Chapter 19

Paige had started moving her hips and shoulders to the beat of the song. Nathaniel was hypnotized by the way she moved and started to dance with her. He grabbed her hand that had moved on top of his and gave her a twirl and then spun back into him. She was grinding into him with her butt one minute and the next she slowly moved down his body, rocking her hips until she was crouched on the floor. She spun around while crouched, and slowly moved back up her body, sliding her hands up him until they reached his shoulders.

"Don't worry, Nathan, I'll make you look good," she shouted over the music with a mischievous grin. Paige was a pretty good dancer and it was something she loved. She learned all different styles of dance when she was young and it was something that helped get her through life. Tonight, she wanted to dance until the club closed at least.

Her friend, DJ Kanddee Krush, started up a new song and said over PA system: "This song's for my friend, Paige. Hope you love it, girl!"

Paige turned from Nathaniel towards the main stage and put both hand out and blew a kiss with them before turning back to a pouting Nathaniel.

"What's wrong?" Paige shouted. The song was really good and she was moving her hips again.

"Who is that guy?" he said loudly. He was feeling slightly jealous. He never had kisses blown at him from Paige.

"A good friend. Just a friend," Paige shouted. "When the beat drops, relax your arm and go with it."

Paige felt the beat climbing and knew it was only a matter of moments before it dropped. She turned away from Nathaniel and as the beat dropped, she held one of his hands up and then dropped to the floor into the splits. There were cheers from around them as she fan kicked her legs out to get up, and then Nathaniel suddenly lifted her back up with his one arm and spun her to face him. He was grinning broadly, moving with her and keeping up with his dance partner. He could barely perceive anything but Paige and the music.

The DJ announced the last song far too soon for Paige's liking. She and Nathaniel took a quick picture together with her phone and then danced until the song ended. "Let's wait here until enough people pass us and then we'll leave through the back," Paige said decisively.

"That's why I didn't see you come in!" Nathaniel realized. Paige laughed.

"How did you know what I was going as? Did you call Haley?" Paige asked.

"I didn't. I kind of came up with it myself," he said. Paige looked up at him from beneath her mask, then decided to take it off. Nathaniel followed suit. "You are astonishingly gorgeous, Paige. I can't believe I get to date you," Nathaniel said in a whisper. The club was slowly emptying and Paige heard him.

"You look good yourself, Nathan," Paige whispered back. "I'm never going to forget tonight, even if we don't last. Thank you for a wonderful evening."

"Hey, don't write us off yet. We might last a while. Maybe for the rest of our lives, if we're lucky," Nathaniel said, hopping off the platform.

"Jump and I'll catch you," Nathaniel said with his arms outstretched. Paige looked at him a moment. She felt like this moment meant more than it appeared on the surface. 'Will he catch me if I fall?' Paige thought before jumping lightly into his arms. He caught her effortlessly, just as he said he would. Paige looked into Nathaniel's eyes as he held her briefly prior to putting her down gently on her feet and she felt her heart melt a little. 'Maybe the universe is gifting me the person I need. That, or it's a dirty trick,' she thought.

Paige led Nathaniel to the way she came in. She showed her lanyard to the security guard and went to the back of the club.

"Do you want to meet my friend?" Paige asked Nathaniel. Nathaniel wasn't sure. He wanted to see what their relationship was but he also didn't want to feel jealous about it. In the end, his curiosity got the better of him.

"Let's meet him," Nathaniel decided. Paige grabbed his hand and laced her delicate fingers through his. Nathaniel was elated by this. Any ounce of affection that Paige showed him was a win in his book.

They walked down the hall to a dressing room and knocked on the door. They were greeted by DJ Kanddee Krush. "Hey, Paige!" he said.

"Hey! Thanks for the mix! It was great!" Paige said enthusiastically, then quickly added, "By the way, this is Nathaniel Donovan." The DJ looked at the way they were holding hands and the smile on his face grew even bigger.

"Nice to meet you!" he said enthusiastically to Nathaniel while extending a hand in a greeting. Nathaniel studied him and extended a hand to shake his.

"What do I call you?" Nathaniel said, trying to sound somewhat warm. He wanted to impress Paige, but his tone came out apathetic at best.

"Oh, you can call me Kevin. Paige, is this your date?!" he said, sounding shocked and happy.

Paige looked down and shuffled her feet. She could feel her face getting hot and she was turning almost beet red by the time she uttered a tiny "Yes" to Kevin. She felt Nathaniel's eyes on her and looked at him from beneath her long, dark lashes. He was beaming at her.

"Kid, you're making me sick with how sweet you are. Nathaniel, you're a lucky man. Paige is amazing. Don't you dare hurt her, though. It won't be just me that you have to deal with," Kevin stated firmly.

"I know how lucky I am and I intend to treat her like the queen she is," he said warmly, staring at Paige the whole time. Paige looked at him dreamily and heard a cough from Kevin.

"Paige, go home with your boyfriend before I get sick," Kevin said, drawing their attention to him.

"Ok, thanks again for the tickets and the mix! See you!" Paige said.

"Nice meeting you," Nathaniel said stiffly. They exited the dressing room and walked hand in hand down the hall to the back entrance. They looked at the line of cars trying to leave the main parking lot. Paige parked in the back and didn't have to wait as long to leave.

"You'll be waiting an hour to get your car out of here. I should've told you to park in the back," Paige said mournfully.

"You should've. Then I would've found you sooner," he said with a grin.

"This isn't a joke! I feel bad," Paige said with a pout. "I can drive you home? Or I could take you to my place for a little while and we could hang out until the line goes down?"

"Let's go to your place. I live pretty far away and wouldn't want to put you out of your way," Nathaniel said softly. Truthfully, he could call a cab or a driver and have his assistant pick up his car tomorrow morning, but he was eager to see Paige's home. He wanted to know more about her.

"Ok, my car's here," she said, pulling his hand in the direction she was walking.