I hear him in the background saying, “Yeah, you will.” She giggles loudly, so he must have grabbed her or something.
“Anyway, what are you doing this weekend? Want to help me with some baby shopping?”
“I would, but I already have plans with Grayson. He’s taking me to a Black Keys concert.”
“That’s exciting, but you know you’re going to have to see me eventually, right?”
I laugh. “I’m counting on it.”
It’s nearing lunch when I go to the break room to refill my coffee cup. As I’m walking in, Brad is walking out. When he sees me, he smiles wide.
“Just the girl I was looking for. Did you think about the concert this weekend?”
I walk past him, straight for the coffee. “I did, and I’m sorry, but I can’t go with you. I’m actually going with Grayson. But thanks for the invite.”
“Oh,” he says, his smile falling from his lips. “I didn’t realize the two of you were that close.”
“We’ve been hanging out for a few weeks now. Again, thanks for the offer, but I need to get back to my desk. Have a good day,” I say, walking past him back to my office.
The week passes quickly, and before I know it, it’s Saturday and the two of us are on our way to the concert. I’m riding in the passenger seat of Grayson’s car and he’s driving. He has his left hand on the wheel and his right is resting on my thigh, lighting my skin on fire.
“Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?” he asks, making me blush.
“You did. About three times now. Thank you,” I reply, mentally high-fiving myself for my outfit choice. I borrowed a black jean skirt from Harley. It’s short and ripped up, giving it a grunge feel. I paired the skirt with a skintight white tank top, then put on my high-heeled black boots that stop at my ankles. I curled my short blonde hair and fluffed it out so it’s full of messy curls. And I did my makeup a little heavy tonight, thickly lining my eyes and adding extra layers of mascara.
“You’re welcome,” he says, squeezing my thigh.
Grayson hasn’t stayed at my place all week, and I’m hoping that tonight he does. I miss him. I miss feeling his arms around me as I sleep—safe and warm.
“Are you staying at my place tonight?”
“Do you want me to?”
“I always want you to.”
He smiles but pulls it back down. “Then I will.”
Hearing that he’ll stay at my place has my stomach doing flips, causing the butterflies inside to scatter and fly away, tickling my insides with their wings.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I was a little late getting tickets, so we’re in standing room only. We can hang out in the back if you want.”
“That’s fine. I’m just happy to attend. You really didn’t have to do this, you know.”
“I know,” he says. “I just like to see you happy,” he adds on with a sweet smile.
I slide my hand into his and squeeze it slightly.
The concert is already packed by the time we arrive, and instead of trying to fight our way to the front by the stage, we stand in the back. Grayson’s behind me with his arms wrapped around my midriff as he holds my back to his chest.
The band makes their way on stage and the crowd goes wild as the lights dim and the spotlight comes on. After a quick intro, the music starts up and everyone in the crowd is bobbing their heads and holding their hands in the air.
I smile as I take in the excitement of the place. I look around the crowd before me, and to my left, there’s another couple standing off to the back like we are. But it doesn’t seem like they’re here to watch the show. The guy is holding the woman close to his chest as they kiss. Her hands are traveling from his chest, to his neck, to his hand. He has one hand on her lower back, holding her in place, and the other hand is . . . My mouth drops open when I see that his other hand is up her skirt.
I elbow Grayson and nod in their direction. He laughs and shakes his head, but I feel him turn his head back to face the stage. I’m not one of those pervs who likes to watch, but I keep finding myself looking in the couple’s direction every few minutes. Something about him seems familiar, and I mean, who does that? If you want to have sex, go to the restroom or the parking lot. Don’t just go at it on the floor in the middle of a packed room.
Finally, the girl pulls away and I see the man’s face. It’s Jimmy.
She takes his hand in hers and pulls him away. She doesn’t know who I am, but he does, and his eyes lock on mine. As they walk past, he looks me up and down, then looks at Grayson, who’s holding me. I swear I see a flash of anger on his face, but he doesn’t say anything as they head out, probably to find a more private place.
Even though I’m not still caught up in Jimmy, I can’t help but wonder who the girl is. They looked awfully comfortable with each other given how new this must be. Or was he seeing her behind my back? And if he was, do I even care? It’s been weeks since we broke up. I probably don’t look like I’m on a first date with Grayson either. Maybe this whole time I’ve been with him, Jimmy has been with her?
I shake my head, wanting the thoughts gone, because it doesn’t even matter. I don’t want Jimmy. I’m done with Jimmy. I have Grayson now, and Grayson is more of man than Jimmy will ever be. Jimmy saved me by not walking down the aisle that day. But he’s the one who left me. Why did he give me a dirty look? Maybe he thinks I’ve been sitting around pining for him, which clearly isn’t the case. Maybe he’s jealous. Maybe he’s realized his mistake. That thought makes me smile.
When the concert ends, Grayson takes my hand and leads me out of the arena. As we’re walking down the front steps of the building, I catch a glimpse of Jimmy and his date. He’s holding her hair back while she empties her stomach in a metal trash can. His eyes meet mine, and again, I see the fire blazing in them. He isn’t happy to see me with another guy, and that makes me happy. I smile and wave and Grayson notices.
He leans his head down to whisper, “Is that your ex?”
“Yep,” I whisper back.
“Well, in that case . . .” he says, spinning me around. His lips land firmly on mine and his tongue makes its way into my mouth. My arms automatically wrap around his neck while I enjoy the feeling of his lips pressed to mine. My body lights and burns as the tingles start to form. All too soon, he pulls away.
“Hey, I wasn’t done!” I say.
“Good,” he replies, eyes flashing away, and it’s only now that I remember Jimmy. “We’ll pick back up at home. But this kiss wasn’t for you. It was for him, and judging by the look on his face right now, it worked like a charm.” He smiles then pulls me in the direction of the car.
I wake in the middle of the night and need to use the bathroom. I unwind myself from Grayson, grab my phone to use as a flashlight, and crawl out of bed to find my way to the toilet. I turn on the screen and see that I have a text. I swipe the screen and am surprised to find that’s it from Jimmy.
Jimmy: I saw you tonight. You’re looking beautiful. What do you say to meeting up for dinner sometime? I know I have a lot of explaining to do.
I roll my eyes and delete the message. Fuck him. Does he really think I’m going to fall for that line of shit? I use the bathroom and go right back to bed, where I snuggle up against Grayson.
It doesn’t take long for me to fall back asleep, but when I wake a few hours later, my phone is dinging. I pick it up and see another text from Jimmy.
Jimmy: Cora, I’m sorry for all the pain I caused you. I’ve been thinking about you for a couple of weeks now and I really miss you. I want to see you. Please, can we have dinner?
Again, I roll my eyes and delete the message.
Grayson stirs next to me and pulls me closer to his chest. “Good morning.”
“Morning. You slept in,” I point out.
He laughs. “Yeah, I do that from time to time when I’m up all night making love to a beautiful woman.” He presses his lips just under my ear and it makes my smile spread across my face.
He leans in to kiss me and my phone rings. “Ignore it,” I say, thinking it’s Jimmy, but it keeps ringing, so I grab it and silence the ringer, noticing that it isn’t Jimmy. It’s Harley. Oh well. I’ll call her back later. I drop the phone onto the table and turn back around to pick up where we left off. He wraps his arms around me and moves his lips to mine. We kiss for a total of 10 seconds before the phone is vibrating.
With a sigh, I pull away and grab the phone to see Harley’s name again. I wonder if something’s wrong. “One sec,” I say, answering it.
“Harley, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, making me growl. “I just figured you were probably lost in one of your marathon trainings, and I wanted to invite the two of you over for a cookout later.”
“Are you kidding me?” I ask, now annoyed rather than worried.
She laughs. “Yes, and if you don’t agree, I’ll just keep calling.”
“What if I turn my phone off?” I ask.
“Well, I have to run to the store to get food anyway, so I can just stop by your place.”
“Ugh.” I look up at Grayson. “Do you have any plans for the day?”
He frowns out of confusion but shakes his head.
“Do you want to come with me to my best friend’s cookout?”
He smiles. “I’d love to.”
“Good!” Harley says, hearing his response.
“What time?” I ask.
“Five o’clock. See you then,” she says, hanging up.
I shake my head and drop the phone onto the bedside table, then roll back over to wrap my arms around him.
Twelve
Grayson
It takes us all day to pull away from each other, but we finally manage it and go for a shower. After getting cleaned up and dressed, the two of us load up in the car and make the drive over to her friend Harley’s house.
Cora gives me the rundown on her as we drive, telling me that she’d always been the single type until she started up a random fling with a guy she’d met in a bar. Apparently, they fell in love, got married during a drunken night in Vegas, then decided to stay together. She’s pregnant now and they’re about to start building a new house. I don’t know much about the man she’s with, Foster, but I’m sure I’ll get to know both of them today. And I couldn’t be any happier that Cora invited me to come along with her. If she’s starting to introduce me to her friends, then maybe this is getting more serious after all.
We pull up to a house and she leads the way to the door. She knocks twice, then just opens it and walks in. We’re greeted by a woman I’m assuming is Harley.
She smiles wide. “I’m so glad the two of you made it,” she says, pulling Cora in for a hug.
“You must be Grayson,” she says releasing Cora and holding out her hand. “I’m Cora’s best friend, Harley.”
I shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for the invitation.”
“Thanks for coming. Foster is just outside. If you guys want to follow me out, we’ll say ‘hi.’”
Cora takes my hand in hers as we follow Harley out the back door and into a fenced-in yard. A man is standing at the grill.
“Foster, Cora and Grayson are here,” Harley says, leading us over to him.
He closes the grill and turns to face us. “Good to see you again, Cora,” he says, hugging her. Then he holds out his hand to me. “Grayson, it’s nice to meet you.”
I shake his hand. “Likewise.”
He motions toward Cora. “She says you’re a good man. And Harley hasn’t stopped talking about you since she found out Cora was seeing someone.”
“Hey!” Harley says, making us laugh.
“She’s very protective of her best friend, so this is just her little way of checking you out,” he tells me.
I felt nervous already, and that didn’t help. “Well, hopefully I pass the test.”
“You already have,” Cora says with a shy smile.
“Not yet,” Harley says. “I’ll get everyone some drinks and we can sit at the patio table and talk while the grill gets warmed up. Cora, beer?”
She nods.
“Grayson?” Harley asks.
“A beer is fine, thank you.”
While she goes inside to retrieve our drinks, Foster takes us over to the patio table. “So, Grayson, you work with Cora?”
I nod. “I do. I’m the sales director.”
“And Cora is in accounting, right?” he asks, looking at her.
She nods.
“Well, we’ll be opening up an animal shelter soon if either of you might be looking for a career change.”
Cora laughs. “I’m not surprised she’s talked you into that. Harley’s always wanted her own shelter. I think it’s because her mom wouldn’t let her keep every stray she found as a child,” she jokes.
Foster laughs but shrugs. “Well, that’s what she wants and I just want her to be happy, so . . .”
“Okay, here we are,” Harley says, setting two beers on the table in front of us. “What did I miss?”
“Oh, just your husband trying to hire us on to work at your shelter,” Cora says, picking up her beer and taking a sip.
Harley flashes him a smile. “Can you believe it? I’m finally going to be able to bring home every stray I find.”
Cora laughs. “Sounds like your version of heaven.”
“Enough about me. I want to hear about the two of you. How long have you been seeing each other?”
I look at Cora and she looks at me before answering. “We started hanging out a few weeks after the wedding.”
“Wow, so several weeks now. And you went camping? How was it?”
“It was fun, dirty, tiring. It wiped me out. Or I guess that could’ve been the lack of sleep,” she giggles. “No, it was a good time. We fished, hiked, took little boat rides, and cooked over an open fire. It was nice to just get away and unplug for the weekend.”
“And now you’re training for a marathon?” Harley asks.
Cora nods. “Yeah, after the wedding mishap, I decided that before I got into another relationship, I needed to focus on myself for a little while. There are a lot of things I’ve always wanted to do, and Grayson volunteered to help. So here we are, training for a marathon together and checking things off my list as we go.”
“What else is on your list?” Harley asks.
Cora’s face turns pink.
“We’re knocking a lot off the list. We also went to a concert last night and just had a good time. So not everything is about her list,” I say.
“Oh yeah! How was the concert? Awesome, I’m sure.”
Cora gives me a look that says thank you. “It was really good. The Black Keys were incredible. They sound just like they do on the radio, and the crowd was pretty laid-back. We did run into Jimmy though.”
Harley’s eyes stretch wide. “Did he say anything?”
Cora shakes her head. “No, he just kept staring at us.” She giggles. “Then Grayson pulled me in for a kiss and we got a really dirty look then,” she laughs out.
“Good. I bet he’s hating himself right about now. You were the best thing to ever happen to him and he just threw it all away. He’s a loser. You did yourself a favor by not chasing after that one,” she says, looking at Cora.
Cora nods. “Oh, I know. He was all over this girl during the concert. Then we saw them as we were leaving and he was holding back her hair while she puked into a trash can. Kinda epic,” she giggles.
Harley laughs loudly along with Cora. “Good. That’s what that asshole deserves.” She picks up her water bottle and takes a drink. “So why didn’t you two get together sooner?”
I smile. “I’ve been asking myself that same question,” I say, glancing at Cora. “But we didn’t know each other until we started working together, and she started dating Jimmy right after we met. I didn’t want to come between them, so I had to wait until she was single again.”
“Aww,” Harley says
. “What a gentleman. He’s been waiting for you, Cora.”
Cora laughs and rolls her eyes. “Those pregnancy hormones are really messing with you, huh?”
Harley wipes unshed tears from her eyes as she nods. “Everything makes me cry and I don’t know why. The other night I cried at a pet adoption commercial.”
Foster starts to laugh but stops the moment her head swings in his direction. “Don’t make fun of me. The music was sad, and how could you not want to adopt them after seeing those dejected little faces?” The tears really start flowing now.
“What’s wrong now?” Cora asks.
“I was just thinking about that commercial again,” she says between sobs.
Foster reaches for her and pulls her against him. He hugs her, rubs her back, and brushes the hair from her face as the sobs come to a stop.
“Better?” he asks when she pulls away.
She nods and dries her tears, then looks at Cora. “Seriously, pregnancy makes you crazy.”
Cora laughs then changes the subject. “You need help with anything in the house?”
“Oh, I’m making deviled eggs. Come on, you make them so much better than I do.”
The girls get up and leave us alone. Foster and I watch them walk into the house.
“I’m glad Cora found you,” he says, drawing my attention back to him. “Harley was a nervous wreck worrying over Cora after the wedding.”
“I’m sure. They seem very close.”
“They are,” he says. “Cora actually gave us her honeymoon. Given how we got married, we hadn’t taken one until that point.”
“That was nice of her.”
“My point is, I love Harley and Harley loves Cora. Which means Cora is a very important key to my own happiness. I don’t know what your intentions are . . .”
“Oh,” I say, finally realizing what’s going on here.
“Just try to be careful with her. It won’t take much to break her.”
I smile at his concern. “Thank you.”
The F It List (Love You Forever Book 6) Page 11