Chapter 49
Forty-Nine
Gray
“How are you here?” she whispers.
My lungs are still working hard and though my cock is extremely happy—extremely—that wasn’t exactly how I imagined my apology tour to go.
I expected groveling.
A lot of groveling.
Not an orgasm that threatened to tear me in two.
“Fuck, Red,” I murmur, smoothing back her hair and settling my forehead against hers.
“I’m so damned sorry. I was triggered and didn’t stop to think.
I promised you—I fucking promised I wouldn’t hurt you again and then I panicked and did the same shit.
I know that you can’t possibly believe me, but I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
I’ve already gotten a referral for a therapist. I’m going to figure out this crap in my head out so it never affects you again. ”
Her expression…I hate that I can’t read it.
“The interview…” she says long moments later. “Why did really you do it?”
I straighten, cup her jaw. “Baby, I fucked up.”
“Yes, you did.” That has surprised laughter bubbling up in my chest, but she keeps talking before I can. “But you didn’t have to do that. I know you hate—”
“I love you more than any headline.”
She sucks in a breath.
“I’m done running scared, baby. You’re the most important thing in my world and I don’t care who knows it.”
“But Courtney—”
“Isn’t you.” I capture her hand, press it to my chest. “You’re my heart, Red. I love you and they can make a million videos about us and I won’t care so long as you’re here.”
Her lips tremble. “I should have—”
“None is this your fault,” I say firmly.
“But I didn’t fight for us.”
“Neither did I,” I point out. “We hit a speed bump and I took off.”
“Because you have trauma. But I don’t have that excuse and I still didn’t call or text.” She scowls. “I just spent a week being miserable and sad and pathetic.”
“I hate that you were sad,” I murmur, brushing my lips over her forehead. “But you did text, baby. It’s what finally made me get my head out of my ass.”
She frowns. “Um…”
“And it helped me realize how much of an idiot I was being. The thought of losing you forever, of you not being next door—” I cup her face in both of my hands. “It snapped me out of my shit. I can’t lose you, Faye.” My voice breaks. “I won’t lose you.”
I won’t repeat past mistakes.
Won’t allow what happened to Courtney happen to Faye.
I won’t.
“I’m so glad you feel that way, honey,” she says, covering my hands with her own. “But I need you to know that I get I made a mistake too. That I should have—wait.” She frowns, fingers tightening on mine. “Why wouldn’t I be next door?”
“What do you mean? You told me that, baby.”
The furrow between her brows deepens. “I haven’t talked to you since that night last week. Something I’ve been beating myself up for. I shouldn’t have just—”
“Okay, so we didn’t talk, but you texted.
” I shrug. “Yeah, I was an asshole who didn’t text back, but that’s mostly because I was arranging the interview with the PR team and talking with Coach so I could come back and see you.
” My mouth hitches up. “Of course, I thought I’d have to track you down at Luna’s or Kailey’s place and beg them to let me see you.
I didn’t expect to find you in my bed, in my jersey—”
My cock twitches.
Something she feels, if the way she rocks against me is any indication. “But I didn’t text you, Gray. I spent the week moping and hating that I wasn’t strong enough to reach out.”
“First, I think I’ve made it clear that you’re strong, Red, and I don’t want to hear you say differently.”
She opens her mouth, protest in her eyes.
“I’ll argue with you about that later,” I say cutting off what is sure to be an objection about my orders.
Right now, I need to figure something else out.
“You didn’t text?”
Guilt drifting across her face as she shakes her head.
“Then”—I scoop my pants off the floor, rifle around the pockets for my phone—“what is this?”
She stares at the screen for a long moment then her eyes come back to mine. “I didn’t send these.”
“Who—”
“Oh, my God!” She sits up so quickly, the sheet falls to her middle, and since the jersey is rucked up, I’m seriously distracted by that plump pink cunt of hers.
I haven’t gotten to spend enough time with it.
I need to make it pinker. Wetter.
Thoughts that admittedly sidetrack me from her next words.
Or word, rather.
“Luna!” she exclaims sharply, tossing the sheet back.
I shake myself. Focus. “What about Luna?”
“She had my phone last night, and when she gave it back, I thought she looked weird. Now I realize it’s because she looked guilty!” She snatches her phone off the nightstand, starts jabbing at the screen.
“Maybe you should wait until you calm down—”
She jabs a finger in my direction and I don’t ever think I’ve seen that particular expression on her face.
And yeah, I know I haven’t known her all that long.
I just…
I thought I’d seen her temper before.
Obviously, I haven’t seen anything yet.
“Don’t,” she snaps then focuses back on her cell, prods the screen until I hear the call ringing on speaker phone.
“All work out?” Luna says without a lick of shame.
“What. The. Actual. Fuck. Luns?!”
“What’s the matter?”
Faye lurches out of bed, starts pacing. “What do you mean what’s the matter? You texted Gray and lied to him about me moving!”
“You told me you were considering it—”
“I also said I could never leave Nana’s house.”
The knot in my stomach that’s been there from the moment I read the texts loosens.
“I said I had decisions to make!” Faye throws up a hand. “But you knew I had no intention of leaving when you texted Gray—”
“Luna,” I say as I push up out of bed. “She’ll call you back.”
Faye scowls but I don’t miss that below her anger is hurt.
She’s come so far from being alone…and now Luna’s done more than meddle.
She’s tried to rewrite our story—hasn’t allowed Faye to be the author of her own life.
I love Luna, appreciate her giving me the mental slap I needed to come back and fix this. But she and I will be having a talk. Because I won’t allow anyone—not me, not our friends, not our family—to hurt Faye, not ever again.
“Bye.” I snag the phone from Faye’s hand, hit the button to disconnect the call.
It immediately starts to ring again.
I shut it off.
Do the same for my own.
Because Faye and I have a future to build.
Without exes or interfering family or viral videos.
Just love and touch and…
And maybe another batch of banana bread.