Page 67 of Broken Discipline
Kylie
“You’re telling menowthat your name isHyde,” I laughed. “Hyde Louis Griffin. What a name.” I leaned into his shoulder, handing him back his ID. “I think you should go by Hyde.”
Griffin rolled his light gray eyes, tossing a hand in the air. “Shut up before I make you shut up.”
I pressed a hand to my chest in playful shock. “How dare you, Mr. Griffin!”
His arm snaked around me, pulling me closer, his sinewy muscles sending a jolt of fire through my veins. Stubble ran over his jaw. He hadn’t shaved that morning, then. That wasn’t like him; he usually kept himself well-groomed, like a soldier or a police officer. It was almost like this insignificant detail proved that he was nervous about leaving too.
I put my hands on his face, trying to stay mentally present. We didn’t need to get into that emotional crap yet. The short facial hair scratched my fingertips. I kind of liked it.
“I almost didn’t recognize you,” I teased. “Your dad actually let you keep the beard today?”
“It’s not a beard,” he said. “It’s stubble.”
I tilted my head, imagining Griffin with a beard. Right now, he looked young and clean, but with a beard, he might look older. More intimidating.
“You know, you’d look good in a beard. If you wanted.Dangerous,” I winked.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
I licked my lips. “Just don’t grow it too long or I might not recognize you when you get back.”
He grabbed a brownie off of the plate on the coffee table, took a big bite, then sank down into the couch. “I’m going to change my name when I get back.”
I didn’t want to think about him leaving for another trip. He’d be gone tomorrow, and he didn’t know when he’d be back.
“And what’s the preferred name?” I asked, trying to keep my mind off of those thoughts. “Something regal, I bet, to fit a prince like yourself.”
He chuckled. “Maybe my dad’s name.” He took another bite of the brownie. “What about Griffin Carter?”
Griffin Carter.That name sounded like the secret identity of a superhero, and in a way, that was just like Griffin. He wanted to be there to protect me, even when I resisted.
But soon, he wouldn’t be able to.
Outside, the leaves fell from the trees in reds and yellows, like a painting in the shadows of a gallery. Soon, the trees would be bare, frost covering the overgrown lawns, and the idea that Griffin might not be back by then tore me to pieces.
I reached over and squeezed his hand, forcing a smile. We still had the rest of the day to ourselves.
“Griffin Carter. I like it,” I said. He had a deep connection with his father and it always amazed me. Griffin was older than me by about five years, and his dad wassignificantlyolder than my parents. But that never stopped Griffin from wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps. “What does your dad think of the name?”
“I haven’t told him yet.”
“He’ll like it.”
Griffin beamed with pride, and that filled me with warmth. Before I could dwell on his upcoming work trip, I quickly flipped through the television channels, trying to find something else to watch. In reality, I didn’t care about what we were watching; it was only background noise, but I needed something to distract me from the ache growing in my chest. I grabbed another brownie from the plate, automatically splitting it in half. Griffin ate his half in one giant bite.
“Stop being such a good baker,” he moaned, then shoved the rest in his mouth.
I grinned. “Stop having such a sweet tooth.”
“I’m going to miss this.”
His words came so quickly that my stomach dropped, my lungs deflating. I didn’t say anything. I wanted to tell him that I would miss this too, but I was scared that admitting it would somehow make it hurt even more. Griffin and his father were going on a trip abroad for work, and they didn’t have any information about when they would be back. No matter how much I begged Griffin for an address, joking that I would send him brownie care packages, he wouldn’t tell me anything, saying that it would be a breach of confidentiality. And that infuriated me. It was proof that he didn’t trust me.
Frustrated, I sighed, quickly grabbing the brownie plate and bringing it to his kitchen counter. There were more squares to eat, but we’d never get through this batch tonight. And even that knowledge made me sad.
I plopped back down on the couch, my chin sinking with me. Griffin held a diamond ring, simple and elegant, in the middle of his palm.
