by Maine, Miley
“Okay,” I said, face warm, looking down at my knees. How would I manage to survive these next few weeks if just an hour alone with him in his world was already making me so flustered?
8
Grayson
Serenity didn’t seem to be in her element. Arriving at the office, I had to pull her along, as she seemed to just want to stop and stare at everything. I guessed it was only to be expected when she had never been in a large corporate office like this before. Things in Sonora were not like this at all. Still, it was beginning to get a bit annoying. Finally, we got to my office and I had someone bring in a desk for her.
“Sit here for the moment,” I said, gesturing to her chair. “Do you have something you can entertain yourself with?”
She nodded, withdrawing a book from her bag. “I can read.”
“Good. I’ll figure out what I need for you to do after I assess the problem.”
I headed over to my desk, sat down, and picked up the phone, dialing the number for Ryan. He picked up on the first ring. “Yes, sir?”
“I am here now. Where is the report I requested?”
“I have it, sir. I figured you would want to go over things together.”
“Bring it here now then.”
I hung up. Ryan’s office was next to mine, so it took less than a minute for him to show up, a stack of papers in hand. He looked over at Serenity, who was currently reading some fantasy novel.
“Who’s this, sir?” he asked.
“An intern I’ve taken on for the holiday month.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
“She’s an old family friend who needs the experience and should be more helpful than not. I can personally vouch that she’s not some competitor plant, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“That’s not—”
“You know it was, so don’t try to avoid it,” I snapped, switching from vacation to boss mode just like that. “Now, let’s go over this report.”
* * *
The problems were more extensive than I had first expected, and I was quickly realizing that I wasn’t going to have as much time to spend with Serenity as I might have liked. This was definitely not going to be an extension of my vacation or anything even remotely close to that. No, it was going to take a lot of time and work to fix all the things that had fallen out of place during the brief time I’d been gone, and I couldn’t afford to be too distracted.
Still, I could tell that Serenity wasn’t really feeling the most comfortable at the moment, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for that. She kept glancing over at Ryan and me the whole time that we were going over the issues with the company and seemed unable to concentrate on her book. She didn’t eat much for lunch and was finished with the novel before I had anything to assign to her.
So I decided that it would be a good idea to take her out to dinner before things got too hectic to do so. It would give us time to spend together and catch up on things that we had missed out on. Plus, I’d be able to show her a bit more of LA than the inside of my office.
“Any preferences for dinner?” I asked, leaning over her desk.
She looked up from her phone, seemingly surprised I was speaking to her. “Umm, I don’t know. Is there anything you would suggest?”
“I mean, what are you in the mood for? We could get pasta, or ramen, or sushi.”
“Something lowkey, please,” she said, looking back down and blushing like she always did when she was embarrassed about something. “I don’t know if I can handle anything too high class right now.”
“Alright, I can work with that,” I said. “How about we just get some pasta, then? I know a good place close to here.”
“Yes, please,” she said, standing up and grabbing her bag with more energy than I would have expected.
I let out a laugh. “So eager to get going?”
She nodded. “It’s been a long day and I’m hungry. Why? Is there something wrong with that?”
I pulled her to my side and placed a kiss on the top of her forehead. “No, nothing at all. Come on, let’s go.”
We headed out to my car and then drove to the restaurant. I only planned on us spending a couple of hours there as I knew that I needed to get her settled in the house and we both needed some good sleep before another long day of work, even though my day would be far more stressful than hers.
The place wasn’t terribly busy on a Sunday night, so we were seated almost immediately. I ordered for both of us as Serenity was being indecisive and just wanted me to make the decision for her. “You’ve been here before!” she protested when I teased her about it.
Once our waiter left, I turned to her with a smile.
“I realized I never asked,” I said. “Why was it that you had a crush on me all those years ago?”
She blushed and shrugged. “Ummm, I don’t know, I mean, the usual reasons, I guess.”
“Which are?” I brought my hand up to rest my chin on. I liked it when she got flustered; she was so cute and kind of innocent. It was refreshing and made me forget about my stresses.
“You were handsome, I was reaching that age where I was thinking about things.” She looked down at her plate and grabbed a roll of bread from the basket our waiter had brought by. “And you were so nice to me, too.”
I tilted my head to the side and frowned, looking at her in a questioning manner. “Were the other boys not nice?”
She shook her head. “Not like you. You were always so kind to me, but the boys at school and the boys my age never really were. They always found something to pick on me for.”
I looked at her with sad eyes, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought it was just normal,” she said with a shrug. “You were the exception—like my fairy tale prince.”
“You know I would have done something about it if I had known, right?”
She looked up at me with a smile. “I’m sure you would have, but that’s in the past now. Now I know that it’s not okay, and I don’t let people treat me like that anymore.”
“Good,” I said firmly. “You’re too important for people to act that way towards you.”
She blushed, looking at me with a smile. “You really think so?”
“Of course, you’re a wonderful person and you’re important to me. You’re my best friend’s little sister, after all, and I always felt like you were kind of like mine.”
She looked back down at her plate, ripping open the roll of bread and then reaching for the butter. She spread it thick and then brought it up to her mouth to take a bite. “You should try the bread,” she said. “It’s very tasty.”
“I know, I’ve been here before, remember?” I said with a chuckle, reminding her of her words.
“Just, umm, trying to fill the space,” she said awkwardly, taking another bite of the bread.
“I know, but you don’t have to worry about that,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright to be yourself with me, remember that.”
She looked up at me with a blush and a smile. “Thank you, I really appreciate that.”
“Of course.”
Our waiter came then with our food. “Enjoy,” he said, setting the plates down. “Let me know if there is anything else I can get for you.”
I thanked him, and then turned back to Serenity, who was already digging into her food. She looked up at me with a sheepish smile. “I told you I was hungry,” she said by way of explanation.
I laughed. “Don’t worry. Like I said, you don’t need to explain yourself to me.”
The food was delicious and the conversation even better. We spent the night reminiscing over old childhood memories and catching up on the many things that had happened while we were apart. While I’d kept in touch with Sebastian over the years, there were so many things you just couldn’t fit in a bi-monthly phone call and I was realizing how much I’d missed out.
I was also realizing more and
more that I liked having Serenity as a friend, and I found myself wishing that I had kept in contact with her over the years, too. I was definitely going to try to keep in contact with her from now on, because I enjoyed her company and the interesting perspective that she brought to things. She was so different from the people I usually spent my time with, business people who focused on little else.
We finished the night with a quick dessert, and then it was time for me to take her home and get us both settled in before the long day of work that we had ahead of us tomorrow.
9
Serenity
After we had finished dessert and Grayson paid the bill for our meal, we walked back out to the car. I was already feeling exhausted, though I knew it technically hadn’t even been that long of a day, at least by his standards.
“You sleepy?” he asked, looking at me with kind eyes.
I nodded, suppressing a yawn. “It certainly seems that way.”
“We’ll be home soon,” he said. “Then you can get some rest. It’ll be an even longer day tomorrow after all.”
“It will?” I groaned. It was one thing to suspect it, another for him to confirm it. He let out a short laugh before opening the door for me and helping me in, then coming around to the driver’s side.
“You’re welcome to stay home if you need to,” he said after he had closed his door and started up the car. “I know that our pace is a lot for someone who’s not used to it. Frankly, I would like to rest a little myself after the trip.”
I shook my head. “No, I’ll come along. What kind of an intern would I be if I didn’t?”
“You make a good point. Do you want to set an alarm? Or should I wake you up tomorrow morning?”
“Can you wake me up? I’m not very good with alarms.” When I bother to set them that is.
“I certainly can. How much time do you need to get ready?”
I considered it. I shouldn’t need that much time, but I would rather have extra than not enough, especially if I planned to shower or do any sort of makeup. I wasn’t even sure what I should wear for my first real day. “An hour?” I guessed. That sounded right.
“Okay, I’ll get you up an hour before we have to leave then. I figure we can have breakfast at the office; I can send Ryan down to this cute little bakery right down the street.”
“That sounds lovely.”
“I’m glad it does; I want to make sure you enjoy yourself.”
The car descended back into silence, Grayson concentrating on the road and me looking out the window, taking in all the LA scenery as it passed us by. It wasn’t that long before we came to Grayson’s neighborhood. Beautiful, expensive houses towered around us, with yards full of green grass and warm lights emanating from within. Grayson parked in his garage and then helped me inside.
His house felt cozy and clean. Everything was a nice cream color or some compliment to that. Our luggage was already waiting for us in the living room, and Grayson picked mine up and helped me to the guest room where I would be staying while I just looked around, taking it all in.
“Does this one work for you?” he asked, showing me to a sizable suite.
“This is lovely,” I said, taking everything in. He set my suitcases down and I began rummaging through them for my pajamas. I looked back up at him then. “Where is your room?” I asked.
“Come on, I’ll show you.”
He took me on a little tour of the house first, showing me where all the bathrooms were, the kitchen, the pantry, the dining room, the entertainment room, and all of the other guest rooms; Sebastian had his own designated for him. Then he took me to the master suite where he was located.
His room was decorated in the same cream color as the rest of the house, but this time with modern black accents. Everything felt very clean and not necessarily too lived in. But it smelled like him, and that made me feel more comfortable than anything else.
I wanted to ask him if I could sleep with him instead of in my own bed, but I didn’t know if that would be overstepping his boundaries. We hadn’t very clearly defined the parameters of our relationship yet, so I didn’t know what was and wasn’t appropriate, or what he might even like or want, so I didn’t ask, because I feared his response and didn’t want to rock the boat.
Grayson showed me back to my room and gave me a quick goodnight kiss before retiring to his own room. And then I was all alone. I sighed, digging through my suitcases until I located my pajamas and threw them on. Then I went to the adjoining bathroom and quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face. I wondered if I would even have the energy to unpack my things or if I should just leave it to the next day. Will I have the energy then? After all, he’d definitely assign some real work for me to do.
But hopefully I would, because I didn’t intend to live out of my suitcases for the next couple of weeks. That would just make me feel uncomfortable.
I left the unpacking for tomorrow, turned off the light, and crawled into the bed, praying for restful sleep.
* * *
My prayers were not answered. In my dreams, there was fear and looming shapes that I couldn’t quite remember or recognize. They tormented me, making me toss and turn and then wake up gasping for air, drenched in sweat. They weren’t dreams that I’d had, but nightmares. I had struggled with them before, but it had been a few weeks since I’d last been plagued by them. But apparently they were now back, probably because I was in such an unfamiliar place without any of my family around. This one had felt more severe than the ones I usually had at home, and this caused it to affect me more deeply. Because of this, I didn’t feel like I was going to be able to fall back asleep and I didn’t really want to.
I didn’t know what to do. Since I didn’t usually have a schedule to adhere to, when the nightmares hit me back home I would just light some candles and read a book until I felt like I could fall asleep again, often sometime around dawn. But I had to get up early for work tomorrow and in the dark, the house was more frightening and unfamiliar than it had seemed when Grayson had given me the tour. This was how I came to the risky decision that I should go and check to see if I could slip into bed with Grayson.
I felt a little bit like a child and I didn’t know if he would necessarily approve, but at the moment it was the only thing that I could think to do. He made me feel safe, and that was exactly what I needed right now. I thought that if I was in his arms, I might be able to fall back asleep.
Recalling the tour that he had given me earlier, I tiptoed through the house until I came to the door of his suite. I knocked, lightly at first and then louder when that got no response.
There was rustling from inside and then Grayson opened the door, looking very sleepy, his hair all mussed from lying in bed. “What is it?” he asked groggily, squinting at me.
“I had a nightmare,” I said, looking down at my feet. I suddenly felt so young, like the little kid I thought he still saw me as sometimes, and I wondered if it had been a good idea to have come to his room after all. “Can I sleep with you?” I asked before I could change my mind.
“Why would you want to do that?” he asked, his brows coming together in a confused knot, sleep slowly clearing from his eyes as he gazed at me. “You know we have to go to work tomorrow, right?”
“I don’t mean in that way,” I sputtered, bringing my hands up between us. “I just meant that I thought I might sleep better if I was near you.”
He sighed and rubbed a distracted hand through his mussed hair. “Alright, but this is just a one-time thing. I really don’t have time for you to be getting too attached.”
I nodded and followed him in, closing the door after me.
“Come on then,” he said, sitting down on the bed and patting the surface next to him. “Get over here.”
I complied quickly and he wrapped me in his arms, enveloping me in his scent. Already I felt calmer.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.
“About my nightmare?”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t really remember it,” I admitted. “It kind of exists just as this mass of fear in my brain. The actual images and words are irrelevant.”
“Hmmm.” He squeezed me tighter against him. “That sounds terrible. Do you have any idea what might be causing them?”
I shook my head. “No. They’ve been with me for a while. It’s just easier at home.”
He nodded. “Let’s lay down then. Do you think you’ll be able to get some sleep?”
“I hope so. I just know that I feel safer next to you.”
He let out a short laugh and then stopped. “Alright. Well, you can tell me tomorrow morning if you need to stay home. I don’t want you collapsing on me after all.”
I nodded and then laid down next to him, relaxing my breathing. His arms were still around me, but they were looser now, allowing me to shift into a position that was comfortable for me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Don’t mention it. Remember, though, this is a one-time thing.”
That made a pang of regret run through me. Had I made a mistake? Clearly Grayson wasn’t too pleased if he was saying that. “Okay,” I replied, unable to keep the disappointment out of my voice.
His next words were softer. “You know I don’t mean that in a hurtful way. It’s just important that we don’t get too attached to one another. I don’t want you to be hurt when this ends.”
That may have been his intention, but it still hurt to hear, especially given the fact that he was already thinking about how things would end. I wished that they didn’t have to, because so far things were going very well. He listened, he was considerate and kind, and he was amazing in bed. More than that, he was someone who I looked up to a whole lot.
But things would have to end. It was clear from the way he talked about it that he had no intentions of allowing this to continue long-term. That especially sucked, because I had never had someone treat me this way, with such care and consideration, and I didn’t know if I would find anyone like him ever again.