Page 19 of Keeping You

He leaves and closes the door behind him, leaving me staring at the place he was just standing. Figures today would be the day he throws in my face that I agreed to dates. My friends will have even more ammunition when they find out about this.

I grumble to myself as I get out of bed and have a shower. As I stand in the closet afterwards, my eyes catch on something and I grin. I’m not sure why I packed this, but it’s perfect for today. If Grayson is going to force me to go on a date, I’m going to embarrass the hell out him.

I grab the items I need and quickly get dressed, taking a quick peak at myself in the mirror before heading into the living room to meet Grayson. He’s dressed casually in a pair of shorts and runners with a T-shirt that looks better on him than it has any right to. He looks up from his phone, and shock fills his face before he smooths out his expression. I can’t blame him to be honest. Normally, I’d never leave the house dressed like this, but it’s all for the shock value and embarrassment so that, hopefully, I can be single again soon. I look, odd, to say the least.

A few years ago, I attended some animal print party and, me being me, went all out. I bought cheetah print leggings, a cheetah print tank top, and happened to find some shoes, too. Packing was a haze, but I managed to grab the entire outfit from my closet, and I couldn’t be more glad I did.

Grayson holds his hand out, indicating he’ll follow me. I leave the apartment and wait for him to lock the door before me make our way down to the car. He opens my door for me before rounding the car and driving out of the parkade.

He heads south and out of the bustling downtown air. I stare out the window as he drives us closer to the water, realizing he’s taking me to the beach. I look over at him, and he smiles softly before his gaze returns to the road. He parks in front of one of the most popular beaches in the area. We get out and he heads to the trunk, grabbing a picnic basket and blanket. I follow him tothe middle of the beach, where he lays out the blanket. We kick off our shoes and sit.

A light breeze comes off the water, and I close my eyes and absorb the feeling of it on my skin and the smell of the ocean. After a minute, I open my eyes and turn to look at Grayson, who is watching me. He gives his head a quick shake before he opens the basket and pulls out two little bottles of sparkling wine, a container of cut cheese, another with salami, a bag of crackers, and a variety of fruit. It’s everything I would pack to take to the beach.

He unscrews one of the bottles of wine and passes it to me before opening his and taking a sip.

I stare at the food and realize I’m actually hungry. He opens the salami first and holds the container out to me. I grab a slice and moan as I take a bite. Grayson coughs as he adjusts himself.

“Your favourite colour still pastel green?” he asks.

“Umm.” I take a bite of cheese. “Yeah,” I say hesitantly.

He nods and tosses a piece of cheese into his mouth.

“You still saving for that trip to Paris?”

I nod. “Yeah. Not sure when I’ll actually be able to go on it, but still working towards it.” I’ve always wanted to visit Paris. Being someone who is looking for true love, of course I want to visit the city of love at least once in my life. Ideally, I would take the trip with my partner, but if not, a solo trip would be just as fun.

He smiles softly. “Well, I know you’ll be able to take that trip soon. I’m sure it will be amazing.”

We sit in silence for a minute, the sound of the water lapping at the shore and people enjoying their day out.

“How’s your dad?” he asks.

I sigh. “He’s good. He’s dating someone new. She seems to be good for him. He sounds happier when I talk to him on the phone.”

He smiles. “I’m glad.”

When Grayson and I tried this two years ago, I told him how I was closest to my dad. My dad was the person I could always turn to when I needed help. When my parents split, it was hard. My mom was super self-involved and tried to make everyone feel bad for her. I was an adult when I learned from someone close to the family the truth as to why they separated. Mom had cheated. Since then, she’s gone through more men than I have fingers. She’s on her third husband, whom she’s already on the rocks with. Over the years, I’ve pulled away from her, not needing the toxicity in my life.

“Okay, truth or dare?” Grayson asks, and my head swings towards him.

“Neither.”

“Spitfire, you’ve got to give me something here. We’re on a date. Let’s have fun.”

“Fine. Truth.”

He tips his head back, staring at the sky for a second before he looks at me. “Most embarrassing moment in college.”

Do I go as embarrassing as the time I was dared to streak across campus only to run into my biology professor when he was on his way home and I was five minutes away from my dorm and had to go all the way back completely mortified? Or do I go less embarrassing and say the time I spilt sulfuric acid all over my chemistry homework in front of the entire lab and ended up having to redo the assignment?

Looking at Grayson, I decide to go with the latter. As I’m explaining the story, I have his sole focus. His eyes don’t leave me, and it has my feelings all over the place. It makes me want to crawl out of my skin and be anywhere but under his gaze, but it also has me wanting to puff out my chest with pride that the Grayson Maxwell, who could have any woman he wants, who has had any woman he wants, is only paying attention to me.Not the women in bikini’s playing volleyball twenty feet to his left, or the woman sunbathing with her ass facing us five feet in front of us. His eyes are only on me. The pride is followed by disgust. Having his attention like this should not make me happy, because I know it doesn’t last.

When I finish telling the story, I say, “Okay, your turn, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

I grin, having the perfect one in mind that I know will follow him for months.

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