Sidelined (The QB Bad Boy and Me)

(9) "Not with him."

"Grayson?"

"Hey." He smiles with a bank card in his hand. He points it in my direction as his brows draw together. "I didn't know you work here?"

"Yeah I have for a while." I set the iced coffee that I was preparing on the bench and signal Stefan to switch places with me. He does, but he doesn't look happy about it. "Only part-time. Usually after school."

"Ah that makes sense" - he winks and nods his head - "I usually just come in during the day."

"So what brings you in this afternoon?"

"Dray just finished football practice." He points his thumb over his shoulder and I look past him, noticing the jeep in the parking lot. "We're grabbing some burgers."

"Drayton's out there?" I'm not sure if he knows that I work here or not. It hasn't come up before and I've never seen him here. But I get the feeling he doesn't eat a lot of takeout anyway.

"Yeah, he was on a phone call so he stayed in the car. I'll tell him you say hey though."

"Oh no don't!" I lightly chuckle at the confusion on Grayson's face. "I mean it's not - we're not like friends or anything. So ya know. Don't."

"Oh I kind of got the impression that you guys were uh" - he wiggles his brows in a suggestive gesture - "ya know."

A definite heat creeps it's way on to my cheeks, no doubt colouring them a bright shade of red. I wonder if he and Drayton had spoken about me. Had Drayton let Grayson get the impression that there was something going on or had he come to his own conclusion based on our midday departure from his house on Sunday?

"No we aren't. Never have. Never will."

Grayson simply nods his head with his lips curled down and raised brows in a seemingly satisfied response. The espresso machine behind me starts to boil loudly while Stefan carries on making orders. I can practically feel his burning curiosity as he hovers around and does whatever he can to be in earshot throughout the conversation. When he has to take orders to the tables he lightly jogs or power walks. I'm waiting for him to drop something and make a total idiot of himself.

"So do you wanna order then?" I ask Grayson who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts for a short moment.

"Oh yeah." He shakes his head as if to rid the distracting inner commentary and glances at the order board behind me with slit eyes. "I'll have... two of the chicken, bacon and guac burgers and two colas please. And" - he stretches out the 'and' with a small voice - "perhaps a date to the first Archwood football game of the season on Friday night?"

I glance up from the till where I'd been totalling the balance and stare at Grayson's sheepish expression. I can't deny that he'd worked that in there relatively smoothly. I sweep his features as I try to arrange the jumble of thoughts that are causing a clusterfuck inside my head.

I imagine his height might often be a problem for girls. He's short for a guy. But I'm relatively short myself so I reach his chin rather than below his pecks where I come to on Drayton. His muscles are toned, his arms a golden tan, but he's not built like Drayton and his hair, while a dirty blonde, is a little more golden than Dra- 

Ugh. I'm standing here comparing him to Drayton. The revelation makes me nauseous and I start to internally chastise myself.