Chapter 6

The four of us talked for two hours in Java. We laughed, and I learned more about Cooper and his joking side. Apparently, he was a bit of a prankster and has pulled some pretty savage pranks on them (his words, not mine). When I pulled out my phone, I realized that I had two missed calls from my mom and five texts. "Crap" I mumbled. “What’s wrong?" Grayson immediately asks. "Oh, my mom has been trying to reach me. One second" I said as I stood up to stand in the corner so as not to disturb their conversation. Cooper was still laughing about one of his pranks where he dyed Axel's hair pink in his sleep. I called my mom back and she immediately picked up. "Thea?" "Hey, Mom. Sorry, I didn't answer you, I'm at Java with-" “Thea, where are you? I've been calling you and your class ended hours ago! You should have been back!" "Mom, as I said, I'm at Java with some friends that I made." My mom sighs over the phone. "Okay, you didn't tell me and I got worried. And I have to leave in an hour for work, so you need to watch Evie. Can you please come home now?" “Crap, I forgot you were working today. Yeah, I'll head over now. I'm sorry." "It's okay, sweetie. I'm glad you're meeting new people. Just let me know when so we know who's watching Evie, okay?" "Sounds good" I nod, even though I know she can't see me. "Love you." "Love you too, honey." I hang up and slowly walk over to our table. Grayson is staring at me, again. I feel like the entire time I've been here, all Grayson's done is look at me. Not that I mind, because I've been doing the same to him, but at least there's a reason for my staring. He is literally the most attractive person on the planet. Every girl in the coffee house, and some of the guys, have been looking at him. He commands attention. Whereas me, I'm just a tiny shy girl with average looks. I'm nothing special. “Hey. So, I have to head home now" I say as I grab my backpack from the floor and place it on my shoulder. "Thanks again for inviting me, Cooper. I really had fun. It was nice meeting you Axel, Grayson" I say as I nod at them both. I shyly wave to Grayson and go to leave when I feel Grayson grabs my hand. "How are you getting home?" he asks, not letting go of my hand. “Oh, I live kinda close so I'm just going to walk," I say to him. "Nonsense, I'll drive you," he says as he stands up and gathers the coffee cup that he hasn't thrown away yet. "You really don't have to. It's not that far of a walk. And how will Cooper and Axel get home?" "I'm driving you, end of discussion. I'll pick them up on the way back" he says, almost like it's an order. “But what if they don't want to wait-" "Thea," Grayson says, looking directly into my eyes. His hand goes to my cheek, and his thumb lightly traces it which sends more tingles through my body. "Okay," I say. Well, it comes out way more breathy than it was meant to, but around Grayson, I find that I'm not really the one in control. He smiles so widely when I agree, then he places his hand on my lower back. “See you in a bit," Grayson says to Axel and Cooper. I shyly wave at them both. "Bye Thee! Now I have Axel all to myself!" Cooper says as he jumps into Axel's lap, causing him to let out an 'oomph.' I giggle as I'm led out of Java, Grayson's hand warming my back from the cold. With Grayson right next to me, I barely notice the chill in the air. As we walk to the parking lot, I silently pray that Grayson doesn't have a motorcycle. Those things are so dangerous, and even though it would thrill me to ride one, I don't think I want to right now. Grayson reaches into his pocket and pulls out a set of keys and clicks a button on it, unlocking a matte black Tesla. Wow, that car looks expensive. Thank god it's a car. Grayson lets out a low rumble which I soon realize is him trying to hold in a laugh. "What's so funny?" I ask. I didn't do anything embarrassing, did I? Is there something on my face? “You’re cute. What else would I be driving?" Oh no. I said that out loud. Quick! Say something! "Oh! Um, I was just saying that I'm glad it's not a motorcycle. You seem like the type to drive a motorcycle. I mean, not like you have a type or anything. It's just that you're really muscular and tall and attractive so I wouldn't be surprised if you rode one, is all" I said all in one breath. Wow, I'm rambling. I ramble when I get nervous, and say stupid stuff that was only supposed to stay in my head. But, now he knows I think he's attractive! Well, of course, he must know that. He owns a mirror! Grayson throws his head back in laughter. Great, now he thinks I'm a freak. But what he says next takes my breath away. "You're so adorable. And motorcycles are death traps, I would never let you ride on one of those." And… I am speechless. What does a person say to that? Grayson just smiles at me with his perfect pearly whites and I swear I almost faint. He leads me over to the passenger side of the car and opens the door for me. I shyly thank him, my confidence gone now after he just complimented me. He must have been kidding. We drove home in comfortable silence, with the only talking being me directing him to my house. After only a few minutes, we reached my house. "Thank you for the ride, Grayson," I say. I smile at him, then open the car door to leave. He opens his door as well and walks over to me. "Um... What are you doing?" I nervously chuckle. "Don't worry, love. I'm not staying. I just want to walk you to the door." Love! He just called me love! Cue swoon. I'm sure my cheeks are bright pink again. I look down in an attempt to hide my embarrassment, but just like in the coffee shop, Grayson doesn't let me look down. His hands cup my cheeks and direct my face up to face him. "Don't hide from me. You never have to be embarrassed with me" he says. I can't even believe I'm letting him touch me like this. When Tyler had his hand on my shoulder, I was very uncomfortable. However, with Grayson holding my hand and now holding my head in his hands, I don't feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, it's the opposite. It feels... right. "Why do I feel this way around you?" I say aloud without meaning to. Once I ask the question I immediately regret it. I probably freaked him out. Stupid, Thea. Think before you talk! “So you feel it, too?" he responds, and my heart stops for a moment. Does he feel what I'm feeling? Does he feel this insane attraction, this force that's pulling us together? It's insane because I just met him two hours ago and I already feel like I've known him forever. Just when I'm about to ask him about it, the door opens to reveal my mother already in her flight attendant's clothes. "There you are. Oh!" my mom says when she notices Grayson. That's when I realize the position we're in. We're extremely close, and Grayson has his hands on my cheeks. It probably looks like he's about to kiss me. I jolt out of his hold and clear my throat while my cheeks burn. “Hey, mom. Uh, this is Grayson" I mumble to my mom. "Well, Grayson, it's very nice to meet you. Do you go to school with Thea?" my mom questions. "No, ma'am. I graduated last year, but I'm friends with one of her classmates" he says. He already graduated?! How old is he? Now that I look at him, I suppose he does look older than me. But he can't be more than 23. Hopefully. “Oh, Well, that's nice. What did you stu-" My mom was interrupted by the screeching that is my sister. "THEEEE! You're home!" she says as she sprints outside and jumps into my chest. If I didn't catch her, she definitely would have knocked me over like a bowling pin- which has happened, I'm afraid. "Hey, Evie! How are you? Did you have a good day?" “I had the best day ever! Today at daycare we made-" Evie stops talking when she notices Grayson standing beside me. I know exactly when she notices him because her eyes grow wide as saucers and she hugs me tighter. She can be a little shy around new people but she blossoms once she gets to know you. "Thee, who is that big man?" Evie whispers, but since she's six, she doesn't really whisper that well so it comes out as more of a raspy speaking voice. “Evie, this is my new friend, Grayson," I say to her. "He's nice. You can talk to him." While she's still in my arms, she turns to Grayson. "Hi Grayson," she says, a little shy, but she still speaks to him which is a good start. "Hi, Evie. It's nice to meet you. I like your outfit" Grayson says, to which Evie giggles. "Thanks! Mommy got the sparkly skirt from Justice!" “Well you look adorable in it" he says. I know it shouldn't really bother me, but Grayson called me adorable a few times in the cafe. Does he mean that in the same way as he does with Evie? That I'm just a small, shy girl who he feels he needs to be nice to? As Grayson is talking to Evie, I turn to look at my mom who is still standing in the doorway looking at the three of us. She mouths 'he's cute!' to which I aggressively mouth 'MOM' with wide eyes, hoping she won't embarrass me. Unfortunately, she's not the one I should be worried about embarrassing me. “Grayson?" Evie says with more confidence. He hums, waiting to hear what Evie will say. "Are you dating Thea?" I almost choke when I hear Evie ask him that. I look to Grayson, about to tell him he doesn't have to stay and answer Evie's questions when he says "Hopefully one day."