Grayson (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Okay, it has taken me FOREVER to get something up.  You guys have no idea how awful I feel about this, especially with the amount of new readers I have on this, and the loyal ones I already had.  Thank you guys so much for sticking with me and giving me your support.  I've had a hard time in general lately, and things have just been wonky.  I hope you guys have been doing better than me. :(  I feel like that, because it took me so long to write this chapter, it seems really disjointed and weird.  I hope you guys like it better than I do. Thanks, and start reading!!!!! P.S.:  I've been like, obsessed with this song lately.  The video is weird, but I LOVE the song.

It didn't take much for Dad and Allie to convince me to go out to dinner with them, especially considering that they mentioned my favorite restaurant. We all piled into the SUV we had sitting in the garage, me and Grayson in the back seat, our hands together, fingers entwined, in the middle seat between us.

It was a nicer place, and I was happy that I still had a few dresses at home because I couldn't take them with me. I was wearing a peach colored dress that had black lace on the shoulders going down the sides of the dress with a black belt around my stomach. Three inch black heels completed my look as I left my hair loose around my shoulders.

Grayson had – for some unknown reason to me – brought a suit with him, but it worked out. He and my dad both looked quite nice, and Allie looked fantastic in a simple black dress with her hair in ringlet curls down her back.

Arpeggios was an upscale Italian restaurant located just outside the main part of the city, its long drive bathed in the glow of lamplight as my father drove us. When we pulled in to the parking lot, he declined the valet service, opting instead to park the car himself. He wasn't stingy with his money by any means, but he preferred to do things on his own.

As we walked up to the deep brown building, I clutched Grayson's hand in mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him turn his head to look at me, a smile in place on his lips. Unable to resist, I leaned in closer to him, curling an arm around his waist to anchor myself to him.

Dad opened the door for us and held it as we walked through. I smiled my thanks to him and breathed in the smell of spices that greeted me. It was better than I remembered; I could smell more now due to my enhanced senses, right down to the polish that the staff must use on the floors.

As we were led to our table – having been immediately seated due to the reservation Dad had made – I looked around the restaurant, taking in the paintings of different countrysides and types of Italian food. I slid into the booth that was motioned to, the leather of the seat cool against the parts of my legs that weren't covered by the dress. Grayson sat down beside me, the bench squeaking under his weight of pure muscle. Allie and Dad sat across from us and reached for their menus.

A few minutes later, a waiter came over and got our beverages. We ordered a nice bottle of wine for the table and a glass of water for each of us. As she left, Grayson opened his menu and began to look at it as well.

Leaning into Grayson, I cuddled into him instead of looking at my own menu. I mean, who was going to pass up the option of putting their head on his chest and getting up close and personal?

Certainly not me.

"Not going to use your own?" he asked me, but by the arm he wrapped around my waist, I was guessing he didn't mind.

"This is comfier," I replied. "And I already know what I want."

"She gets the exact same thing every single time she comes," Allie informed Grayson, smiling at him over the top of her own menu.