CHAPTER 14
OLIVIA
I don’t say a word as Grayson places his cowboy hat back on his head, concealing his dark hair, and picks his discarded wallet up from my bedside table.
There’s nothing to say.
I meant it when I said I didn’t want anything more from him. Sure, the man turns me on. I’m almost certain just one look at him would turn on any red-blooded female, and the dark and broody thing he has going makes him a little intriguing, but I’m smart enough to know that a man like Grayson Calloway - a man who has seen the things he has seen, is incapable of something meaningful.
Maybe he will be in the future, but he has a lot of healing to do before that’s possible and I’m not delusional enough to believe that I could be the one to heal him.
We used each other. Plain and simple.
Tomorrow, we’ll go back to ignoring one another. I’ll go back to trying to get a rise out of him whenever possible, and he will go back to scowling at me in return.
Grayson stands awkwardly in my bedroom, looking as though he’s searching for the right words to say but coming up empty.
Putting him out of his misery, I give him a soft smile. “This changes nothing.” I say, getting straight to the point and his brows rise in surprise.
Ahh… he thought I would be a clinger.
I almost laugh.
“Good.” He nods his head once, taking the first step towards the door.
I follow behind him, seeing him out despite the fact he let himself in, uninvited.
“Can I trust you to return the spare key to its hiding spot, or do I need to do it myself?” I ask, my attitude back in full force.
He faces me with a barely-there smirk. “I can do it.”
I nod once. “I’ll see you around, Gray.”
He says nothing, just turns his back to me and leaves. I lock the door behind him and put the chain on for double security in case he decides to turn around and make another surprise appearance.
My body aches in the best way as I head to the shower for a second time tonight. I stand in the bathroom and inspect my body in the mirror, noting the bruised fingerprints branded on my hips and the small red bite marks on the insides of my thighs.
A shiver wracks my body, and a small smile climbs up my face. I’m unsure of what possessed him to drive back here after dropping me off earlier tonight, but I’m glad he did.
** *
Savannah eyes me over the rim of her coffee cup as Bella obliviously rambles on about Noah. The feel of her knowing glare on my cheeks has a blush threatening to rise.
“Can you believe that dickhead?” Bella’s voice raises an octave. “He marched over there and all but dragged me away from Justin. Not even Killian acted that bothered about it, yet Noah thinks he has the right to go all protective older brother on me the minute a man shows me some attention.”
I snort and Bella’s eyes snap to mine. “I don’t think he was doing it in a protective brother kind of way, Bells.”
She stares at me a moment before letting out a small laugh, batting my comment away with a wave of her hand. “Oh please, he’s always been this way, Liv. Since the day he become friends with Kill, he took it upon himself to treat me like an annoying little sister and now, it’s affecting my love life.”
I shake my head with a small laugh, ignoring Savannahs eyes, just as the door to Bella’s Café opens with a soft chime and none other than Justin himself swaggers in.
I look back at Bella with a knowing smile. “Well… I don’t think he was quite successful this time,” I nod my head to Justin at the same time his eyes land on our table. He begins making his way towards us, brown eyes focused solely on the blonde sitting next to me.
“Hello, ladies. Can I steal Bella from you a moment?” He drawls, not sparing Savannah and me a glance.
I smirk. “Go for it.”
Bella stands; her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink and leads him towards the back in the direction of her office.
Savannah wastes no time, using the moment alone to pounce. “You had sex. ”
It’s not a question and my head rears back at the abruptness of her words. I flick my gaze around the café, awareness crawling up my spine from the heat of eyes on us.
“Say it a bit louder, Sav, I don’t think Mrs Stirling quite heard you.” I hiss.
Savannah gasps. “So, you did have sex!” she whisper-yells. “With?”
I say nothing as I stare at her and wait for the penny to drop. As if on cue, her eyes widen, jaw slackening as she bangs her hands on the table and leans forward. “You had sex with Grayson?”
I look around the room again, finding almost every head turned in our direction now and my face flames as I glare daggers at my loud-mouthed best friend. “Well, they definitely heard you that time.”
“Sorry.” Savannah whispers, and Bella chooses that exact moment to return to the table, cheeks still flushed and lips slightly swollen.
“You had sex with Grayson?” Bella asks breathlessly as she lands in her seat.
We both stare at her wide-eyed. “Um, let’s come back to that. What happened with Justin?”
“Oh,” she squeaks, “nothing. He just wanted to get my number, since he couldn’t the other night.”
“Mm-hmm. Is that why your lipstick is smudged?” I ask, pointing to the side of my lip to indicate where it’s smudged.
Savannah bursts into laughter and I follow suit until the three of us dissolve into a fit of giggles.