Damaged -Grayson Dolan-

Chapter Forty-Three

I woke up on my side, warm blankets pressed against my bare skin. My head rested on Grayson's chest as I curled against his shoulder. He was awake and staring at the ceiling. His hand played idly with a strand of my hair. I let out a sigh and glanced at the clock. It read four am. "Can't sleep?" I placed my hand on his taut stomach.

"Just thinking." He reached for my hand, brushing the tender skin of my wrist. I kept still as he ran a finger over the scarred flesh.

"At four in the morning?"

Grayson shook his head, not tearing his gaze from my wrist. He let out a breath. "I don't want to leave you." His voice was quiet.

I frowned. "Leave me?"

Grayson puffed up his cheeks with air and exhaled slowly. "The lacrosse coach from Syracuse emailed me back. They're offering me a full ride, Al."

I broke into a smile. "A full ride? Holy shit, Gray, that's amazing! Did you accept it?"

Grayson didn't answer.

"Gray," I sat up, pulling the sheet around me. "Have you accepted their offer?"

"No," he answered finally. "Not yet."

"Why the fuck not?" I demanded.

"Because, Al, I don't want to leave you! I don't want you to be alone again." His chest rose and fell with unsteady breaths.

My heart skipped a beat. "Gray, I am not letting your concerns for me stand in the way of an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

He looked at me. "That's not-"

"Yes. Yes, it is. You don't have to worry about me." I tilted his head up to face mine. "You won't ever leave me, even if you go to a different state. We'll still always be together and I won't be alone."

"It won't be the same." He whispered.

"Stop," I told him. "Stop doing this. You want that scholarship, I can see it. I'm not going to hold you back- I won't." I shook my head, moving to the side. I grabbed his phone from the nightstand and handed it to him. "Respond right now and accept the offer."

"Al, I can't-"

"Yes, you can."

With a defeated sigh, Grayson took his phone, unlocked it and opened up his email. He paused before beginning to type out a response. I watched over his shoulder. His finger hesitated above the send button. He glanced up at me.

I took the phone from his and pressed the send button. The email disappeared. "There," I told him. "It's done."

Grayson ran his hands through his hair, leaning back. "Holy shit. It's done. There's no going back now. I'm a D1 lacrosse player at one of the top schools in the nation."

"Holy shit, I'm dating a fucking sexy D1 lacrosse player attending once of the top schools in the nation." I grinned. "It's a win, win situation."

He chuckled. "What would I do without you?"

I tapped my chin. "You probably wouldn't make it very far."

Grayson leaned down, kissing me slowly, his mouth warm and tender. One of his hands cupped the side of my face gently. I moved, shifting over his body. I straddled his waist, bending forward and deepening the kiss. His hands slid down my bare sides, tracing patterns in the skin. "I love you, Alanna Hath."

I froze as every piece of me melted. "I know," I whispered, moving both my hands to his chest. "I love you too, Grayson Dolan."

~~~

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads!" Mina crowed as she threw open the door to our room. She strode over to the curtain, pulling it aside. Light spilled into the room, staining it gold and orange.

I blinked before my gaze focused on Mina standing at the foot of our bed, hands on her hips. "Mina!" I yanked the sheet up and around my bare shoulders. Grayson groaned from beside me.

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes at me.

"What time is it?" Grayson muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"It's nine o'clock." Mina surveyed the room. "I see you two had a busy night. Get up and get dressed, my friends. We're going to the zoo." She disappeared through the door.

"The zoo?" I squinted in the light.

"Yeah, you know the place that puts animals in cages so we can look at them."

I reached over, swatting Grayson's head. "Ow," he complained.

"I know what a zoo is, smart-ass. I just didn't know there was one here." I sat up and reached for the nearest article of clothing.

"Yeah," Grayson yawned. "The Jacksonville zoo."

"Do they have tigers?"

"Um yeah, I think so." He sat up. "Why?"

"Because I freaking love tigers." I tugged the shirt over my head and stood up.

"Of course you would," Grayson rolled his eyes. "That's my shirt."

I glanced down to where it hung all the way to my thighs. "Well considering I have to go into the other room to change and you're brother is in there, I'm going to continue to wear it because it gives me the most coverage." I ran a hand through my hair, starting for the door. "Also I look better in it than you."

Grayson stretched and smiled at me. "I'll have to agree with you on that."

I walked into the other room where Mina was standing in front of the mirror applying mascara. "It's about time. Ethan's in the bathroom right now but once he comes out you can start getting ready."

I nodded, padding over to my suitcase and unzipping it.

"So I take it last night went well?" Mina asked with a smirk.

"You could say that." I pawed through my clothes finally settling on a pair of white, high-waisted, denim shorts and a pale blue T-shirt.

The bathroom door opened and Ethan emerged.

"We'll be ready in fifteen to go get breakfast," Mina told him. He nodded and wandered into the other room. I tugged on my clothes, tossing Grayson's shirt on my bed. I ran my hands through my wavy hair, tousling the waves with a little salt spray. Then I slipped on a pair of sandals and dapped on some mascara. I didn't want to put anything on my skin because I would probably just sweat it off.

"So," Mina turned to me. "Details? Did he totally go for it? Did he love it?"

"Shhh," I hissed. "Yes, he liked it. At least I think so."

Mina rolled her eyes. "Well considering we heard you guys at like four this morning I'd say he more than just liked it if you guys decided to go for round 2."

"More like round 5," I muttered.

Mina's eyebrows shot up beside me. "How many-"

"Al, I'm pretty sure this is your's." Grayson poked his head through the door and held up my lingerie.

"No shit," I told him, swiping it from his grasp. He just smirked at me and ducked back into the room. I turned back around with a sigh. Mina had her hands on her hips. "He's got it bad for you."

"Yeah and I think I have it just as bad for him."