AVERY #2
Grayson laughed out loud. “You haven’t seen anything yet.
” He pulled out a bottle of Prosecco from the bucket of ice on the side of the sectional as the car left campus and joined the traffic in the heart of the city.
The ride was so smooth that Grayson easily popped the bottle open and poured each of us a splash of the sparkling beverage.
“Have you ever been on the sort of date where you felt like a Disney princess?” he asked.
I couldn’t help it. A laugh broke out of me before I could tame it.
“Because you’re about to be,” he said with a grin. “Salud.” He brought his glass to mine and waited for my reluctant surrender. I didn’t hesitate too much. Still, my experience advised caution and I checked to make sure my walls were in place.
But Grayson had a way of luring smiles out of me and I couldn’t fight it.
I tasted the Prosecco and exhaled through my nose.
“I got your chocolate,” I said. “Thank you.” It was the polite thing to say, right?
It was hard to think. Grayson was very close, and very happy, and he smelled too good. “You look…great.”
“You know, I can’t believe you said yes,” he admitted. “I was starting to think you’d never crack.”
I looked at his eyes and almost lost myself in them. “No one ever called you a quitter, huh?”
“Not once in my life,” he said, raising his glass. “Good things happen to those who try.”
I bit my lip before I could think about it. “That’s a nice thing to say.”
“I mean it,” he said. “I don’t want to spook you. It’s just…you gave me such a chase. How long has it been? Three weeks?”
I nodded. Two weeks until I’d agreed to this and another week of ensuring I didn’t change my mind. “Aren’t your friends going to give you crap for going out with your rival? You’re the captain.”
“They should trust my judgment,” Grayson said calmly. “I’ve had my eye on you for a while.”
A frown wrinkled the space between my eyebrows. “Really?”
“It’s true. You’re a scary guy, though.” He laughed a little nervously before looking at his glass and speaking into it. “You don’t look like the easy-going, approachable, fun-loving person I think you actually are.”
“I…don’t know if that’s a compliment,” I told him.
He chuckled. “Truth is, you’re a little intimidating at first,” he said and looked at me.
“What made you come after me, then?” I asked. I wasn’t offended. Maybe a little. I couldn’t be sure. Even so, I disguised my voice so he wouldn’t notice.
He gave an easy shrug. “I like you. You’re a fierce hockey player, you’re beautiful, you do a mean hard check, and that is not a complaint.”
“Good. You’ll be getting more of those,” I told him.
Grayson threw his head back and laughed. “We shall see. I’m not a little kitten, either.”
I knew he wasn’t. He could slam me into the boards so hard I would see the stars. It had happened on numerous occasions. “Eh, I can take it. If you manage to get close enough to me.”
“Nothing gives me more pleasure than facing you on the ice, Avery. Oh, that’s a lie. This does.” He clinked our glasses again and we drank. “But it’s fun. You’re a good enemy to have. And I suspect you’re a pretty cool guy to take out.”
Frankly, I struggled to get any words out over the welling bubble of…something — was it joy? — that insisted on inflating in my chest. “I don’t know what gave you that idea,” I said, although my voice was a little strained.
Grayson laughed. “Funny.”
I wasn’t sure if it was. My sense of humor didn’t often receive standing ovations. But I couldn’t come up with a single reason for Grayson to lie to me.
“Date selfie for our scrapbook?” Grayson asked. His phone was out before I answered. And when I rolled my eyes and said it was fine, he snapped a dozen photos.
We sat in a comfortable silence for a short while after. The car was sliding smoothly down the road. “Why won’t you tell me where you’re taking me?”
“I thought a lot about this,” Grayson said.
“You didn’t bite any of the baits I threw at you.
Spa day, movies, moonlit dinner on the roof of my dormitory, Scrabble at your place.
You’re a hard guy to entice, Avery. Remember when I suggested we take a horse-drawn carriage?
Nothing. Not even a ‘maybe’ from you.” He shot me a pleased smile.
“And if you think I’m stalling, now, it’s because I am.
” He looked out the window. We were on an open road and had been for a while.
The car was slowing down and Grayson smiled. “A few minutes.”
I sat tight as the car left the wide road for a much narrower one.
I sat quietly and watched the glimpses of Lake St. Clair.
We had left the city behind us and traveled north to Anchor Bay.
I hadn’t been paying attention to anything other than Grayson.
He could have taken me anywhere. Would I have noticed?
I was letting myself get too absorbed in him.
Where the hell was my guard? I knew what would happen if I gave in and just slept with him for the sake of it.
I knew I would resent him tomorrow and not care if I ever saw him again.
It had happened before. I had ruined potential friendships, even relationships, by rushing into something I wasn’t sure I wanted.
Something that I had done because of expectations placed on me.
The car slowed down. This part of Anchor Bay wasn’t cluttered with houses, but the shore was dotted with houseboats.
I had seen them advertised as getaways for all sorts of purposes.
I knew Sawyer had celebrated his quarter-versary with Noah on one of these, although I wasn’t sure if it was here or on Lake Eerie.
He’d visited both. One was a weekend and the other was just a picnic.
Grayson had gone out of his way. We got out of the car.
Grayson walked around it and spoke to the chauffeur for a short while, then nodded heartily and stepped back.
When he looked at me again, he couldn’t hide his anticipation.
“What do you think?” he asked. “No. Wait. Don’t tell me. I’ll ask you when we’re inside.”
My heart clenched and I lifted another barrier by instinct.
Give him a chance, I whispered to myself, then followed my date as he swaggered toward the houseboat.
The long ramp creaked under our feet as we left the shore behind us and got onto the deck terrace of the boat.
The structure was fairly sizable, all wooden like mountain cabins, and with tinted windows.
Out on the terrace, there were potted evergreens, making the scene lush.
Water splashed the shore and the sides of the deck, tilting the entire house gently left and right.
A single yellow light above the entrance door lit our way. Grayson unlocked the door and then pulled it open for me to enter.
As I stepped inside, warmth washed over me.
He’d had the place heated before picking me up, I made no mistake.
It was as cozy and snug as a countryside cottage, except it swayed lightly on the restless lake.
It was all lit with corner lamps. The short hallway led toward the spacious dining area with a table already set for a dream date — white cloth, burning red candles, a bottle of red wine, dinner placed in the middle of the table and covered with a silver lid, and two comfortable chairs on opposite ends — and the sound system played a familiar tune.
Lay All Your Love On Me by ABBA. He remembered a passing joke and made it real.
Who the hell was this guy who cared so much about someone he barely knew? And why?
“Let me get your coat,” Grayson suggested, and he took it before I knew it. There was a good chance I wouldn’t have fought hard if he had tried taking all of my clothes.
“Grayson, this is…” I looked around. The small kitchen had a bar separating it from the dining area. The floor-to-ceiling windows gave us a nice view of the open lake, lit by moonlight and stars, beyond the front terrace. “A lot.”
“Can’t have too much of a good thing,” he said smoothly and pulled out a chair.
As I circled the table to take my seat, I looked around. A lounge area was set on the far side of the house. There was a small table, lamps, a cozy sectional, and a window view of the lake and the specks of light in the distance. But above us was the loft, where I assumed there had to be a bed.
I pushed those thoughts out of my head and sat down. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “So, you went all out on this.”
He shrugged as he poured us wine. We sat across from each other and I could have stayed like that for the entire night. I could have watched his red lips in that playful curl. I could have gazed at his big chestnut eyes. I could have broken my only rule and encouraged him to flirt with me.
But Grayson smiled and made a small gesture with his eyebrows. “Tell me about Avery.”
“You’ll have to be more specific than that,” I said.
“Noted. Not a generalist,” he said and laughed. I had to admit, it quirked my lips, too. “Why the Titans? What made you join them?”
I cocked my head. Good question. “Funny enough, I received a scholarship from your university a week before I got the Northwood one. I’m not sure what made me tip over.
I’m not dissing. I always thought the Arctic Titans were the top team.
Coach Murray left a great impression, too, so when I got their letter, I instantly knew. ”
Grayson grabbed his heart. “You wound me.” He laughed. “No, but I hear you. You’re on a great team. The Breakers were a pretty obscure team until a few years ago. Some leadership changes helped put us on the map, but it’s a long road.”
“I didn’t feel that way,” I explained. “I was excited when they accepted me, too.”
“Excited? I would love to see that,” he teased. His lips seemed redder with the wine. The house tilted with a stronger tide but settled after a few moments. “We’re making progress,” he said a little more seriously. “I’m not gonna let this opportunity pass. We’re making serious progress as a team.”