20. Chapter 19
Ash
I feel like I’m flying rather than skating the next day at practice. Gray is in the stands watching, and I can do no wrong. Every shot I take finds the back of the net, and I weave in and out of players like I’m on the highway in the middle of a high-speed chase.
Kelsier and I have also checked the shit out of the two rookies who were the rudest on the team text chain, and I think they got the message.
If only I could play this way during games. Somewhere along the way I let the chirping get to me, and I need to find a way back to that Zen I used to have whenever I stepped onto the ice.
Oddly enough, this fake dating thing with Gray has given me a sort of peace.
To be sure, I’m sexually frustrated as hell, but the idea that she and I have to spend time together to sell the dating story makes me stupidly happy.
I’d almost consider Kelsier’s suggestion we date for real, except that I’m not sure how Kaladin would take it.
He’s paying Gray to help me play, not date me.
Gray is waiting by the door to the locker room when I exit after practice, freshly showered, and I swear I see her run her eyes up and down my body.
I know now she’s attracted to me. The way she reacted at the club and her flirting at dinner last night confirmed it. She’s holding back for some reason, but I can work with that.
“Hey,” I say, smiling at her. I pull her gently against me and press a soft kiss on her lips.
All the guys know about the fake dating ploy, so we’re not fooling anyone here, but I don’t care. Call me a method actor. I just think staying in character is the safest bet.
Plus it conveniently lets me touch and kiss Gray whenever I want.
Gray let’s out a soft “Oh” when I pull back.
“You never know who could be watching,” I say. “Best to be safe.”
“Right,” she says, although she sounds unconvinced.
I just smile and kiss her temple.
“Get a room, you two,” Fig says as he comes out of the locker room.
“Hi, Fig,” Gray says, smiling at him.
“Doc,” he says smiling back and giving her a salute before he heads down the hall.
A few other guys exit the locker room and say hi as they head toward the garage.
Kingston is with them, but he doesn’t spare us a glance, and I let out a sigh of relief.
Even if he was interested in Gray, our fake dating story keeps him from being able to take her from me.
Still, it’s comforting to know he doesn’t want her, since I don’t know enough about Gray’s taste in men to determine if she’d be attracted to him or not.
She didn’t seem impressed with him at the club, which made me entirely too pleased. On the other hand, he’s an asshole, and that seems to be exactly her type. I’m not sure what it says that she’s attracted to me but won’t let herself act on it.
“Hey, love birds,” Kelsier says as he comes out of the locker room, and we both roll our eyes at him.
“Mirroring each other’s mannerisms already,” he says, laughing. “The next step is finishing each other’s sentences.”
“Fuck off, Kels,” I tell him, but there’s no bite, and he just chuckles.
“I heard the date went well last night,” he says to Gray, and her cheeks pinken prettily.
Oh, the things I want to do to this woman that would make her blush.
“Exactly what did you hear about the date?” she asks suspiciously.
Kelsier shrugs. “I heard something about a private jet to Italy, dinner at a Tuscan vineyard, and an orgy, but Gunny does tend to exaggerate.”
I glare at him, but he grins back unapologetically.
Gray laughs. “Definitely an exaggeration. Only the orgy is true.”
Both my mouth and Kelsier’s drop open at that. Well fuck me. The prim little professor doesn’t mind joking about sex.
“Doc! You kinky minx!” Kelsier says, feigning shock. He punches my arm. “And you didn’t invite me, you asshole?”
“You said you were busy washing your hair last night,” I shoot back.
He runs a hand through his dark blonde locks. “Yeah, well, it takes a lot of work to look this good.” He points a finger at me. “But next time I’m in.”
“I’ll make a note,” I deadpan.
My phone rings, and I pull it out of my pocket. The screen says it’s my father, who almost never calls unless he needs something important.
“Would you excuse me?” I tell Gray and Kelsier. “It’s my dad. I have to take this.”
Both of them tell me to go, and I step away to answer the phone.
“Dad, hey,” I say. “What’s up. Is everything okay?”
The voice that answers, however, is not my father’s.
“No, everything is not okay,” my older sister Inga says on the other end. “I’ve been trying to reach my baby brother for weeks now, but he’s been dodging my texts and calls.”
I close my eyes. Fuck.
“Inga, why are you using Dad’s phone?” I ask, although I know why.
“Because you won’t answer when I use mine,” she shoots back. “I knew you wouldn’t ignore him, though.”
I sigh. “What do you need?”
“For one, I need to know who this woman you’re dating is,” she says.
“Where did you meet her? How long has this been going on? When are you bringing her up to meet the family? Is she coming to the wedding? And why are your sisters and parents finding out about her on the news rather than directly from you?”
I groan inwardly. I knew this phone call was coming, but I’ve been too distracted to worry about it.
“Sorry,” I say. “I’ve been a bit busy lately.”
“Too busy to let your family know you met someone, and a university professor at that?” she counters.
I had a feeling Gray’s job would score some points with Inga.
She always looked down on Grace and the other women I dated because they didn’t fit her definition of a strong, successful woman.
The only woman she liked was the VP I dated for a while.
If she knew what that woman let me do to her in the bedroom, though, she might have changed her tune.
“I was going to call this week,” I lie.
“Bullshit,” she says. “You finally meet a woman with brains, and I have to find out about it on the internet.” She pauses. “Although if she’s dating you, maybe I have to rethink how smart she is.”
“Fuck you,” I tell her. Inga and I have always had an antagonistic relationship, but I know she’s just teasing me.
“When are you bringing her up to meet everyone?” Inga presses.
“I don’t know. We’re in the middle of the season. I’d have to find a stretch where we don’t have a game and then see if I can work around practices. I’m not sure I can swing it anytime-”
“Ash?” My mother’s voice comes on the phone, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Inga called in the nuclear option.
“Hi, Mom. How are you?” I say, softening my voice. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” she says. “We’d love to see you if you can find a little time to come up.”
I open my mouth to answer, but she goes on before I can.
“Make sure you bring your pretty new girlfriend,” she says. “What’s her name?”
“Gray, Mom,” I say. “Her name is Gray.”
“Oh, that’s fun,” she says. “Ash is a shade of gray.”
That stops me, and I huff a laugh. The color connection between our names never occurred to me.
“Listen, Mom,” I try again, but Inga knew what she was doing putting my mother on.
“I know you’re busy, elskan mín,” my mother says, using her Icelandic endearment for me, “but it’s been a while since you’ve been home, and your father could really use some help with a few things if you have time to come up.”
I sigh heavily, realizing I’ve lost the battle.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I say. “Gray may not be able to get the time off, though. She has to teach class.”
“Oh. But, isn’t the American Thanksgiving coming up in a few weeks?” she asks. “She’ll get a break then, won’t she?”
My mother may pretend to be sweet and innocent, but she’s as sharp as a tack.
I make one final attempt to get out of a drive up to Canada.
“Yeah, but she may want to spend the holiday with her own family. I’ll have to see.”
“I know you’ll do your best,” my mother says, and I will, because disappointing my mother is never an option.
“I…I’ll find a way to make it happen,” I say. “I have to go now. I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Oh good,” she says. “But I think Inga still-”
“Bye, Mom. I love you!” I hang up the phone before she can put my sister back on and head to where Gray and Kelsier are waiting.
“Everything okay?” Kelsier asks.
“Yeah, Inga just used my dad’s phone to ambush me.”
“Inga? Your older sister?” Gray asks, fishing the name from our conversation last night.
“She’s been trying to talk to me for weeks, and I’ve been avoiding her,” I say. “The news about us dating threw her over the edge, though.”
“Let me guess,” Kelsier says. “She’s not happy she found out about it secondhand.”
“She got my mother involved,” I say.
“Oof,” he says. “What’s your penance?”
“That’s the tricky part,” I say. “And I’ll need help with it.”
“What kind of help?” Gray asks.
I catch her gaze and smile apologetically. “How would you feel about driving up to Canada the week of Thanksgiving to meet my family?”