Page 119 of Teach Me Your Ways

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CECE

Icouldn’t help but watch Grady and Sophie. Not watch, marvel. He was so natural with Sophie, laughing at her jokes and helping her build an elaborate sandcastle complete with a moat and a drawbridge. It was surreal, seeing him like this. Not the stoic professor or the man who’d been ready to sacrifice his career for me. Just Grady. And I liked him. A lot.

Sophie was in her element. She adored him already, and why wouldn’t she? He was patient, kind, and didn’t mind getting sand everywhere. Sophie squealed and threw a handful of sand at him, which he dodged with a laugh. It was such a simple moment, but it felt right. Like this was how it was supposed to be. He was still wearing his suit but had taken off the jacket. His sleeves were rolled up but whatever drycleaner got that suit to clean was going to have a hell of a time washing out the sand.

I could feel my mom observing—she wasn’t watching—she was observing like one would watch a new nanny. I knew she was about to say something. When I told her about what had happened, she wasn’t happy. She was worried I was allowing a man to screw up my future. She was really not happy when I told her what I planned to do.

“He’s good with her,” she said finally.

I nodded, my eyes still on Grady and Sophie. “Yeah, he is.”

“You like him,” she said, not a question but a statement.

I glanced at her, then back at the two of them. “Yeah, quite a bit.”

She was quiet for a moment. “You’ve been through a lot, Cece. You’ve worked so hard to build this life for you and Sophie. Are you sure you’re ready for this? For him?”

I let out a slow breath, my fingers playing with the edge of the blanket. “I don’t know if I’m ready, but it feels right. I really do like him, Mom.”

She smiled. “Alright, then. I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of him.”

“I hope so.”

Later, after getting Sophie bathed and tucked into bed, Mom pulled me to the side. “Go.”

“Excuse me?”

“Go to his place. You guys deserve some time together. I’ll get Sophie to school in the morning.”

“Are you sure?”

“One of us should be dating and falling in love.” She laughed. “Go.”

So, I packed an overnight bag and followed Grady back to his place. I was nervous and anxious. It felt different than before. Before, there had been adrenaline, heat, and a reckless kind of abandon. Now, it felt real. Like we were stepping into something that mattered. And that terrified me. It was a relationship.

The word was terrifying and exciting.

Grady tossed his keys on the counter. He moved to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. “Here,” he said, pouring a generous amount into one and handing it to me. “You look like you could use this.”

I took the glass with a shaky hand and took a sip, the burn of the whiskey doing little to calm my nerves but at least giving me something to focus on. Grady poured himself a drink and leaned against the counter, watching me.

“I’m going to hop in the shower,” he said after a moment, gesturing to his sandy clothes. “Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.”

He disappeared down the hall. I took another drink of my whiskey. I was doing this. Me and him. I didn’t need to be nervous. He was going to be my boyfriend of sorts. And girlfriends got to bang their boyfriends whenever they wanted. The whole “taboo” thing was over.

He was mine.

And I knew what I wanted to do with my boyfriend. And yeah, yeah, we had not actually claimed boyfriend-girlfriend status, but that’s what it was in my mind.

I heard the shower running and pictured him hot and naked wrapped in steam. I threw caution to the wind and kicked off my sandals. I downed the last of my drink for a little liquid courage, then walked my way down the hall and stood outside the bathroom to strip. I had never done anything so bold.

I opened the door, steam billowing out. The glass door was foggy, but I got a pretty good view of him. All my nerves faded. I slid it open on the tracks and he spun around, then grinned when he saw me.

I smiled. “Hi.”