know, Miles, if you’re going to be taking control like this, I should be on my knees or something,” Tanner said, and I groaned as the girls threw some throw pillows at them.
I looked over at Pacey, who sat next to me on the couch, and shook my head. “How many sex jokes do you think we go through a day?” I asked.
Pacey raised a brow. “Probably far more than you even realize. But we’re guys. It’s what we do.”
“You say that as if girls don’t make as many sex jokes as you do.”
“Oh, really? You should tell me then. I’ll let you know if they’re dirty or not.”
My stomach tightened. “Are you flirting with me, Pacey?”
“Maybe. It is the way of my namesake, after all.”
I frowned. “Who were you named after?”
“The dreamboat from Dawson’s Creek, of course,” he drawled.
“Wait. But you’re British. I didn’t know it was a huge thing over there.” Not that I knew anything about what was popular in the UK in the late nineties and early two-thousands.
“My mother was an American teenager during the heyday of Dawson and Pacey.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t realize the show was that old.”
“Please never mention that to my mother. She will hurt me for telling you the story.”
I laughed. “Deal.”
We got to work again fairly quickly, cleaning up our mess and continuing to put things on walls as we unpacked. While I had it in my mind that we would get a lot done today, I hadn’t honestly expected the guys to stay for as long as they did. I was grateful, yet I wasn’t sure how we would be able to repay them.
I ended up in the office area, a small nook with a bay window and four small desks that we could make into a study library, and found myself alone with Pacey.
“You need to stop looking like that.”
I frowned, taking in my jeans with holes and the bright red leggings peeking through. It was cold, but I still wanted to be somewhat fashionable. I had on a cream-colored sweater that had seen better days, but it was perfect for moving day and was off-the-shoulder and layered with a long-sleeved shirt and two tank tops underneath. The house had decent heating and quality insulation, but I was still cold, even with all the moving around. Hence, the layering. I had piled my dark hair on the top of my head and long since sweated off any concealer and powder I’d had on earlier.
“How do you think I’m looking?” I asked, a little weary.
Pacey cursed under his breath, that accent of his doing things to me I’d rather not think about. I didn’t want a guy, at least that’s what I kept telling myself. But there was just something about Pacey. Probably because he was safe. He didn’t want a long relationship, and he was straightforward about it with everybody he was with. He also wasn’t sure if he would stay in the States after he graduated, and there was no way people wanted to do that whole long-distance thing. He would be great for someone who desired something short-term. And I wasn’t sure I wanted anything when and if I found myself ready to date again. But he was safe to pretend with, smile with, and think about. Especially that accent. But nothing else.
Pacey Ziglar wasn’t safe in the slightest when it came to most other things.
“I was saying that you have a look on your face. I didn’t mean what you’re dressed in. You look lovely.”
I raised a brow and looked at his sculpted Henley and jeans that didn’t have a speck of dirt on them, even though we had been unpacking all day. “You say that, and yet I feel judged.”
“I could go down on bended knee in awe about your gorgeousness, your beauty, and your aura of peace, but I’m afraid you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Because I wouldn’t. But what were you talking about just then? What look?”
“The one on your face. The one that says you’re going to need to think about how to repay us other than with Chinese food that we all split, in case you forgot.”
“You did what?”
“Dillon made sure we all split the bill.”
“I should’ve known I needed to take care of that ahead of time. Natalie and I had a plan.”
“And while that was wonderful, the guys and I ate twice as much as any of you. Though I am glad that you all decided to eat rather than move food around on your plates and pretend.”
I rolled my eyes. “We needed the calories. I’m not going to eat a salad or air and pretend that I’m perfectly fine not eating. But I’m going off the subject here. You guys shouldn’t have paid for that. The girls and I wanted to pay. That way, it was sort of a thank you. Just not the complete payment because you guys have done so much work. Way beyond the scope of even my plans.”
Pacey gave me a pointed look and glanced at the planner in my hand. “How much of this was in your plans?”
“I may have color-coded some things, but I assumed you guys would be home by now. Seriously, though, thank you. I don’t know how we’re going to repay you.” Pacey lifted a brow, and I blushed. “Not that. Well, maybe Elise. So, Dillon will get paid. But, sadly, I don’t think the rest of you guys will.”
Pacey threw back his head and laughed, and I ignored the way his throat worked, how his blond hair moved away from his face as he smiled.
There was just something about Pacey, and he annoyed me. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. After all, I was the girl on the rebound—or whatever other titles I wanted to give it. I didn’t think I was over Sanders, although I might be. I wasn’t sure. And I wasn’t going to think about it, so there was no way I would let myself fall for the drama and beauty that was Pacey. I knew he believed in forevers because he’d talked about it with Dillon and Elise. But he wouldn’t be my forever.
“So, Mackenzie. What else is in your planner?” he whispered, his voice low. We were alone on this side of the house, the others all in the bedrooms or the living room area. Tanner was in the kitchen, organizing it for us, and I let him. Mostly because Natalie and I would reorganize it if we needed to. But Tanner seemed to know what he was doing, and I had to give him credit for that.
“What do you mean?”
“You keep looking at me. I want to know why.”
“No reason,” I said, lifting my chin even though I knew my cheeks were red.
“Mackenzie, you can talk to me. We’re mates. Aren’t we?”
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know,” I said honestly, and his eyes widened in surprise. “I’m sorry. But I knew you guys through Sanders. I mean, I met Natalie in school, but I honestly don’t know if we would’ve become as close if Elise hadn’t been dating Dillon. And it all just melded together. And now that I’m not with Sanders anymore, it’s just weird.”
“It would’ve been weird if you had taken his room—though it’s still empty if this doesn’t work out.” He winked, and I rolled my eyes.
“I’m not moving in with a bunch of boys.”
“Your loss,” he drawled, leaning against the doorway. He looked over his shoulder, then moved into the room, closing the door behind him. My eyebrows winged up.
“What was that for?”
“So we can have some privacy—not for what you’re thinking,” he amended. “Talk to me, Mackenzie. What’s wrong?”