Chapter Five
"What the hell is she doing here?" Paige whispered, echoing his thoughts.
Walter had no idea why the other woman was there. He had presumed their parting
in Tahoe had been of a permanent nature and she wanted nothing more to do
with him.
"Maybe she'll go away if she thinks no one's here?" he suggested hopefully.
"Walter? Are you here?"
"I don't think she's giving up." Paige ran her hand through his hair. "Maybe
you should go see what she wants?"
He probably should, but he didn't want to. He was exactly where he wanted
to be and with the woman he wanted to be with. But Paige was right, he was
going to have to deal with Linda sooner or later. It may as well be now.
Reluctantly rolling off of her, he sat on the end of the bed, needing to
wait a few moments before he could stand up.
"Wal. . ." Linda's inquiry was cut off as the garage door opened and someone
else walked in.
"Hey, aren't you Walter's, uh, friend? Linda, right?"
Walter glanced over at Paige, who put her hand over her mouth as they both
recognized Tim's voice. "What's he doing here?" he murmured.
"I don't know. Shh. . ." she admonished.
"Yes, I'm Linda." They heard her giggle. "And you're Tim? The new Homeland
guy?"
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm the new guy anymore, but yes. Tim Armstrong."
"Is everyone else on a case? I wanted to talk to Walter."
"Not that I know of. Hey, aren't you two supposed to be at that jazz festival
this weekend?"
"Yes, that's what I want to talk to him about. If you're not here for a case
then. . ."
"I need to apologize to Paige. I said and did some things last night I shouldn't
have. We were drinking tequila and. . ."
"Oh, I get crazy when I drink tequila. I usually just drink wine. But not
lately. Walter doesn't drink so I haven't been either." Walter frowned. More
proof Toby had been right. Dammit.
"I'm more of a wine guy myself, too."
There was silence for a few moments. Walter looked at Paige again, and wondered
about the odd smile on her face. He opened his mouth to ask her about it,
but she placed a finger on his lips then pointed downstairs.
"I don't think anyone's here. I should just go," Linda said. "Nice meeting
you. . .again."
"Same here."
"Well, bye." They could hear her walking away.
"Hey, Linda," Tim called out. "Do you want to go get coffee or something?"
"Uh, sure. I can give you my num. . ."
"I mean like right now. There's a coffee shop about a block from here."
"Oh." It grew quiet again, then she spoke, "Yeah, sure. I can talk to Walter
later."
"Great. I can apologize to Paige then too."
This time, two sets of footsteps headed out of the garage. The door closed
behind them.
Walter felt Paige shaking beside him and he turned to look at her. Laughter
erupted from her and she fell backward onto the bed. He chuckled as he watched
her, although he was not sure what was quite so funny.
"Oh, my God," she finally said as she sat up, gasping for air. "Did that
just really happen? I mean. . .I know it did. . . But. . .oh, my God. . .Tim.
. .and Linda. . ."
"I'm not sure either," he admitted. Could it be that simple? Tim and Linda,
possibly ending up together? The odds were astronomical. Walter didn't care
though, as long as he had Paige, everything would be all right.
"I don't know about you," she said before kissing his cheek. "But I. . .
I think we probably shouldn't. . .you know. . ." She smiled at him, her face
turning pink. "I mean, I want to, but. . .not yet. Do you know what I mean?"
"Yes." He understood. He wanted her, too. But he could wait. He'd waited
this long, a few more days wouldn't matter.
"Besides, this place is like Grand Central Station today," she said, putting
her arms behind his neck. "And I'm exhausted. I didn't get much sleep last
night."
"I feel like I could sleep for a week." His earlier weariness swept over
him. "I want to do this right. I don't want to screw up again. I can't lose
you."
"You won't. I won't let you." Her lips met his for a gentle kiss. "I love
you."
He smiled, happiness threatening to overwhelm him. So he stated the only
fact occupying his brain. "I love you."
They settled down on the bed, Paige turning her back to him then snuggling
up against him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the
top of her head. They fell asleep within minutes.
Walter woke up slowly, a bit disoriented and with an urgent need to urinate.
Once he determined he was in his own bed, he also realized his right hand
rested on something soft and warm. Cracking one eyelid, he could see it was
Paige's breast. Usually such a discovery would have made him flinch away
in embarrassment. But now, he let it linger for a moment before slowly sliding
his fingers away.
"Mmm. . ." Paige snuggled closer. "Walter. . ."
Was she dreaming of him? Did she dream of him like he dreamed of her? Well,
maybe not exactly as he did. He could feel himself grow hot as erotic thoughts
of her filled his mind.
Reluctantly, he rolled onto his back and ran his hand over his face. How
long had they been asleep? A quick glance at his alarm clock told him it
was eight thirty. It was dark so he deduced it must be evening.
A loud rumble of laughter came from downstairs, answering his next question.
So the others were still there. Glancing over at the woman still curled up
beside him, he sat up then made his way to his bathroom. After he was done,
he decided a change of clothes would be a good idea, since he'd been wearing
what he had on for close to forty hours.
Stripping down to his boxers, he found a pair of jeans and a polo. As he
pulled on the shirt, he heard a giggle. Turning, he popped his head out and
saw Paige sitting up on the bed, watching him with a wide smile on her face.
"I. . .I thought you were. . .sleeping." He picked up the jeans and held
them up in front of his lower body.
"I was. Then you came back in here and took off your clothes," she said with
a chuckle. "I'm sorry. You're just so cute."
Walter was totally baffled. Cute? How was taking off his clothes cute? Shaking
his head, he hastily put on his jeans. "Uh, do you want to change into something
else? I have some sweats that might fit you and. . ."
Paige glanced down at her crumpled clothing and wrinkled her nose. "Uh, yeah,
sure. I'd really like to take a shower."
"Uh. . .okay." The image of Paige, naked in his shower, caused his breathing
to become ragged. "Um. . .there's, uh, towels. . .and. . .I'll find. . ."
"Walter," she said, getting to her feet. "I can figure it out. Why don't
you go downstairs and see what everyone is up to?"
"Uh, yes. . ." Downstairs. Yes, good idea. He nodded before heading for the
stairs. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed her smile, a smile which nearly
caused him to turn around. Taking a deep breath, he continued on his way
to the ground floor.
The scene which greeted him took a few minutes to take in. Everyone was crowded
around the table, playing some kind of card game. Boxes of pizza and beer
bottles cluttered the kitchen's tiny counter space. But the most surprising
of all were three of the game's participants - Linda, Tim, and Happy, who
was sitting on Toby's lap and smiling as she pulled his hat down over his
eyes.