“This was fun,” I whisper.
“Yeah, it?—”
“Emma! It’s been twenty minutes since I left the room. What the hell are you doing in there?”
Jake’s voice is loud and clear through the closet doors.
Crap. I cover the phone. “Sorry, I had a girl emergency. I’ll be right out. Grayson, I have
to go.”
“Who is that?” he asks. He attempts to sound curious, and mostly succeeds, but there’s a touch of jealousy behind it.
I laugh nervously. “It’s Jake. He’s staying in our guest bedroom, but we’re watching a movie together first.”
There’s a pause. “That’s who the fourth mug was for…I see.” His voice isn’t aggressive or jealous, just neutral. Yet, I feel the need to defend myself.
“You have nothing to worry about. We both said we don’t share, and besides, he’s been my friend for years, and we feel nothing?—”
“Emma, stop. You don’t need to explain yourself. I trust you.”
I’m surprised by his words. I’m glad he’s moved past his jealousy phase.
Grayson clears his throat after a moment. “I do need to ask out of sheer curiosity.”Oh jeez.I know what’s coming. “Has anything ever happened between the two of you?” Closing my eyes, I, for the hundredth time in my life, regret that one night with Jake. “I’ll take that long pause as a yes.”
“Um, yeah. Once,” I tell him while cringing.
“Okay,” he simply answers, but I continue the story, wanting everything to be out in the open.
“It was a drunken mistake that happened years ago. Trust me, we both regret it.”
“Well, thank you for being honest.” His tone is serious, not angry, but definitely not happy, not that I expected him to be.
“Thank you for trusting me,” I respond. “I will always tell you the truth, and I expect you to be honest as well. Even if this isn’t serious, I don’t want unnecessary drama.” My stomach’s in knots. This entire situation has given me a bad case of whiplash.
“Like I said, I trust you. I just hope you trust me too.”
I smile. “If I didn’t, we wouldn’t have done what we just did.” I may not trust him with every part of my life, but I don’t believe he’s a liar or disrespectful.
“Em! I’m drinking the rest of your hot chocolate since you aren’t coming out anytime soon,” Jake yells.
“God,” I groan. “I’ll be out in a second!”
This time, I don’t bother to cover the phone, and Grayson hisses, “Fuck, Princess. Your voice carries.”
“Wait until you hear me when we’re alone.”
We both laugh.
“Okay, I have to go make myself come again to your picture.”
“I’ll be doing that with yours later.”
Another chuckle comes from his side of the phone, followed by a groan. “Good night, Ms. Haywood.
“Good night, Professor.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
