It’s all you’ll get.
Grayson
Then we’re going to give you advice to make sure you don’t fuck it up.
Knox
…
Yeah, okay.
CHAPTER 24
Knox
Istare at Grayson’s little farmhouse, trying to find the gumption to walk inside. I don’t want to deal with their attention. They’re going to ask a million questions I likely won’t have the answers to, and then I’ll get frustrated at them for doing what I would do in the same position.
The other problem? I actually need their advice.
They’re well aware that I haven’t dated since Leona. What they don’t know is I haven’t slept with anyone since her either. Kissing Farrah made my body react in ways it hasn’t in years. I have no fucking idea how to navigate that, but I’m not about to go admitting to my best friends that I’m terrified I’ll shoot off like a rocket the second I get my hands on her.
I also don’t have anyone else I trust as much as I do these guys, so…here goes.
I get out of my truck, my boots clomping across Grayson’s wooden front porch. The noise coming from inside is enough to make me second-guess walking through that door. I do it anyway.
“Knox! Get your loved-up ass in here,” Gray calls from the kitchen. I’ve always thought Grayson’s home has theatmosphere I wish mine had when I was a kid. There are toys all over the floor and decorations that make this place feel homey instead of sterile. I’m proud of how well he’s provided London with a loving place to grow up, despite having to do it on his own. Luckily for him, he’s got a decent relationship with London’s mom, who lives a town over from us.
I automatically dip my head as I step into his kitchen. It isn’t likely I’d actually crack my skull on the top of the doorframe, but it’s close enough to make me flinch.
“Finally!” Gray says from the table. “I thought you’d sit in your truck the whole night.”
Holt and Emmett laugh in agreement. To my horror, heat moves through my face. Thank god for my beard.
“Took me a minute to decide if I wanted to deal with your bullshit,” I quip.
Gray gasps with dramatic flair. A smirk ticks up the corner of my mouth. I turn on the oven and then lay out cookie dough onto a sheet tray. Several years ago, I’d been craving something sweet and threw a whole bunch of random stuff into a basic cookie dough. They turned out ten times better than I thought they would, and now I’m required to bring them anytime I hang out with my friends.
“Okay, grumpy bear. You’ve stalled long enough,” Holt says after I finish washing my hands.
He’s right. I am stalling, but I’m not fucking telling them that. “None of you will get cookies if you keep being assholes.”
Grayson squawks. “I didn’t say anything!”
I roll my eyes, sitting at the table while my friends stare at me. “What?”
Gray scrunches his face. “I was kind of hoping the grumpiness would be gone now that you’re getting some.”
My deadpan expression makes him laugh.
“Seriously, though,” Emmett jumps in. “What happened between you and Farrah?”
I shrug. “I’m not entirely sure. After you guys told me to get my shit together, I worked to check my impulse to snap at her any time she was around. Then we kept running into each other, and each interaction was better than the last until at Lauren’s party, Mrs. Basil said something about her that made me realize I might be attracted to her. Now here we are.”
My three best friends stare at me for a long moment before they all start speaking at once.
“There are so many missing details, it’s astounding,” Emmett says.
“That’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.” Holt scoffs.
