Chapter 12 Cleo
cleo
. . .
“Do you think we’ll be home before my curfew?” I asked, glancing down at my phone. It wasn’t even eleven yet, which meant we had over thirty minutes to make it back to the ranch.
Grady glanced over. “You realize we’re only like five minutes away, right? I told you I’d get you home with plenty of time to spare, and I’m gonna deliver on that.”
He was right, and he had said that plenty of times. I wasn’t sure why I was so keen to be back at the ranch. It was probably because I didn’t want to give my parents a reason not to let me see Grady after a handful of dates, which would be devastating.
I wanted to see him again so badly it hurt.
Not that I’d said it out loud or anything. That would be way too embarrassing, especially if he decided this was all we’d have. Just some sweet summer fling that kept the two of us busy until school started back in the fall and we went our separate ways.
He hadn’t kissed me after our first date, or our second.
It’d been a struggle not to ask him why, especially after he kept talking about how much he was looking forward to it.
Maybe it was for the best. Maybe I needed to protect myself a little longer because I wasn’t sure I could get over that kind of heartbreak.
Though I’d never experienced it, I’d seen girls from school go through break-ups.
Some of them cried for days. One of them even dumped a soda on their ex’s head after she found out he was already seeing someone new.
While I don’t think Grady was the kind of guy to do something so careless, he’d already wrapped me around his finger after three dates.
Seeing him with someone else, especially in our small town, would probably send me into hiding forever.
I tucked my hair behind my ear, returning his smile. “I know. I’m sorry. Guess I’m just nervous.”
“For what?” Grady asked. His fingers drummed against the steering wheel in perfect timing with the melody. I realized he did that a lot, and to nearly every song.
Somehow, music came up every time we spoke.
Grady knew way more about it than most kids our age.
He appreciated the craft—like he felt each lyric and melodic note on some soul-deep level.
And when he sang along to the grainy radio, it’d nearly taken my breath away.
I’d never heard someone sing like their very life depended on it, like he would simply die if he didn’t match that melody.
His voice wasn’t where his knowledge ended, though.
Apparently, Grady’s mom had taught him how to play the piano as a kid.
When he told her he’d wanted to learn the guitar, too, his dad had reached out to a family friend who didn’t mind giving him lessons.
When he would call me late at night after both our parents went to bed, sometimes I’d hear the faint strum of his guitar as he spoke.
It was so dang cute that he couldn’t help himself.
“What am I sorry for or why am I nervous?” Both were about him, but each was vastly different.
“Both.”
Normally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable being this vulnerable with someone, especially someone I wasn’t close with, but there was something familiar about Grady that made me want to try.
Maybe it was the fact that we had technically known each other since kindergarten, or maybe it was just him.
“Well, I guess I’m sorry for this not being the best date—”
“Whoa,” he interrupted, slamming on his brakes as we turned into the ranch. “Who said this wasn’t the best date?”
I’d been nervous and fidgety all evening.
Every time he leaned forward to dip his fry into ranch or snag a napkin from the dispenser, all I could think about was whether he was finally going to kiss me.
It’d been so bad at one point I’d missed the big dollop of mustard that’d splattered against my shirt until he pointed it out.
I shrugged. “No one, I guess, but—”
“’Cause it certainly wasn’t me,” he continued, pointing a finger in his direction. “And if this is your way of telling me you had a horrible time—”
“No! Oh my gosh,” I mumbled, covering my face with my hands. “That wasn’t what I meant at all.”
He tugged gently on my wrists, and I let them fall to my lap. The heat in my cheeks told me all I needed to know about what I must look like right now. “I was just teasing, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you go all red like a lobster,” he said.
“I’m not good at this,” I admitted. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Neither do I. I think that’s the point of this,” he chuckled. “Don’t worry, though. We’ll learn together. You’ll be a pro in no time. I bet it won’t take long for all your friends to hit you up for relationship advice.”
It didn’t make much sense, but something about his words scared the hell out of me in the best way possible.
He seemed so sure about us after only a handful of weeks, which was crazy, right?
We were sixteen. This should be our time to fall in and out of love in the blink of an eye, but the way Grady was staring at me made it seem like he had no intention of running for the hills.
“You sound so sure.”
This time, he shrugged. “Because I am. Look, I’m not trying to scare you or anything, and there definitely won’t be a marriage proposal anytime soon—” I laughed as he continued “—but I really like you, Cleo. I don’t know how long this will last, but I wanna find out if you’re down.”
“I really like you, too,” I mumbled. I couldn’t look at him right now, too nervous about embarrassing myself again.
I should’ve known he wouldn’t let me get away with it. His fingers found my chin, guiding me to look at him. There was no judgment or hesitation, only patience. “Can you look at me when you say that?”
I nodded as his hand fell away. “I really like you, too.”
Grady’s gaze darted down to my mouth before glancing at the clock on his dashboard. His tongue darted out, leaving a wet trail across his bottom lip. I looked in time to see it change. “It’s 11:11.”
“I should probably get you back,” he said, but he didn’t move. His eyes dipped to my lips.
“Or you could make a wish,” I said on a shaky exhale. “It’s supposed to be lucky.”
Grady’s brows furrowed. “Did you make one?”
Yeah, I wish you’d kiss me. “I just did.”
I didn’t realize how close we’d drifted until I could smell the spicy mint of his gum. “Can I—”
Without letting him finish, I launched myself at him.
It was awkward at first. I was too nervous to do the wrong thing, so we sat there for a moment with our lips just kind of smushed together, but then he took charge.
I let him guide me, matching his movements the best I could, but it was so hard to focus.
Grady freaking Wilde was kissing me. He took me on my first date, gave me my first kiss, and wanted more. He wanted more with me.
I didn’t really know what more meant, but I wanted it, too.
I fell forward as he pulled away with a groan. Oh god, was I horrible? Did he not feel the fireworks I just felt? How was I going to ever show my face—
He turned back, threading his hands in my hair and pulling my face toward him. This time, his kiss wasn’t tentative. It was entirely intentional. It reminded me of those kisses you see in movies, the ones you only dream about experiencing because they’ve made it seem too good to be true.
This time, Grady pulled away gently before giving me a single peck. I reached up, brushing my fingers across my lips. They felt strange. Swollen, almost. Was that normal?
“I don’t wanna stop,” he said slowly. Something about his voice was different. It made me feel warm all over. “But I wanna get you home a few minutes early so your parents don’t get the wrong idea.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” I breathed. My heart was racing so fast, it felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. How did people kiss and not be swept away in the rising tide? “I’m sure one of them is up waiting.”
“Probably.” Grady’s eyes dipped again, but he didn’t act on it. Instead, he pulled his gaze forward and put the truck in drive. Neither of us spoke until he pulled up in front of our house. The porch light was still on, which meant I was right—someone was still awake.
Grady hopped out of the truck and came around to open my door. He stuck out his hand for me to take as I stepped out. I expected him to let go, but he didn’t. If anything, he held it tighter.
“Thank you for tonight,” I said, fighting an inevitable blush. “It was everything and more.”
His smile was so bright, it nearly outshone the full moon overhead. “I didn’t scare you off, yet?”
I shook my head. “Not yet.”
“That’s good. It means I still have a chance.”
“A chance?”
“Yeah,” he said, leaning forward to press a kiss to my cheek. “A chance to make you mine.”