Page 16 of Eleanor & Grey

I glanced up and down the block, just to make sure he was speaking to me. “You don’t want to hang out with me.”

“Yes, I do.”

I tugged on the bottom of my purple cardigan. “No, you don’t.”

“I do,” he pressed.

“To get to Shay?”

He cocked an eyebrow and stepped closer to me. “Not everything is about your cousin. Some things are about you.”

“I mean, it just doesn’t make sense. Why would you want to hang out with me?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You were interesting at the party, and I’d like to get to know you better.”

“I was reading a book and wearing headphones at a high school party. That’s not interesting. That’s weird.”

“I like weird.”

I laughed. “No, you don’t. You like not weird.”

“How do you know what I like?”

I glanced around and shrugged. “I’m just assuming.”

“Well, you shouldn’t. If you want, you can hang out with me and really get to know me,” he offered.

“We don’t really come from the same kind of world, Greyson. You’re you, and I’m me. I mean, look at the size of your house, and your popularity, and—”

“Listen, if you don’t want to hang out, just say so. No need for excuses,” he cut in, making me stand up straighter.

“No, that’s not it. I’m just saying…we don’t have much in common, I don’t think.”

“Well, we can find out, and go from there.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Okay, well, once you discover something we have in common, I’ll hang out with you.”

He narrowed his eyes, almost as if he didn’t believe me. “Pinky promise?” he asked, holding out his pinky finger.

“Are you kidding?”

“No. I mean it. I need your word. If I find something we have in common, you’ll hang out with me. Pinky promise.”

“Fineee,” I groaned as I wrapped my pinky with his. I tried to ignore the feeling his touch brought me. “I promise. I gotta get to Molly now.”

He smiled, pleased. “Okay, I’ll talk to you later.” I smiled back before I could stop myself and he noticed it. “More of that, Eleanor.”

“Whatever. Bye, Greyson.” I turned away from him, and I felt my cheeks heating up as I hurried up the steps, still smiling from ear to ear. As I reached the porch, I paused and turned back toward him. “People call me Ellie. You can, too, if you want.”

“Okay, Ellie.” The way the name fell from his lips made me blush even more. “And you can call me Grey.”

“Just Grey?”

“Yeah, just Grey.” He turned away and tossed a hand up in the air. “Bye, Ellie.”

The corners of my mouth turned up as I watched him walk away and I spoke to myself softly, unsure what exactly was happening in my life lately. “Bye, Grey.”

“Is that your boyfriend?” a small voice asked.

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