CHAPTER 28
GRAYDON
I finish washing the last brush and then set it on the drying rack before soaping up my hands and getting rid of the rest of the paint.
When I came to the zoo, I had one mission on my mind: to finish the mural. I didn’t stop to talk to anyone. I didn’t stop to take pictures. I focused on making sure that everything was done so Maple could enjoy the mural.
So she could soak it all in.
And from what Phil told me, she did.
He sent me a video of her seeing it for the first time, but I’ve yet to watch it.
The door to the flamingo building opens, and I can already feel her presence before I glance to my left.
She’s standing there with a bucket in hand, looking hesitant, like she doesn’t know what to say to me or how to approach me.
And that’s fine. She doesn’t need to say anything to me. I just want her to know that I’m sorry, that I care about her, and that I was a fucking idiot for treating her the way that I did.
“You ready?” Hank asks, walking into the room as well. “I grabbed your bag for you.”
“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Maple says as she diverts her eyes from me.
She’s going home with him again?
Looks like the boys were wrong. This “grand gesture” sucked. Good for the zoo, but no change between Maple and me. Fuck.
“Hey, thanks for the mural, man,” Hank says. “That was huge of you.”
The urge to plow my fist through his skull is incredibly overwhelming, and the only reason I haven’t is because I know Maple wouldn’t approve. Punching Slutty Little Glasses might feel good in the moment, but it will get me nowhere with Maple, so instead, I take a calm approach and simply nod.
“Yeah,” Maple says, surprising me. “It was…it was really nice.” She smiles softly, her gaze falling on mine.
That smile.
Those eyes…
Fuck, there are so many things I want to say to her. So many things I want to do as a storm kicks up inside me, pushing me in her direction. But I hold still, because even though when she walks into a room, I feel my pulse kickstart, I’m not about to have a conversation with her with Hank present.
No goddamn way.
So I just nod as well.
“Here you go,” Hank says, handing her bag to her. I feel her eyes on me one last time before they exit the building.
Sighing, I lean forward, pressing my head to the cabinet above the sink and wishing this was so much fucking easier.
I give them a second to leave and then pull my phone out and watch the video of Maple taking in the mural for the first time.
I watch as her expression morphs into awe.
As tears fill her beautiful eyes.
As she commits the wall to memory and speaks on how amazing it is.
It gives me a sliver of hope. Not much, because Slutty Little Glasses is still in the way, a fucking thorn in my side. Unsure how to handle him, I lean into the one source I wish I didn’t have to use.
The Gladdy Daddies.
Graydon: She liked the mural. A lot.
I head out toward the parking lot while I wait for their response. Hopefully, Maple and Hank will be gone.
OC: Fuck yeah! So are you guys good?
Graydon: Not quite. Slutty Little Glasses is taking her home.
OC: What? Why?
Bennett: How did that happen?
Graydon: Because when I say I fucked up bad, I did. She could barely look at me. Not sure the grand gesture worked.
When I arrive at the parking lot, I’m happy to see that they’re gone, so I hop into my truck and buckle up, but don’t start it yet.
OC: Are you sure you did it right?
Graydon: There is only one way to do it, you fuck. There’s just too much animosity there. I hurt her.
Bennett: You did, but this is the perfect opening.
Graydon: What do you mean?
Bennett: Did she talk to you at all?
Graydon: She did. She thanked me in person.
OC: How? With a hug?
Graydon: With her words and a slight smile.
Bennett: That’s all we need. She opened the door. The grand gesture worked. Now you have to go apologize. Take it from me.
OC: Yeah, remember, he’s reading those romance books. I think he might know what he’s talking about.
Graydon: So I’m just supposed to apologize to her tomorrow?
OC: Maybe take her coffee and flowers or something.
Graydon: She hates flowers.
Bennett: No, you’re not going to wait till morning. You’re going to go to her place tonight. Strike while the iron is hot.
Graydon: What if Slutty Little Glasses is there?
OC: Ooh, a painful obstacle.
Bennett: Then you wait. Tell her you will wait because what you need to say is important.
OC: Authoritative but respectful. Nice approach.
Graydon: Will you shut the fuck up with your useless commentary?
OC: Respect the group. Everyone gets to shine in the Gladdy Daddies.
Graydon: I actually hate you, truly, truly hate you.
OC: If I knew you weren’t so down on your luck right now, I might take offense to that, but I know you love me. Nice try.
Graydon: Christ.
Bennett: Focus. Graydon, go to her place and apologize, give her the biggest apology of your life, and while you’re at it, end the mind games and tell her how you feel.
Graydon: I wasn’t playing mind games.
Bennett: Maybe you didn’t think you were, but she needs answers and deserves them. If you want to make her yours, then fucking do it. Now.
OC: Is it weird that while reading that, my nipples got hard?
Bennett: Seriously, dude, no one is going to want to talk to you anymore.
Graydon: I second that.
I glance around the street, looking for that piece-of-shit Jeep, and when I don’t see it, relief floods me because I don’t know what I would have done if he was here, in her apartment, doing fuck knows what with her.
I find a parking spot down the block because parking is a bitch sometimes, and I walk up to her apartment, my nerves tumbling inside me as I try to figure out the words I want to use.
Unfortunately, nothing eloquent comes to mind.
I make it up her stairs and then down the hallway to her apartment, where I take a deep breath and then knock on her door. I stuff my hands in my pockets and wait, steeling myself, reminding myself to be calm and honest.
If I’m going to change the course of this “relationship,” then this is the moment.
I rock on my heels, waiting for her to answer, but with every second that ticks by that she doesn’t answer the door, my worry ratchets and my heart starts to sink further and further because…is she out with him?
When they left, did they leave together to go have dinner?
To go out on a date?
Would she move that goddamn fast? Did I totally misread her affirming words from Friday night? Did the thank-you kiss mean nothing? Am I simply too fucking hard for her to deal with?
I push my hand through my hair, messing with the style but not caring. I know I fucked up, and I shouldn’t have yelled at her like that. I know I should have talked to her, but could that really have driven her away to fucking Slutty Little Glasses that quickly?
It makes me wonder what he has been doing and saying to her when I haven’t been at the zoo. Has he been slowly sliding in with every second he had with her?
I grind my teeth together and turn around, knowing she’s not home.
I glance out to the street, wondering what the hell I should do.
Do I leave and text her?
Who’s to say she’d respond?
If I stay, does that make me seem desperate?
Hell, who am I kidding? I am desperate.
So, I lean against the wall next to her door, and I wait. I will wait as long as I need to in order to talk to her. I’m just hoping it’s not all goddamn night.
The door opens to the street, and my eyes shoot up from my phone, where I’ve been distracting myself by studying videos of other teams. The minute Maple comes into view holding a bag of groceries, relief washes through me because she wasn’t out with him, she had to get food.
Thank—
Oh fuck…
That bout of relief is quickly stolen from me as Hank the Wank walks in behind her, holding reusable grocery bags as well.
I fucking hate him.
He says something to her, she chuckles, they smile together, and I’ve never felt more like an outsider than in this moment. Insecurity grips my heart, my fight-or-flight kicks in, and for a brief second, I consider fleeing, but when her eyes lift to find me at her door, she comes to an abrupt stop.
“Graydon,” she says, almost a whisper. “What…what are you doing here?”
Here’s your moment, your chance. I only wish the douche wasn’t behind her.
Hands in my pockets, I say, “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh.” She moves forward, Hank eyeing me like he’s ready to strike at any minute. Don’t even fucking try, I will bury you.
“Just for a moment,” I nearly beg.
“I can stay with you,” Hank reassures her as Maple opens her apartment door.
She doesn’t need you, fuckwad. Go back to Peru and leave my girl alone.
“That’s…that’s okay,” she says as she moves into her apartment. “Let me just put the cold stuff away.”
Hank and Maple slip into her apartment together, and the door shuts on me, closing me out from what’s happening between the two of them.
Normally, I’d fucking charge right through that door, pick the guy up by his shirt, and shove him out to the curb, letting him know exactly where he belongs, but I’m trying to rein in my anger.
So instead, I scrub my hand over my face, and I wait, my skin prickling with irritation and my pulse thrumming with the need to destroy something.
After what feels like ten goddamn minutes, the door opens, and Slutty Little Glasses gives her a hug right fucking in front of me, then takes off without sparing me a glance. That’s probably best because I might have unhinged my jaw and bitten his stupid head off.
I try to calm the anger in my chest and focus on the girl in front of me, who is standing in her doorway, arms crossed, as she looks up at me, waiting for whatever it is I have to say.
I glance behind me to make sure the douche has left, and when he’s out of sight, I turn back to her, my words failing me now as I look into her beautiful, captivating eyes.
“You wanted to talk?” she asks in a soft voice.