Page 221 of On the Breakaway

“We had a bet about which of us could get free drinks for the table from one of you guys the fastest,” Wesley explains, hand on her hip, still frustrated about her loss.

Grayson looks down at me, eyes glinting with amusement. “Did you use me for a bet?”

“Absolutely,” I say.

“Wow.”

“Don’t sound so offended. You made me look really good.”

He leans down, taking the drink that was meant for me. “Maybe I should have this instead.”

He lifts my drink and deliberately takes the first sip. My eyes catch on the way his throat moves when he swallows, and he must notice because his eyes start twinkling.

“What are you looking at?” He asks, fingers brushing a piece of hair out of my face.

My skin heats at the touch, and I lean into him. “You.” I pause as he leans in closer to me, only a breath away. “Have the biggest ego for someone who just bought my drinks.”

His eyes narrow when I snatch the cup back from him. Before I can take a sip, he scoops me up off the ground. “Not so fast.”

“Put me down.” I can’t stop the giggles from escaping, even as my drink gets dangerously close to spilling out of the sides of my cup. “Grayson! Put me down.”

He laughs, but instead of setting me down, he lowers me just slightly, until my face is aligned with his. Then he places a slow kiss against my lips that I can’t resist deepening. He grasps the cup and slides it from my hand, while holding me to him with his other hand. I can feel him set the cup down before his second hand wraps around me, slowly lowering me to the ground, while we continue kissing.

I’m completely lost in it. In him. Until I hear clapping that pulls me back to the moment. We separate, glancing toward the noise to find our friends all watching us. Half of them seem freaked out, and the other half seem excited.

Becca, who must’ve shown up when we were kissing, speaks first.

“When the hell did this happen?”

It breaks the tension, and everyone chuckles.

“Hi,” Grayson leans down into my ear, his voice softer than the noise around us.

“Hi.”

His hand settles against my waist while I do the one thing I swore I’d never do again.

“We’re dating.” I glance at him, and the way his lips twitch gives me the motivation to keep going. “We kind of have been for a while. So yeah, that’s that.”

“So romantic,” Haley teases.

“Avery does have a way with words,” Wesley adds.

“Hey! I got you free drinks. Be nice to me,” I warn.

“Actually,” Grayson chimes back in. “I got the free drinks.”

“Yes, for me. So, now they’re mine.”

“This is so weird,” Nathan says after watching us bicker for a minute. “You’re dating, but it’s almost like nothing has changed.”

“Yeah, you guys still fight a lot.” Sloane sips her drink.

“One of two things we do best,” Grayson announces, a knowing smirk on his face.

I elbow him hard.

“What’s the second thing?” Wyatt asks, somehow seeming completely uninterested even though he’s the one asking.