Page 80 of How He Got the Girl
I asked for luck, not a kiss…
KELSEY
Yeah, because we want you to get lucky tonight!
ALYSSA
AYYYY!
SHAYNA
Whoop! There it is.
While I’m in the messages app, I click on my thread with Griffin. Before I can second-guess myself, I change his contact name from ‘Mr. Too Late’ to ‘Griff.’ If we’re going to move forward together, I may as well start here.
“How’s it going?” I jump as Griffin walks into the room wearing a Knoxville Fireflies sweatshirt. I can forgive his choice of baseball team because of how deliciously good he looks in his light-gray joggers.
Everyone always talks about the attractiveness level of baseball pants, but I think joggers are severely underrated—especially when Griffin is wearing them.
I lock my phone screen and toss it on the couch like it will burn me if I hold it too long. “Great.”
He smiles before settling on the couch beside me. The fresh scent of soap and eucalyptus wafts my way and has me thinking about my friends’ texts. My gaze drops to his lips. When I meet his eyes again, I find mirth mixed with desire.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to kiss you.”
My heart pounds in my chest at the thought. I bite my bottom lip to keep from gasping or telling him to go right ahead. That doesn’t seem like the smartest idea right now. Because if I give him the go-ahead, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to stop kissing him. And I feel like there are conversations we need to have about what’s next before that happens.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for that.” The words come out raspy and breathless like I’m laying my cards on the table for him to see.
“I’m here whenever you are.” He presses his lips to the crown of my head.
I hum at his touch. “You weren’t exaggerating before, were you? When you said that you always looked for me.”
Griffin shakes his head. “I told you a long time ago that I don’t promise things I can’t deliver on. We were talking about endless amounts of snickerdoodle hot chocolate then.” He holds up a finger and jogs into his kitchen. When he returns, he has a canister in his hands that, upon closer inspection, is a snickerdoodle hot chocolate mix. “I’ve bought this from that little café every year, hoping that I would be able to find you and fulfill that promise I made to you.” He sets it on the coffee table and turns his body sideways on the couch, taking my hands in his. “I never gave up hope.”
Griffin lets go of one of my hands, reaching up and swiping his thumb under my eye. It’s only then that I realize I’m crying. I’m not sure when I started, but it’s like his words released a dam of pent-up emotions and feelings.
“I hate seeing you cry.” He wipes away another tear. “Is it something I said?”
I shake my head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I was hurt by you back then, and I’ve held this resentment toward you inside for so long.” I release a shaky sigh. “It feels good to let it go.”
Griffin sits with me in the silence, rubbing small circles on my back. Giving me space to process things on my own. Not forcing me to say where this leaves us or what this means for our relationship. It makes me appreciate him all the more.
“I’m still figuring out what this is and what a possible future could look like between us,” I say. “But please know that I am thinking about it.”
He smiles. “That’s all I could ask for. Like I said, take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
Without giving myself a chance to second-guess my actions, I lean forward, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Griffin’s whole body tenses as if one small move will ruin the moment or make me run away. His scruff tickles my lips, sending a tingling awareness throughout my body. I need to figure out my feelings soon, otherwise my body is going to choose for me.
I pull back and clear my throat. “So, did you have any shirtless scenes in any of your movies?”
Griffin laughs. “Yes. What made you think to ask that?”
“The tattoo.”
“Ah, they have people on set to cover them up. Sometimes it requires digital manipulation or actual prosthetics, but because mine is small, I only had to work with a makeup artist on set to cover it up any day we shot a shirtless scene.”
I nod slowly. “You learn something new every day.”
