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“Oh hey,” he looks between us and then smirks at Grant. “Call me later. Don’t be too late. Bring your friend if you want, I don’t care.”
Grant ignores him as his teammate walks away from us. I watch until the other guy has rounded the corner before gathering up enough gall to meet Grant’s gaze. He’s watching me. The surprise on his face is gone and now he’s completely unreadable. I can’t stop swallowing nervously or clasping my hands together in front of me.
“Hi,” I manage to get out.
“Hey.”
Ok, not a lot to go off of, but what did I expect? Grant gave me space to figure things out. Or at least, if Trip is to be believed,pretendedto give me space. Now, it’s up to me to close it. I can do this. Iwantto do this. I want Grant, Jason, and Trip. The other two are nearby. I know it. But I know I have to deal with Grant before I can meet up with them. He’s their leader after all. What he says goes.
I open my mouth, ready to tell him everything that’s been on my mind. Before I get a chance, the door to the locker room opens and four more guys come out. My mouth clamps shut as I wait for them to pass by. Grant sighs and rolls his eyes. He reaches out, takes my hand, and pulls me toward the locker room. I try not to get too excited by the contact.
“Hey, Grant, you comin’ tonight?” one guy calls as we pass them.
“Maybe. I’ll text you!” Grant calls over his shoulder.
“Girl’s locker room is upstairs,” another calls.
“Yeah, he knows what he’s doing…” someone fake whispers in return.
As they all fall into a fit of laughter, my cheeks burn with embarrassment. It’s not enough for me to object when Grant pushes open the locker room door though. He pulls me quickly past the showers, some still in use, and we weave through several rows of lockers, passing students that seem oblivious to my presence.
Thank god.
We get to the last row of lockers before he pulls me down toward the end of them. He steps in front of me, blocking me from view, and crosses his arms over his chest.
“What are you doing here, Bri?”
Hm… Judging by his tone, he doesn’t seem pleased. But he can’t bethatupset if he brought me in here, right? Unless he plans to embarrass me somehow. It wouldn’t take much. Already, I’m practically trembling as thoughts of how much trouble I could get in if I’m caught flash through my head. I nearly chicken out. Excuses sit on the tip of my tongue, ready to break free and get me out of this situation.
No. I need to get this off my chest. Gathering up all my courage, I set my shoulders, meet his gaze and say,
“I miss you.”
Grant doesn’t react. He just stares down at me. I swallow and continue, knowing the rest needs to come out.
“I miss the thrill you and the others brought to my life. Honestly, I didn’t think I liked you guys at all, ever, but being apart gave me time to think things over, and I realized that wasn’t true. I do like you, a lot. I think it’s why I put up with your shit for so long. But,” I take a deep breath. “I’m done playing games. You put my job, and my life, in jeopardy, and I can’t have that happen again. I want to do this for real.”
His brows raise. “‘For real?’”
“A real relationship, where I’m an equal, unless I say otherwise. Do you think…” I falter, still unable to read the expression on his face. Mustering up the last of my courage I whisper, “Do you think that’s something you’d be open to?”
Grant’s jaw ticks and his body stiffens. He takes a step forward, which has him towering over me. Nervously, I take a step back. His hands brace themselves on the lockers on either side of my face. He lowers his face until our noses nearly touch.
“Open to the idea of us threedatingyou? Is that what you’re saying?”
Somewhere close by, a group of football players laugh before falling back into conversation. I nod, unable to speak. My heart is pounding away. Can he hear it? I’m pretty sure I’ve stopped breathing. It’s confirmed when my lungs begin to burn from the lack of oxygen.
“I’m fighting the urge to punish you,” he growls through clenched teeth as his brows slowly pinch together. “Twofuckingweeks, Briella, without a word, andthisis what you want to ask me?”
My stomach drops. “Is it… too late?”
The question enrages Grant. He slams his palm into the locker above my head, causing a loud bang. It’s followed by a snarl. Without warning, his lips crash down on mine. The moment our lips touch, a fire roars to life in my veins. Our teeth knock together as he claims my mouth. His body comes closer, pressing me against the locker. I can feel the bulge in his pants press against my stomach. The feel of it only causes the burn in my veins to grow hotter.
“Grant? You in here?”
Grant jerks away from my lips and we both freeze.
“Grant!”
