Page 33

Greyson

“My wardrobe is going to be full of your clothes soon.” Lilly teases as she walks into the kitchen wearing my sweats and a white shirt that’s very oversized on her.

Laughing, I turn to face her and smile. “They look better on you anyway.”

Looking at her freshly showered, I could still feel the way her pussy clenched around my fingers as she came. Seeing her come undone like that did something to me—I’m not entirely sure what, but it made me feel possessive over her.

That experience was nerve wracking. My hands were shaking, and a voice in my head kept screaming “don’t fuck up, don’t fuck up” anytime my fingers touched her. But the more I got into it, the more I loved it.

And watching her come…holy fuck. I was mentally applauding myself when she squeezed tightly around my fingers and moaned. I’d done it. I made her come. But as I watched her, I had another voice in my head telling me that we weren’t forever , and somewhere down the line some other fucker was going to see the pure bliss on her face, and taste how sweet she was.

That stirred up something inside me.

I didn’t want to think about it, I don’t want to think about it.

We weren’t forever …I repeat in my mind repeatedly. But somehow, no matter how many times it repeats, I know it’s a lie. Because I feel like this is the start of us. It’s silly to think that I know, but it’s a feeling I have, and usually my gut is never wrong.

Snorting, she grips the hem of the Sweats and pulls. “Because Sweats that are too big for me are really attractive, huh?”

Placing the mugs down on the counter, I walk toward her and palm her cheeks. “If you wore a trash bag, I’d still find you attractive.” I admit.

“You think I’m attractive?” She asks, tilting her head.

Is she fucking crazy? Of course I find her attractive. You’d have to be blind not to see how fucking beautiful she is.

“Yes,” I nod, soothing my thumb across her cheek. “And don’t for a second doubt yourself about that, okay?”

Chewing on her lip, she says. “I just…I guess I get insecure at times.”

“Is this because of…” I don’t want to say his name.

But understanding what I’m talking about, she nods. “I could barely look at myself in the mirror after we broke up because all I would do is criticize every little thing about myself.”

I could feel my veins heating with anger.

“Do you still feel like that now?”

“Not as much,” shaking her head, she sighs. “There’re days where I have doubts, but I’m trying to love myself again.”

“Remember the pact we made in my hotel room?”

“Yeah.”

“I wasn’t lying. If at any point in the future you feel like crap, call me—no matter the time. I can’t promise to fix everything, but I’ll try my fucking hardest.”

She smiles. “You’re amazing, did you know that?”

“Oh,” grinning, I walk toward the counter. “I know, and do you know why that is?”

She chuckles as she walks behind me. “Why?”

Spinning on my heel with the bag of popcorn in hand, I smile. “Because I managed to find you a bag of popcorn.”

Chuckling, she grabs it from my hands and opens it. “Hmm,” moaning over a mouthful, she chews and then says. “Yeah…you’re even more amazing now.”

Smiling, I walk over to the coffee machine. “Do you want a coffee?”

“Do you even need to ask?” Giving me a deadpan look, she jumps onto the counter and starts swinging her legs over the edge.

Laughing, I place a mug underneath the machine and press the button. We make small talk while the coffee machine is working its magic, and once it’s done, I place the mugs onto the counter.

“Greyson?” Lilly looks at me, chewing her lip.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted…” taking a breath, she fiddles with her hands. “About the other day in your hotel room.”

“What about it?” I ask, leaning my hip against the counter.

“I uh, tell me to shut the fuck up if you don’t want to talk about your childhood, but I just have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“You said you grew up in the system?”

“I did.” I confirm.

“I don’t want you to go into detail about it, because I can only imagine what you went through…”

Smiling, I walk over to her and stand between her legs, resting my palms on her hips. The truth is, I hate talking about my childhood. It was traumatic for me. But when it comes to Lilly, I’ll happily tell her anything she wants to know.

“Obviously you mentioned about not having a mom, and your dad is a piece of shit.”

Laughing, I say. “That’s putting it lightly.”

She smiles. “But do you have any other family members?”

“Other than the two son’s Sebastian has, no.”

“How did you manage to do it? Survive…not like survive, fuck. I don’t know how to word it—”

Cutting her off, my thumb traces her hip bone. “Focusing,” I confess. “I knew I wanted a career in hockey, so I worked fucking hard to make my dreams a reality. Nobody, nor no one could take my dreams away from me.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” I say, my lips tilting up into a smile. “I got out in the end, and I’m on the path to living out my dream.”

“You are,” she smiles, her eyes softening. “And I’m so fucking sorry for saying you could’ve done better when we first met.”

Snorting, I shake my head. “Well, look where we are now,” I grin. “ It’s like those words never left your mouth.”

She laughs. “Can I ask you another question?”

“You can ask me anything .”

She chews her cheek. “Where are you spending thanksgiving?”

Kissing the top of her head, I smile against her hair. “Don’t worry about me, baby.”

Tilting her head, her eyes bore into mine. “You make it hard not to worry.”

My chest tightens, this unfamiliar feeling I’ve never experienced before erupts inside of me…what is she doing to me?

“I’m going to Chase’s.”

“Promise me?”

“I promise.” I say, kissing her head again.

“Because you’re more than welcome to come home with me, my dad won’t mind. He’ll ask a few questions—okay, maybe a lot of questions,” laughing, she shakes her head. “He’s a little protective over me. But he’d welcome you with open arms.”

“As much as your dad grilling me with questions sounds super fun,” I tease, and she laughs. “I promise I’m going to Chase’s.”

“Okay, but the offer is always going to be open for you.”

I smile, rubbing my nose across her hair line. “I appreciate it.”

And I honestly do.