Chapter 11
“Here, I got you a coffee,” I say to Grady as I hand him the to-go cup before bringing my own up to my mouth and taking a sip.
He looks at it, then looks up at me. “What is it?”
“A hazelnut mocha.”
Finally, he takes it, a grin quirking his lips. “How’d you know I like these?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Maybe the way you get one every single morning.”
Grady takes a sip, his eyelids fluttering closed as he lets out a moan of appreciation. “Fuck, that’s good. Thank you.”
“Daddy!” Suzy comes barreling into the kitchen, wearing a pink puffer coat and a pair of fur-topped boots on. “You’re back. Can we go now?”
“Yes, let’s go.” I glance at Grady. “You sure you want to come? I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to stay home.”
He chuckles. “Nah, I want to come.”
“Daddy, he has to come,” Suzy grumbles.
“Alright, then. Let’s go.”
We pile into my truck and hit the road. There’s a new movie in theatres that Suzy has been begging to see, but the small theatre in town doesn’t have it, so we have to drive to Cheyenne. She’s been talking about it nonstop for weeks now, but I’ve been so busy with stuff at the arena that I haven’t had the time, so I promised her this weekend we’d go.
“So, Suzy Q,” Grady says, shifting in his seat to get a better look at her in the back. “What’s this movie about?”
My gaze finds her in the rearview mirror, and a smile splits her face before she dives into a very enthusiastic synopsis of this princess movie that sounds awful, but she’s clearly very excited. The entire time she’s talking, Grady is focused on her, hanging on to her every word. When she’s finished, he turns back around and looks my way, catching me already watching him.
“Excited?” I ask with a smirk.
“Hell yeah, I’m excited. How could I not be?”
Admittedly, I was iffy about Grady staying with us, particularly him helping with Suzy while Jade was gone, because he hasn’t spent a whole lot of time with her up until now. But the two of them get along really well, and I know she very much enjoys having him around. He’ll sit on the floor with her and play dolls for hours. Yesterday, he helped her make friendship bracelets because it’s apparently the new “thing.” He’s even wearing a couple of them now, which I can’t help but smile at.
Even though he”s been working more and more at the arena, he’s a major help whenever he’s at the house and I have to run errands or train. Jade’s been gone about a month now, and it’s been smooth sailing so far. She and I decided to wait until she’s home before we file for divorce, since she had to leave so soon after I got home from the circuit, and there’s still so much we have to figure out.
Grady hooks the Bluetooth up to his phone, turning on some music and cranking the volume. It’s some pop song I’m not familiar with, but he and Suzy seem to know it well based on the way they’re both singing along. Loudly. Laughter bubbles up my throat at how off-key Grady sounds and how Suzy doesn’t know even half of the lyrics.
They sing song after song for the rest of the drive, and I can’t remember the last time I smiled this much. It takes about forty-five minutes to get to the theatre, and it’s not quite as busy as I expected for a Saturday afternoon. After getting our tickets, some popcorn, and a few drinks, we find some seats, getting situated. Suzy insists on sitting in the middle so she can be close to both of us, but I think it’s more so she can be the one to sit with the popcorn in her lap.
The theatre goes dark and the movie starts. There aren’t many things that can hold Suzy’s attention, but she seems super into this film because she doesn’t talk for the entire two hours. By the time the credits roll, and the lights come back on, she’s bouncing out of her seat, rambling about how cool it was. My gaze meets Grady’s, and he rolls his lips as we stand and stretch, getting ready to leave the theatre.
“You love it?” he teases me.
“Loved it,” I reply sarcastically. “Gonna be thinking about it all day.”
He laughs. “Me too.”
“Me three!” Suzy interjects, leading us out of the room with the nearly empty bucket of popcorn in her arms. After making her dump the rest on the way out, we climb into the truck and hit the road. Suzy passes out almost immediately.
“Any plans for the rest of the day?” I ask Grady as we get on the highway, realizing there’s traffic. There must be an accident up ahead.
“Actually, yeah,” he replies. “I’m going over to my buddy, Benji’s, house when we get home. We’re going out to dinner with his girlfriend and this guy they’re trying to set me up with.”
Arching a brow, I glance over at him. “A blind date?”
“Yeah. I don’t know how to feel about it.”
“Then why go?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Could be good for me, I guess.”
“Do you do that a lot?” I ask out of curiosity. “Date, I mean.”
Grady came out as gay when he was fifteen. It was Jade he told first out of the family. He was nervous to tell his parents, and understandably so. They’re not the easiest people to approach. They took it well enough, but I’ve never seen him with a boyfriend. Not saying he’s never had one; he was in college for a few years. He’s never talked to me about dating or guys, though.
“Sometimes.” He shifts a little in his seat, the movement catching in my peripheral.
I wonder what kind of guys he’s into. My mind goes back to that night on the road when Shooter insisted Grady was attracted to me. I’ve spent time since then trying to see it for myself, but I just don’t. Sure, sometimes his stares linger a little longer than appropriate. And yes, he sometimes stumbles over his words when we’re talking, but Grady does that when he’s talking to almost everyone except Suzy. He can be a little awkward. That doesn’t mean he has a crush on me.
“You excited?” I ask, swallowing thickly and pushing those thoughts away.
“Eh.” He laughs. “It should be fun.”
“Where are y’all going?”
“Just the little Italian place in town.”
“What’s your type?” The question takes me by surprise, coming out fully without my permission, and based on the way his head snaps in my direction, I’d say it caught him off guard too.
“Uh…” Grady breathes out a nervous type of laugh. “I don’t know. Don’t really have one, I guess.”
“What’s this guy look like?”
Why do I care?
“No clue,” he replies. “Blind date, remember?”
“Oh, right.” I laugh to play off any weirdness. “Did you date a lot in college?”
It’s like these questions are flowing out of my mouth without any sort of interaction with my brain. I keep my eyes trained ahead on the road, but I can see him looking at me.
“Um, a little. Nothing serious.”
“Right, right. Hooking up can be fun.”
Hooking up can be fun? Where the fuck did that come from, Boone? When have you ever hooked up?
“Yeah, it can be,” he agrees, and suddenly, without my permission—apparently a theme right now—visions of him rolling around in the sheets with faceless men flash before my eyes. I’ve never given much thought to Grady and the guys he’s been with, but now it’s like my mind is flooded, and I really should change the subject. It’s weird that I’m thinking about this. Thinking about him like this.
I blame Shooter.
If he’d never put that little inkling in my mind that Grady had a crush on me, I never would’ve thought to look at him in that light. I’m straight…and still very much married to his sister. Even if we’re getting a divorce in less than a month, I shouldn’t be thinking about this.
“Boone,” Grady says, pulling me from my thoughts. The way he says my name makes me think this isn’t the first time he tried to get my attention.
“Yeah, sorry. What’s up? I zoned out.”
“You missed the exit.”
“Oh, shit. My bad.”
Taking the next exit and turning around, I get back onto the highway, making sure to take the correct one this time. We arrive home about fifteen minutes later. Suzy is still sleeping, and Grady offers to grab her out while I unlock the door and let Mabel outside. She’s conked out, not even stirring when he picks her up. Her head lolls onto his shoulder as he carries her with one arm under her knees, the other across her shoulders. His shirt has lifted in the process, revealing a few inches of his abdomen.
My eyes snag on the sight, noting the dark patch of hair trailing from the bottom of his navel down into his jeans. I rip my eyes away before he can catch me looking and think I’m a pervert. It just took me by surprise, is all. I’ve seen him in swim trunks before in the pool, and I don’t remember him having any chest hair. But then again, maybe I wasn’t close enough to see. Or maybe it’s new. He is only twenty-one.
Christ, why am I staring at my twenty-one-year-old brother-in-law’s happy trail? What the fuck is wrong with me?
Getting inside the house, I pull out my phone and shoot off a text message.
Me: I hate you.
The message shows as read right away and the bubble appears, letting me know he’s typing back.
Shooter: Well, hello to you, too. Pray tell, what did I do now?
Me: You and your fucking babble about Grady having a crush on me.
Shooter: HAHAHAHAHA!
Me: What is so funny, you jackass?
Shooter: That was months ago. You’re still thinking about it?
Me: So? It’s ridiculous.
Shooter: What’s wrong? Are you finally seeing I’m right?
Me: No, dipshit. You’re not right. He behaves totally normal around me.
Shooter: Mmhmm. Sure, he does.
Me: I hate you.
Shooter: Love you too!
Grumbling to myself, I shove my phone into my pocket and busy myself with chores around the house. A little while later, I’m loading the dishwasher when Grady ambles into the kitchen.
“Hey, I’m about to head out.”
Glancing over my shoulder, my gaze runs over him. He’s dressed in a pair of ripped jeans, an all-black t-shirt, high-top black Converse, and he’s wearing a red and white Powder Ridge Arena snapback on backwards. His dirty blonde hair peeks out from under the hat.
“Alright, hope you have fun,” I mutter, turning off the water and drying my hands off with the tea towel.
“It’ll probably be kind of late when I get back. I think we’re going to the movies after.”
Raising a brow, I ask, “Movies twice in one day?”
He laughs. “I know. Didn’t know they wanted to go, but at least it’ll be a different movie.”
“You mean you don’t want to watch the princess movie for a second time?”
“Tempting,” he teases, his gaze holding mine. “But I think the people I’m going with may not approve.”
“Well, they sound lame,” I quip, tossing the rag over my shoulder and folding my arms over my chest.
“I know, right?” Grady smiles, rolling his eyes dramatically. His whole face brightens.
We watch each other for a moment, neither of us saying anything else. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as it feels like the air is sucked out of the room. I’m having such a fucking off day; I don’t understand what’s going on.
His smile fades for a moment before he throws it back into place, tossing a thumb over his shoulder. “Alright, I’m out of here. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, G. Have fun.”
“Thanks.”
He leaves, and as I hear the front door click shut, I turn around, getting back to doing the dishes. I spend an obnoxious amount of time the rest of the evening thinking about Grady and his friends, and what they’re up to, and if he’s having a good time.
Why do I care, is what I want to know.