Paige Tyler: Mr. Right-now

As she snuggled close to him, Kate couldn’t imagine sex with another man was ever going to be as good as it was with Dawson.

Dawson watched from beneath half-closed eyes as Kate got dressed the next morning. “Sure I can’t persuade you to stay in bed?”

“I wish,” she groaned, slipping her feet into her shoes. “But we’ve already skipped out on almost all the other organized events. As maid of honor, I really need to go spend some quality girl time with the bride.”

He sighed. “I suppose I see your point. What are you girls doing anyway?”

Kate sat down on the edge of the bed and gave him a smile. “Going to the hotel spa so we can get beautiful for the wedding.”

He reached out to curl the end of her long, silky hair around his finger. “Waste of money. You’re already beautiful.”

Her cheeks colored at the compliment. “You always say the sweetest things.”

“It’s easy when they’re true.”

She blushed even deeper at that. “So, what are you going to do today?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe go down to the gym and get in a run. But more likely, I’ll lie in bed and watch ESPN all day.” He grinned. “You’re welcome to come back and join me after you’re done getting pampered, if you want.”

“Tempting as that is, I’d better not. If I did, we’d end up having mad, passionate sex instead of watching television and I’d show up at the wedding looking like I just rolled out of bed.”

He chuckled and pulled her down for a kiss. “I think you look sexy like that.”

She laughed. “Yeah, well, I don’t think Rachel would agree. But once my maid of honor duties are done, I’m all yours.”

“All mine.” He reached up to brush her hair back from her face. “Mmm, I like the sound of that.”

Something flickered in Kate’s eyes and for a moment, Dawson thought she looked almost sad, but it was gone before he could be sure.

“Me too,” she said softly, then leaned close to touch her lips to his. “I’ll see you at the wedding.”

As Kate moved to go, Dawson had to resist the urge to pull her into his arms and keep her there. It was silly and stupid and completely out of character for him, but it was the only thing he could think to do. He was falling for Kate in a big way and he didn’t want to lose her.

He flopped back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. It was almost laughable, really. He’d gone out with plenty of women who were willing to get married, but he hadn’t been able to see himself settling down with any of them. Now he’d finally met someone he could envision spending the rest of his life with and she wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship. At least not with him.

Dawson groaned. Shit, he sounded like a chick.

Kate was the one who made the rules that first night about them going their separate ways after the weekend was over and she hadn’t done anything to make him think she felt differently now. She wasn’t interested in him for anything other than sex. He should just be satisfied they had a wonderful weekend together and leave it at that. Thanks for the memories, and all that.

Swearing under his breath, he grabbed the remote from the nightstand and switched on the television. He and Kate still had one more night together. He’d be damned if he let anything spoil it.

“Earth to Kate.”

Kate shook herself from her musings to look at Rachel. She and the other girl were getting a French manicure in one room of the hotel’s luxurious spa while the bridesmaids were in another getting their hair styled in a fancy updo. They would flip-flop after everyone was finished, then all get their makeup done together. If Kate weren’t so preoccupied, it would have been the perfect way to while away the hours before her best friend’s wedding. But getting all pampered for the big event only reminded her she only had one more night with Dawson. The thought made her want to curl up in a ball and cry. Kate didn’t want Rachel to know how miserable she was, though, so she forced herself to give the other girl a smile.

“Sorry. I must have zoned out.”

“Zoned out? Honey, you were on another planet.” Rachel regarded her thoughtfully. “Is everything okay? Did something happen with Dawson? Did you two have a fight or something?”

Kate shook her head. “No, no. Everything with Dawson is fine.”

“Then why do you look like you’re about to cry?”

Kate swallowed hard. She never was very good at hiding her emotions, especially from her best friend. This was Rachel’s big day and Kate knew it wasn’t right to burden the other girl with her problems, but she really needed to talk to someone. She glanced at the red-haired girl doing her nails, wondering if she should ask her to leave so she and Rachel could have some privacy, but then realized whatever they said, it probably wouldn’t be anything the manicurist hadn’t heard before.

Kate looked at her friend. “I never should have slept with Dawson.”

Rachel frowned. “What? Why not? You said the sex was amazing.”

“It is amazing. It’s better than amazing. It’s just that…”

“It’s just what?” her friend prompted when her voice trailed off.

Kate caught her lower lip between her teeth and chewed on it for a moment before finally answering. “I think I’m falling in love with him.”

She braced herself for the lecture she knew was coming, but instead Rachel’s eyes lit up. “Oh my God, that’s wonderful!”

“No it isn’t.”

“What are you talking about? Why wouldn’t it be wonderful?”

Kate groaned. “Because I made it clear to Dawson the first night that I wanted this to be a weekend fling, no strings attached.”

Rachel shrugged. “So, tell him you changed your mind. It’s a woman’s prerogative, after all.”

Kate stared at her friend incredulously. “Wait a minute. You were the one who told me I shouldn’t think of Dawson as anything more than a walking, talking sex toy.”

Throughout their conversation, the manicurist had been doing her best to look like she wasn’t listening, but at that, the redhead lifted her head to look at Rachel in astonishment. Kate was surprised to see her friend blush.

“Okay, that was totally out of context,” Rachel explained to the girl before turning her attention to Kate again. “And it was before you fell in love with him anyway, so what I said then doesn’t apply now.”

Kate shook her head at the other girl’s logic. “It doesn’t change anything. I can’t tell Dawson how I feel, not after I told him I wasn’t interested in anything more than sex.”

He would just think she was changing the rules and she knew from experience that men hated when a woman changed the rules.

“Sure you can,” Rachel insisted. “It’s a well-known fact that men are very open to the idea of turning a hookup into a relationship.”

Kate gave her a skeptical look. “It is?”

“Yes. I read about it in Cosmo .”

The manicurist nodded. “I read that, too. It makes complete sense to me.”

God, they both made it sound so easy. “Rachel, I don’t even know if he feels the same way.”

The other girl smiled. “I’ve seen the way Dawson looks at you, honey. He’s definitely into you. Trust me.”

Kate wanted to point out that just because Dawson had been “into her” several different ways already this weekend, it didn’t mean he wanted to take their relationship to the next level. He might not be interested in her for anything other than sex. If she said something, she’d end up looking like a desperate fool when just a few days ago she’d been a modern liberated woman. On the other hand, if Rachel was right and she walked away from Dawson, she knew she would end up regretting it for the rest of her life.