"Oh?" Grayson set his water bottle to the side—filled with a murky brown liquid that sloshed against the sides. I grimaced at it, but he leaned close, distracting me. Grayson placed a palm on either side of me, caging me in and ratcheting my heart rate up even more. I gulped. "And just where are we going?" heasked.
"I-it's a surprise," I lied. Then again, technically it wasn't a lie. Itwasa surprise...for both of us—since I had no clue what we were gonna do or where we were gonnago.
"Uh huh." His naked chest brushed against my shirt and the smell of hot, sweaty Grayson drifted up to me. My thighs clenched. One night with Marv had set me on high alert. Even the slightest of brushes seemed to scramble my thoughts. Of course, it only happened when I was in close quarters with one of the guys—Grayson included, obviously. The fact that Grayson and I were alone and in relative privacy where no one at the house could hear us only heightened my awareness of him, and I suspected that he knew as much. His breath touched my cheeks. "And just who is driving on thistrip?"
"I will," I offered. "We can take yourcar."
He laughed, pulled away and left me sagging against the countertop. Was I disappointed? No. Maybe. Okay, a little bit. "You're not driving my car," he said. "I'll drive. I'll come get you at seven pm as long as you leave me alone for the rest of theday."
I eyed him. "Promise?"
He nodded, snatching up his water bottle with the gross protein liquid in it. "Count onit."
"Alright," I said hesitantly, moving towards the glass doors that ledoutside.
"See you tonight," he called over hisshoulder.
The entire way back to the house—all two minutes of the walk—I wondered if I had missed something. When I entered, brushing off a few raindrops from my shoulders and hair, Texas was there. "How'd it go?" heasked.
"Uh, good," I repliedabsently.
"What happened?" he pressed, moving in closer until he was right next to me. Concern shone in the depths of his dark brown eyes. "What did hesay?"
"We're going on a date," I said. "Tonight."
"A date?" herepeated.
Inodded.
"Where are you going?" he asked, curious rather thanupset.
"I have no freaking clue." But I'd have to figure it out and quickly. I was more than a little sure Grayson knew that this was only to draw him out, but I'd make this date one of the best I could. Anything to keep him from falling back down into the depressed hole he'd been in since we got back from Lander. I wondered if it had anything to do with college. Had he wanted to stay? But no, Knix and Marv had told me that the falling out he’d had with his mother was the primary reason. His crazy, stalker, money-hungry mother. Yes, I was almost certain she was the cause of his continued negative mood. I only wished there was something I could do to lift his spirits in a more permanent way—short of finding her and demanding that she stay the hell out of hislife.
Texas tried to ask me a few more questions, but I had planning to do. Turning abruptly, I pressed a quick kiss to his lips, both startling him and shutting him up—a two for one, as it were. Despite the suddenness of my kiss, he returned it wholeheartedly. Texas' tongue tangled with mine, causing my breath to catch as I pressed closer to him. I had only meant for it to be a quick, chaste kiss. I wasn't disappointed in the least that it had ended up beingmore.
When we finally managed to pull away from each other, I was panting and Texas was looking at me with partial surprise and partial desire, his lids heavy over his eyes as he watched me. "I'm gonna go take a shower," I said,unsteadily.
Texas looked like he wanted to follow me, but he stepped away with a rough sigh, moving back so that I could pass by and head down the hall. I peeked over my shoulder on my way to the bedroom, half expecting him to be following anyway. He wasn't, and I couldn't decide if I was disappointed or not. That seemed to be my streak today—get close to one of the guys, get worked up, and then walk away. We were going to have to break this cycle, and soon. I didn't know how much longer I could stand this limbo I had with everyone but Marv. Even though it didn't feel like limbo with the others, it would be until we solidified where we were at. Maybe tonight, I'd do that withGrayson.
One step at a time, I reminded myself. One step at atime.