Gnawing on my bottom lip, I weigh up my options. I could ask Olivia and Autumn for a ride, but they’re heading in the opposite direction. I’d have asked Reed and Gracie, but they’re already gone. I don’t fancy being the third—or fifth—wheel with Kade, Wyatt, and the women they’ve picked up.
I pull my phone out, resigned to seeing if I can call a ride. It’s not like Coldwater is teeming with Uber drivers, and given the late hour, I’d rather not wake my parents. They dropped me off, but asking them to come out now feels like too much, especially when Mama is always in bed by 9p.m. and forces Dad to do the same.
“If you need a ride, I’ll take you home.”
Startled, I turn toward Grayson. “You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
He doesn’t offer up more than that; instead, he heads in the direction of his truck, leaving me to follow.
When Grayson opens the passenger door for me, I hesitate, glancing up at him. In the dark, his eyes are unreadable, but I can’t help but think I’m reading too much into this.
It’s just a ride.
But nothing about us ever feels simple.
I climb into the cab without a word, pretending I can’t feel the weight of our mistakes between us.
17
AVERY
The silence hangs heavy between us, the gentle rumble of his truck the only sound as Grayson navigates the country roads back to town. At least when we’re in the vicinity of other people, it’s not so tense and quiet.
With every mile that passes, I wish I’d declined his offer of a ride. Right now, wrapped in his scent, I think I’d rather hitchhike my way home.
His eyes are focused on the road ahead, the beam of his headlights guiding the way. Does he feel as awkward as I do? Or is what happened in the barn already erased from his memory? God knows it’s all I’ve been able to think about. Like a lingering sensation, the reminder of his hands on me or the way my body stretched around him haunts me.
Shifting in my seat, I try to ease the ache settling between my legs. I open my mouth to speak, ready to demand Grayson pull the car over and let me out, but his words halt my own.
“I’m sorry.” He darts a glance at me before continuing, “For what happened in the barn.”
It’s like he’s sucker punched me. His confirmation that what happened between us was a mistake shouldn’t hurt as much as it does. Hell, I was thinking it was too, but it doesn’t stop it from feeling like he’s trampled on my heart. I look down at my hands in my lap, watching as I fiddle with the hem of my dress and wish the sting in the back of my eyes away.
When I feel like my voice won’t break, I lift my chin and aim a soft smile at him. “Please don’t reduce what we did to a mistake, Gray.”
He accelerates the moment his name slips from my lips, and within seconds, we’re taking a sharp turn down a dirt track. This isn’t the way to town. I grip the grab handle as he speeds down the lane, seemingly uncaring of the uneven surface.
“Grayson, slow down,” I cry, panic seizing in my chest.
The car jolts to a stop, and I reach out a hand to brace myself against the dash. My chest rises and falls as adrenaline rushes through me. I turn to face him, and the look in his blue eyes leaves me speechless. Even under the moonlit sky, I can see that they’re filled with something animalistic.
Grayson reaches for me, his hand sliding through my hair to cup the back of my neck. He pulls me forward, meeting me over the middle console where he hesitates, his eyes searching mine.
My gaze drops to his mouth, and it must be all the confirmation he needs because he claims me. It’s the only way I can describe this kiss. He’s taking everything from me, and I’m willingly giving it to him.
I don’t know how much time passes, but when he pulls back, releasing me, I follow him, needing more even as I suck in shallow breaths. Grayson grips my jaw, holding me still, and my eyes flutter open, searching for answers.
Swiping his thumb over my bottom lip, he sighs, visibly relaxing in front of me. “I was sorry for walking away, Ave, never for fucking you.”
I swallow hard, my skin burning under his touch as the ache in my chest eases. “But you walked away like what we did meant nothing to you, like I was something you wanted to get out of your system.”
The accusation lies between us, and Gray grinds his jaw before shaking his head and holding my stare in the dim lighting of the car. “You think that’s what that was? That I was just trying to fuck you out of my system?”
I look at the cornfield surrounding us. It’s easier to spill my truth to him when I’m not looking directly at him. “I don’t know what it was, that’s the problem,” I admit. “But what I do know is, you left without a word, and it hurt.”
When he doesn’t say anything, I look at him, only to find him watching me. He leans in a fraction, and my eyes widen slightly.
