I'll Find You

Something About The Way You Look Tonight

I need to tell you
How you light up every second of the day
But in the moonlight
You just shine like a beacon on the bay
And I can't explain
But it's something about the way you look tonight
Takes my breath away

----Something About the Way You Look Tonight, Elton John

April 7, 2018

One last team dinner.  It made Grayson a bit sad that this would be the last time they would all be together, at least until the banquet in a couple of weeks.  But he wasn't sure they'd have a whole lot of time to hang out at that.  This was probably the last time that all of them would be able to just chill.

He did what he could to help Cait get everything ready.  He had been spending some time in the gym every day.  A lot of time, in fact, and he hadn't been able to do as much as he would have liked.  But he should have known that she'd have everything under control.  The fact that she did made him smile. She was finally acting normally again. And he did manage a quick shopping trip to arrange for a couple of surprises.

He brought the first one home with him, finding that the BMW had lots of space. It was a fire pit for the deck, so they could sit outside.  He got Justin to help him unload and assemble it.  He even remembered to get firewood and marshmallows for the kids to roast, although he did have some second thoughts about giving them sharp sticks.

Some semblance of spring had finally arrived in Durham and they set up cornhole outside and video games inside and had food and drinks ready to go.  Grayson was actually looking forward to the noise and the chaos.  He wasn't really responsible for all of them anymore, so he could just relax and have fun, without worrying about team chemistry or the next game.

And they arrived in one big group, the small house going from quiet to deafening in a matter of minutes.  Tyler wisely removed himself upstairs and established his position in the center of the bed, where he stayed.  Any other time, Grayson would have been a bit jealous of the cat.

He watched them trail in, laughing and joking.  Wendell caught sight of Cait and ran to her, hugging her tightly.  "Mama, you scared the shit right outta us," he told her.  Tre stood nearby nodding and even Gary looked a bit excited.  Marvin hugged her too and told her they all expected to see her whenever they played against Grayson the next year. Grayson knew that the four of them would also be leaving soon, even though Wendell hadn't formally declared.  He would, soon enough, Grayson was certain.  And Alex, Jordan and Mike seemed to delight in telling Cait that Grayson and Brennan had gone through an entire bottle of Jameson's, which caused her to shoot Grayson a look.

The other guys made it in, Brennan bringing up the rear.  He seemed hesitant but Cait hugged him and told him how good it was to see him, and Brennan managed a smile at her.  Jack slung an arm around her shoulders, causing Grayson to remember a time when he was insanely jealous of Jack even touching her.  He shook his head.  She belonged to him, and he was secure in that knowledge. 

Before he knew it, he'd been roped into video games, while Cait had teamed up with Wendell to win the cornhole tournament.  And she entertained them with the story of Luke and Rae getting engaged, then told them she had to get dinner ready.

Grayson excused himself from the video games and went to help her.  But when he saw her in the kitchen, busily setting up the usual buffet, food went straight out of his head.  "Wanna snog?" he whispered in her ear. 

She smiled up at him.  "I love snogging you," she grinned, "but we probably should feed the natives before they get restless, don't you think?"

"They can wait a minute," he returned and lowered his head to kiss her soundly.  Cait couldn't resist and leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, her fingers in his hair.