SNACK SIZE STORIES: Greyson and Chloe

Chapter 5: Greyhound Racer

The week I spent in California was...a dream. A dream in the midst of all the nightmares in my life.

After my guest appearance on Greyson's show, my story got even bigger, with my mother, sister and Joseph being absolutely dragged on social media. The benefit of having played their messages on national TV meant that they were no longer texting or leaving messages on my phone. They called but didn't leave messages, and since I wasn't answering, I didn't have to listen to them. Lorry had called and said there'd been no response from Joseph about the divorce, but she expected him to be true to form and wait until the very last minute to respond. Fine. Whatever. It would happen no matter what stalling tactics he tried.

I found with each day that passed, I was able to face the hurt I felt a bit more easily. I was not a woman who held on to people who didn't want me; if someone hurt me the way my husband had, I wouldn't spend much time mourning what had been cared for by only one of us.

And I'd be lying if I said Greyson didn't lessen the pain. He was charming, fun and distracting. He made me laugh, treated me like a queen and entertained me. He took me on the back of his bike to small towns where, if he was recognized, the people gave him room and rarely approached. It could be due to him being intimidating in person with the tattoos, leather and piercings, but he just shrugged and said he was fine with moving around without autograph seekers when he was with me.

We ate at tiny restaurants in out-of-the-way places and wandered on boardwalks and piers, had more picnics and after he dropped me at my hotel room for the evening, he'd call me when he got home and we'd talk for hours on the phone.

But he wouldn't do anything more than press a kiss to the back of my hand every night.

"I want to do so much more," he'd say in that perfect voice of his, looking at me, his mouth mere inches from mine. "So much more."

Yes, please!

"We have time," he said. "Right now, I like just getting to know you. Tomorrow, you meet my mother."

And the next day, I did meet his mother. She was warm, vibrant and gave me a hug right off, taking my hand and leading me into her house, excitedly chattering and not paying any attention to her son. 

"Hello to you, too, Mom," Greyson grumbled as he trailed behind us.

"Ignore him," she said. "My boy always whines when he feels neglected."

We walked inside and were greeted by four...no wait...five greyhounds, all circling around in excitement.

"I'm a foster mom for the greys," his mom explained. "When they settle down, I'll introduce you."

"I'm sure she's breathless with anticipation," Greyson teased his mother. "It's the only reason she wanted to stop by today."

"I --" I started to object, but his mother slammed her hands on her hips  and gave him the look.

"Greyhound Racer Whitlock, don't you embarrass the poor girl!"

Say...whaaaat?

And then the tatted, confident, badass, pierced biker-man blushed. He freaking blushed.

"Greyhound?" I asked, desperately trying not to laugh. "Greyhound Racer is your real name?"

"I named him as a wonderful tribute to this special, noble breed," his mother trilled while he continued to blush. "Can you believe he goes by Greyson for his talk show instead of his legal name?"

Well, frankly...yes. 

"I can't believe he would change his name like that," I played along.

"Exactly!" his mother agreed, smiling at me. "It's a strong, meaningful name and he was always insisting on being called Grey in school. It's through the greyhounds that his father and I met, you know. We were protesting a dog track together and he came up and told me he liked my sign, if you know what I mean." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Please stop," Greyson groaned, making gagging noises.

"Well, I promise to only call him Greyhound from here on out," I told his mother solemnly.

I loved his mother, who still clearly missed Greyson's father. He'd died a few years earlier following a brief battle with cancer. But his memory was clearly alive for her, and she spoke of him with so much love that I felt like I knew the man from the stories she told about him.

She was interested in learning everything she could about me, had endless questions about my life and plied me with food as she chattered away, patting my shoulder every time she brought me another plate of food or a drink or a dessert. Greyson had said on his show that his mother would show me how a mother should be, and he'd been right. She was warm and funny and welcoming and interested, everything I'd always longed for.

Meeting his mother was one of the highlights of my week, but just being with Greyson -- Greyhound, heh heh heh -- brought me a happiness that I hadn't realized I'd been missing in my life. It'd been a revelation. 

But that wonderful week unfortunately came to an end. On the way to the airport, Greyson had had to swing by his offices to meet with his agent really quick. He left me with his PA for the ten minutes they had to talk.

"Can I get you anything?" he'd asked me. He'd told me to call him Bright, but I wasn't sure if that was a first name, a last name or a nick name.

"No, I'm good, thanks. But I'm glad I got to meet you -- I wanted to thank you for booking my flight out here and for the hotel. It's been perfect. I never flew first-class before."

Bright smiled and leaned forward on his desk. "Wasn't me, cutie. That was all the boss. He booked your flights, booked your hotel and paid for it all himself, too. And let me tell you, Grey never takes time off, and he took the whole week off after your interview to be with you."

"I --"

"And Mama Grey called me and told me Grey took you home and she wanted to know if he'd bought you a ring yet."

"A ring --"

"Grey has never taken a woman home before. Ever. And Chloe,  I'm telling you, I showed him the Tik Tok you did and that man had me hunt down your number two seconds after he finished watching the video."

Grey came out of his office and came right over to me. "Ready, Chloe?"

I said good bye to Bright, and Grey drove me to the airport. 

He held my hand all the way there. 

He walked me to security and stopped me before I had to get in line. "Chloe, I wasn't going to add to all the shit  you  have going on right now with Joseph and your sister, but I can't let you get on that plane without telling you. I'm not a man who believes in much, but I believe in love at first sight. And I know it's real because it happened to me the first time I saw you. When Bright showed me your Tik Tok, I knew. And every minute we've spent together since then has just proven to me I was right. I've fallen in love with you, Chloe, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Before I could say anything, Grey leaned down and kissed me so sweetly I wanted to cry when he pulled back and cupped my cheek with his hand. 

"I know that's a lot to throw at you right before you're about to go back home, but I want you to have some time to think about it. I'm going to call you every day, but I just wanted you to know where my head was at."

"OK, Greyson," I managed.

He kissed me quick. "Go. I'll talk to you tonight."

I made my way through security. I turned back to wave at Greyson, my head full, my thoughts focused on only one thing.

He loved me. Greyson loved me.