To Infiniti & Beyond

Chapter Twenty-Three

For the first time in what feels like forever, the Gapplebees group chat illuminates my phone screen.

Tristan suggests the car wash. Jaxon, Grayson and Dean are an immediate yes. Brynn and I agree and separately invite Eva.

When Eva and I pull up to the car wash we spot Jaxon, Grayson, Tristan, and Dean's cars. I pull my car over to the vacuums so I'm out of the way seeing as I don't need a wash.

Eva and I exit my car and met by Brynn who rode with Jaxon.

"Is anyone else here or coming?" I question her.

"Jake rode with Trisitan. No one else is coming to my knowledge."

"No Darcy tonight?" Eva voices my thoughts.

Brynn shakes her head no.

"Thank fuck." I sigh in content. The girls snicker at my antics.

It's been almost a week since I've seen Grayson, which is so unlike us, but he stands there a mere 30 feet in front of me and I feel like I can breathe again. I asked him to hang out the other day, nothing special - just a walk around town to wind down - to which he politely declined with no reason in particular.

As I'm walking up to him with an involuntary smile plastered across my face, he makes eye contact with me, says a quick "hi" and directs his attention to the guys.

Just like that, I feel like I got the wind knocked out of me.

I lean over to the girls, "see what I mean? He's been so distant lately." I comment in a hushed tone.

"I think you're overthinking." Eva thinks I'm delusional.

I've been texting her and Brynn about it, at this point I think she just wants me to shut up.

As Eva walks over to Jaxon, Brynn and I hang back.

"I know him, and I know us. Whatever this is - is not us." Brynn understands me better than anyone else in this situation. She's been by my side through it all the past x amount of months - practically living it with me.

If something happens to one of our pairs - it happens to the other. It's very freaky. Like the one day: Grayson picked me up and surprised me with a date, apparently Jaxon was doing the same thing with Brynn at the same time; we thought they were going to surprise us with a double date - but no, it was just a coincidence. This is just one of many occurrences. Brynn and I keep commenting on how we must be linked. There is simply no other explanation.

"Girl, just wait to see how tonight plays out." Brynn suggests, "but if you feel like something is wrong then talk to him about it. You know him best."

I try to brush off the uneasy feeling as we join the rest of the group.

To our surprise, Jasper and Mason show up unexpectedly a short while later. We invite them out with us and all decide to cruise over to the strip mall.

We've been together for about an hour now. Grayson is still distant. He won't look me in the eye, he doesn't come to stand by me, and every time I try to get close to him he just so happens to gravitate to where I'm not.

Jasper and Jake are sitting in Jasper's car with the doors open, Jaxon is sitting on his trunk. Eva was getting antsy so Grayson opened the trunk of his car so she could sit in it. I'm leaning on the passenger side of his car and Brynn is standing on the driver's side. The six of us are watching the other four boys play with Mason's football.

The night gets later and the crowd continues to thin out. What once was ten of us is now two - Grayson and I. Eva grabbed a ride from Tristian and Jake.

"I should get going soon." Grayson comments.

"Me too, stay another thirty minutes?" I ask.

He caves instantly.

We're messing around as per usual. He's challenging me to do cartwheels, he holds my phone above my head so I can't reach, we do foot races (to which he wins all of). By the end of it, we're winded. He sits in the drivers seat of his car and I lean on the open door.

We sit in silence looking at each other. I know something has shifted in the past few days. The mood feels almost somber. He's right here and I feel like I'm losing him.

He comments once again that he should probably leave. He gets out of his car, and instead of hugging me, he throws me over his shoulder, walks over to my car, and places me on the driver side of my hood.

He looks down at me, "goodnight Kiersten, get home safe."