He sobers and straightens at the shoulders. “I’d say we made some good progress, wouldn’t you?”
“Progress? That wasn’t just a lesson in comfortability, Grayson.”
“What was it, then?”
It feels like he’s baiting me. He’s well aware of what that was, but if he thinks I’m going to be the one to admit it first, he’s still in la-la land.
I stand and tighten the already firm knot in my robe. I know that we should talk about what exactly just happened and what it means. Yet, that also sounds like the worst possible can of worms to open right now. We’ve got to be late for dinner by now, which means we’re running out of time before my mother finds her way to our room with a wooden spoon in her hand to spank our asses.
Grayson’s tongue presses against the inside of his cheek before he parts his lips to speak. The shrill sound of the room’s phone ringing steals his opportunity. I keep looking at him for a moment longer, waiting to see if he’ll tell me anyway, but he doesn’t. With a roll of his jaw, he nudges his head in the direction of the phone. His eyes cling to the back of me while I move to grab it.
“Hello?”
“Jillian! What on earth are you still doing in your room? Your sister’s dinner started fifteen minutes ago!”
I frown. “Mom? Why are you calling from the front desk?”
“Because you weren’t answering your cellphone! This isn’t funny. You need to come down immediately.”
“Yeah, I know. We’re on our way.”
Well, maybe not right now. She doesn’t need to know that, though.
My mom blows out a heavy sigh. “Fine. Just hurry. They’re going to bring the food out soon, and your speech is supposed to be the first.”
“How could I forget?”
“Jillian, please.”
“I’m coming, Mom.”
“Not alone, I hope. Or was this boyfriend a lie all along?”
My eyes dart to where Grayson’s shifted to the end of the bed. His hands are in his bag, but his gaze remains on me, waiting.
“No, I’m not coming alone. You’ll meet him soon enough,” I tell her.
“Good. I’ll see you right away, then.”
I shove the phone back into place a bit harder than necessary. I’ll chalk that up to pure annoyance and not the lingering tingle between my legs that only seems to grow the longer Grayson stares at me in this suddenly way-too-hot room.He’s my friend, I remind myself.
Being chronically horny isn’t my fault. It’s simply an infection caused by a lack of decent sex. Yeah, that’s it.
For now, convincing myself of that is the only thing that’s going to get me through tonight.
6
GRAYSON
Something’s changed.
Not in the obvious sense, per se, but I did see something shift. It was a small crack spiderwebbing through the wall she’s had up between us. The label of friends holds less meaning now than it did yesterday. All that’s left for me to do now is continue tapping on the cracks until they grow too big to be ignored.
My hand’s found its way to her back again as we make our way down the hall that leads to the dining room her sister’s rented for tonight. There’s a swell in noise the closer we get, and with every step forward, she grows more rigid. It’s clear she’s nervous about this. I wish I knew more about the family dynamic I’m about to walk into, if only to put her more at ease.
The very last thing I want to happen tonight is for her to keep things bottled up inside. I’m here for far more than just to act in a role I’ve been wanting to fill for years.
“You remember everyone’s names?” she asks, wringing her hands together.
