2. Chapter 2
Kaitlyn
I just stand there and watch him walk away, because he looks damn good doing it. Let me tell you, the view is worth chancing being caught. This Grayson fills out those pants in a way I can't seem to pull my eyes from. Yeah, this is defiantly not the same Grayson I knew all those years ago.
Only once he’s finally out of eyesight, do I turn and head into my dad's building. I have many good memories of this building. We have had lunch together so often here, that it feels more like home than the house I grew up in.
If I had a problem in school, I'd come here, and we'd talk it out. If I needed a quiet place to study, I'd come here, and he'd set me up in an empty conference room or in his office. I've even skipped school a few times just to hang out here.
I know the way to my dad's office, like the back of my hand, and many of his coworkers wave and say hi on the way. This is the kind of job that once you get it, you hold on to it, until the day you retire. So many of the men and women have been here for as long as I can remember.
"Sweet pea!" Dad greets me, when I walk in the door.
He jumps up and rushes over to give me a hug.
"Oh, I missed you. Don't you look fancy?" He says.
This outfit I have on is one I bought just for this trip. Kentucky gets much colder than southern Georgia does. Since I rarely need a coat there, I had to get some warm clothes for my visit home. Though, I don't need to tell my dad that.
"Hey, so you’ll never guess who I ran into in the parking lot," I say, sitting down in one of the chairs across from my dad's desk.
"Who?" He asks, as he shuts down his computer.
"Grayson."
"Yeah, he's out of the military and doing contract work here, too."
He's doing work here just like my dad is. I let that sink in.
"I always thought he’d be a lifer and retire from The Army," I say.
"I did too, but life threw him some curve balls."
I'm about to ask my dad what he means, when my phone pings, and I look, finding a text from Grayson.
Grayson: You looked good, Starshine.
Me: You looked pretty good there yourself.
Me: So, contract work?
Grayson: Talking to your dad about me?
Me: Of course.
Grayson: Have dinner with me tonight?
Me: I don't know...
Grayson: Come on, let's catch up.
I put my phone down and find my dad watching me.
"Grayson wants to have dinner tonight and catch up," I tell him.
Dad stands, and so do I. We are walking down the hall back to the elevator, before he speaks.
"So, go have dinner with him. I think it will be good for you to catch up." Then, my phone goes off again.
Grayson: Come on, you know you want, too. I look even better out of my work clothes.
Oh, lord! I know he didn't mean it as anything dirty, but now, that image of a naked Grayson is in my head.
I do want to spend some time with him; to catch up and see what led to him getting out of The Army. An added bonus would be getting to know him better, and I wouldn't mind looking at him more, either.
Though, if a simple sentence can get me this hot and bothered, maybe going to dinner with him isn't a good idea. This isn’t how I should feel on a lunch with my dad.
I have Mom's journal, and one of my favorite quotes in it says, you’ll always regret the chances you didn't take. I don't want to live with regrets.
Me: Okay.
Grayson: Where should I pick you up?
I text him the address of the cabin I'm staying at.
"You’re going to go?" My dad asks, as we cross the street to a little cafe on base.
"Yeah, it’ll be good to catch up."
We place our order, and I grab a table and our drinks, while my dad waits for our food.
"I always liked Grayson," Dad says, as we sit down with our food. "What ever happened between you two?"
I never told him the real story. It would have caused more drama, and I just want Dad happy. If Linda and her mom make him happy, so be it. I may not understand it, but I accept it.
"Things didn't work out. I went off to school, he deployed, and we lost contact. When we reconnected again a few years ago, I was seeing someone and in school. We haven't really talked until now."
"Well, maybe this is your second chance. Your mother and I were together, because of a second chance. Don't be afraid to take it, because you might miss out on the happiest years of your life."
My mother died of breast cancer, when I was eleven. Though it was hard, it brought Dad and me closer. We bonded together and took care of each other, until he met Helen, when I was fifteen. They dated for a while, and then got married, when I was seventeen.
Then, Helen and her daughter, Linda, moved in with us. Linda is a year younger than me, and at sixteen, she was already a mean girl. She was mad that she had to switch schools, and she wasn't afraid to take it out on me.
So, when I thought Grayson had slept with her, it hurt, because of how horrible she was to me, and Grayson knew it, because we talked a lot.
But also, because she was still underage, and it could get him in so much trouble.
The thought of him doing that made me think he possibly wasn't the man I thought he was.
Then, the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced Linda lied to him about her age. She had a fake ID, and she wasn’t afraid to use it.
It's all too much, and I need a distraction. What I want to do is focus on my dad. After all, I'm here to spend time with him.
"So, Dad, you still playing on the basketball team?"
I have no interest in basketball, but I know it will get him talking. He can talk for hours about the games, practice, and the guys on the team. It's the perfect distraction from all the butterflies in my stomach that make it impossible to eat.
Listening to him, doesn't allow me to think about Grayson and our dinner tonight, which is very much a date. Might as well call a spade a spade, right?
Grayson
If I thought Kaitlyn looked hot, when I saw her earlier today in the parking lot, then she looks like a goddess now in the leggings and the blue sweater dress she has on with the same jacket as earlier.
"Am I dressed okay?" She asks.
"You’re perfect," I say, as my eyes sweep over her appreciatively. Taking her hand, I lead her back out to my truck and help her inside. This is as much to be a gentleman, as it is to be able to put my hands on her a little bit more, as I help her in.
"Still not going to tell me where we’re going?" She asks, when I climb into my seat.
"Nope." I smile at her.
I have a whole evening planned out for us. It's a very low key one, but I still want to surprise her.
Wanting her to talk on the drive, I ask, "So, tell me about your job."
She goes on to tell me about working at Oakside, her patients, the events there, and about Lexi and Noah, who own the place.
Obviously passionate about her work, Kaitlyn talks the entire ride, and only stops to take in the iron gates, when we pull up.
I roll down my window and put in the gate code, and when the gate starts creaking open, she looks at me with surprise.
As we drive up, she takes everything in and gasps, as the house comes into view.
"Where are we?" She asks.
"My place," I tell her.
" This is your place?" She says in shock.
The large mansion has a chateau design to it. It was my mom, who fell in love with the style, liking the balconies and rounded rooms that almost look like towers. She used to call it her own miniature castle.
"It was my parents’ place. They passed a few years ago, so it's mine now." I tell her.
That seems to stop her in her tracks, and she looks over at me.
"I'm so sorry, Gray."
I shrug it off and focus on her calling me Gray. She’s one of the only people I allow to call me that. Hell, she’s the only person now that my parents are gone. A few friends call me G, but no one but Kaitlyn calls me Gray.
I get out to open her car door and take her inside. This isn't a time for a sad walk down memory lane. Tonight, is about me taking the woman I've been hung up over for years out to dinner.
"I can give you a tour inside later if you want, but first this way." I tell her, as I lead her around the side of the house and out the door.
When we come to the backyard, she gasps just like I hoped she would. The back yard is covered in a twinkle light canopy. There are flowers everywhere, and a table with a catered meal, along with heaters to keep her warm.
There’s still snow on the ground from the light dusting we got last night, and I couldn't have planned it better myself if I tried.
"Grayson, this is beautiful." She says, taking it all in wide-eyed.
"It's nowhere near as beautiful as you are," I tell her with honesty, even if it sounds slightly cheesy.
I lead her to the table and pull out her chair.
She sits and watches me, as I move to my chair across the small, round table from her.
Even though I want to sit right next to her, or hell, have her in my lap, I think that might scare her off right now.
This is just a first date in seven years after all.
Removing the lid on the food to reveal steak and lobster, her eyes light up. According to her father, this is her favorite.
"How did you know?" She asks with a huge smile on her face.
"I have my ways," I chuckle.
I hope I can always find ways to surprise her like this, as I love the look of wonder on her face, as she soaks it all up.
"The lights reflecting on the snow we got last night is just magical. It makes it all glitter," she says.
"That was pure luck." I laugh, making her smile. When I look around, she’s right. It almost looks like glitter was scattered across the yard.
We start to dig into the meal in front of us.
"This food is delicious." She sighs and takes another bite.
"I'm glad you like it. Are you warm enough?"
"Oh, yes. It's perfect." She takes another bite. "I talked about me all the way here, so now, it's your turn. Tell me about your parents and about all of this." She looks back towards the house.
"Ahhh well, my dad started his company, and my mom was his secretary. They fell madly in love and caused quite a scandal with their marriage. She was a bit younger than he was. Plus, the whole office place romance thing. But she was right by his side, running the company, until they died," I say.
"What happened to the company?"
"I still own it. Because it was never my dream, I have a board that runs it, but I couldn't imagine selling it."
"What do you do on base?" She asks.
Thankfully, she changed the subject. I’ll answer any question she throws my way, but there are some subjects that I'd rather not dig too deep into. My parents’ death being one of them. Well, at least, not tonight anyway.
"That's a fair question, but I can't go into the details, as it has to do with deployment security.
It's a lot like what I did in the military, but now, I have more freedom, and I don't deploy.
" She nods and moves on. When I say I can't talk about something, she gets it, because it was the same with her dad. She grew up hearing that.
Add that to the many things I find utterly irresistible about this girl.