I May be Cold, but You are Hot

Chapter Twenty Four: Ex's and Oh No's

Colt's POV

I wake up to see Grant sitting up and staring out the window. "Good morning, beautiful," I say to him, smiling.

He looks over at me with a surprised look, "I didn't know you were awake. Did I wake you?" He asks worriedly.

"No, I just woke up." He seems distant and distracted. "Are you okay?" I don't want to pry, but I want to help him if something is bothering him.

"Yeah, it's just. . ." He trails off and shakes his head.

I sit up and hold him in my arms. "It's okay, you can tell me anything," I say the words in his ear softly and sweetly.

"Last night was the first time in a very long time that I felt completely at peace. I woke up this morning to see you lying beside me, and it was the best feeling in the world." Grant pauses to sigh. His voice cracked a little as he was talking, so I know he's fighting back tears. "I just don't want to lose you," he says in a whisper.

"I feel the same way," I whisper back.

He looks at me with big, teary eyes and laughs a small, broken laugh. "I love you," he blurts.

I grin like the Cheshire Cat. "I love you, too." We both go in for a kiss at the same time. It's short but does not lack passion or love.

"Oh, good! You're both awake. I made breakfast, and by 'made' I mean 'picked up something from Oliver's.'" Sarah says, ruining the moment.

"There's this new thing called knocking, how about you try it sometime?" Grant remarks smartly.

"Yeah, I'll try it. I'll knock you upside the head if you aren't careful," she mutters back, then leaves.

Grant chuckles, shaking his head. "She must like you if she went all the way to Oliver's. When I ask her to get that for me, she laughs."

"Well, it's good that she likes me. If she didn't, I don't know what I'd do." I smirk at him.

"I wouldn't sweat it. She doesn't like most people," he responds as he gets up to stretch. He winces visibly, but tries to play it off.

I am by his side in a matter of seconds. "Are you okay?" I whisper to him.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. I was just stretching. Wanna go get some breakfast?" He responds, giving me a peck on the lips.

"Yeah, sure." I give him a concerned look, but he ignores it. I was hoping to get a look at his burns. I just hope they aren't getting any worse.

We walk into the kitchen and see that Sarah has already started eating. "I was tired of waiting on you guys," she says simply.

Grant rolls his eyes dramatically. "You do have to go to work, so I guess it's okay," he says with a dastardly grin. She groans in response, ending the conversation.

I feel kind of awkward, so I start to get my food. Grant follows suit, but all at once, there's a slap noise along with a stinging feeling on my rear. My cheeks go red when I realize Grant just slapped my butt. "Wh-what was that?" I managed to stutter out.

"A love slap," he responds nonchalantly.

"Oh yeah, that explains it." I roll my eyes, and look over to see Sarah snickering quietly.

"That was funnier than the time you did that to Jack," she laughs out. She immediately froze after she realized what she had just said.

The whole world seems to stop abruptly. Who was Jack? I turn to Grant, who gives me a regretful look. I feel so many things at once, but I don't know what I should be feeling. Jealousy? Curiosity? Anger? I run my hand through my hair. "I-I-I need to. . ." I sigh, "Use the restroom?" it comes out more like a question than a statement, but I hardly notice. I shakily walk to the bathroom, leaving Grant and Sarah in the kitchen.