Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Grayson
I sit on my sofa, staring at the wall. What the fuck just happened? I almost kissed Roxy. I shake my head. No. It was just the alcohol. That didn’t almost happen, or did it? Shit.
Sighing, I text the only person I can trust about this. Brayden. Aside from Kasen, he’s the most like Fort Knox of anyone in the building.
Me: You back from Ava tuck-in duty?
Bray: Yep. What’s up?
Me: I need advice.
Bray: Shit. You must be hard-pressed for it if you’re asking me. Come on up.
I head to Bray’s apartment, knocking on the door only once before he opens it. I walk past him and sit down on one of his two oversized leather chairs.
“I need to tell you something but you are sworn to absolute secrecy. You cannot tell Carly or anyone else,” I begin.
He sits down on the other chair. “OK,” he says slowly.
“Roxy is my fake girlfriend,” I blurt out while staring down at the ground and running a hand through my hair. After a moment of silence, I glance over at him.
He opens his mouth, closes it, and opens it again. “I…what?” he stammers.
Sighing, I lean back in the chair and stare at his ceiling.
“I maybe fucked up and told Pierce I had a girlfriend. Then I felt stupid telling the truth, so I mentioned it to Al. Al says no worries, I’ll get a woman to be your fake girlfriend.” I pause as Bray laughs.
I look over at him and glare.
He puts his hands up in the air. “Sorry. My bad. It’s just…you let Al set you up. That was your first mistake. He’s like the fairy godfather that no one wants. His heart's in the right place, but…” I level a harder stare at him, and he trails off.
“So he says a woman will meet me at the post-filming party. And Roxy shows up. She’s as shocked as I am. But agrees to do it. I think she thinks that I won’t bitch about noise if we’re fake dating,” I say with a bitter laugh because that’s never happening.
“Anyhow, we’ve agreed to fake date for the purposes of me keeping this contract with Pierce for the film’s score.”
I look back at Bray.
“So, what’s the problem?” he asks.
I put my hands over my face and drag them down my skin. “I think I fucking like her, like, like like her. When we were upstairs a bit ago, I swear we almost kissed when she leaned in toward me.”
He shrugs. “What’s the big deal? I mean, if you can fake date, why can’t you real date?”
“No, we’re neighbors. It’d mess up everything. And honestly, I’m not looking for a girlfriend.” I give him a pointed look. He knows about my ex and how this last year has been tough for me.
He nods and frowns. He’s silent for a long beat as though thinking that statement through. “I see your point,” he mumbles. “OK, so keep it professional. Draw some boundaries. Like you’ll only hug or cheek kiss in front of Pierce, and otherwise, no touching.”
I consider what he’s saying. I mean, it’s not that different from what Roxy and I have already discussed. But it’s not that easy. I haven’t been attracted to someone in a long time. Even with Lydia in the last year of our relationship, I can’t say I was still attracted to her. I spent nearly eleven of those twelve months completely checked out from anything between us. A twinge of guilt seeps into my veins. While what she did was unforgivable, I’m not blameless in the demise of our relationship.
There’s a knock at the door and we both freeze and then look at each other.
Bray walks over and opens the door.
It’s Hutch.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Bray and Gray. What’s up, gentlemen?” he asks as he walks in and sits on the sofa.
“Uh, not much. What’s up?” Bray asks. I can tell he’s already annoyed because he hates that our nicknames rhyme, and if it was anyone other than Hutch, he’d probably point that out. Hutch is just too nice to yell at about trivial things.
“Who’s up for a stakeout?” he asks.
“What?” Bray replies looking from him to me.
“Hutch, who cares about the flowers? Let’s just let it stay a mystery, man,” I state.
“I need to know,” he says, looking defeated.
“Why?” Bray and I say in unison.
“Don’t you guys ever just want answers?” Hutch asks and I feel like his question is so much deeper than just about flowers. I know Hutch is still messed up from the accident that ended his football career. He never talks about it. He’s always putting on a brave face and being kind and funny, but every once in a while, I see through his facade, and I just know he’s thinking about it.
“Nope,” Brayden says.
“I mean, not really. Isn’t it sort of fun just to have it as a mystery?” I ask.
Hutch shrugs and then glances over at me. “Why are you up here?”
Brayden gives me a look as if to ask if Hutch is allowed to know. Screw it. Everyone is likely to know eventually anyhow. Sighing, I nod.
“Gray’s fake dating Roxy,” he says to Hutch.
Hutch’s eyes widen. “Wait, what? Why fake dating?”
I lean back again with my head staring up at the ceiling and tell him the entire story. When I finish, I put my head down and rest my elbows on my knees as I look at him.
“I mean. Roxy is hot. If you aren’t serious with her, I’d ask her out,” he says.
I glare at him. I just told this man that I’m attracted to my fake girlfriend. And I sure as fuck am not letting another guy date her while I have feelings for her. “Don’t even try it.”
Hutch grins. “I knew you liked her. It’s not just about being attracted to her. There’s definitely something going on between you two and it’s not fake.”
“That’s what I was saying,” Bray chimes in with a laugh. “You’d have to be blind not to notice the sexual tension between you two.”
I groan and put my head in my hands. “Guys, I need real advice here.”
Bray leans forward and looks at me. “Ask her out for real.”
Sighing, I look at him. “I can’t do that. We already have an agreement, and it would be weird.”
“It’s weird anyways. Who cares?” Hutch says with a laugh.
I point to both of them. “You cannot tell anyone about this.”
Hutch holds up his hands in defense. “OK. No worries. I’m not saying anything. But hear me out, if she didn’t like you, she wouldn’t be agreeing to all of this. If there wasn’t something there, she’d have walked out of that bar and left your pitiful ass standing all alone. But she didn’t. So that’s something.”
“Fuck, Hutch. When did you get all romance-y Yoda on us?” Bray asks.
“I had lady skills back in the day,” Hutch says with a smirk.
I look from one friend to the other. Maybe they are right. Maybe I should just ask her out for real? But how do I even do that? She’d probably just laugh in my face. And then, there’s my worry of getting hurt again.
“Stop thinking about Lydia. She was a—” Bray starts.
I hold up a hand. “We don’t need to Lydia bash tonight.”
“Bray’s not wrong, Gray. That woman fucked you up good. But she was all wrong for you. Roxy is…different. And maybe that’s just what you need,” Hutch says.
I consider his words for a long moment. He’s got a point about Roxy being different. I’ve never met anyone like her. If anything, she sort of freaks me out. She also annoys the fuck out of me. Maybe this is a bad idea, and I should just keep it fake.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Bray says.
Shit, did I say that last part out loud?
Bray rolls his eyes. “I know what you are thinking. I get it. She’s your neighbor. You guys got off to a rough start. This could be a big mess. But, Gray, sometimes life is messy. You need to get back on the horse, my friend.”
“Plus, she reads romance,” Hutch says.
“What?” I ask as my brows furrow.
“She lent me her favorite book at happy hour, and I couldn’t put that fucker down. Like a great plot, but holy sex in a book. Anyhow, you should read it. I’ll lend it to you, as research. I wasn’t a romance fan before, but after reading that, I think I am now. And you might get some tips from it,” Hutch explains.
“Down, boy,” Bray teases.
“What? I’ll lend it to you too. You could use some pointers. Consider it an educational fiction read,” Hutch counters.
“For the love of…guys, can we focus here? I don’t need a book. I just need to figure out what to do about Roxy,” I say.
“Well, when are you seeing her next?” Bray asks.
“Tuesday.” I look from Bray to Hutch and I can already tell I should have just gone to Al for advice.
“Bring flowers,” Hutch says.
“No,” I state emphatically.
“Get her talking,” Bray suggests. “The more intel you get, the easier it will be to figure out how to get her to really like you.”
I glare at him. “Thanks,” I say, my voice laced with sarcasm.
“I just mean, you’ll be able to formulate a better plan if you know her beyond her name and place of residence,” he explains.
“I guess so,” I mutter as I stand up. “OK, that’s enough input for tonight.”
“Did Kasen text either of you back yet?” Hutch asks.
We both shake our heads.
“It’s not like him,” Hutch mumbles as he also stands.
“I’m sure he’s fine. Especially if he let Al know he was going to be away longer,” I say as I open Bray’s door.
“I still think we should do a stakeout at the bench,” he adds as he walks behind me.
“Hutch, man, let it go,” Bray says as we close the door and walk back downstairs.
We’re both silent until Hutch opens his door. He turns to me, his hand still on the doorknob. “I think she’d be good for you. For the record,” he says, and without another word, he steps inside his apartment and shuts the door, leaving me standing in front of mine and wondering if that is in fact true. Would Roxy Benedict be good for me?