AVERY
Chapter Six
I didn’t realize it until the last moment, but this crazy thing I had agreed to had been hanging over my head for the entire week.
True to his word, Grayson continued sending the postcards.
On Friday morning, the day of our dreaded date, the courier brought a card and a box of chocolate.
“Increasing firepower,” he explained with a casual laugh.
He couldn’t have been much older than me, if at all.
He looked like a college student with a part-time gig.
“He’s driving your sales off the charts, huh?” I accepted the gifts for the day.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
I eyed the courier and wondered if he was part of Grayson’s elaborate plan. Was he supposed to sweet-talk me into liking Grayson? I wouldn’t admit it to a stranger, but Grayson’s effort was wasted. I already liked him despite my best efforts not to. “Do you do this a lot?” I asked, chatting idly.
“It’s my mom’s shop,” the guy said. “I practically grew up there. I’m telling you, guys like him don’t come that often.
We get two, maybe three, consecutive orders before they give up.
Or win their sweetheart over.” He had a dreamy way of speaking, and his big, blue eyes shone like he was being swept off his feet by Grayson’s efforts.
I exhaled through my nose, holding the heart-shaped box of chocolate, and shook my head. “Thanks,” I said.
That day, I felt the anticipation stronger than ever. He was on my mind during the lectures, while I conditioned, and at the drills. I couldn’t put him out of my head without feeling the absence, which in turn led me back to thinking about him.
Why me? I didn’t get it. It was too quick, too abrupt, too out-of-nowhere.
Even as I managed to keep my focus on the puck and do the hard drills with my teammates, part of me had to wonder.
What did he expect? Nobody put so much effort into a one-night-stand.
And if that were what he was doing, he would be disappointed.
I had decided, once and for all, I was done chasing the high of a hookup.
It was unattainable. I didn’t like it. And I wouldn’t force myself to try it again.
I wasn’t sure about anything else. That was the only line I had drawn in the sand.
“You have to do what feels right for you,” Sawyer had said a couple of days ago. We had talked again and his position hadn’t changed. “But I’m glad you’re giving him a shot.”
I wasn’t sure if I was glad. The risks were high and there were too many unknowns. And the worst of all, I liked him. I liked him just enough for it to suck if it all fell through. But it wouldn’t kill me.
I told that to myself as I got ready after practice. Text messages kept my phone awake for the final hour before our agreed time.
Sixty minutes, Collins. Counting down…
The bow tie is locked and loaded.
I changed it to a regular slim tie. Can’t decide.
[View attachment.] Can you help me pick one out?
When I opened the last text to check out the photos he had attached, my heart hammered rapidly in my chest. Two bathroom selfies greeted me.
Grayson wore a towel securely around his waist, but that was it.
Around his neck, he had a striped white and blue bowtie in one photo and a cornflower blue tie reaching to his belly button in the other.
He wore a fake frown of indecision and a ghost of a cheeky smirk on his lips.
Let me see what you are wearing so I can make sure we don’t look the same. I’m leaving that level of codependence for the second date.
I’m not wearing anything. Let me get ready.
I swear, I hadn’t meant to be provocative. I had merely stated a fact and hadn’t realized how he had taken it until he replied.
You can’t expect me to stop typing NOW. Lemme see!
I swear to God, I’ll block your number.
[View attachment.]
My heart grew as I clicked on the photo. I didn’t want it to be what I thought it might be. Yet when the image loaded to reveal a fake sad self-portrait, I was both glad and mildly disappointed. It was mere curiosity, but I wondered what he hid behind that towel.
I found myself biting my lip against a creeping smile.
There was a sweetness to him in that photo.
His eyes were innocent, even if his inherent naughtiness dominated his look.
Something warm spread through my chest and descended through my stomach.
I felt it in my abdomen and then in my groin.
I felt the heat of curiosity and the tingling of my libido.
A mere tickle, but far more than what any random hookup had made me feel.
What was his game? I had to know, but the moment had elated me so much that I found myself snapping a selfie.
It went as low as my abs but not more than that.
I wasn’t ashamed of myself. I simply didn’t want to give him the wrong idea.
It would be a bummer if he made a move and I had to push him back.
Dude… I called it. I always knew you were hot as fuck. Saving this one for the fridge.
I rolled my eyes, shook my head, left my phone, and looked at the mirror. The corners of my mouth were annoyingly wide and dragging up.
Can it be date o’clock already?
I should have resisted glancing at my phone, but the buzz of a new message was becoming addictive. And his words sent a bubble of air out of my lungs. It hitched in my throat and I scolded myself for almost giggling like a kid.
When it was five minutes to ‘date o’clock,’ I did a final check.
My black pants were rolled up a little, letting a couple of inches of my ankles show.
I wore a cream shirt with tight cuffs and a good fit that hugged my broad shoulders and pecs, the sleeves slightly tight around my biceps.
I chose to be casual and comfortable, keeping the top button undone and wearing no accessories around my neck.
I threw a jacket over my outfit and nodded to myself.
I looked decent. I’d used a bit of hair product to sculpt my hair the way I liked, but that was the extent of it.
It shouldn’t send any wrong messages, I thought.
Sawyer marched into the room just as I finished brushing my teeth and wiping my mouth.
“Is tonight the big night?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied truthfully. Why would it be big?
Sawyer looked at me for a short time. Emotions I couldn’t name played over his face. He bit his lip and smiled. “You’re nervous.”
“I’m late is what I am,” I corrected him.
“This is what you’re like whenever you’re nervous,” Sawyer said. “But let me tell you, you’ve got nothing to be worried about, buddy. You look great. And he’s already into you. You can relax.”
I didn’t know he was right until he said the last few words.
Something tight and hard loosened in my stomach.
It was like a steel grip had relaxed in me and I inhaled a deep breath of air.
Damn. I’d been nervous. And I still was, but not as much.
Just enough to drum my fingers against the sides of my legs as Sawyer winked and pointed at the door. “Go get him.”
I forced a dismissive snort but discovered that I truly wanted to ‘get him.’ And I really wanted him to be the kind of guy who wouldn’t walk away after I cut things short tonight.
Well, short of undressing, at least. If we got that far at all, I reminded myself as I left the room and walked downstairs.
I hadn’t been on a proper date in ages. Ever? I’d gone out with a few girls and an odd guy or two in my time without hooking up. The thing was…they’d never called back. And when it was the people I’d slept with, it was me who never got in touch again.
Holy shit, I thought as I stepped out of the house and glanced around.
A sleek, black limo glided slowly and came to a halt while I struggled not to let my mouth hang open.
Was he insane? The answer was a resounding yes.
He was absolutely mad. The door of the limo flew open and the goofy smile he wore was so blindingly brilliant that I felt my pulse rise.
“Hop in, handsome,” he called, stepping out of the car. He held the goddamn door open for me.
“This is crazy,” I told him in a leveled voice as I approached.
The door behind me opened, and I heard a distinct wolf whistle, which made the hairs on my neck stand.
I shot my teammates a look over my shoulder as I approached the car.
Beckett Partridge was grinning at the door, Caden standing behind him with a surprised expression on his face, and Sawyer wore the smuggest face he could pull off.
“Great. Now they all know I’m being wooed by the enemy. ”
“You kids have fun,” Sawyer called after me.
“I’ll bring him back in one piece,” Grayson said, bowing theatrically to my friends before he slipped into the limo with me.
The black leather seats were soft when I sat down and the heat inside made me regret wearing the coat.
The sectional was spacious enough to host six or eight people easily, so the fact that it was just the two of us allowed for some privacy but hinted at intimacy, too.
Of all that space, Grayson chose to sit right next to me.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he said. “It’ll be a little while before we get there. ”
“Get where?” I asked.
Grayson winked. “It’s a surprise.” He wore his cologne with notes of vetiver and leather and black pepper.
It made me think of a metropolis and a confidently worn leather jacket.
It brought to mind an adventurous city explorer with an easy smile and windswept hair.
It was Grayson. He checked all those boxes.
Blond, brown-eyed, handsome, flirtatious to a fault.
Luckily, he wore more than just a bowtie, but that was his standout accessory.
Combined with a midnight blue shirt and light beige pants, he looked like someone who had a personal stylist.
“Did I say crazy? I meant batshit crazy,” I said, the corners of my lips quivering.