Текст книги "The Avery Shaw Experiment "

Автор книги: Келли Орам

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 11 страниц)

(Yeah, you read that right. If Avery gets one of these nifty prologue thingies to explain herself, then so do I. She’s not the only one with a story to tell here!)

Grayson

First of all, let the record show that journals are completely lame. I’ll probably get gyneco-whatever-it-was just for owning the stupid thing.

Secondly—and this is the more important point I need to make in my one-of-a-kind-totally-brilliant extra prologue—Avery’s experiment is a load of crap.

Avery Shaw is not really suffering from an actual broken heart. Oh, she’s hurt for true. No doubt my idiot little brother messed her up good, for which he will receive a proper beating someday, I promise you that. But Avery was not really in love with Aiden and, therefore, is not suffering from a true broken heart.

What Avery is really suffering from is a heaping load of rejection and a detrimental dose of codependence.

Avery and Aiden are a truly whacked-out case. Our moms screwed them both out of any chance at normalcy long before they were ever born. Of course Avery loves Aiden, but she has no freaking clue what it means to be in love with someone. She only thinks she does. Her perspective is unbelievably skewed in the direction of Crazytown.

To Avery, Aiden is familiar and safe. She translates those feelings of security into being in love with him because it’s easier than seeing them for what they really are—a crutch she uses to cope with her shyness and social anxiety issues.

So, you see, her theory that she is going to magically cure herself by experiencing the seven stages of grief is total bull. Luckily, she has a partner on this project that is not as dumb as everyone thinks he is. I am going to fix her with an experiment of my own.

While Avery is going through her deluded journey of getting over my brother—which, again, I am fully supportive of and will do whatever work she needs me to—I will be doing all the real work behind the Avery Shaw Experiment.

When I’m through with her, Avery Shaw will be a fully-functional, beautiful, self-confident, emotionally-stable young woman who is ready to experience actual real love, with or without her precious seven stages of grief.

Also, my baby brother will forever regret the day he made the stupidest mistake of his life.

Grayson

Where does one even begin when talking about Avery Shaw? I’ve known her, her whole life, and yet I’ve never really gotten to know her.

She and her mom have been unofficial members of my family since our moms threw up on each other in a prenatal yoga class when I was fourteen months old. They only got closer after Avery’s dad skipped town when Avery was four. My family sort of adopted them, and my father took his place as the only male role model in Avery’s life.

I always looked at her as sort of pesky little sister, but that all changed the day my brother dumped her. Why, you ask? Let me put it this way: When a girl lets you be the one to hold her as her entire world falls apart, even though you’re ass naked, it changes the way you see her.

The soaking-wet, see-through t-shirt didn’t hurt, either.

It took me a while to get out of the shower after Avery finally left. I had to let the water run cold first because, well, because I had to. Plus, I needed some time to process. Avery Shaw had suddenly barged into so much more than just my shower. She’d also crashed into my head in a way I never thought possible and maybe even wormed her way into my heart a little bit. I had no freaking clue how to handle that, much less what to do about it. But I had to do something. Avery was destroyed and completely incapable of fixing herself.

That was the moment the Avery Shaw Experiment started for me. It wasn’t defined yet, and I had no idea I’d be earning extra credit for it—that was an added bonus—but that was the first time I realized Avery Shaw had the potential to be so much more than what she was. All she needed was a little help from someone normal and cool who could introduce her to life the way it’s supposed to be lived.

I decided, as I cooled off in the shower that day, that I was going to fix Avery Shaw. I was going to help her get over her dependency on my brother and turn her into a normal, socially-competent person by showing her how the world really worked.

I was going to start by making her celebrate New Year’s Eve the right way—at a real party, on a real date, with a real kiss at midnight. I was excited about it too. No joke, when I got dressed that night, I looked in the mirror and was like, “Watch out, Avery Shaw. Grayson Kennedy is about to change your life.”

Well somebody had to.

No surprise, I found her in bed buried deep beneath the covers. I sat down near the head-shaped end of the lump under the quilt, and her croaky all-cried-out voice said, “Please, just go away, Mom. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

I don’t know why, but that made me smile. “Good, because listening really isn’t one of my strong points.”

I could practically feel the horror radiating out of her when she realized it was me. “Go away, Grayson!” she shrieked. “Haven’t I already seen enough of you for one night?”

I’ve always teased her about the boy/girl stuff because it’s too easy to make Little Miss Prude blush. But had the girl always been so hilariously cute?

“You had your eyes closed the entire time,” I teased. “You didn’t see anything interesting.”

“Well, I definitely felt it!”

I laughed again. I knew I should probably drop it, but I couldn’t help myself. “I’m well aware of what you felt, Aves. I was feeling plenty right then too. Obviously. So, was it as good for you as it was for me?”

“Ugh! You really are made of hormones! Just go away and let me die!”

I backed off before she had a stroke. “No can do, girlie. There’s a wild New Year’s Eve party over at the resort with our names on it.”

I knew she wouldn’t say anything, but I paused and gave her the chance anyway before I said, “Unless you’d rather spend the evening with the rents and my idiot little brother, drowning in awkward silences and avoiding all eye contact, because you know there is no way our moms will let you hide out in this room all night. I heard them discussing removal strategies not two minutes ago.”

I actually hadn’t, but I was sure that’s what they were doing.

Avery knew it was true too, because she threw the covers off her face and glared at me.

“Come on, Aves. Let’s go before they make us do the dishes.”

Slowly her glare faded into a wary look. “I don’t really have anything to wear to a party.”

I’d seen Avery in everything from jeans to pajamas to dresses to swimsuits, but as I let my eyes slide over her then, it was as if I was seeing her for the first time.

Avery’s never going to win the award for hottest girl in school, but she’s definitely cute. She seems tiny compared to my hulking six-foot-four, hundred-and-eighty-five-pound self, but I think standing next to each other, we have the same effect that a big old golden retriever and a kitten would. Somehow it just works.

She has decent hair—light brown and straight. It goes nicely with her pale skin and light smattering of freckles. She also has a cute little button nose, but her most attractive feature, aside from the amazing rack I’d just discovered, was definitely her big, expressive eyes. They were a vibrant blue very similar to my own, but she never guarded them. You could always see right into her soul. That was the one thing I had always noticed about her before. She was always so honest. All you had to do was look closely and her eyes would tell you everything you wanted to know. That’s a rare thing in girls. At least it is in all the ones I’ve ever dated.

“Just put on whatever you have that’s warm,” I said.

I started to leave the room, but she stopped me at the door. “Grayson?” Her tone tugged at something inside me. “You really want to take me with you tonight?”

She sounded so small and unsure of herself. It was how she always sounded at school and around strangers but never when she was at home with us. I think my brother had really broken her. I was seriously going to have to beat him sometime.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know I really freaked out on you earlier, but I promise I’ll be fine. Aiden’s right.” She swallowed back a lump in her throat. “I’ll manage without him somehow.”

“Aiden’s a tool. You can learn how to manage tomorrow. Tonight’s New Year’s Eve, and for once in your life, you’re going to spend it without Aiden or The Discovery Channel.”

I knew I was making progress when she cracked a smile and asked, “What about Whootylicious in 7B?”

I thought of the luscious booty I’d originally planned on seeing tonight and sighed. “That will be an unfortunate loss, but, like you, I will just have to deal.”

I winked and then decided I’d give her ten minutes before I came back and physically dragged her out of bed.

She didn’t make me wait that long. She emerged after only five minutes dressed in a pretty dark-blue sweater dress, skinny jeans, and knee-high black boots. The belt she wore over the sweater showed off her tiny waist and called just the right amount of attention to that glorious chest of hers. Seriously, how had I never noticed that before?

“You look really nice,” I blurted, unable to hide my surprise.

The compliment startled her. She blushed and looked at her feet as she mumbled, “I need to blow my hair dry.”

I grinned. “Don’t want to have to explain to anyone how it got wet, eh?”

She turned even brighter red but then glared at me. “I just don’t want my hair to freeze.”

I laughed as I threw my hands up in surrender and then laughed even harder when she stalked past me into the bathroom.

I leaned against the door and watched, curiously, as she dried her hair. There was something oddly fascinating about watching Little Avery Shaw primp. She’d never seemed like such a real girl to me before. She wasn’t so little anymore, either.

She caught me staring at her in the mirror, so I quickly said, “I thought dorks were supposed to have bad hair and horrible, frumpy fashion senses.”

“Just because I enjoy learning doesn’t mean I’m a dork,” she said, insulted.

“Two words for you Aves: science club.”

Avery sucked in a breath, and I realized that the science club might not be the best topic of discussion tonight.

“Words that are no longer allowed to be repeated for the rest of the night,” I said quickly. I prayed she wouldn’t start crying again.

Avery slowly let the air out of her lungs and then put down the hair drier. As she brushed her hair into place, I had a strong urge to touch it. Then she coated her lips with a light layer of shiny pink gloss that smelled delicious, and I was the one sucking in a breath. My mouth had suddenly gone dry.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

She turned and looked up at me as if wondering what my problem was. Hell if I knew. We shared one small moment of intimacy, and suddenly the girl had my insides turning to mush. She had no idea how close I was to kissing her right then.

“Uh, Grayson?”

“Hmm?”

I pulled my head out of my butt just in time to watch Avery’s cheeks get all pink again. Man she was cute like that. “Right. Sorry. Okay. So prepare yourself. Everyone’s downstairs, and it’s going to be awkward as hell until we can get out the door. Think you can make it?”

She hesitated but then nodded. The action was quick and jerky like a little bit of the panic she felt earlier was creeping back in.

I forced her to keep her eyes focused on me. “Hey. I’m right here. If you need to, just keep your head down and let me do all the talking.”

I took her hand when it became apparent that her feet wouldn’t start walking on their own. Her fingers automatically curled around mine. She was starting to tremble, so I hurried her downstairs before she had any more time to work herself into another panic attack. I dragged her straight over to the front door, grabbed her coat off the hook, and held it out for her to slip her arms into.

“Where are you guys off to?” my dad asked, being the first one to notice us.

Heads turned our direction and the air in the room turned thick and heavy. I felt the stares every bit as much as Avery did, but I didn’t pause in my efforts to bundle her up. I zipped her coat, then reached for her hat and scarf.

“We’re just going to go walk around town for a bit, grab some hot cocoa, and maybe head over to the resort in time to catch the fireworks.”

Scarf now securely in place, I plopped Avery’s hat on her head. Our eyes met and I whispered, “We’re almost free. You’re doing great.” I was shocked when I received a small smile from her.

Avery put on her gloves, while I grabbed my own coat. As I quickly shoved my hat on my head, Aiden finally opened his big, stupid mouth. “You’re taking out Avery?”

My jaw clenched. I knew it was too much to hope to just get out of there without anyone saying anything. The fact that it was Aiden bringing it up, along with the incredulity in his voice that made it sound as if Avery wasn’t good enough to be my date for the evening, pissed me off way more than I’d expected it would.

I felt insanely protective of Avery all a sudden. Instead of just walking out the door like I probably should have, I turned around and gave my brother a defiant look. “Is that a problem?”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed on me. “It’s just out of character. He flicked his gaze to Avery. “For both of you.”

As if he could talk about acting out of character. My hands clenched into fists, matching the tension in my jaw. “You’re the one who told her she needed to start hanging out with other people, and since when is it out of character for me to want to spend the evening with a beautiful girl?”

Aiden’s face flashed with pure rage, but I stared him down. If he tried to argue that statement in any way, I was going to lay him out.

I must have been pretty obvious because the adults all chose that exact moment to intervene.

“Be back by twelve thirty.”

“You haven’t had dinner yet!”

“Take your cell phones!”

I sputtered as I tried to figure out what everyone just said. “We’ll get some dinner while we’re out, Kaitlin. And Dad, come on. It’s New Year’s Eve. One o’clock.”

My dad rolled his eyes. “One,” he agreed grudgingly. “But only because it’s Avery, and I trust her to keep you out of trouble.”

Normally I would argue that, but I just wanted to get poor Avery out of there. I grabbed her hand and whirled around toward the door. “Thanks, Dad!”

We’d almost escaped and then my mom said, “Grayson you come over here and give your mother a kiss goodbye before you go.”

Suppressing a sigh, I grinned at my mom. “Last time I did that, you said it was bad manners.”

The look she gave me said she wasn’t in the mood, so I obeyed with no more arguments. “Thank you,” she whispered as she brushed her lips on my cheek.

I pulled back and Kaitlin was right there, waiting for her turn to hug me. This was not a standard practice every time I left the house by any stretch. This was our moms, the worry twins, inwardly gushing over my rescuing Avery, so I wrapped my arms around Avery’s mom and gave her an exaggerated bear hug. “Happy New Year, Kaitlin!”

She laughed when I gave her a big kiss on the cheek. “Always such a charmer, Grayson Kennedy.”

I grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Just make sure you don’t try to use that charm on my daughter tonight.”

“Ms. Shaw!” I pretended to be scandalized. “I would never!”

Except apparently I would. I almost did upstairs not five minutes ago.

Kaitlin sobered up and lowered her voice so that only I could hear. “I mean it, Grayson. You be careful with her tonight. I’m sure she’s really vulnerable right now.”

Talk about a mood killer. I tried to sound sincere when I said, “She’s practically a sister to me, Kaitlin. I’ll behave myself.”

This afternoon that statement would have been true. Now I just hoped I could get through the night without breaking my promise, because Kaitlin was right. Taking advantage of Avery right now would make me a bigger jerk than Aiden.

“You’d better,” Kaitlin said, but there was teasing in her tone now.

“I will.”

It was now or never. I grabbed Avery’s hand again and made another break for the door. I even got it open this time, but Aiden just couldn’t let us go. “Aves, are you really going to go out with Grayson?”

And I was back to being pissed off. I tried to keep walking, but Avery stopped. “Do you want me to stay with you?”

Balls! If he said yes, she would stay for him. Even after how much he hurt her today. And he would ask, the selfish punk. He’s always gotten his way with her, ever since they were kids. He says jump, and she happily asks how high? It’s not that he doesn’t care about her. He just has the more dominant personality of the two, and apparently her feelings run a lot deeper than his, so she gives in to his every whim.

“Aves, of course I want you to stay. It’s New Year’s Eve, and we came here to spend it together.”

Avery frowned. “But earlier you said—”

“I didn’t mean I never wanted to see you again. You’re still my best friend. You don’t have to go out with him just to avoid me.”

What the hell! I don’t know what I ever did to him that he thinks hanging out with me would be so awful. I’m an awesome big brother. “Maybe she wants to.”

Aiden glared at me and then stomped over to us. “Do you, Avery? Do you actually want to go on a date with Grayson? Or are you doing this because of me?”

“I—” Avery’s eyes darted frantically between Aiden and me and then they filled with tears.

“Aves,” Aiden said in a voice that he had no right using on her. “Obviously I hurt your feelings earlier. I’m sorry. I was nervous, and I guess I didn’t explain things right. Why don’t you stay home tonight and we’ll talk.”

He reached up to wipe the tears from her face, and I almost decked him. I really wanted to, but I didn’t have any claim to her. This was between the two of them as much as I didn’t like it.

“Maybe that’s a good idea,” Kaitlin interrupted. “I think the two of you need to try and work this out.”

I cringed. To have to go through all this with our freaking parents eating up every word like a trashy novel? I would hate to be Avery right then. I wanted to kill Aiden for putting her in this position!

Avery’s grip on my hand loosened, but she didn’t let go. She glanced around the room and then set those big, honest eyes on Aiden. “Do you love me?” she asked.

I choked on some spit.

“Aves, you’re my best friend. You’re practically my twin sister. Of course I love you.”

He was clueless. The friggin’ moron was completely clueless.

Avery’s face paled and her hand started shaking in mine. I gave her a gentle squeeze just to let her know I was still there, and suddenly she clamped down on my hand so hard I almost cursed.

Her voice trembled as she whispered, “I love you too, Aiden.” Then, still crushing the bones in my hand, she looked up at me. Her desperation was obvious. “You ready?”

I didn’t miss a beat. “Hell yeah.”

I dragged her out of there without letting her look back.

Avery

If Grayson weren’t propelling me forward with the arm he had around my shoulders, I would probably have still been standing on the front steps to the condo building. I was in shock all over again.

I couldn’t believe it. I mean I literally could not believe it. As in, my brain physically wouldn’t accept the information.

“He has to be wrong,” I mumbled as Grayson strolled me down the street. “He didn’t know what he was saying. He didn’t understand what I was asking.”

“He definitely didn’t get it, but Aves . . .” Grayson sighed.

“He can’t know whether or not he loves me if he’s never given it a thought. I’ve been so patient, all these years. Maybe I just needed to say something. Maybe if I’d just kissed him once.”

“I don’t know, Avery. He’s pretty dense, but a guy doesn’t just ask for space if he’s in love with you. Even if his love is subconscious.”

I think this conversation was making Grayson uncomfortable, but I couldn’t stop myself. My brain was stuck in a loop because moving forward meant acknowledging that Aiden saw me as a sister, and that was simply unacceptable.

“He just hasn’t ever considered the possibility of a relationship between us,” I insisted. “Maybe he hasn’t hit that level of maturity yet. I mean it’s not like he’s ever gone out with anyone else. He never talks about any other girls.”

“Maybe he’s gay.”

“Grayson!” He was laughing at his own joke. “Aiden is not gay! Don’t you even joke about that! It’s not funny.”

“Come on, it’s a little funny. It would also explain how he could spend almost seventeen years with a girl like you and never make a move, because no straight guy could do that.”

My stomach did this weird flip. Had Grayson always been so sweet? I hadn’t thought so, but he’d been incredible since the moment I jumped in his shower.

I leaned into him, sagging against his side, and the next thing I knew, my arms were around his waist and I was hugging him. He stopped walking and hugged me back. When his arms pulled me tight against him, all of the tension left my body.

“I didn’t realize you were so nice, Grayson.”

The warm sound of Grayson’s chuckle rumbled pleasantly against the side of my face that was resting on his chest. “Damsels in distress have always been my Achilles’ heel, but don’t let that fool you. I’m really not that nice.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not. If I was nice, I wouldn’t be having such a hard time not grabbing your butt right now.”

I gasped and shoved away from him. He let me go but caught my hand and intertwined our fingers. His holding my hand made me blush even worse than his perverted comment had.

Since I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, I didn’t notice when he stopped walking until I was yanked to a halt. He stood in front of a small bistro with a questioning look. “Hungry? Dinner’s on me tonight.”

The restaurant was dark and cozy with soft lighting. Grayson helped me out of my coat, then held out my chair for me before taking his seat directly across from me at the small, candlelit table for two.

The moment was so surreal. I always knew Grayson was charming. There was a reason he’d dated most of the girls in school, and yet they still kept lining up to be his next fling.

Seeing Grayson Kennedy in action and being the focus of his attention were two entirely different things. He wasn’t doing it on purpose to seduce me or anything, but even set on “friendly,” he was freaking me out a little.

The server brought out glasses of ice water, and I started chugging mine because Grayson was making me so nervous.

“You might want to slow down there, slugger, before you get a . . .” I winced and Grayson laughed. “. . . headache.”

As Grayson watched me, his eyes sparkled in the dim light, making him look like he’d just stepped off the set of a Hollywood movie. Aside from his tall, broad frame and amazing body, Grayson Kennedy had the entire package where looks were concerned. He was Spanish Fork High’s golden boy: hair the color of amber, eyes so blue they looked unreal, and golden skin that didn’t have a single blemish, freckle, or scar.

His teeth were perfect, and he spent so much time smiling that the gesture on him was a work of art. He even had this one adorable dimple that only showed itself when he was really, truly happy about something. That dimple was present now.

I broke the silence with a nervous laugh. “This is awkward, isn’t it?”

Grayson pursed his lips until they turned white because he was trying so hard not to laugh at me. “Awkward? What’s awkward?”

He knew darn well what I was talking about! Grayson was always torturing me like that. I asked him why he did it once, and his answer had been because it was fun to make me blush. Well, mission accomplished, Mr. Kennedy. I was beet red. Again.

He was waiting for an answer.

“You know . . .” I squirmed in my chair. “This. Us. Being here like this.”

Grayson suppressed another laugh. “Being here like what?”

“I don’t know. This restaurant is so . . . atmospheric, and you helping me with my coat and pulling out my chair.” I was now so red that my face was going to stain permanently. “It just feels, I don’t know, sort of like . . . like a . . .”

“Like a date?” Grayson asked. He wasn’t laughing anymore. He met my eyes with a startling intensity.

I couldn’t find my voice, so I just nodded.

He gave me another heart-stopping smile. “That’s because it is a date, Avery.”

I felt my eyes grow to three times their normal size, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get them to stop. “What?” I gasped. “No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is.”

His voice left no room for argument, but that didn’t stop me. “We can’t be on a date!”

“Why?”

“Because you’re . . . you’re . . . you’re you and I’m me! We grew up together! We’re practically family!”

Grayson frowned—a real one, not his usual pout-to-get-his-way sad face. “You grew up with Aiden too.”

All the air left my lungs. “That’s different.”

“How so?”

“Because he doesn’t treat me like a sister.”

Grayson looked like he was about to argue that, but I really didn’t want to discuss Aiden, so I quickly said, “You, on the other hand, act like an annoying, gross older brother.”

“Gross?” I thought he’d be offended, but he actually laughed. “You think I’m gross?”

“Yes, I do. You are so horny it’s unhealthy. You burp in my face every time you eat onions, and you don’t bother to leave the room before you fart. This afternoon you dripped your sweat on me. On purpose!”

“Okay, okay. You’ve got me there. I will admit that our relationship has always had more of a sibling vibe. But the truth of the matter is that you gave me a total hard-on today and—”

“Oh my gosh, Grayson, shut up!” I shrieked in a whisper, burying my face in my hands. “Please don’t ever, ever say something like that again!”

“You’ve got to face the facts, Aves. If you were really my sister and we’d ended up in the shower together, I’d have puked and hired a therapist. Not stared at your chest and wondered if you’d hit me if I took your shirt off.”

“Oh my gosh!” My hands were starting to sweat because my face was so hot, but how was I supposed to remove them? That would require looking at Grayson, and there was no way I’d ever be able to do that again.

Grayson chuckled. “Aves, look at me.”

“No! You were right. You are not nice! You are cruel!”

Grayson reached over the table and peeled my hands away from my flushed face. “I’m not being cruel,” he said. I finally forced my eyes up to his.

He leaned his tall body over the tiny table so that he could look straight into my eyes. There was only a foot of space between us.

“This is most definitely a real date,” he promised so passionately it made me shiver. “I asked you out. I’m paying for your dinner. There will be dancing later, and I will be kissing you when the clock strikes twelve tonight.”

I let out a tiny squeak of fear and Grayson upped his intensity. “It’s going to happen, Aves, and you are going to like it.”

Grayson’s focus was interrupted by a small sigh. Thankfully! Because I’d stopped breathing again.

We both looked up to see our waitress standing over us, staring dreamily at Grayson. “Wow!” If she weren’t holding our plates in her hands, she probably would have been fanning herself because she looked like she was about to melt. “And I thought my boyfriend was good.” She smiled at me as she set my food in front of me. “Girl, you have got your hands full with this one, don’t you?”

Grayson flashed her his biggest smile, and she winked at him as she left.

I’d never been so grateful to see a plate of food in my life—anything to give me an excuse not to look at him and stop this conversation.

Grayson must have seen that he’d pushed me to my limit, because he went to work on his dinner and let me eat in peace.

Unfortunately, the silence let my thoughts wander back to the reason I was out with Grayson in the first place. I set my fork down, unable to eat another bite.

Grayson set his fork down too. “Avery, I promised your mom you’d eat.”

I could feel tears in my eyes when I looked up at him. “Why you?” I asked. “Why are you the one here with me? Why isn’t it him?”

Grayson’s smile was sad and full of sympathy. “I don’t know, Aves, but maybe it’s for the best. You guys are almost seventeen. If it hasn’t happened by now, maybe it’s not supposed to.”

“I can’t accept that.”

“Denial isn’t good for you.”

“It isn’t denial.”

“Now you’re denying your denial.”

“But look at you,” I said. “You always thought I was like a sister too. If you can change your mind, then he can too. He just needs a wakeup call.”

“Hey now, you can’t just go jumping in the shower with every guy you know. That’s totally our thing.”

“Oh my gosh, Grayson, we do not have a thing!” The torture was never ending. “I wasn’t talking about jumping in the shower with him,” I mumbled. “But maybe if I just tell him how I feel, if I ask him to kiss me—to just give it a chance.”

“And if he doesn’t go for it?”

“He will. Grayson, I know he will. I know it here.” I tapped my heart. “Aiden and I belong together. You’ll see. He just needs to know how I feel. Maybe he believes I think of him like a brother and nothing else, you know? What if he’s been in love with me for years, but he thinks I don’t like him that way.”

Grayson frowned and went back to his dinner. He obviously didn’t agree, but I felt my excitement growing. “That’s got to be it! It makes so much sense! What if he said he needed space because it hurts him to be with me but not with me? What if I’m hurting him? You saw how mad he got tonight when you said you were taking me out. He was jealous.”

Now my excitement had been replaced with dread. I didn’t want to hurt Aiden ever. But what else could all this have been about? Nothing else made any sense. “He asked me to talk, and I walked out on him! I’m awful!”

Grayson rolled his eyes. “You are not. He was a jerk. He deserved what you did. Worse even.”

I shook my head. “Thank you for being so nice to me tonight and trying to help me. I’m sorry to ditch you, but I need to go home and talk to Aiden.”

Grayson sat there as if he were giving the whole situation some serious thought. Eventually I saw acceptance wash over his face and he set down his fork. “I suppose you do need to talk to him, don’t you. But if you do this, you can’t hold anything back. You’ve got to give it to him straight. Tell him everything. Just be sure to use small words so he can understand.”