25. Griffin
Griffin
“I will return. I will find you. Love you. Marry you. And live without shame.” – Atonement
O ne day. Twenty-four hours. That’s all it took to change my life. To flip it upside down.
And here I was groaning and complaining about Loverly Cave and all of its nosey matchmakers. Never again.
I will never again say one bad word about them.
Sure, it could’ve all been avoided if I wasn’t such an idiot and talked to Julie earlier, but what’s done is done and now she’s mine. Mine.
God, I never knew I’d feel high just from hearing that statement. But that’s what Julie is to me. She’s my drug. My brand of heroin. My wild poppy. Mine.
There is still so much to talk about and figure out, but we have time. We can take this relationship as slow as we want, exploring each other, learning more about the people we are today instead of the kids we once were.
There is no rush to have any serious conversations yet, for now we are blissfully happy and that’s all that matters.
I’ll deal with her psycho brother later.
Way later.
We seal the deal with a few orgasms, take a shower together in her tiny bathroom, and make breakfast side by side. It all feels so natural, so right like we are meant to do it our whole lives.
I don’t want to leave her place, her bed, her—and I especially didn’t want to face the music of my last night’s actions, but I have to be on shift tonight. Reluctantly, I kiss her goodbye…then kiss her again and again and again until she screams my name in pleasure, so I know I can leave in peace.
And God, is the sex good.
I have no idea what kind of alcohol we drank last night but I vividly remember every last second of it. And thank God for that, because I don’t want to forget a single moment with her, even if that also brings all of my not-so-finer moments as well.
“There he is! The man of the hour,” Luke hollers from his office that’s left wide open. No doubt to see me as soon as I walk in. Otherwise, it’d be closed with rabid dogs guarding his peace and quiet. But the temptation to mess with me must’ve been too strong to resist.
“You know…I don’t remember gloating this bad when you were dating Grace.”
“That’s because I didn’t act like a pubescent boy on a first date with Grace.”
“Sure, you just spoke in caveman most of the time, hauling her over your shoulder.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t as spectacular and noteworthy as your show.” He wiggles his eyebrows, and I groan, falling into a chair opposite his.
“How many people saw that last night?”
“What? You feeling up your best friend’s little sister?” Luke asks with a barely restrained evil smile. “I’d be surprised if Callum hasn’t already heard about it.”
“He’s in the middle of the ocean,” I state.
“Exactly.” Luke wiggles his eyebrows again and lets out that smirk.
“Oh, fuck. I messed up, didn’t I?”
“Wellllll, I wouldn’t necessarily say messed up, but what the hell happened to just having a nice dinner? Why was your hand on Julie’s breast the whole time?”
I groan again and then shift in my seat to fix the hard-on I’m now fighting because the mere reminder of how it feels to hold her heavy, gorgeous tits in my hands is killing me.
And don’t get me started on sucking them.
Fuck…
“It went to shit,” I deadpan and give up on being subtle, fixing my situation right in front of Luke. He’s been around me long enough to have seen it all.
“You don’t say…” The asshole laughs.
“I got nervous. And then drunk. And so did Julie. And then we went to the beach.”
“Oh, we all heard about the beach .”
I groan, “When you say you heard…”
“I mean, we heard . Good for you, man, and for her. I’m assuming it was a mutually beneficial exchange.”
“Fuck my life.” I slide down the chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. “And what is wrong with you all, listening to someone’s private life?”
“I’m guessing the same thing as with those who are having their private life not ten feet away from the bar.”
“Ten feet?” I whisper in horror. Okay, maybe I don’t remember all the details from last night. “Fuck my life again.”
“Yeah, yeah, you have Julie for that now, so stop being dramatic.”
“Dramatic!? I’m being dramatic? It wasn’t you and Grace half the town heard having sex.”
“Nope, just her mom walking in on us. Please continue.” The asshole waves me on, clearly enjoying my meltdown. Before I can indeed continue, two new voices filter in.
“Oh man, they started without us!” Trouble and trouble-two walk into the station, beelining for Luke’s office.
“Hey, brozinski.” Alec winks at Luke, jumping to sit on his desk.
“What are you doing here, you untrained puppy?” Luke sends a scowl at his little brother, but we all know he’s all bark and no bite.
But it’s Jacob who has me worried because he’s in my space. Like, very in my space. Like, the tip of his nose is almost touching mine and normally this Viking is the most lovable teddy bear but not right now.
“You okay, man?”
“State your intentions with my Julie bean.”
“Um, didn’t you already give me your seal of approval when we first met?”
“That was before I learned you have an asshole bone in your body.”
“What? I do not.”
“When it comes to Julie, yeah, you do,” Luke helpfully chimes in. “But that’s beside the point. Please do state your intentions.”
“Are you all nuts?”
“You forget where you live?” Alec adds. “Of course we are. So?”
“Jesus.” I take a step away from Jacob. “Let a guy breathe, yeah?” But he just comes right back up to my face. “Oh my God, we are dating, okay? Are you all happy now?”
“Maybe.” Jacob narrows his eyes at me. “I’ll let you know after I talk to her.”
“Dating as in sleeping together? Or dating as in she’s going to be your wife one day?” Alec asks.
“Dating as in we are seeing where this goes but I have feelings for her.” Feelings is not the right word here, but hell if these idiots will be the first to hear that I’m hopelessly and desperately in love with her.
“And what do you mean I have an asshole bone when it comes to her?” I throw the question at Luke, confused.
“Dude, she had the biggest crush on you when we were kids, and you mostly ignored her.”
“I didn’t.” I sigh.
“What?”
“I didn’t ignore her. I didn’t know she had a crush on me because I was too busy having one on her,” I admit.
The shocking silence in the office is broken by Fiona when she hollers, “Chief! We’ve got a call!” Luke and I instantly jump up, running for the door.
“Do not think you were saved by this morbid bell.” Jacob throws a warning finger my way. “We’ll get back to this enlightening turn of events as soon as you’re back.”
The call is bogus as usual in LC, but I gladly take it upon myself to search every nook and cranny of Mrs. Kent’s house for her lost kitty for half a day just to avoid going back.
There’s only so much a guy can take in twenty-four hours—and sharing secrets from my childhood is not on the menu today.
I wake up to the sweetest sound. Julie.
“I promise I’ll enjoy that non-coffee coffee way more than that asshole. Come on, Jules,” I hear Luke pleading and Julie giggling sweetly in response.
Oh, hell no. He’s not getting my mushroom coffee.
I basically jump out of the small cot where those of us on duty take naps during a shift and run straight at my girl, elbowing the actual asshole out of the way. Jesus, it hasn’t even been a day since I last saw her but I have to restrain myself when I see my gorgeous girl. Mine.
She stands there like a vision, her messy hair in one of her up-dos with a white bandana that ties in a bow, those freckles so prominent in the morning sunlight, and I have this crazy urge to kiss each one just like I did yesterday.
She’s wearing a short summer dress with tiny flowers all over it, but the best part are the tiny straps that tie on top of her shoulders into long bows and what they lead to.
Hello, holy tits.
I have no idea what kind of dress this is, but I wholly approve of this bunched up fabric with another tied-up bow right in the middle that molds to her breasts like second skin.
The second she sees me barreling out of the break room, a beaming smile spreads across her sensual lips. One that I wholeheartedly match.
“Birdy.” I wrap my arms around her sweet butt cheeks, lifting her up at the same time as my lips find hers.
Almost immediately I can feel her nipples poking through the thin material of the dress, and my dick decides to join the party with the show he’s throwing in my pants.
You have no chill, dude. This is just a kiss, and you are trying to donate your semen as fireworks .
But then, Julie winds her arms around my neck, kissing me deeper with those soft mewls leaving her throat and there’s no talking him down anymore.
Her tongue dances with mine in a perfect rhythm, and I forget everything and everyone when we are in this dance.
Including my best friend who is always ready to come to my rescue. Jerk.
Luke clears his throat theatrically as if he and Grace didn’t lock themselves up in his office at least once a week.
I intend to ignore him and maybe take Julie into the breakroom for some privacy, but she pulls away slightly, her expression shy and her cheeks covered in a pretty, rosy hue of a flush. She bites her lower lip and quietly says, “Hi.”
“Hi, little J.” I smile, giving her another peck before setting her down on her feet but not stepping away. I need that contact with her. Need it.
“I brought you coffee.” Julie gestures to the cup in her hand.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted any, and you don’t have to drink it, you know.
Just because we are dating—we are dating, right?
That wasn’t just my dream?—you don’t have to drink the stuff I make.
I know it’s not really to your liking, but you used to come in a lot, so I thought—”