With Grayson's sudden absence from her life, Mia tries her hardest to carry on as normal; to continue as though she had never met the man who turned her world upside down in only a short amount of time.
With the help of her best friend Hailey, and...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I'm not sure what Grayson does to me, but every time we ride in his car it's like some invisible force rips inside of me and breaks me of my ability to actually concentrate on where we're going. But actually, I kind of love it; I love how he hypnotises me in every way he can possibly can.
He's parks his car in what appears to be a makeshift car park—trees, gravel and old fencing lining the perimeter. For a moment, I wonder if we're even still in the city.
"What is this?" I ask Grayson, watching as he ruffles his hand through his hair in the rearview mirror, his gorgeous eyes twinkling against the steady streams of moonlight.
With a smile, he turns to me and says, "It's a surprise. Come." He exits the car and walks round to my side to pull me out. With his arm snaked around my waist, he leads me down a dirt track.
In the air, light smells of popcorn and hot peanuts waft around, faint echoes of laughter carrying across the treetops. I don't even realise that I'm grinning when Grayson's head dips and his lips graze against that spot just under my ear.
He inhales, his teeth ever so slightly nibbling there as we walk. "I don't think I can ever be apart from you again baby."
My stomach explodes with meaning. Longing. Grayson is home to me, no matter where we are or what we're doing. He's my anchor and he's my comfort. When I'm with him, it's all so easy.
I stifle my smile. "You know, a man leading a girl down a dirt track into a forest could look kinda sketchy," I tease, my small fingers curling around the warm skin of Grayson's back.
He looks to me, smirking. "If the man is Grayson Cooper then the girl should feel extremely lucky." He sends me a wink, then swipes his lips against my ear. "But it'll only ever be you darlin'."
Holy shit. His words.
My insides exploding, we reach a break in the trees and suddenly a huge fairground comes into full view. Lights of all colours zap into the night sky, music spilling from every direction. Floods of guests fill the space; some playing the fairground games, some eating and drinking and others riding the attractions.
My body splashes with elation—how does Grayson know the best spots? The best places to take me that blows everything else out the water? I can't stop grinning. He wants us to have fun. Tonight, there will be no seriousness. No moments of doubt.
Tonight, we'll be a normal boyfriend and girlfriend.
"I used to come here when I was younger," Grayson tells me as he buys us two tickets from a glassed kiosk. "Mum and Dad used to take me and Chloe. They keep it open until early morning, so we always felt naughty coming at night. Rebellious." He bends his lips.
I grin. In some ways I feel naughty and rebellious too. I wonder if Lucas and Hailey have noticed I'm gone. But in the same second, I realise that I don't care. Not anymore.
