Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Grayson
I sit at the bar. Al is shaking a martini and talking to Carly. Ava is sitting next to Brayden, sipping a Shirley Temple. And Cam and Drew are standing at the end of the bar arguing over who is better at blowjobs, only they are using code words in front of Ava.
“You know I have technique at blowing bubbles,” Cam argues.
“There’s no way. I’ve blown way more bubbles than you. It’s not even a competition,” Drew scoffs.
“Ladies, ladies, ladies, I’m sure you are both amazing at blowing bubbles,” Hutch says as he wraps an arm around each of them and leans toward the bar. “Hey, Al, do we have any of that lager left from last week?”
“Sure do,” Al says with a grin as he pours Cam her martini and then grabs a lager from the mini-fridge.
“Sweet. Thanks,” Hutch says, taking his beer and walking back over to sit with Margie and Cornelia.
“I can blow really big bubbles,” Ava says proudly.
Carly spits out her drink, coughing as she tries to compose herself. Brayden pats her on the back but has to turn away. Al grimaces. And Cam, Drew, and I lose it.
“What? I can. Mom, can I go get my bubble gun?” she asks innocently.
It takes a full thirty seconds for all of us to compose ourselves.
“Maybe later, sweetie. I think everyone just has some really great memories of blowing bubbles,” she says, which leads to another round of laughs.
“Come on, Ava. I’ll go with you. We can grab that bubble set I bought you last summer,” Brayden suggests.
“Bray, it’s OK,” Carly protests.
He holds up a hand. “Nope, our girl here needs bubbles. It’s a bubble emergency,” he says as he picks Ava up and she squeals in delight. He carries her to the door, and they disappear down the steps.
“Shit! Poor Ava. I’m sorry, Carly. We should have used some other boring term instead,” Cam says with a giggle.
“I’m not calling blowjobs something boring like ironing or paying taxes,” Drew argues.
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Roxy’s voice rings out from the door. I turn to see her walking toward us. She’s wearing a sundress that hugs her curves. Damn, she’s gorgeous. I’m a lucky bastard to have such a hot fake girlfriend.
“What?” she asks me as she slides onto the stool that Brayden had been occupying.
“Nothing. You look nice,” I say. I’m about to say we should go out to dinner to discuss things and get our story straight when the door opens, and Ava and Brayden come back with armloads of bubble-making stuff.
“Hey, who’s that guy checking on Kasen’s sea anemones? It’s not his cousin,” he says.
“You saw that guy too? I don’t recognize him. Should we call Kasen or uh, what’s his cousin’s name?” Cam asks.
“Uh, crazy idea here, but if he’s using a key, don’t we assume he’s supposed to be there?” Roxy asks.
“Yes, or it could be…also, his cousin’s name is Elliott,” Drew trails off as he looks around at everyone, clearly trying to insinuate something dark and nefarious is happening in Kasen’s apartment.
Al laughs. “Drew, you have an overactive imagination.”
Cam leans toward me. “Do you think Kasen knows someone else is coming? You know how he is about his apartment.”
“Kasen’s fine. I got a text from him last week. He said his contract got extended and he had someone checking on things while he was gone,” Al assures us.
“But he always has Elliott checking on things,” Carly points out.
“Just text him. He’s fine. I swear,” Al reassures us. We all mumble agreements, but I can tell most of us are still unsure. Kasen’s never been gone for this long and no one other than Elliott has ever come to his apartment to check on things.
I look over at Brayden and he gives me a subtle nod. Yep, we will most definitely be chatting more about this later. I pull out my phone and text Kasen.
Me: Everything OK?
There’s no immediate response or three little dots—just a “delivered” below my message. Sighing, I stick my phone back in my pocket.
Roxy glances over at me. “So, uh…” She trails off and looks around us. It takes me a half second but I realize she isn’t sure if we should be talking about our fake-dating thing in front of everyone. Although it’s clear that Al knows and that man is watching us like a hawk.
We both turn toward him and he gives us a wink. Roxy blushes and looks down at her drink.
“How’s the bookstore coming along?” I inquire because that topic seems safe. We’ve barely scratched the surface of knowing anything about each other.
“Good,” she says as she swirls the liquid in her glass.
“You ready for your opening day?” I ask.
She turns slightly and our legs touch. She freezes as if she doesn’t know if that’s OK. I press my thigh against her knee and she relaxes her shoulders.
“Yes. I think so. I mean, it’s a ‘soft launch’ day. The big ‘opening day’ celebration will be next month. I just want to work out all the bugs first, you know?” she explains.
Smiling, I shake my head. “Nope. But I get that. It sounds like a smart decision.”
“Hey, everyone! Look at my giant bubbles! See, I told you I’m the best at blowing bubbles!” Ava screams as she runs across the rooftop deck with what looks like a Hula-Hoop-sized ring that is blowing enormous bubbles behind her as she runs.
Cam loses it, followed by Drew, and then everyone starts laughing.
Ava pauses and looks at us. “What? It’s not funny. I’m good,” she says, and I see the tears welling. Shit.
Brayden composes himself first and runs over to her and scoops her up, putting her on his shoulders. He bounces her a little and she giggles.
“Ava is the world champion of bubble blowing!” he says loudly.
Everyone applauds and Ava giggles some more. I glance over at Carly who is mouthing, “Thank you,” to Brayden. Brayden just nods as he brings Ava toward the bar area.
“Watch your head, kiddo,” he says as he ducks down.
Ava leans down and puts her head on Brayden’s shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He coughs and reaches up to loosen them a little.
“Don’t kill Bray, Ave. He needs to breathe,” Cam teases.
“Sorry, Unca Bray,” Ava says and she kisses his cheek and squeezes harder hugging him. Secretly, I love it when she calls him that. She couldn’t say his name or mister when she was three. So he tried to teach her to say Uncle Bray and that didn’t go as planned either. For some reason, the nickname just stuck. She loosens her arms and rests her head again on his shoulder. Fuck. That kid is adorable.
I look back over at Roxy who is watching Ava and Brayden. I need to get her alone for a few minutes so we can chat.
“Hey, you want to go on a mission to check out Kasen’s place? I have a spare key for emergencies,” I state.
Everyone turns to me.
“You do?” Cam asks.
“Uh, yeah. So does Al and so does Troy,” I say with a laugh.
“Oh. Why doesn’t Kasen just have you check in on his apartment?” Drew asks with a raised eyebrow.
“’Cause I suck at sea creatures,” I explain.
Troy walks over and starts laughing. “He did once, and then he had a lot less animals afterward,” he says.
I frown. “I mean, yeah, that happened. But he didn’t even ask you or Al,” I point out.
“He didn’t ask me because Edith told him all about how I killed a bunch of her fish. And Troy flat-out refused to take responsibility,” Al says.
“Wait. You killed Kasen’s sea anemones?” Roxy asks. Then she frowns. “I don’t even know if I’ve ever seen one. Maybe at an aquarium?”
I take her arm. “Come on. I’ll text him we are checking to make sure a leak didn’t impact his apartment while Troy is fixing it.”
“So, you’re gonna lie to your friend,” she says with a raised eyebrow.
“I’ll come too. I got to see this,” Hutch says from behind me. Shit. Fucking Hutch, ruining my plan.
I reach for my phone and add a message to my text chat with Kasen and then walk down to my apartment and grab the key. Hutch and Roxy are waiting by Kasen’s door when I get there.
“OK, just act normal. Remember, there’s a leak ,” I say.
“Why do we have to act normal ?” Roxy asks.
Hutch starts laughing and so do I. “Uh, Kasen has cameras. He’s very big on security.”
“So, why are we concerned, then? Wouldn’t he just check his cameras and see if something was going on?” she asks, her brows furrowed with confusion. Fuck. She looks adorable when she doesn’t understand something. Her whole face is pinched in concentration as she tries to figure out what’s happening.
“Kasen doesn’t have cameras everywhere. It’s just to check on the tank. And he can see the door, but if he’s really busy and knows someone is coming by, he could miss it,” Hutch explains.
“OK, remember, we’re checking for a leak. And then keep an eye out for anything amiss,” I state as I unlock his door.
Roxy and Hutch nod as I open the door. I punch a code into his alarm, hoping he hasn’t changed it. It disarms and Roxy gasps as she looks at the enormous tank along the far wall of the living room. She slowly walks over and examines it. The tank has some corals and a few little fish, but it’s the half dozen sea anemones that pique her interest. I watch as she leans forward to examine them.
I lean down next to her and she jumps and clutches her chest.
“Christ! Don’t scare me like that,” she breathes.
I put a hand on her back as she stands, guiding her toward the kitchen.
“The leak could be in here. Let’s make sure. Hutch, check the bathrooms, please,” I say. Once we are clear of Hutch, I lean forward. “Let’s go out tomorrow night and discuss things,” I say in a low voice.
“OK. It’ll have to be later,” she whispers and looks past my shoulder. I glance behind me, but Hutch isn’t there yet.
“That’s fine. Text me when you’re available and I’ll send you an address of a bar. It’s a few streets over, but no one from here goes there. They don’t like the drink menu,” I explain.
She gives me a pointed look. “So why are we going there?”
“Because we won’t be caught. Unless you want to tell everyone.” I motion toward Hutch.
She shrugs. “OK. I…let’s discuss it then. I hadn’t really thought about what we tell other people.” She hadn’t? I’m an idiot. Of course, she hadn’t. Why would she? She’s starting to get to know everyone here. I don’t like keeping things from my friends, but I also am afraid of what they’ll say if they know. It’s bad enough that Al knows. Everyone knowing would make all of this ten times more awkward.
“Guys? If Kasen is abroad, why is his passport sitting here on his dresser?” Hutch’s voice calls out from the bedroom, interrupting our conversation.
We both turn and head toward Hutch.
He’s holding a passport open to Kasen’s face.
I take it from him and frown. “That’s strange. Maybe he forgot it?”
Hutch gives me a pointed look. “Right. Because he could totally get into another country legally without a passport.”
Roxy shrugs. “Maybe he’s not in another country.”
“Come on. I don’t see anything else. And if he’s texted Al, then we at least know he’s OK,” I say as I usher them both to the front door. I look around once more and see nothing out of place. Hopefully, Kasen will get back to me and everyone can get back to focusing on the mystery of the bench flowers instead of Kasen’s whereabouts.
I follow Roxy up the stairs, watching her ass sway with each step. This woman has surprised the hell out of me. I didn’t think I’d like her, but now, I sort of wish I could take her on a real date because the more I get to know her, the more I realize I do like her. I hope this fake-dating thing doesn’t fuck things up between us. Part of me wishes I could tell everyone and get their advice. Keeping this a secret is going to be a nightmare.