Chapter 18 Griffin #2
I only pulled back when I was gasping for breath. Hmm, turns out that I do need air after all.
“Phoebe,” Griffin said. He groaned, then cleared his throat. He was keeping me pressed against him, but that was quite fine by me. I needed to be close to him. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Mm-hmm. Yes, I am.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What if the wine clouded your judgment?”
“No, I just took a few sips. But you just being here, close to me, might cloud my judgment.”
His eyes flashed. He was on the edge, and so was I.
“Fuck, Phoebe. You don’t know how much I want to kiss you again right now.”
“So why don’t you?” To my dismay, he stepped back. “No, that’s the opposite of kissing.”
I took a step forward and then realized my balance was just a tiny bit off. I glanced at the bottles.
“Mm-hmm,” Griffin said as if I’d just confirmed his worst fears. “I know we didn’t have a lot of wine, but I think it was too much for you.”
“It gave me liquid courage. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the guts to say all that.”
He stepped closer, kissing my cheek. Taking a deep breath, he kissed my forehead, wrapping his hand in my hair. And then he took another step back.
What was this sexy man doing? Confusing me, that was for sure.
“Listen, I’m going to Napa Valley for a few days.”
“Okay,” I said, unsure why he was sharing this with me.
“Think about everything while I’m gone. If you still feel the same once I’m back…”
“You’ll believe me?” I asked him. “What can I do so you believe me now?”
“Phoebe, don’t tempt me, okay? You have no idea how much I want to kiss you again. Make you mine again.” He all but growled those last few words.
Honestly, I appreciated that he was holding back. I certainly had a bit more liquid courage than I needed. I didn’t think I’d regret this tomorrow, but better safe than sorry.
“Okay, I guess.”
“Just for now, okay? I’ll be going, then.”
“Oh,” I said. “You don’t have to.”
“Phoebe, if I stay, I’ll forget everything—my honor and my best intentions to do what’s right.”
“Oh.”
He leaned over to grab a glass of water and brushed the side of my boob in the process. I let out a low, guttural sound, and Griffin took in a deep breath, rolling his hand into a fist.
Holy shit, he’d really meant every word. He was hanging on by a thread. The devil on my shoulder wanted me to bring out my inner vixen and push him over the edge. But I hadn’t had that much wine.
Maybe some distance would do us good—although, if today was any indication, it would do just the opposite. I’d been brimming with tension and need for him.
“Good night, Phoebe.”
“Good night, Griffin.”
After he left, I felt a deep pang in my chest. Damn it, I’d been looking forward to spending the evening with him. I hadn’t even asked him if he’d already met with Jude. Or how long he was going to be in Napa.
Since I was already on a slippery slope, I poured myself one more glass of his delightful Riesling.
To distract myself, I texted my parents. I really missed them. I’d planned to have my life a bit more on track before inviting them to visit, but who knew when that would happen?
Phoebe: Hey, I really miss you guys. I’d love to have you over.
Mom: YES! Sure. When? Just say the date and we’ll be there.
I smiled big-time. I loved my parents to the moon and back. I scrolled through my calendar app, looking at all the weekends two months from now, and shared one with my mom.
Phoebe: How about this one?
Mom: We’re on it.
Ah, tonight was truly amazing.
I sat down on my couch and thought about starting a new series on Netflix, but that was always a dangerous idea.
For some reason, I couldn’t watch a series like a normal person—just a few episodes at a time.
Rather, I had to binge-watch every episode that was available.
I rarely started a show when they were only one or two seasons deep because I got frustrated if Netflix ended up canceling them.
But if I found one with multiple seasons, let’s just say I’d end up having very little sleep over the next few days.
Instead, I followed another dangerous impulse—I texted Griffin.
Phoebe: I forgot to ask how it went with Jude. Did you already meet with him?
Then I decided to go all out.
Phoebe: I wish you’d stayed.
Griffin: You have no idea how much it took for me to pry myself away from you. All I wanted was to kiss and touch you.
My entire body lit up like a live wire at his response. The pent-up desire I had for this man was unlike any other.
Griffin: I set up a meeting with Jude. Things are moving forward.
Phoebe: How long are you staying in Napa?
Griffin: Three days. Will you miss me?
I grinned, deciding to tease him.
Phoebe: Hmm… not sure I’ll have time. I have two full days of training for work—we got new software.
Phoebe: But don’t worry, I’ll think about you know what.
Griffin: Phoebe, fuck.
Two words was all it took to ignite a fire inside me.
I wasn’t even sure why I was so on edge.
I wasn’t such a sexual person. Then again, no one I’d been with before made me feel like Griffin did.
He seemed to know exactly what would drive me crazy.
My heart was beating fast just thinking about our time together.
Was he correct? Was I setting myself up for heartbreak? I’d never had a casual relationship, but my life had just unfolded that way.
I wasn’t even completely certain that I understood what it implied. Would we see other people?
Hell no. I swallowed hard. Shit. I wasn’t going to share him.
I couldn’t believe I was already stressing out. I was pretty certain that was the opposite of casual.
Biting my lower lip, I glanced at the phone. I wanted to tell him so many things, but I couldn’t type them out. So I wrote the most important thing of all.
Phoebe: I can’t wait for you to be back.
Griffin: Me too.
I sighed, then decided to chat with Veronica. She was going to lose her shit when I told her I was considering starting something casual with Griffin.
She answered after a few rings. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I’ve got some news.”
“Uhhh, of the sexy variety?”
I laughed. “You could say that.”
“Yesssss!” she squealed. “I’m all ears.”