A Beautiful Forever

chapter 19

Elliot

“How would you all feel about me and Paige sharing a room together after Shane and Gav go back home?” I ask the group of

curious faces in front of me. Paige and I have called a house meeting to see if everyone is comfortable living with a couple who

actually get to sleep with each other in the flat.

“Relieved actually,” Brian states. “I’m always worried that I’ll open the bedroom door and find you two going at it.”

“I’m relieved too!” Naomi laughs, “I thought you were going to tell us you knocked her up or something!”

“How the hell would I do that? We’ve only been together for a couple of weeks,” I laugh shaking my head at her reaction.

“I don’t know exactly when you two started sleeping together. Paige isn’t very forth coming with the details,” she says looking

pointedly at Paige, who just shrugs at her.

“Well, obviously we don’t care,” Gavin says looking at Shane, who nods his head agreeing.

“So it’s fine?” Paige asks.

“Sure,” they all say at varying times. I also hear a ‘doesn’t bother me’ in there too.

“Well, that was easier than I thought,” I say looking at Paige, who is beaming happily. She takes my hand and leads me out onto the

balcony, the only place where you can be alone in this place at times.

“Are you happy?” I ask as I wrap my arms around her waist, effectively trapping her against the railing.

“Very,” she states simply, tucking her head into the crook of my neck as she sighs contentedly. “I’ve missed having you inside me,”

she whispers, tilting her head up and nipping at my Adam's apple, causing me to go instantly hard.

“Oh god Paige, don’t talk like that. You’re killing me,” I groan, pressing myself against her. She rocks her hips, writhing against me.

“Are you sure Elliot?” she asks in a whisper, planting soft kisses on my throat.

“Nothing could change my mind,” I growl as I capture her mouth in mine in a kiss that feels like it tugs at my soul, feeding pieces of it

to her as I draw pieces of hers into me.





Paige


“So how come you don’t talk to me about Elliot?” Naomi asks me as I attempt to slip quietly into our room after saying good night to

Elliot and the rest of the guys who are all happily playing cards around the dining room table.

Sighing, I sit down on my bed, she’s normally asleep these days when I come in so our before bed chats have been few and far

between.

“Well, what do you want to know?” I ask her. “You know that we’re together. So, what do you want? Details? I have to warn you

Nomes. I'm not good at sharing feelings and what not.”

Slipping her bookmark in place, Naomi places her book on the bedside table and sits up in her bed, so she’s directly across from

me.

“I don’t know Paige. I don’t need to know everything – but I kind of hoped we were friends. I guess I just want to talk – like we used to,

” she says, her eyes looking down as she stares at her hands.

“I’m so sorry Naomi,” I tell her honestly. “I do consider you my friend. I’m just… I’m not very good at talking to people – you know?

Back in Australia I didn’t have anyone to lean on, so I’m kind of used to dealing with all my shit on my own. But if it makes you feel

better I’ll fill you in on as much as I can,” I say before launching into a recount of everything that’s happened since Cambridge. I give

her the same story I gave Andrea about meeting a relative. I'm not willing to share the sordid deals of my conception with her, but I

do tell her about how wonderful Elliot has been towards me and that I care for him deeply. “I’m really dreading the day that he has to

go home. I don’t want our time together to end. But I guess it has to,” I murmur, my voice trailing off as I finish.

Naomi sighs, a whimsical look in her eyes. “He sounds so wonderful Paige, why don’t you just go back with him?” she asks.

“Nomes, I can’t do that to him – he can’t pin all of his hopes on me.”

“Why Paige? What’s so wrong with your relationship that it can’t continue back in Australia?”

“There’s nothing wrong with our relationship Naomi, I just can’t keep him – it’s as simple as that,” I tell her firmly. Her mouth opens to

say something more, but I’m quick to silence it. “Drop it Naomi – please.”

Holding her hands up in surrender, she pushes her feet off the floor and slides back into her bed, reaching for her book.

“I’m glad you two are going to be sharing a room then,” she says quietly as she reopens the book and settles against her pillows.

“You are?” I ask as I start to ready myself for bed.

“Yes Paige, it might make you come to your senses – you shouldn’t put a time limit on love.”

“No one said anything about love Naomi,” I shoot over my shoulder as I brush out my hair.

“No one has to.”





Elliot


“So I guess this means Paige is well and truly off the market then,” Shane says as he deals the cards out.

Scooping up my hand, I fan it out, scrutinising it with what I consider to be a straight face before throwing three cards back in the

middle of the table, keeping only the pair of kings I was originally dealt.

“As far as you lot are concerned; she was never on the market,” I say, watching as Shane deals out the second round of cards.

“Shane, quit ribbing him, you should know by now you don’t talk about Paige to him,” Brian says, throwing a handful chips in the

middle of the table to kick off his betting.

“You can talk about Paige with me just fine. It's talking about her like she’s a piece of arse you want to tap that bothers me,” I point

out, flicking my own chips in the middle of the table. I still only have the pair of kings, but I’m happy to continue playing. We're betting

for the last few packets of Tim Tams and a bag of Minties. We desperately need a parcel to arrive from someone at home before

we run out completely and are reduced to paying the exorbitant prices they charge for them online.

“Well, you’re a lucky man Elliot. She’s a real stunner,” Gavin puts in, evening out the mood a little. “What’s the plan when you go back

home? Is she going with you?”

“I don’t know yet. We haven’t talked about it,” I reply, taking a swig of my beer.

“Geez mate, don’t leave it too long like I did with Coral. She’s all over the place these days ‘cause I won’t commit to coming back for

her. Her moods kind of shitting all over everything these days,” Shane warns me, folding his hand and dropping his cards in the

middle of the table. “I’ve got nothing,” he says, raking his hands through his dirty blonde hair as he indicates his mismatched cards

on the table.

“So why don’t you want to come back for Coral – you not really into it?” I ask, continuing to bet on my hand.

“I don’t know. Things were great before she started freaking out about me going. But it’ll take me three months before I can even get

back here, and it’s just so much money. It took me a year to save up for this trip, so…” he shrugs, swigging on his drink and leaving

his sentence unfinished but understood.

I guess if he really cared about Coral, then he’d come back as soon as he could regardless of how much it costs. I know without a

doubt that if I can’t get Paige to come home with me, then I will move heaven and earth to get back to her. Now that I have her - I

never want to let her go.