‘I guess the first thing you should know about me is I don’t much like talking about myself.’
That was so lame.
Grayson wasn’t letting her off the hook. ‘Just give me anything. Tell me something about, I don’t know, your childhood?’
He crossed his arms, the muscles in his biceps shifting underneath his sleeve. Lorelai wondered what it would feel like to hug him, to have those arms wrapped around her.
‘I’m an only child,’ she offered up.
‘OK…’ He nodded encouragingly.
‘Both parents are still around and still together,’ she continued, uneasily.
‘Do you see them a lot?’
‘Not as much as I should. We talk. On the phone. Every now and then.’ Lorelai felt a pang of guilt.
‘That must be hard. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t see my mum and Aden every day.’ Grayson shook his head.
‘What about your dad?’ Lorelai asked, thankful the conversation had moved back to him.
‘Dad has always travelled for work. He’s a pilot and he’s in his last year of flying before he retires. Even though he categoricallydoesnotwant to. We hear from him every night he’s away though. At six o’clock on the dot, he calls no matter where he is in the world, no matter the time difference. When he’s home it’s like Christmas every day!’ Grayson laughed, reliving these happy memories of his family. ‘My auntie has always lived with us. She moved in when we were kids to help out when Dad was travelling, and she never moved out. My mum and aunt are hysterical. My favourite people. Family is pretty important to us.’ Grayson’s face lit up as he spoke of his relatives, and Lorelai thought it looked good on him.
‘I can see that. I don’t have that kind of relationship with Mum and Dad.’ Lorelai surprised herself. Why had she admitted that?
Because you like Grayson. You trust him. He makes you feel safe.‘How come?’ Grayson asked softly.
‘My parents are great parents, don’t get me wrong. But I was quite a reclusive teenager and I think they didn’t know how to handle that. They didn’t want to pry or push too hard so they let me get on with things by myself and they never stopped. I’ve always been pretty self-sufficient. I can feel my mum trying sometimes though, you know? Trying to get me to open up. I’m just not sure how to let her in now. It’s been too long.’
‘It’s never too late,’ Grayson said gently.
‘So I’m told.’
The waitress arrived with their food, for which Lorelai was grateful. If she hadn’t interrupted them, who knows what Lorelai would’ve admitted next. She might have felt compelled to tell Grayson her secret, and that could never happen. She needed to steer things onto less complicated territory.
She looked pointedly at her burger, and Grayson grinned.They each lifted their burger buns, revealing several gherkins. They both placed them onto a napkin.
‘It’s make or break time,’ Grayson said. ‘You ready?’
‘Ready.’
Grayson took an exaggerated deep breath, closed his eyes and gently slid the napkin towards himself. When he opened his eyes, Lorelai smiled and said, ‘The demon cucumbers are all yours.’
Sixteen
The rest of their non-date was less fraught and Lorelai managed to avoid sharing anything too personal. Grayson was perfect company – he was funny, had a laugh that was a little too loud, he loved good conversation and had strong opinions. There was no denying that Lorelai was drawn to him, and she tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her she wasn’t good enough for him.But it doesn’t matter, she told herself.We’re just friends. This is purely platonic.And yet she felt a thrill when he offered to walk her to the station; he wasn’t ready to leave her yet. His hand brushed against hers and it was electric. Lorelai glanced at Grayson to see if he’d felt it too, but he just smiled at her.
‘So, this wasn’t so bad, was it?’ Grayson bumped her shoulder with his.
‘No, it wasn’t. It was very nice.’
‘Nice? Woah, big compliment,’ Grayson said, laughing. He stopped laughing when he saw the look on Lorelai’s face. ‘Sorry, sorry. Yes, it was nice. It’s just… you don’t give much away, do you? About how you’re feeling, I mean.’
Lorelai tensed. ‘It just takes a while for me to trust people. ButI really did have a lovely time. As friends,’ she added, sneaking a glance to see his reaction.
He tilted his head to one side, in agreement. ‘As friends. Of course.’
‘The gherkins will be ever so sad.’
