CHAPTER 28 GRAYDON
GRAYDON
(Yes, Graydon, just go with it.)
“One of your Gladdy Daddies texted you,” Maple says as she takes a seat on my lap and curls into me as she hands me my phone.
I set my phone down, not giving one shit that they’re texting me, because I have my girl in my lap, in my house, sitting on my couch, which means everything is right in the world.
“Are you not going to answer it?”
“Why would I?” I ask, running my hand up and down her back.
“Because it had the word ‘help’ in capitals.”
“It’s probably just OC being dramatic about something stupid. Not in the mood.”
“I think it was Bennett.”
Well, that is different. Still, not in the mood, though.
“I’m sure he’s fine.” I move my mouth to her neck, kissing her while my hand glides up the back of her shirt.
“Graydon,” she says, pulling away to look me in the eyes. “Weren’t they the ones that helped you when we were going through a rough patch?”
“No.” I bring my mouth back down to her neck or at least attempt to as she pulls away once more.
Goddamn it.
“Graydon, seriously, you should see what he wants.”
I love this woman, so fucking much. She’s my everything, and one of the reasons I fell in love with her is because of her kind and caring nature.
It’s sexy as hell, but right now, that attribute is acting as a giant cock block, and I know she won’t let this go.
That’s the kind of person she is, so I grumble and pick up my phone.
Satisfied with my choice, she curls back into me as we read the text together.
Bennett: HELP! Nolan showed me these pictures of Bower with Cougar. They were taken two days ago. I FaceTimed with her that night and it was great. Now I’m worried that she’s still seeing him. And I very well might have a heart attack. What do you think is happening in the pictures?
I click on the pictures just as OC texts back. Maple and I examine the pictures together.
“It seems like nothing,” I say. “Why is he worried?”
“I don’t know,” Maple says. “They’re leaning in toward each other and she’s smiling rather brightly. And…” She zooms in. “Is he staring at her breasts?”
I look a little closer, amazed that she could notice that.
“Only a girl would fucking point something out like that,” I say as I open the text thread to read OC’s text.
OC: He’s fucking staring at her tits! That’s what’s happening in these pictures.
“Jesus…Christ,” I say as Maple laughs.
“What does that say about OC? Perhaps more observant than you.”
“Yeah, that’s it,” I answer sarcastically as my phone buzzes.
Bennett: Fuck, I didn’t even notice that. That means he’s interested, right?
OC: You’re a man, you tell me.
Bennett: Shit. Fuck! What am I going to do? Before I left for my trip, we, uh…we did some things and we’ve been talking every day. I just assumed that when I got back, we would pick up where we left off, but this, this has thrown a wrench into my plans. Graydon, man, I need your help on this.
“Aww, he sounds so panicky. Answer him.”
Grumbling again, because this is not how I wanted to spend my evening, I text him back so I can get this over and done with and get back to my girl.
Graydon: What do you want?
“Graydon, that wasn’t nice. He’s clearly panicking.”
“What?” I shrug. “I asked him what he wants.”
“I know, but you could have been nicer about it.”
“Maple, that’s how I respond. If I sugarcoated it, he’d know it wasn’t me.”
My phone buzzes again.
OC: He’s clearly in pain. He needs your strong chest to cry on. Want to meet up at Graydon’s house and talk this through? I can bring muffins.
“Oh, that would be fun,” Maple says.
“No.” I shake my head. “Not fucking happening. And the fuck if OC is bringing muffins.”
I go to type back just as Bennett responds.
Bennett: I’m out of town, you fuck, remember?
Relief washes through me.
OC: Shit, really? Well, uh…Graydon, I’m here.
“What?” I ask, just as the doorbell rings. “Mother…fucker,” I growl.
Maple places her hand on my chest and says, “Stay calm.”
“Do not let him in, Maple. I’m not fucking kidding. I don’t want him in here.”
“We can’t be rude, Graydon.” She starts to get off my lap as the doorbell rings again. I grip her hip, keeping her in place.
“He doesn’t know we’re home. He could go away.”
“I can see your car in the garage,” OC yells through the door. “Let me in.”
“I’m going to fucking kill him.”
“Graydon, please,” Maple says, hand on my chest, straddling me now. “We won’t keep him long. I’ll tell him I have to get to bed early, and as a reward, I’ll let you do anything you want to me tonight.”
“I was going to do that anyway,” I say, smoothing my hands over her perfect ass.
“Yes, but I’ll wear whatever you want, maybe even strip for you.”
Hell…
She smiles and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “I’ll consider the blank stare on your face as a deal.”
Then she gets up and goes to the door, where she lets in OC.
“For a second there, I didn’t think you guys were going to let me in.
” OC laughs as he comes into the living room with a pink box.
“Brought muffins, big guy.” I try to convey through my eyes that one wrong move will find him face first in my goddamn carpet.
He slowly nods. “Got it, not happy that I’m here, but might be good for Bennett, because he seems to be struggling. ”
He takes a seat across from me and flips open the box of muffins before taking one, and I stare him down as he takes a bite like a normal goddamn human—unlike the last time I watched him eat a muffin, which…not going there. I don’t want to be reminded.
“Anyway, shall we, uh…text him?”
“Don’t mind the growls,” Maple says, sitting back down on my lap and placing a soft, promising kiss on my lips that soothes me. “You know how he can get.”
“I do,” OC answers, eyeing me still.
I go back to the text thread and read Bennett’s reply.
Bennett: I know you’re going to fucking hate this, Graydon, and you might block me after the ask, but I’m desperate and you should know I’d never ask you to do this unless I was desperate.
“Oh shit, what is he going to ask?” OC asks, before taking another bite of his muffin and crossing one leg over the other, acting as if he’s watching a soap opera play out on his phone. “The anticipation is killing me.”
Our phones buzz.
Bennett: Could you ask Cougar where he thinks his relationship with Bower is? And ask if he’s kissed her? Or fucked her? Or touched her? Or fucking anything? I need to know what’s going on.
“Absolutely not.” I shake my head and set my phone down.
“Graydon,” Maple says with disappointment.
“Really, man. You can practically hear the squeak of desperation in his voice from that one text. It probably took a lot out of him to make that ask. If he asked me, I’d do it.”
“Because you’re a gossiping ninny with nothing better to do than insert yourself into your acquaintances’ lives.”
OC’s face falls flat. “Acquaintance? Really? That hurts.” He leans forward and adds, “Also, ‘ninny’ is a great word, not even offended. Delighted, actually.”
“Jesus Christ. Maple, make this end.”
She rubs my chest and softly says, “I think you should do it.”
My eyes zero in on hers as I try to convey to her that’s not happening, but of course, she doesn’t take shit from me, and she leans in close to my ear and says, “You know that thing you’ve been wanting to do with me?
If you do this for Bennett, the answer is yes.
” And then she bites down on my earlobe, making me go fucking hard right in front of the muffin-tonguing nimrod.
I shift, letting her feel just how much that excites me, which of course makes her chuckle into my ear.
“Are you two saying dirty things to each other?” OC asks, watching us with one brow raised and a whole lot of interest on his face.
Maple pulls away and says, “Just making promises if he’s a good boy.”
“I like the sound of that. What kind of promises? Maybe I can have some input.”
“Eat shit and rot,” I snap at him, causing him to lean back.
“Jesus. The anger issues are unbecoming,” OC says and then holds the pastry box to Maple. “Muffin?”
“I’d love one.” She smiles and takes one, unwrapping it while wetting her lips.
Fuck…
Am I really that much of a sucker for her that I’ll do anything to make her happy? To make me happy?
She lifts a piece of the muffin to my lips and gently inserts it into my mouth, leaving her fingers for me to suck on for a moment before she drags them away from my lips.
Yup.
I’d do just about anything.
Fuck.
“Fine,” I grumble. “I’ll do it.”
“I knew you had a heart in there,” Maple whispers before picking up my phone and texting Bennett back.
Graydon: It’s Maple. Graydon would be more than happy to chat with Cougar tomorrow. I’ll make sure he reports back with the correct information. As for Bower, if you want, I can introduce myself and kind of feel her out as well, that way you have information from both sides.
“How the hell are you going to do that?” Graydon asks.
“Shhh,” she says, pushing more muffin into my mouth. “Let me handle this. I know what I’m doing. You just need to worry about talking to Cougar.”
“And how the hell do I talk to him?”
“I’ll send you questions. It will be easy.”
“I mean…how can you go wrong when you have prepared questions?” OC asks. “Seems like we’re all going to win after this.”
Maple: Approach him calmly. Ask him how his day is going, how he sees the season faring, and then casually ask about the date you set him up on. Stay light and breezy, and you can’t mess this up.
OC: Agreed. Light and breezy, Graydon. Light and breezy.
Graydon: Why the fuck were you included on this text thread?
Maple: I thought it might be helpful.
OC: Yeah, because she sees my value, something you tend to look past every chance you get.
Graydon: I hope you gag today.
I stuff my phone in my pocket, hating every goddamn second of this, and begrudgingly walk over to Cougar, who’s currently doing bench presses in the weight room.
“Need a spot?” I ask.
“Sure,” he answers. “Thanks.”
Not something I’d normally do, but I keep thinking about the promises Maple made me. That has propelled me to step out of my comfort zone.
He pumps out four more reps and then I help him set the bar on the rack before he sits up and turns toward me. “Thanks.”
“Yeah, sure,” I say, awkwardly standing there, unsure how to make the transition from not ever communicating with this guy to his love life.
“You okay?” he asks, eyeing me skeptically.
“Yeah.”
“You sure? Because it sort of seems like you’re just standing there, like you’re either constipated or you want to ask me something.”
This is exactly why I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want stupid questions. I didn’t want to have any sort of interaction, and lastly, I’m not fucking good at this shit. It doesn’t come natural to me.
“Are you constipated? Because I have some prunes in my locker. I tend to eat them when I get to the stadium to keep things loose before the game, get all the weight out, if you know what I mean.”
Jesus Christ.
“Not constipated,” I answer. Just extremely uncomfortable.
“Okay,” he drags out. “So then is there something I can help you with? Because you’re acting weird.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You are. You haven’t moved. Quite sure you haven’t blinked.”
I’ve fucking blinked.
At least I think I have.
Fuck, now I’m super aware of my blinking. Am I doing it too much?
“Uh, are you winking at me?”
“What? No.”
“It feels like you are.”
This isn’t going well. Just ask him and get it over with and get the hell out of here.
“That girl you’re seeing, are you fucking her?” I ask rather abruptly.
“Whoa, okay, that came out of nowhere.”
“Uh, a requirement from Coach,” I say, not really sure what I’m saying because I don’t like our coach, nor would our coach ever ask about our sex lives, but here we are. I blame Maple. She did not prepare me enough.
“What is a requirement?”
“Wants to know who is fucking. So, are you?”
His brow furrows, looking so fucking confused. Don’t blame him; I’m just as confused. “Why the hell would that matter?” he asks.
“Curfew,” I say, just pulling shit out of my ass. “He’s, uh, considering it.”
“The fuck he is.” Cougar stands, anger flashing through him. “Who else knows about this? Because we can cause a scene in his office.”
“No one,” I say quickly, a hint of nervous sweat beading on my upper lip. Fuck, this isn’t going as planned. The last thing I need is Cougar spreading a lie about our coach that started with me. “He asked me to keep it quiet, but because you won’t answer the question, I had to tell you.”
“Oh.” He glances around the weight room. “Well, thanks for keeping me informed. Are you taking care of it?”
“Sure,” I say, wanting to add a heavy eye roll, but hold back. “Just answer the fucking question so I can move on.”
“Right, uh, am I fucking the girl you set me up with? No. But I have been meeting up with her at lunch.”
“Have you kissed?”
“Huh? What does that have to do with anything?”
Great question.
Let me just call up Bennett and fucking ask him.
I grip the back of my neck, frustration pricking at my skin. “Kissing leads to fucking.”
“Oh, right. Uh, no, we haven’t kissed. It’s platonic right now, but I think I want to move it forward. I really like her, and I think she really likes me too. So I guess kissing soon and then fucking.”
“Great.” Then without a second word, I take off, because I got what Bennett wanted, no need to dive deeper.
“Is that it? What about curfew?” Cougar asks as I walk away.
I spin on my heel and point at him. “Keep your fucking mouth shut about that or I’ll make sure it happens.”
“Hey.” He holds up his hands. “You’re the one that told me about it.”
“And I’m the one who’s telling you to shut the fuck up about it. Now add tens to that weight and get benching. You bounce off defenders like a goddamn lightweight. Put more fucking muscle on.”
“Fuck you,” he says as I exit, thinking about how much Bennett owes me for that.
And how quickly I’m going to cash in with my girl the minute I see her.