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Chapter 28: On the Fly

Chapter 28: On the Fly

"After our little heart-to-heart, that you vowed wouldn't happen, I feel a lot closer to you. I'm starting to see you as an actual human being again," I tell Grey in earnest.

I caught up with him before he could leave without me – in other words, I jumped on his back and refused to let go until he let me in his car.

"I regret it already," he replies, taking his sights off the road to spare me a quick glance.

"Psh, your glass is always half-empty," I shrug, taking zero offense.

"No," he counters, "it's always completely empty."

I pout and pat his shoulder, careful not to disturb him from his driving. "That's sad."

"About everything I told you, only JT knows," he informs me. "Please keep it under wraps," he asks nicely.

I nod, feeling sympathetic toward his situation. "Of course."

I'm not surprised he confided in Jay, and I'm also not surprised that Jay didn't mention a word of it to me. If you need to speak to someone about something sensitive, my husband-thing is perfect for the job. You can bet that whatever you tell him won't go anywhere else.

"You're gonna be fine though," I add when a silence settles over us. "There's room for growth in your life. Everything will work out as it should."

"Your glass is always spilling over."

"That's not true," I protest. "That's just the way people perceive me. Sometimes, I feel empty too."

I watch him as the hard expression leaves his face and becomes replaced with a look of sorrow, as if actually sympathizing with me.

"But still," I lighten the mood before we get stuck on what I said, "it wouldn't hurt for you to try and be a little bit more like me and a little less like you."

He scoffs. "I beg to differ; it definitely will hurt me and everyone around me. Humanity, in general, will be hurt."

I react with pettiness. "It's daytime right now. How are you tolerating direct sunlight on your skin? I figured you'd be in a ball of flames."

He takes one hand off the wheel to flip me off.

Leaning back in my seat, I run my fingers through my hair and laugh. "So mean," I tell him while putting my hair up into a messy ponytail.

He turns his head and notices my action. "Your hair looks longer. Do you ever cut it?" he implores.

"I don't." I shake my head. "Should I?"

"No," he answers firmly, sure of himself.

I nod. "I like my long hair too..." I begin rambling on about keeping my hair long and healthy when he switches the radio on and turns it up as if to wash me out. "Am I boring you?" I shoot him a fierce look.

He nods. "Yeah, kinda. You were going on and on about hair stuff and it just wasn't entertaining me."

"Bonehead," I mutter just as he pulls to a stop in front of Greg's place.

To my utter astoundment – I'm using big words because I'm that shocked – Grey walks with me to the front door.

I smile, moved by the gesture. "You don't have to walk me to the door, Grey."

He rolls his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. I just wanted to see if Greg's around."

Yeah, that makes more sense...much more sense...