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“I’m scared of his reaction… for both of us.”
“He will get over it. And as for him being mad at me… I’ll deal with it. Things will be okay.”
She shifts away from me just slightly, dropping her eyes to the floor. It’s like she can’t look at me.Fuck.Sierra blows out a breath and rests her chin on her knees.
“What is it, sunshine?” I give her a minute before reaching out and running my hands through her damp hair. “Do you want to keep doing this? If it’s upsetting you too much, we can stop.”
We can’t stop. There’s no way I can.
My heart is racing in my chest. I’ve put it out there and already I want to take it back.
She unfolds her legs, shifting her body to face mine. She looks tense, guarded. “Is that what you want, Gray? To end things?” she asks softly.
“Not even a bit,” I say honestly, reaching for her hand. “I want the opposite. I want more. I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to take you on dates. Real dates where we aren’t hiding, like a restaurant or the grocery store—”
Sierra laughs. “The grocery store isn’t a date, Gray.”
“I don’t know,” I tell her with a sheepish grin. “I haven’t done this in a long time, and I might not be very good at it. But I want to be with you. I mean… if that’s what you want too?”
She’s silent for all of three seconds, but it’s three seconds too long for me. Then, finally, she says, “I want it all.”
“You do? Like for real?” I want to scream, high-five someone, pump my fist in the air. “So, can I call you my girlfriend? I really want that stupid label if it’s okay with you?”
“It’s okay with me.”
A smile lights up her whole damn face. I lean towards her, and she does the same and we meet in the middle but before I kiss her, I ask her one more question.
“Are you sure? I want you to be sure because I’m 100 percent in this with you.”
She closes the distance between us, sealing a kiss to my lips. A kiss that feels like a promise. “I am positive.” She kisses me again. “Can you be patient for just a little while longer? I promise to tell my brother. I just need to think abouthowto tell him and find the right time to do it.”
My hands frame the sides of her face. “We can tell him together if you want, or I can do it if that would be easier.”
“No. I think it’s better if it comes from me.”
Keeping us a secret for a little while longer is not what I want, but if it’s what she needs I can be patient. It’s one thing to hide our relationship when we’re locked away in one of our houses, but it gets a lot harder when we’re out in public. Case in point, the way I couldn’t keep my hands off Sierra at the baseball game today.
“The long weekend at Holden’s place is coming up,” I remind her, dreading the thought of having to pretend she’s not mine for two entire days while we’re away with our friends. “Do you think you’ll tell him before we go?”
She nods. “I will.”
I smile, reaching for her waist, pulling her into my lap. Her coconut scent invades my senses. “I’m going to miss sneaking around with you, sunshine. It’s a lot of fun.”
“Then we’ll make the most of it for a little while longer,” she whispers against my lips.
My hands fall to her thighs, then move slowly to her ass, gripping each cheek. “Starting now.”
SIERRA
The next coupleof days are a whirlwind. Work is busy with a presentation I’ve been preparing for so I’ve had to stay late every night to get it all done. One night, Jules and I worked so late that Maya was already in bed when we finally wrapped things up, so we went for a quick bite and a glass of wine before calling it a night. Another night, I met Aubrey, Holden’s girlfriend, at Dream Bean for coffee then we went for a walk along the beach.
But my mornings and nights are always spent with Grayson, hiding away at either his house or mine. We cook dinners together, curl up on the couch to watch movies, stay up way too late drinking wine outside on the porch.
I’ve been so busy that it hasn’t been hard finding excuses not to talk to my brother. I know that I’m avoiding the inevitable, but I just keep wanting one more perfect day in the bubble Grayson and I have found ourselves in. We don’t have to justify our feelings for one another or defend our relationship to anyone. And I don’t have to see the look on Jake’s face when I break the news to him that I’m falling for his best friend. I haven’t even told Gray how strong my feelings for him are, but I know I like him a lot more than I should. It’s a scary feeling.
But I can’t put it off any longer. I invited Jake over for dinner tonight and I plan on sitting him down and telling him everything. Well, noteverything, but as much as he needs to know. I can only hope that he’ll understand and see how happy Grayson makes me.
I’m chopping vegetables for the salad when I get a text from Grayson.
