32 - Grayson
Grayson
The cabin lights are dimmed by the time we hit cruising altitude.
A few rows ahead of me, Nathan is passed out with his mouth open. Liam is watching some action movie with the volume cranked high enough that I can hear explosions through his headphones. Most of the guys look dead on their feet.
It makes sense considering we just played two playoff games in four nights and won both.
The mood after tonight’s game had been ridiculous. Everyone was riding the high of putting New York in a hole before the series even got back to Boston.
I should be exhausted, but I feel wired.
Beside me, Wyatt has his eyes closed, and his hood pulled over his face. He’s been trying to sleep since takeoff, but I nudge him anyway.
He ignores me at first.
I nudge him again. “If you’re pretending to be asleep, it’s not convincing.”
He mumbles, “Every damn plane ride.”
I grin. “What?”
His eyes stay closed. “Every single plane ride we take, you suddenly decide it’s time for a life discussion.”
“I’m not having a life discussion.”
Wyatt lets out a long sigh. “That’s exactly what someone about to have a life discussion says.”
He finally opens one eye. “So, what is it?”
I hesitate.
“Grayson, what the hell did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You look guilty.”
I roll my eyes. “I haven’t done anything.”
“Yet.” Wyatt groans, pulling his hood down completely.
I stare at the seat in front of me. “Do you think I should go to Avery’s when we land?”
Wyatt sits up straighter, which tells me everything I need to know.
“It’s nearly two in the morning.”
“I know.”
“Do you want to go to Avery’s?”
“Obviously.”
“Does she want you there?”
“I think so.”
He raises a brow. “Think?”
“I’d say yes, but normally I’m not showing up at two in the morning.” I sink lower into my seat, fingers tapping against the armrest.
He watches me, waiting for me to cave the way I always do when I need to talk.
I sigh. “I just fucking miss her.”
“Okay.”
“And I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
I glare at him. "Can you stop saying okay?”
Wyatt’s expression shifts. “How deep are you?”
“Pretty deep.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It kind of is.”
He shifts in his seat. “How deep?”
I look out the window because saying it out loud feels bigger than I expected.
Every dinner, fight, and late-night conversation. The way she smiles when she forgets to be scared. The way she reaches for me in her sleep. It all plays through my head constantly.
I swallow. “I’m so fucking in love with her it hurts to not be able to show it.”
His expression goes completely still before he drags both hands down his face. “You’ve been sneaking around together for like five minutes.”
“Longer.”
“How long is longer?”
“Um, February, maybe January, depending on the way you look at things.”
“You’ve been hiding this since fucking January?” Wyatt’s eyes go wide. “Didn’t you swear off this kind of thing?”
“I tried to.”
“Because you kept trying to change people and relationships into what you wanted them to be, instead of wanting them as they were.”
The smile drops off my face instantly. “This is not like that.”
“It seems like that.”
“I think she loves me too.”
Wyatt studies me for several seconds, then sighs. “Thinking it and knowing for sure are two very different things.” He leans back in his seat. “You should be careful.”
The doubt that lurks in the back of my head echoes his words. I can’t blame him.
Wyatt’s loyalty has always been ruthless. If he loves you, he’ll walk through a wall for you. If he thinks someone might hurt you, he’ll become the wall.
He’s wrong, though.
“Avery isn’t–”
“I didn’t say she was, but she’s still keeping you a secret.”
I let out a slow breath. “She has reasons.”
“I’m sure she does.”
My ears burn, and I swallow hard.
Wyatt notices immediately.
“Look, man,” he starts, voice softening. “I’m just trying to look out for you. I like Avery. I do. But you can’t be her secret forever.”
“She’s just scared. You should understand that better than anyone.”
He should understand why it’s taking her longer to open up. Sure, he doesn’t know what she’s been through, but he’s been through shit. And because of that, he should know that it takes time to get over it.
He lifts both hands. “I do understand it, but that’s why I don’t get into secret relationships.”
I groan. “You’re not helping.”
“Don’t corner me into talking about your feelings next time, then.”
We both stare at each other, chuckling as the tension finally breaks.
“So, Katie’s coming this weekend, right?” He asks, shifting topics to safer ground.
“Yeah, to both games.”
His face immediately softens, which is always funny to watch because Wyatt turns into a completely different person whenever my family comes up.
“How’d she manage to get time away from the rugrats?” He asks.
“You know you love them.” I chuckle. “She said, and I quote, ‘Jace can hold down the fort so that I can live for three days without having food thrown at me.’”
“I don’t blame her.”
I laugh. “She’s excited.”
“If I didn’t know it, I would never have expected Mia and her to be twins. They couldn’t be more different.”
We spend the rest of the flight catching up about my family while my mind drifts to Avery every time there’s a lag. And by the time the plane starts descending into Boston, I’ve decided there’s no way I can sleep tonight without seeing her.
Because, for all Wyatt’s warnings, none of it changes the one thing I know for sure.
She’s it for me. And I don’t want to go home and be alone.
When the wheels hit the runway, I check my phone, standing up before the plane’s even stopped.
His eyes narrow. “You’re going to her place.”
I don’t even bother denying it.
He sighs dramatically. “Hopeless.”
“Probably.”
“Just don’t get your heart broken, Shaw.”
I grin, hiding the very real nerves over that exact possibility. “No promises.”
I’m in my car and driving to her place in record time. The drive over does exactly what I need it to do. By the time I’m pulling up out front, the conversation with Wyatt has settled somewhere in the back of my mind. The doubts aren’t gone entirely, but they’re quieter now.
There’s no way that I’m making this more than what it is. She wants me too. It means something for her, too. Right?
I make my way up her steps, already mentally preparing for the possibility that she won’t answer. It’s the middle of the night, and she’s asleep.
I knock.
She probably won’t even hear me knock, and I shouldn’t expect her to.
The door swings open before I have a chance to knock again.
I blink as Avery stands across the threshold, with her hair brushed and eyes wide. There’s no way she was sleeping, and knowing that she was waiting up for me has my heart doing flips.
“You were waiting for me.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“You answered that door before I even finished knocking.”
“I was awake.”
“Waiting.”
“Awake.”
“Waiting.”
A faint blush creeps into her cheeks before she groans and drops her forehead against the doorframe.
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“No. Unfortunately, I don’t.”
I step closer. “Nothing unfortunate about that, baby.”
Her eyes darken the way they always do when I call her that. Sometimes she tells me not to, but I can tell she likes it. I like it, too. It makes this feel real. It makes her feel like mine.
I add, “How long have you been waiting for me?”
Avery refuses to look at me. “Not long.”
“Avery.”
“Maybe an hour.”
I bark out a laugh. “An hour?”
Her eyes finally snap up to mine.
“Do you know how annoying it is that you sound so pleased with yourself right now?”
“Incredibly annoying.”
I reach out and tuck a loose piece of hair behind her ear. The gesture softens both of us immediately. Her expression shifts, annoyance fading into the honesty that I’ve come to crave.
“I hoped you’d stop by.”
My heart stutters. “I wasn’t sure if I should.”
She nods quickly. “You always should.”
I step toward her, closing the door behind me as my arm circles her waist.
“Chaos.”
“What?” Avery’s gaze drops briefly to my mouth.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.
Her arms wrap around my neck, pulling her body flush against mine.
This. This is what I needed.
“You guys played well,” she says against my chest.
“Yeah. Two down, two to go. I think we’ve got a good chance.”
“With you leading the ship, I’m sure you do.”
I pull away enough to look at her. “You really think that?”
Her eyebrows pull down. “Duh. Anyone with eyes can see what an amazing leader you are. Those guys depend on you, and you deliver.”
“I think you’re going to give me a big ego,” I tease, heart swelling with pride.
“As if you need help in that department.”
My eyes drift down to her mouth as the air changes.
Avery swallows. “Should we go to bed?”
I shake my head. “I’m not tired.”
Her lips twitch. “Are you hungry?”
I grind myself against her. “Not for food.”
She giggles, eyes twinkling mischievously, before she tears out of my grasp and takes off down the hall.
Her laughter echoes through the apartment as my mind plays catch-up. By the time my body’s moving, she’s already disappeared into the bedroom. My footsteps thunder down the hall after her, but come to a sudden halt when I reach the doorway.
She’s sitting across the bed in the black bra and panties that I could’ve sworn were still at my place.
“Chaos,” I say, voice low. “Those are mine.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” She shrugs. “You told me if I wanted them back, I’d have to come get them.” She shifts on the bed, her breasts spilling out of the bra as she leans forward. “So I did.”
My body heats as I drink her in. “When did you take them?”
“Last week, when you were making me breakfast.” She twirls a piece of her hair around her finger.
“So I made you breakfast while you robbed me blind.”
“C’mon, Grayson,” she says slowly, crawling forward on the bed. “Don’t you think they look much better on me, anyway?”
My cock stiffens in my pants, and I just nod, words having left my brain completely at the sight of Avery in lacy lingerie crawling toward me.