Eight
EIGHT
Cierra
“Are you following me?”
At the sound of a voice that I hadn’t been able to get out of my head for days, I gasped and spun around, part of me thinking that I was merely recalling that voice out of want or desire or something else I couldn’t quite explain.
But as quickly as I had that thought, it vanished. Because when I turned around, I found I was not, in fact, imagining things.
Greyson stood before me wearing a proud smile while his hands were braced on the handle of his shopping cart.
It was Tuesday evening, at least thirty minutes past the time when I would have preferred to have had dinner, and I had come out to do some grocery shopping.
Apparently, so did Greyson. Although, he felt compelled to suggest that the only reason I happened to be here now was because I was following him.
“I beg your finest pardon,” I replied, a smile playing at my lips.
Greyson rocked back on his heels, his lips twitching. “I’ve been coming to this grocery store for a very long time, and I’ve never seen you here before. It got me thinking that perhaps you were following me.”
My eyes dropped to his cart before returning to his face, where they narrowed on him. “Well, I’ve been coming here for years as well, and I’ve never seen you here, either. Plus, let’s be honest. You’re the one with the empty cart, so that leads me to believe quite the opposite is true.”
“The opposite. What do you mean?”
I shrugged, shooting him a look of indifference. “I’m inclined to believe that you’re the one who’s following me. Either you just arrived here, which explains the empty cart, or you’re doing a terrible job of pretending you weren’t just trying not to miss a day without connecting with me somehow.”
His eyes were bright as they danced with amusement. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe it was you who reached out to me on Sunday morning with that picture of yours.”
Heat bloomed on my cheeks.
I had done that.
It didn’t dawn on me until later that afternoon what I’d done, though. When I woke up that morning, feeling refreshed, albeit sore, Greyson was the first person to cross my mind. And since I’d been so miserable the day before during our lesson, I wanted him to see that I could be awake, alert, and pleasant in the morning. But I’d clearly given him some indication that I enjoyed having a connection with him.
That was something I was still grappling with. Because when I decided I needed to take self-defense lessons, I hadn’t once considered the possibility of me being unable to get my mind off my instructor.
Worse, he was the uncle of one of my students. If him being my instructor didn’t make him off-limits, surely his connection to one of my students should have.
But it wasn’t like I could just turn it off. I couldn’t simply pretend I didn’t like the way I felt around him or how much I thought about him when I wasn’t around him.
And part of that surprised me.
Because if I took the time to consider the reason I even saw him how often I did now, I should have been terrified. Technically, I still was. The problem was that I was finding it harder and harder not to focus on Greyson when I should have been remembering the man who’d had no qualms about stabbing an innocent woman and threatening me when I dared to tell the truth about it.
“Are you saying I should have refrained from sending that text?”
His face blanched. “Absolutely not.”
I arched a brow and held his gaze for a beat. “So, are you following me?”
Greyson shook his head. “No. But I’m certainly inclined to walk beside you through this grocery store.”
“Mmm. And you think I’m the one who’s worried about not connecting every day,” I murmured. “Well, feel free to stroll with me through the store. I’ve never had company in this setting before.”
“I’m honored I could be your first.”
Ignoring the innuendo in those words, I picked up a container of blueberries, placed them in my cart, and pushed it toward the apples. Greyson snatched up some strawberries before following behind me. I placed some Honeycrisp apples into a bag, Greyson opting for the Granny Smith ones. “So, are Tuesdays typically an early night for you?”
We both grabbed a small bunch of bananas before heading toward the lettuce. As we each picked up a package of romaine, Greyson answered. “It’s already after dinner. I wouldn’t have called this early, even though there are some nights I’m at work later for classes.”
My stomach rumbled, and it was loud enough for Greyson to hear. His brows shot up, silently questioning me.
I sighed. “I planned to zip through the store and get home, because I’m quickly losing steam and motivation to cook dinner. I would have made something before coming here, but I didn’t have much left in the house.”
“I haven’t eaten anything yet, either.” Greyson picked up a package of sweet peppers while I got those and some mushrooms.
“Do you normally pick something up on the way home from work, or do you cook for yourself?”
“Sometimes, I’ll get something out if it’s been a long, busy day. I try to cook most of the time.”
After weaving my way through the produce section toward the onions and garlic, I said, “I need bread, eggs, cheese, milk, and meat still.”
He grinned at me. “Sounds like my kind of shopping trip. Except…”
“Except what?”
Greyson narrowed his eyes playfully. “I’m just wondering about the snacks. Don’t you eat any snacks?”
“Oh, right. I do need to pick up some salsa and tortilla chips.”
“What about sweet stuff? Or do you only bake cakes and cookies and brownies?”
“I do eat store-bought sweet treats on occasion, but I try not to go too crazy with them. I still have some things at home from my last shopping trip, though, so I’m good on that stuff right now.
Seemingly pleased with that response, Greyson inclined his head and followed beside me as I made my way to the bread. For the remainder of the shopping trip, the two of us continued to make small talk, either about groceries, my training, or even the weather.
By the time we’d both gotten everything we needed and had gone through the checkout lanes, I was doing my best to prepare myself to say goodbye to him. I liked that he seemed interested in waiting around—he’d gotten through his checkout lane faster than I had—and was prepared to walk with me to my car.
And what I’d noticed as we walked through the parking lot was that, no matter how much I’d been practicing doing it ever since he taught me about it, I’d not attempted to implement any situational awareness. I didn’t scan the area and note the things he’d taught me to be aware of in such instances. Instead, there was this part of me that felt undeniably confident and comfortable being with him. Even if there wasn’t anything more between us than just an instructor and student relationship, not a single part of me worried that he wouldn’t do whatever it took to defend me if someone was foolish enough to attack me while he was here.
When we came to a stop beside my car, he asked, “So, are you going to be able to handle it?”
Confused, my brows knit together. “Handle what?”
“Going home to make yourself some dinner,” Greyson clarified.
The thought of needing to cook now, when it was already so far beyond my usual dinner time, was daunting. “I’ll admit, I’m not looking forward to it. At this point, I might just pour myself a bowl of cereal and call it a night.”
“If you want, I’d be happy to have you join me,” he offered. “I was going to stop and grab a bite to eat on the way home. I figure, it’s cold enough that my groceries will be fine while I do that.”
A date?
Was this a real date with Greyson, or was he merely being friendly by offering a suggestion like this?
“You want me to join you for dinner?” I asked, wanting to be certain I hadn’t misheard him.
“Sure. Why not?”
I licked my lips. I really wanted to join him, but I had some reservations about it, things I wasn’t quite sure if I should say. Instead of confronting those things, I asked, “Weren’t you just accusing me of following you around?”
He tipped his head to the side, and the softness in his expression as his eyes roamed over my face warmed my heart. “I was teasing you. Didn’t they ever tell you what it means when a guy teases a girl?”
I worked in an elementary school. And while it wasn’t rampant there, it did happen. Was Greyson saying what I thought he was saying? I refused to make that assumption. “I’m not sure. Why don’t you tell me what it means?”
More amusement filtered into his features, as though he’d anticipated me making him reveal exactly what he was insinuating. “I like you, Cierra.” My heart hammered in my chest, my lips parting. “I like talking to you. I think you’re fun to be around. And let’s face it, we both need to eat. So, why not go out for some dinner, have a nice conversation, and enjoy each other’s company?”
He liked me.
Did that mean he liked me as only a friend?
Granted, even if that was the case, it wasn’t as though I believed I was getting a bad deal. Greyson was a great guy, and he had a level of patience for me that I wasn’t sure I would have had for myself. And talking to him was enjoyable.
So, I guess I could say I liked him, too.
It wasn’t like he was standing here telling me I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, the same way I looked at him and found it difficult to even stare for too long because he was so handsome. It wasn’t as though he was sharing how he had trouble finding ways to focus on things other than me, the way it was for me with him.
No.
No, this wasn’t a date.
This was merely two friends getting together for dinner.
“Okay, Greyson, I’ll join you for dinner.”
His lips curved into a slow smile. “Let me help you get your groceries loaded, and we’ll get out of here.” My stomach rumbled with hunger again. “And let’s pick some place close, because I’m not sure you’re going to last much longer without some food in you.”
Greyson and I didn’t waste another second. We unloaded my cart into my trunk, him moving to do the same with his cart only three spaces away from mine afterward. And once we’d decided on a pizza place not more than five minutes away, both of us wanting something that would be ready quickly, we took off.
For the first minute or two after we’d placed our order for a plain cheese pizza to share, neither Greyson nor I felt keen to speak. We sat in silence, exchanging heated glances and knowing smiles.
Or maybe that part of it had been on my end. It was entirely possible I was seeing what I wanted to see from Greyson when it came to how he interacted with me.
Eventually, he broke the silence. “So, you’re the elementary school librarian.”
This was true. It was also something he already knew was the case, so I had to believe he intended to lead this conversation somewhere specific. “I am.”
“When did you start reading?”
“Very early. I want to say I was four when it really became obvious that I had a knack for it. I used to read different sections of the newspaper in the mornings when I ate breakfast as a kid.
Greyson shot me a look of disbelief. “You’re lying.”
I pressed my lips together to stifle the laughter. “I am not. If you ever get to meet my parents, they’ll tell you it’s true. I loved it. And if you don’t believe me, I’ll just tell you that I actually have a subscription to The Steel Ridge Times. My physical newspaper gets delivered every morning. I know that’s crazy in this digital world, but I don’t care. It’s nostalgic for me. And while it’s difficult during the week for me to read the whole thing in the morning, I love nothing more than waking up on the weekends, making my breakfast, and sitting down to read my paper while I eat.”
“So that’s what it is,” Greyson declared.
I tipped my head to the side. “What?”
With a smile on his face, he said, “It wasn’t the early hour that had you so out of sorts on Saturday at the start of our lessons. It was that you hadn’t had the time to read your newspaper in peace.”
My cheeks heated. “Well, it’s true I didn’t read it that morning. But I wasn’t understating just how much I love my sleep. That was the biggest reason for my… mood on Saturday.”
He laughed. “Your mood was fine. I thought it was cute. And you warmed up eventually, so it wasn’t an issue at all.”
Cute.
Greyson thought my mood was cute.
I wasn’t sure if I should have been upset about that or not. I realized it was better than him thinking it was irritating.
“I’m hoping to do better this weekend,” I shared.
“It is what it is. We can start an hour later if that’d help.”
Shaking my head, I insisted, “No. Let’s keep it at the same time.”
“Okay.”
Just then, our pizza was delivered to our table. We dove in, neither of us saying a word as we got those first few bites in to help ease the hunger pangs.
It was when Greyson was nearly three quarters of the way done with his slice, and I’d gotten about halfway through mine when we returned to the conversation.
“Did you always love reading and decide that becoming a librarian was the perfect career for you when you were busy reading newspapers at four years old?”
Now, it was my turn to laugh. I had a feeling this was going to be something else Greyson would continue to tease me about. Was that just more proof that he liked me?
“Believe it or not, reading isn’t the reason I became a librarian.”
Confusion washed over him, a crease forming between his brows as he reached for a second slice. “It’s not?”
I shook my head. “Obviously, it’s important to me, but not for the reasons you might think. It’s learning that I like, first and foremost. Reading is a great way to accomplish that, to have a way to learn something new all the time. It doesn’t matter if it’s done through fiction or reality, there’s always something to be learned. Becoming a librarian was mostly about me recognizing how much of an impact reading has on learning and wanting to put those two things together. That I wound up in the elementary school and can make a difference in the lives of young children is just icing on the cake.”
For several long moments, Greyson didn’t say anything. Something that seemed like both a mix of surprise and approval was in his stare. “Wow. Wow, you’ve just obliterated all my perceptions. I can admit I believed that you went into your profession because you liked books and wanted summers off.”
“Well, having the summer off is nice,” I insisted. “I won’t argue that point. Being in the school has been tremendously rewarding, though. I love seeing the change in some kids after they’ve had some time with me in their library class.”
“With any luck, Tucker could be one of them.”
I held up my hand. “Fingers crossed.”
He chuckled. “Speaking of summers off, how do you typically spend them?”
“How much time do you have?” I countered, finally reaching for my second slice. A look of intrigue washed over his expression as I shared, “One thing I try to never do in the summer is set an alarm. Granted, since I’m not getting up before the sun rises throughout the week, it’s not like I’m sleeping until ten or eleven each day. But beyond that, I try to spend time with people in my life I don’t really have much of a chance to see throughout the school year. My parents are back here, so I do spend time with them. My best friend, Naomi, is a teacher at the middle school, but since she’s also the varsity cheerleading coach for Steel Ridge High School, a team which not only cheers for the football, basketball, and wrestling teams, but also competes on a national level, she and I don’t get to spend nearly as much time together throughout the school year as we’d like. We try to make up for that over the summer. Obviously, I read a lot. Tons, in fact. I also like to garden when the weather is nice. Just flowers, though. Not vegetables. I will travel, usually taking two separate trips in those couple of months. And every summer I try to come up with a new thing to try, to learn.”
Greyson blinked his eyes rapidly. “Wow. That’s a lot. You certainly keep yourself busy, don’t you?”
“I guess it seems like a lot when I throw it all out there like that, but it feels very relaxed in the midst of it.” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just enjoy myself. What about you?”
“I hate to disappoint you, but it’s nothing exciting. I don’t get the summers off, so it’s business as usual for me, regardless of the time of year.”
He couldn’t possibly work all the time. “Right, but you still have vacation time, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“What do you typically do when you take time off?”
Greyson popped the last bite of his pizza crust into his mouth and grabbed a third slice. After setting that down on his plate, he took a sip of his drink. “Not nearly as much as you. In previous years, I’ve taken a trip or two with Huck. I’ve also done trips with my whole family or the occasional day trip with my sister and Tucker. We took him to Westwood’s for the first time last year, and he loved that. Between the rides and the chocolate, he was in his glory. I was, too, if I was honest.”
Something squeezed in my chest. Making memories with family and friends seemed to be the most important to Greyson. “Oh, I remember doing that with my parents years ago. Gosh, I must have been thirteen or fourteen the last time I was there.”
“It’s changed a lot in recent years. They have so much more going on. You should try to work that into your summer plans this year.”
I cocked a brow. “Will you go as my guide?”
He chewed his pizza slowly, his eyes never leaving my face, and it was clear he had lots of thoughts running through his mind. Sadly, only one of those thoughts escaped. “You tell me the day, and I’ll make sure I’m off.”
Even if he’d had other things he wanted to say, I guess there really wasn’t much else he needed to share after that. Those few words said it all. “I’ll let you know as soon as I figure out the perfect day to go.”
One half of his mouth quirked with a smile. “I can’t wait.”
Deciding to be a bit playful, I nodded and returned that grin. “Yeah, I pretty much figured that, considering this need you seem to have to not go a day without seeing me. I mean, I have lessons tomorrow, but I don’t know how you’ll survive Thursday.”
He cocked a brow and leaned forward. “For a woman who is so reserved when it comes to training, you’re very sure of yourself on this one particular topic.”
I feigned a look of innocence. “Can you blame me?”
“Are you suggesting you aren’t having a good time right now?”
He had me there.
I hadn’t envisioned winding up at this pizza shop when I walked out of my house to go to the grocery store. But now that I was here with him, I was having a great time. I sighed. “Fine. You win. I’m having a blast with you.”
Greyson puffed up his chest proudly, sitting a little taller in his seat. “So, if I was going to track you down on Thursday, where would I find you?”
“Mmm. And here I thought you were good at what you do for a living.”
He cocked a brow. “I am.”
I shot him a dubious look. “Well, that would lead me to believe you should be able to figure out where I am all on your own. I think it’s better to put your skills to the test.”
Greyson squinted at me, his eyes lit with a hint of mischief as he realized he’d have no choice but to accept my challenge. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see then.”
I had no plans for Thursday, so Greyson wouldn’t have to work too hard to find me. And I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t excited about the prospect of seeing him like this again, away from a training facility and the need to practice self-defense moves. I enjoyed getting to know him, and I was eager for more time to do that.
Reaching for my cup, I lifted my drink and took a sip. “Well, there are still a few slices left, but I’m stuffed.”
“Yeah, I think I’m done, too. Do you want to take the rest of this home?”
“Well, we shouldn’t let it go to waste, but you should take them,” I urged him.
“Let’s split them,” he suggested.
I didn’t mind taking a slice home with me. I’d think about him when I reheated it and ate it. “Works for me.”
A few minutes later, Greyson and I had our leftover pizza packed up, and he’d picked up the tab. I tried to fight him on it, to get him to allow me to at least leave the tip, but he refused. I’d have to find some other way to pay him back.
After the bill was paid, we got up and left. And though I enjoyed every second of our walk back to our cars, I dreaded that I had to go home without him.