248 Days

June 14th, Part 2

Choosing not to attend the class after party, our small group of friends went to Luke's instead. We sat by the campfire, chatting, and laughing, but my night disappeared in a blur. Mind a jumbled mess, before I knew it, Grayson and I were giggling and shutting the Ryder's blue front door.

      Despite the early morning hours, Claire and Calvin had yet to come home. Had they not gone drinking with old friends, I was certain we'd have been ambushed with more pictures the moment we returned. Saved from what would have been Claire's endless posing, with great relief I kicked off my shoes and unclipped my pinned-back hair. Curls falling to my shoulders, I made way for the kitchen.

      "Do you want some chilly cheese toast?" I called. "I'll even try to make then like you said I used to."

      Having been on my heels only seconds ago, I expected a quick response. When none came, I turned on my feet. Grayson loved to talk, and he loved chilly cheese toast, he wouldn't skip out on this opportunity.

      Paused near the sofa, blue eyes bore into me, but he made no move to answer. Shifting uneasily on his feet, his eyes were wide, lips pressed in a straight line in a mixture of fear and worry.

      "Are you okay?" I asked, brows furrowed in concern.

      Panic only more prevalent on his features and chest visibly tightening when I took a step forward, I didn't dare move any closer. My mind raced to replay the night. Had I done something wrong? He certainly looked as if he was enjoying himself out there.

      "I can't do this anymore," he finally revealed, voice fragile. My heart clenched in my chest. "I know I said I'd use every minute I could get, but I need to know... Did it work?"

      My heart went in overdrive. Palms sweaty, pulse bounding, my tongue was too large for my sudden dry mouth. I hadn't expected this conversation so soon. I wasn't prepared. I thought I had more time; thought I had four days to properly mold my confession. How could I word the truth in a way that would cause me the least amount of pain and humiliation? There was no way to put it lightly. No way to protect my heart. Half-digested smores threatening to come up the way they came, my gut was turned upside-down.

      Did it work? Had he succeeded in getting his best friend back?

     "No." I answered. Surged with panic and self-inflicted anger, honesty rolled off my tongue. Grayson's instant state of devastation, shoulders slumping and face dropping in horrified disbelief, only sparked my frustration. "How could you think it worked?" I demanded, words spilling free in anger. I glowered at him, eyes sharp in accusation. He had done this to me. The idiot had ruined us; he had reconstructed our forgotten friendship from the ashes, only to ruin it by making me fall in love with him. He would be the cause of my heartache. My voice rose, words shaky. "How could you do everything you did and expect me to just want to be friends? How could I not fall in love with you? You great, big idiot!"

      I had no time to register the extent of my honesty; the extent of the confession I hadn't intended to share. Before I knew it, Grayson had crossed the sofa length distance that separated us and was pushing me backwards. Pinning me against the wall, with a jerk of his thumb under my chin he forced my eyes to his. Lips a breath away, forehead rested harshly against mine, his eyes held an anger comparable to my earlier intensity. His hard gaze bore into me in warning.

      "Please don't mess with me," he half-snarled.

      Inhaling sharply, my harsh breaths came in fast. I couldn't find the air to speak. His gaze was sending me into a spiral, but I couldn't bring myself to look away from his suddenly dark eyes.

      "I'm not," I finally managed, voice faint and trembling. "I wouldn't joke about something like that."

      With a choked sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxed, eyes considerably softening before his lips were pressed firmly on mine. Soft hands holding my face to his, palms against my warm cheeks and fingers nestled in my curls, I stifled a gasp. Everything I had wanted for the past weeks; it took only a moment to register. Shock fading, I parted my lips against his, allowing myself to melt into his embrace.