Chapter Twenty-Five #2
We all move to the table. Macie sits between Reid and me. I go to pull out my chair, but Grayson is already doing it. I smile up at him gratefully before sitting down. He sits on my other side, his knee pressed up against mine, and I feel my entire body flame to life at the small point of contact.
It’s enough to make me spontaneously combust.
The whole family chats while we eat. It feels so homey and warm, like how I imagine people are on Thanksgiving.
I demolish my food faster than any of the boys, which is saying something.
They all eat like it’s their first meal in a week.
Grayson snickers and takes my plate, getting me another serving, and I shyly eat most of it, save for a few bites.
Once I’m done, Grayson takes my plate, polishing off what’s left, and I grin. Holden goes to get Aspen ready for bed. Austin and Hazel collect the dishes and start cleaning in the kitchen as the four of us sit in the living room for a bit.
Glancing at my phone, I have three missed calls from Sadie and a message waiting for me.
SADIE: I’m sorry if I did anything to make you uncomfortable. I can move out if you need your own space. I just thought you and I were getting along so well. But I know that with your parents’ home, it is a bit crammed. I can find something this week.
Guilt tickles at my gut, and I groan, dropping my head into my hand. Grayson’s hand is on my back, rubbing it gently as I show him Sadie’s text.
“She’s going to move out?”
I shrug. “I’ll talk with her tomorrow about it.”
“Do you want her to move?” Macie interrupts from the other couch. “I thought you liked her being here.”
“I do. Of course I want her here with me, it’s just a lot being in that house, sharing a bedroom.
Like, when I have this baby, and she’s still staying there, where will the baby sleep?
I can’t fit a crib in my room with her mattress on the floor.
And then, it’ll keep us up all night. I can’t do that to her. ”
All three of them are quiet for a long minute as I sink back into the couch cushions.
“You could always move in here for the time being,” Reid offers. I blink up at him. “My old bedroom is free, and with Sawyer and Cole gone most weeks, and Macie and I living in our own place, it’s not too bad. Plus, you’d have your own room again.”
I chew on my bottom lip as I look between the three of them. “It doesn’t sound like a horrible idea. But I asked my parents to come home to be with me. Does it make me selfish to move out now that they’re back from their holiday?”
“You’re allowed to be a little selfish right now,” Macie speaks up, moving closer to take a hold of my hand. “You’re having a baby. I think it’s only fair that you do what’s best for you.”
“You don’t need to necessarily move in, but even if you leave some clothes for if you need to escape for a night,” Grayson offers, sounding hopeful.
I glance at him, seeing the spark of something in his eyes. It looks like a mix of hope, ardor and… possibly yearning? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure, but I hope it is.
“I think I might take you up on that offer,” I utter, smiling softly.
He grins, gaze flickering to my lips for a brief second before trailing back up to my eyes. My breath hitches.
“Well, I’ll walk you out to your car. I don’t want you driving home too late,” Grayson says, standing from the couch.
I hug Macie and Hazel goodbye before Grayson hands me a coat to shrug on.
Walking me out to Betsie, he holds open the door for me, and I halt before getting in. “Thank you for everything tonight. You have no idea how much I needed that.”
His head tilts to the side, dimples showing in his cheeks. “Well, I had some idea. And I was happy to do it.” Hands moving to my waist, Grayson holds me steady as my lungs squeeze. The energy between us is charged, like an electrical current circulating between our connection.
Heart hammering, I rise onto the tips of my toes and kiss his clean-shaven cheek. It’s velvety, tender, and brief. Dropping back down, I see the smallest tinge of rosiness spreading across his cheekbones, making me grin. “I’ll see you on the weekend?”
“You bet,” he breathes out thickly, clearing his throat. I go to get in when I remember the coat, pulling out one arm. He stops me, slipping my hand back through. “Keep it. It’s too cold, and I wouldn’t want you getting sick.”
“You’re the best, Blondie,” I murmur, looking at his mouth one last time before getting into the driver’s seat. Closing the door, I wind down the window, and he leans his elbow on the edge.
“Text me when you’re home?”
I nod, and he smiles before stepping away.
I wish I wasn’t needing to drive away from him. I wish I could stay here with him, but I should be getting home to my parents. I’m sure they’re waiting for my return.
Something has definitely changed between us; I just don’t know what exactly. What I do know is I’m not mad about it. In fact, it makes me giddy thinking that I might have been wrong. Maybe we do have a future together.
I just don’t know how it’ll work with my baby being in the mix. If he wants to be a dad. If he wants to put his life on hold for us.
I might need to be bold and make the first step.
Brushing my lips with my fingertips, I let out a small giggle before peeling out of the ranch.
My boot taps incessantly against the timber decking as I hold the book. I’ve read this same page three times because nothing is sinking in. I can’t get Grayson’s head out of my mind. He looked at me so pained, and I hate that I was the one to make him that way.
Chewing on my lip, I close the battered copy of Persuasion and drop it on the table beside me.
The back door slides open. Sadie pokes her head through.
She’s been walking around me like the floor is covered in eggshells since I snapped in front of her and my parents last night.
I’m not proud of that moment, but I also need them to understand that I feel like I am beginning to suffocate here.
“Can we talk for a minute?” she asks, eyes avoiding mine.
I nod.
She comes to sit in the wicker chair beside me, crossing her lean legs like a frog before sighing out, “I’m sorry that I came here without asking you first.”