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Chapter 29
"You're sure you don't want me to stay? I don't really want you to go through this alone," I mutter under my breath and grip Gracie's thigh in an attempt to keep myself from getting out of the small sedan and walking into the airport. Gracie only shrugs me off and places her hand on mine.
"You can't put a pause on your career for me, Ty. I'll be fine."
I'm not sure if she believes her own words but I sure as shit don't. Even if I did, they wouldn't take away the guilt eating away at me. The thought of leaving her here alone, worried sick about her mom for the next three days makes me want to throw up. Anything can happen in three days.
This is the first time I've left her side since I told her I loved her and fuck do I wish I never had to be without her again. I had denied myself the ability to accept my feelings and act on them for so long that I think I'm trying to make up for the lost time. And leaving for an away game and doing the exact opposite of that isn't exactly what I had in mind.
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not," she sighs. "Ava is coming to stay with me for a couple days. We'll keep each other company."
That makes me feel a bit better. If there was anyone I would choose to be there for her right now, Ava would be my top choice. Not only does she love Anne like a second mother, but she also loves Gracie like she's the little sister she never got.
"I'm only going to be gone for a couple days. Call me whenever you need me. I don't care what I'm doing. I'll answer."
Her lips form a smile and she nods, squeezing my hand before using it as leverage to push herself off her seat so she can kiss me. I return the kiss instantly but she pulls away too soon, nodding towards the passenger window to where the airport stands. With a grunt, I grab her hips and pull her back to me. I kiss her hard and long and try to get a big enough fix to last me the next couple of days. I don’t think I could ever collect enough of them to last me, though.
When she giggles into my mouth, I pull back and say, "I love you."
Her eyes warm with what I assume to be adoration as she looks at me through a thick blanket of black eyelashes. "And I love you." My heart lurches as I grin. "Now go before you miss the plane and have to fly commercial like the rest of us."
I nod and with a chuckle, let go of her waist. She sits back behind the steering wheel and sends me another smile, reassuring me that she'll be okay. It's only for a few days. Nothing's going to happen in three days.
Gracie
"You know, I always thought she was a bitch." Ava shrugs beside me while dragging a finger along the rim of her half-full wine glass.
"Thanks for telling me that now," I scoff and continue to blow warm air on my wet, neon pink nails.
"What was I supposed to say? Oh hey, your best friend is a total bitch? Yeah, right."
She makes a good point. Not only is Ava not the kind of person to say that in the first place, but I would have just shrugged her off anyway. Jessica had me wrapped around her finger, playing me like her very own personal puppet.
"Okay, I get it." I give my hand a shake and grab the bottle of nail polish, screwing on the lid. "Is it bad that I feel guilty for kicking her out? I know she has nowhere to go."
"It's not bad. You're human, Gray. You can't just forget about everything you two have gone through, no matter how badly you want to coochie kick her."
I lift a brow, snorting. "Coochie kick?"
She grins. "Yeah. Coochie kick. It's my new favourite way to thank a bitch. Feel free to use it anytime." It's at this moment that I know I couldn't have asked for a better person to keep me company the next few days.
"I feel like that's been the worst part, though. I just keep replaying memories in my head. I feel like I'm going through a bad breakup. It's getting tiring," I sigh, leaning my head back against the couch.
Ava nods knowingly and turns to face me. "I guess in a way, you kind of did. I mean, you even lived together."
Yeah, it's just a shame she had to go and ruin everything.
"You can't spend all of your time worrying about her, though. She made her bed and now she has to lay in it," Ava adds firmly. I nod slowly, letting out a tired groan.
"Now that we're on the topic of living with someone.” She switches topics with ease. "What are you going to do now that you have the place to yourself? It's going to be pretty lonely, no?"
"What exactly are you hinting at, Ava?" I tease, snorting when she bats her eyes innocently.
“I just think it'll be too empty with just you, that's all."
"As much as I would love to have Tyler out of that shit box apartment, he wouldn't go for it."
