Defining Us (Rocky Waters)

Chapter 9

9

AINSLEY

H e thought I was sleeping, but I heard every word. It took everything in my power not to react in even the slightest way. It should have freaked me the fuck out, him uttering those words. No one is more surprised than me to realize that I pretty much loved the words he confessed. I have never felt this overwhelmed before, not that I have much experience in the “love” and relationship areas. I’ve never felt this comfortable with a guy before, let alone this quickly into a relationship. I feel like I’ve known him forever, but then there are so many things I can’t wait to learn about him because in fact, I’ve only known him a very short while. It’s been merely days.

When I wake up in the morning, I’m lost for a minute or so. When realization hits of where I am, I roll over to find Grayson’s spot vacant. Feeling a tad disappointed, I push up off the bed and go in search of him.

I find him in the kitchen, reading the newspaper at the table. His hair is tousled from sleep, his eyes a deep chocolate brown, and he’s wearing just the PJ bottoms he slept in. His torso is bare, but I can’t see much of it because he’s slumped over the table. I lick my lips in anticipation of seeing his abs again. Did I mention they are picture-worthy ?

He picks his head up as he hears me approaching. “Hey, darling. Sleep well?”

I smile and nod. “Best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time.” Or ever, I don’t voice aloud. “You?”

He gestures me over to him and when I get there, he pulls me onto his lap. He moves the hair off of my cheek and places a tender kiss on it. He nods his head. “So well,” he agrees.

“How long have you been up?” I ask him, running my hand through his thick locks. I place my palms on his cheeks and before he can answer, pop a quick kiss on his lips.

“A little while. Shall we get ready for breakfast?”

“Yes, please. I’m famished.”

“I’ll set you up in the guest room’s bathroom to shower.” When he sees the disappointed look on my face, he quickly adds, “Just so we can both get showered at the same time and be on our way faster.” Laughing, he shakes his head at the wild look that comes over my face. “Another day,” he declares knowing what I want without me having to ask it.

“Promise?” I ask, keeping the pleading to a minimum but giving him my best pout.

“You’ve already made plans to cook again, and when you do that, you’re bound to need a shower at some point.”

“Good point. Okay, let’s go before you have to eat me for breakfast.” His eyes go wide in shock. I feel him harden underneath me. “Yep, time to go,” I tell him, hopping off his lap.

B reakfast is fun. He opens up a little more about his job—the fact that he’s a trainer explains his abs. Besides Bella and Kylie, he doesn’t really talk about his family. He seems to want it that way, so I don’t push him. God knows I hate to talk about my mother and brother.

Since it’s a nice day, we take the Mustang for a drive and hit up a farmer’s market in Portland. Even though his fridge and pantry are stocked well, he ends up buying some more fresh produce, freshly baked bread, and some chicken to cook for dinner.

After the farmer’s market, he drives to a nearby park with hiking trails, and we spend some time exploring. He holds my hand the entire way up one of the trails and despite my heart beating quickly in my chest, I’m somehow able to keep my hands from becoming too clammy or sweaty in his grasp.

As we are hiking down the last trail, I realize that I haven’t pulled my phone out all day, except to take some pictures and the obligatory selfie at the top of the trail. I haven’t checked my email or Facebook once all day, a rarity for me. I also realize that I don’t miss it because spending this day with Grayson has been damn near perfect.

Once we get back to the car, in a shy voice, he asks, “Bella wants to know if we want to do dinner with them. That loosely translates to them coming over to my house and me cooking. It’s totally up to you…”

Before he finishes speaking, I’m nodding my head and answering yes. “That sounds good. Did we buy enough chicken?”

He nods. “Yeah, and if not, I have more at home I’m sure. Are you sure you are okay with this? They can be overpowering at times.”

“I’m okay with it. I want to know them better. And plus, I know that Bella will tell me stories about you that you won’t share.”

He cocks his head to the side. “Oh really?”

“Definitely,” I confirm. “I’m almost positive.”

He huffs and then starts up the car. Before pulling away, he hands me his phone and tells me to text Bella to come over around six.

Taking his phone out of his hand, I look back over to him. “Are you sure you trust me with your phone?” I question. “I could totally creep it.”

“There’s nothing noteworthy on it but feel free to creep away.” His voice has lost some of the jovial tones, so I just text Bella and put the phone on the console between us .

I peer out the window. “I enjoyed myself today. Thank you.”

“Me too,” he agrees. “But thank you for choosing to spend the day with me. Hopefully we have time to fulfill the only item on your to-do list when we get home.” A slow smirk spreads across his face.

“I can text Bella back and tell her to come a little later…” I trail off and reach for his phone.

“Are you staying the night?” he asks instead of entertaining my thought.

“It is a school night, but I really would like to.”

Stopping at the red light, he looks over at me. “I’d really like you to also.”

“Well, in that case, I must.”

He doesn’t talk for the rest of the ride, but his hand finds my thigh, and he rubs it up and down the entire way to his house.

Back at his house, he unloads the groceries and sets to work on dinner. I’m a little bummed that he’s focused on dinner, but when he hands me a bunch of veggies to peel and cut, I get to work and after only a few minutes, I find that chopping veggies next to Grayson doesn’t feel like work at all. Since he’s standing next to me, prepping the chicken with all sorts of spices, he keeps bumping his hip into mine. When I bump him back, he pushes back a little harder each time. He’s trying really hard not to crack even the tiniest smile, but when he thinks I’m not watching him, his armor cracks.

“Music?” I ask.

He abandons his chicken prepping, washes his hands, and goes into the other room. In a few minutes, he’s back with a Bluetooth speaker and an iPad. He cues up Pandora and the first song that booms through the speakers is Luke Bryan’s “I Don’t Want This Night to End.”

“Love this song,” I croon, starting to sway my hips to the beat. He comes up behind me and grabs a hold of my hips, pressing his body against mine. My heart starts to beat just a smidgen faster. He sways in time with the music and when he leans in to kiss my neck, I almost drop the knife I’m holding.

Just as quickly as he came behind me, he moves away. What the heck, I think to myself, but go back to my prepping duties.

We work for about ten more minutes. He puts the chicken in the fridge to marinate and then grabs the veggies I’ve prepped, sprinkles on a few spices and adds them next to the chicken. He takes about five minutes to clean up the mess, and then he disappears from the kitchen.

Not knowing what to make of it, I figure I will take this time to explore more of his house. Did I mention his house is expansive? And I’ve only seen like three of the rooms.

The kitchen opens up to a large family room. There are two couches and a recliner that face the TV that’s mounted on the wall. On one wall, there’s a tall bookshelf that houses many books along the shelves. Perusing them quickly, I notice some about Ford cars, physical training, and then a hodgepodge of classic and contemporary fiction. Picture frames adorn a few of the shelves containing mostly pictures of Grayson and Bella, a few with Kylie added in, some that show he likes to travel, and then one of a couple who I assume are his parents. While Grayson appears to be the spitting image of his father, I can see his mother in him as well. I notice there aren’t any family photos of the four of them but don’t dwell on it.

Walking down the hall, there’s the bathroom that I used last night. Even though it’s only a half bath, it’s fairly spacious. Across from that is a guest bedroom. There’s a queen-sized bed, covered in a plain white comforter, along with a tall dresser and its matching nightstand. The guest room upstairs is more inviting than this one.

Rounding out this hallway downstairs is a closed door. Not wanting to be a total snoop, I resist the strong urge to open the door and peek inside.

I make my way back to the kitchen to the glass sliding doors. They lead to an incredible deck, complete with a grill and a patio set. Beyond the deck, there’s a firepit, and not one of those portable ones either. This one is circular in shape, the cinder blocks stacked three levels high in an alternating pattern. In the far corner of the yard sits a shed.

As I’m looking out at the backyard, Grayson comes up behind me. He doesn’t say anything; he just brushes my hair off my neck with his fingers and leans in to start kissing it again. My eyes close, and I start to sway on my feet. I’m suddenly aware that the music is still on, playing Lee Brice’s “Love Like Crazy.” He moves to the other side of my neck, nibbling every so often. A small moan escapes my lips, and I lay my palms against the door to steady myself as I rock back and forth.

His hands find the hem of my T-shirt. He makes his way underneath and palms my stomach. Inch by inch, his fingers make their way higher until they have reached my boobs. He’s still kissing my neck, but they are getting longer and more drawn out, in contrast to the feather kisses he started with. He leans in closer to me so he can cup my boobs, and I can feel the beginning of his erection against my backside.

“Grayson,” I whisper-moan.

“Ainsley,” he parrots back in a similar tone.

My body temperature rises, my breathing deepens, and then I hear his “Fuck me.” His tone of voice does not suggest he’s actually looking for me to do what he says but rather voicing his frustration.

He doesn’t drop his hands, but his kisses stop, and he drops his head to my back. I’m about to question his motives when I hear the garage door opening. Well, that’s poor timing, I think to myself.

Knowing I have only seconds before the guests will be in the mudroom, I quickly turn my body around to him, causing his arms to fall from my breasts. His face shows pure frustration, which I know is reflected on mine as well. Standing on my tippy-toes so I can get closer to his face, I put my palms on his chest. His pulse is racing, possibly even faster than mine. Looking up into his eyes, I say the only thing I can think of right now.

“I know she’s your sister, but is it rude to kick them out right after dinner?” I wink at him.

In response, he lifts me off my feet and carries me to the kitchen. He sits me down on the island. Can I mention how much I am loving this island!. In an almost out of breath voice, he rasps, “Two, three hours tops, and they are gone. I will literally throw them out if I have to.” He puts a quick kiss on my lips, bringing his tongue out at the very end to lick them. “And whatever you do, do not bring up the wedding,” he manages to get out just as we hear the door to the mudroom open.

“Hey, we’re here,” I hear a female voice call out, but I can’t distinguish who it is. Grayson quickly pushes away from the island and gets the food from the fridge. I hop down and head to the bathroom to compose myself.