Page 46 of You & I, Rewritten

We’re standing outside the lavish double doors of the West Chester County Country Club after making the thirty-minute drive just outside of the city. Graham let me play DJ, and consider me thoroughly impressed by his vast lyrical knowledge of today’s pop divas. I’m pretty sure riding shotgun with Graham belting out every word of my personal favorite songs by the one and only Taylor Swift will be a relationship high point. No question.

Looking over at him, I can tell he’s anxious. His brow is furrowed, and he keeps adjusting his suit coat. “Hey…look at me,” I say, standing in front of him and putting my hands on his broad shoulders. Graham lifts his gaze to mine, worry filling his beautiful eyes. “Let’s just go in there, mingle, and have some fun with your family, okay? I will be right by your side the entire evening.”

He gives me a small grin. “Look at you being mister calm, cool, and collected.”

“We can’tbothbe anxious wrecks,” I say, tugging on his arm in an attempt to lighten the mood. Walking through the double doors, the hum of mingling people fills the air. “Come on, let’s grab a drink and go find your parents.”

“Ah, about that…I forgot to mention that seeing as this is an evening raising money for addiction, it’s acompletelydry event.” Duh. That totally makes sense, but there goes my plan of having a little liquid courage before spending the evening attempting to charm Graham’s family. “But hey, I have an idea.” He grabs my hand with a mischievous grin on his face and leads me down a hallway off the side of the grand hall’s entryway.

Graham clearly knows where he’s heading and when the sounds of the event’s attendees die down, he pulls us into a secluded corner out of sight from anyone walking by. Reaching into his suit jacket and procuring a small, silver flask, he unscrews the top and raises it to his lips, taking a long pull. “Bottoms up!”

His spontaneity is infectious and so unlike the controlled man I’ve come to know, but after seeing how hesitant he was to come to this event in the first place, I can’t ignore my gut feeling thatsomethingis off with him. Graham licks the remnants from his drink off his lower lip and offers the flask in my direction. Not wanting to completely blow him off, I take the smallest sip before handing it back to him, the hard liquor burning my throat as I quickly swallow.

Bringing the flask to his lips once more, Graham takes another deep pull of the liquid, double the amount he had the first time.

“You doing okay?” I have to ask, because the more he drinks, the more I know something is going on with him.

He wipes his mouth on his suit jacket. “Oh yeah…just wanting to make this evening more enjoyable,” he says, tipping the flask back in my direction.

“I’m alright, thanks.” I look at my watch, realizing we’re running late. “How do you feel about joining in on the festivities? I don’t want your parents to think we’re blowing them off.”

“Oh please, they probably haven’t even noticed we’re not here,” he says, his voice sharp but muffled by the flask at his lips, again. Screwing the top back onto the flask, he stashes it back in his jacket pocket. He steps closer to me with a look I’ve come to know so well plastered all over his face.

Ever so slowly, he raises his hands to my waist, pulling me gently to him. “Will, I think I need to reiterate how insanely handsome you look…” he says, his breath warm against my ear, the cloying trace of liquor mixes with his usual spicy scent. “Sexy…enticing…mouthwatering…” he says between lingering kisses along my neck, burning every inch of my skin along the way.

“Flattery will get you everywhere, mister,” I pant, my voice thick with desire.

“Mmmm, good boy.”He slides his hand down inside the waistband of my trousers, bypassing my trunks and firmly grabbing my throbbing erection.Kill me.“You said you wanted me to take care of this, right?” He softly brings his lips to mine, taking my lower lip between his teeth and tugging. A literal moan escapes my lips and if I wasn’t minutes away from having to spend the evening with his parents, I would let him slam me against the wall right now and have his way with me.

“I didn’t meanhere,” I hiss, waving my hand in our general vicinity. “Are you stalling?”

“Depends…is it working?” he asks, giving me another squeeze.

“Um, you’re fully aware of how well it’s working.” I lean my forehead against his, fighting against the targeted torment he is oh-so-expertly delivering with everything I have. “But if we don’t leaveright now,I won’t have any willpower left.” I playfully shove him off of me, enjoying the way it causes him to laugh, and head back to the direction of the party. “Come on, my little avoider…let’s get this over with!”

The moment we step out from our secluded corner and join the growing crowd, I can immediately feel Graham tense next to me. Despite not knowing where I’m going, I take his hand, leading him through the throngs of charitable do-gooders in search of his family. Before he even comes into view, I can hear Mitch’s thunderous voice plain as day, overpowering the sounds of a room full of casual chit-chat and pleasantries. There’s a small break in the crowd, just enough so that I can see both Mitch and Camila at the center of a gaggle of patrons, all immaculately dressed for the occasion.

“There they are,” Mitch booms as we make it closer to their group, interrupting whatever conversation he was in the middle of. “I thought you boys were going to make me deal with all ofthisby myself,” he says, waving his arm in the direction of the mingling guests. Clearly, Graham takes after his father in this regard.

“Ay amor,” Camila says, swatting his arm after breaking away from her friends. She looks absolutely radiant in a floor-length, black gown slung off of one shoulder with a dramatic slit revealing her toned leg. “I’m so glad you both could make it. It means the world to me. Mijo, déjame…” she says, reaching up to adjust Graham’s bow tie, which he stoically obliges. I blush slightly, knowing I’m responsible for Graham’s somewhat disheveled appearance.If you could even call it that.

“I told you we wouldn’t miss it, Mama,” Graham says as she wraps him in a tight embrace, her happiness and appreciation evident by the beaming smile across her face.

“And look at you!Que guapo,” she says, releasing Graham and giving me a tight squeeze, extending the same warmth she showed her own son.

“Camila…you look absolutely stunning!”

She places a warm hand on my cheek, her eyes bright and alive with excitement. “And you two makequitethe pair,” she says with a wink.

“Darling, it’s almost time,” Mitch says, suddenly at her side. “Do you have your notecards? Can I get you anything?” He’s in full-blown supportive husband mode, and it’s beyond adorable to witness.

“It’s time already? Dios mío…okay, wish me luck boys,” she says with a wink.

Mitch places a quick kiss at her temple. “Knock ’em dead, love!”

Camila makes her way to the grand staircase toward the back of the room and is handed a microphone from a nearby server after carefully climbing a few stairs to be sure she can be seen by all.

“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. If I could just take a quick moment of your time…” she says, her voice echoing throughout the room as people quiet down. All eyes are on Camila now as she continues. “My name is Dr. Camila Austin-Rojas, and I want to thank you all for attending the tenth annual Hearts for Change fundraiser.” The crowd responds with boisterous applause, clearly happy to be a part of an event for such a good cause.

---