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“All settled. So far, so good.” Nope. Still weird.
“And what about the house? How’s the unpacking going?”
“Well, aside from the fact that there are boxes everywhere and it looks like a flea market, it’s feeling a little more like mine.”
"Hey, don't knock flea markets. I once picked up a sweet set of macramé potholders at one of those things."
Sierra looks at me like she's not quite sure whether I'm full of shit or not. I grin back at her. Luckily, I’m not a guy who gives up easily. I’ve also been told I’m extremely charming and that charm seems to be working because Sierra is smiling at me… and there’s the girl I met in Miami. She’s slowly making a reappearance. I can sense she’s letting her guard down just a bit. Finally. She’s also ridiculously hot when she’s smiling.
Sauna-level hot.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’m trying so hard to crack her. Her smile works me up.
I’m grinning as wide as a four-lane highway when I notice Beckett with his arms around Jules, kissing her neck. They’re all over each other, madly in love. “It’s gross, isn’t it?” I joke, nodding to where Beck and Jules are locking lips in a full-on public display. “Someone should tell them to take that back to their bedroom.”
“Or remind her that they’re on opposite teams and she needs to pick a side.”
“Exactly. The winning team,” I say, pointing to the Liberty logo splashed across my chest.
She looks like she’s fighting the urge to roll her eyes. “I forgot about the competitive streak in you.”
“And how would you even know I have a competitive streak? I’m neither confirming nor denying, for the record,” I joke.
“Well for one, Jules told me about game night at her house on her birthday. She said you were all pouty that you lost at Monopoly. Moped about it for days, I hear.”
I smirk. “So you two were talking about me. What else did you talk about? About me, specifically.”
Her answer comes quickly, her eyes still on me. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re not that interesting.”
I shoot her a look of disbelief. “Uh-huh. Sure.” I smile. “Look, if you were digging for info, all you had to do was ask. The answer is yes, I’m single.”
Sierra tilts her head to the side, narrowing her eyes. “Noted,” she says tapping her skull. “And look at that… poof… already forgotten.”
I stare back at her, clutching my chest. “Ouch. That was harsh. You’re going to make me cry.”
“Shut up,” she grumbles. Heryou’ve-got-to-be-kidding-meface turns to laughter. I might just be getting somewhere with her.“We both know what you really mean by ‘single.’ I believe that’s shorthand for ‘playing the field.’”
She’s not wrong. Playing the field is what I’ve always done. Something tells me she’s a little afraid of commitment herself, but it doesn’t feel like a safe topic for us to discuss, so I decide to move on.
I’d rather be doing what I can to make her smile again. Anything to keep this easy banter going between us. “Just haven’t met the right one, I guess.” I shrug, digging my hands into my pockets, then flashing her my most charming grin.
“Next you’re going to try to sell me a bridge,” she scoffs.
“What? You don’t think I’m capable of a… relationship?”
She shakes her head. “You can’t even say the word.”
“Sure, I can. Re-la-tion-ship,” I say, dragging the word out into four long syllables. “Maybe it’s time.”
Looking at Sierra, I almost believe that. Maybe it is time for something more serious. But I quickly back that bus up, remembering she is very off-limits.Friends, Gray. Just friends.
And a friend can buy their friend a drink. So, I ask her, “What are you drinking? Can I get you another?”
Sierra tucks a few strands of hair that have slipped out of her braid behind her ear. “No thanks. I’m going to head out soon. I’ve got some work I need to do at the house.”
I’m disappointed, but I’m a glass-half-full type of guy, so I’m going to call tonight a win. We had good conversation. She didn’t bolt when I came over to talk to her and I saw a smile on her face more than once. I half-expected her to climb the fence in an escape attempt when I approached her, so all things considered, I think this went very well.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed your living room light on pretty late.”
