Her lie wasn’t half bad, but it gave me the insight that I needed. I’ve been following her closely, trying to figure out what her plans were for tonight since I’d been expecting her to be going to a party of some sort, so imagine my goddamn delight when she delivered me her plans on a silver platter.
Not that her staying in wasn’t an issue, because I didn’t think I’d be able to see her, but I was glad that I didn’t have to share her with an entire party of people.
Cole had wanted me to do something with him tonight, since the other two somehow had plans of their own, so I ended up kind of, maybe manipulating him into a bad mood.
It’s amazing what you can do to put him in a bad mood. All it took was me asking if he was okay a few times throughout the day to set him off and have him isolating himself down in the basement. I had expected him to wallow down there all night. What I didn’t expect was for the new girl to let herself into the cottage and seek him out, though it turns out Gracie had a hand in that.
Seems my girl is playing matchmaker between the two of them.
The two of them getting together can only work in my favor. Once Cole drops his walls and ends up falling in love with thegirl, he’ll understand this thing between me and Gracie, he’ll understand the pull I feel towards her and my need to have her.
He has to.
And I have to believe that he will because the last thing I want to do is come between Gracie and her brother.
I used to believe that there was no way for Gracie and I to be together without ruining our little family dynamic with the guys, but now I realize that I was wrong. We can make it work, the guys will understand once they see for themselves how good we are for each other.
I just need Gracie to see it first.
We’re inevitable, and she’ll understand that too once we spend some more time together and she gets to know me on a more intimate level, rather than how she knows me right now as her brother’s friend.
Even the guys don’t know the real me. I feel like I’ve been hiding my entire life, but that’s going to end soon. I can’t keep that up if I’m going to have Gracie as mine. I refuse to be anything but myself when I’m with her, since she deserves to know me for me, not the image I show the world.
I’ll no doubt have to drop all the pretenses with the guys too, but I’m willing to do that if that’s what Gracie needs me to do in order to make her feel better about us.
I’m willing to do anything for her.
FIFTEEN
ANONYMOUS
Istare at my girl, completely entranced as she lays sleeping in her bed.
She’s kicked most of the cover off, leaving her in only shorts and a cropped T-shirt, her smooth skin on display as she sleeps peacefully.
She’s so beautiful, completely at ease while she has no idea that someone is watching her. That there’s a predator right here in her midst who’s chosen her for his prey
She’s been so on guard for the last week, ever since that night in the parking lot. She’s ignored my messages and barely left her dorm unless for classes, even going as far as coming back here for lunch rather than have it in the art building, so I haven’t been able to watch her with her friends like I normally do.
I don’t know what she told her friends to get out of meeting with them, but whatever it was, it must have worked because I haven’t seen them come here either. Maybe she told them she wasn’t well? Or maybe she told them she had a stalker she was trying to avoid?
Nah, I doubt she’s told anyone about me, since she’s probably scared and won’t want anyone to get involved, not wanting anyone to get hurt.
That’s my girl down to a T.
It seems that night cemented things for her as me being dangerous. I guess I scared her more than I thought I had when I intended to put her at ease. No matter, it’s just one more set back. We’ll get back on track. She’ll see this thing between us for what it really is eventually.
I just need her to resume her usual routine, because not being able to see her every day like I usually would? Not having her reply to me when I text her? Not seeing her face light up when one of her friends says something funny or watching her roll her eyes at the annoying one is driving me a little crazy.
Maybe more than a little.
Actually, it’s killing me.
Which is why I might have slightly lost my shit and ended up breaking into her dorm. It was easy to do, considering the guys and I were the ones to put the security measures in place, it was simple for me to disengage them.
That, and we all have a copy of her key in case of emergencies.
I just needed to see her up close for a little while. I needed to be in the same room as her, since she’s also been avoiding me and the guys, and I haven’t seen her properly for far too long. Even before we started this thing between us, I saw her regularly, whether that be when she came to the cottage or when I had carefully planned some accidental meetings that had resulted in us just getting coffee together during a break between classes or grabbing a quick bite to eat.
