Beautifully Broken (19 page)

His lips were only inches
form mine and I could taste his minty breath, as it repeatedly blew across my
lips. I tucked my bottom lip under my teeth, mainly to prevent myself from
doing exactly what I knew I shouldn’t. My lips yearned to feel his against
them. My mouth was watering with the need to feel him against me; in any way I
could have him. I let out a strained breath, trying to hold myself back from
closing the small distance between us.

“I can’t Gray.” I closed my
eyes as I spoke the words, I instantly regretted. I slipped his jacket off and
backed myself up against the sliding glass door. I held his jacket in my
outstretched arm, trying to avoid any physical contact. If any part of his mind
melting body would have touched me, I would have ran at him full force. I knew
what I was doing was undeniably hurting him but it wouldn’t be fair to him to
get him involved. He deserved better. “I’m
so
sorry Gray, I really
am.”

My eyes fell to the ground
as I felt him getting closer. The invigorating mix of soap and cologne
assaulted my senses as I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. I could picture him,
leaning in to press his soft supple lips against mine, sending pleasure surging
through my body.
Please don’t
do it!
I had to keep repeating it to
stop myself from reaching out for him. His hand came up, brushing back the
tendrils of hair behind my frost bitten ear. A sucked in a tight breath through
my teeth. I could feel the heat pooling in my belly.

I needed him more than I
needed to breathe. I braced myself for his touch, but I never felt it. My eyes
shot open and found his blazing blue eyes, scorching through my hazy gray eyes.
That was all it took. Need, lust, want and desire took over and instantly his
lips were crushed against mine. My hands flew into his hair, tugging and
pulling with passion. We kissed furiously and deeply, never being able to get
close enough. Places on my body that had been dormant, began to feel alive. I
could feel his reaction to me pressed against my belly, the intensity growing
by the minute.

A noise coming from inside
the house broke through our eagerness, pulling me back from his all-consuming
mouth. With my eyes still sealed shut, I whispered something inaudible to the
both of us. I pressed the palm of my hand against his hard chest, holding him
back to collect my thoughts. The sound vibrated through the glass and my eyes
shot open.

“Gray, you
have
to
go, now!”

“I’m not leaving until you
agree to come out with me. A
real
date Bennett, one where I get to pick
you up and everything.” His eyes were hooded with passion and I couldn’t bring
myself to say no, knowing that I should.

“Okay, a “real” date, but
only if you leave, now!” I emphasized the now seems how he wasn’t quite
understanding the gravity of the situation. He backed away and bounced around
like a young child on Christmas morning.

“Tomorrow then?” A smile
stretched from ear to ear, making me smile in return.

“Tomorrow.” I blushed.

He took a step towards me;
“I’ll come get you around six.” His lips skimmed across mine briefly and then
he was gone.

I ran my fingertips across
where his lips had just touched mine and I smiled.

“Bennett, what the Hell are
you doing out here?”

Her booming voice had my
jumping in my own skin. I prayed that she hadn’t seen Gray in our backyard.

“You’re going to freeze your
little ass off,” she chastised me as she pulled my into the house by my arm. We
both stood rubbing our arms, as the cool breeze made its way past us inside and
across our skin.

“I was just coming in.” I
slid past her half dressed frame into the kitchen.

“What is wrong with you? You
seem, different.” Her questioning gaze was reaching for something I wasn’t
ready to share.

I shook my head and shrugged
my shoulders. She tried to stop me as I started making my way to my room.

“You’re not getting out of
this that easily. I’ll get it out of you later. That’s a promise, Bennett.”

I waved at her over my shoulder
as I turned into my room. I slid under my sheets fully clothed and drifted off
into a peaceful sleep.

I bounced excitedly around
my room, as I prepared myself for the most important night of my life. I curled
the ends of my hair, letting them cascade down my back. I amped up the mascara
and went with a smoky eye to deepen the gray in them. I nodded in approval in
my full-length mirror, before turning on my heel to head into my closet. I
grappled with the decision to wear something more, or less revealing. I wanted
something that wouldn’t take long to get out of, but something that didn’t
scream ‘easy.’ I instantly chastised myself for assuming, that this is where
the night would lead us. I pulled on my favorite pair of dark wash skinny jeans
with a small rip across the knee, and went in search of the perfect top.

Winter was upon us, so I
opted for a pale pink sweater with an asymmetrical neckline. It dipped low
enough under my collarbone, showing off a little bit of my well-endowed chest.
I shoved my feet into my brown suede, knee high buckle wedge boots and grabbed
my matching hobo bag that Gray had bought me for my eighteenth birthday.
Knowing he would appreciate the sentiment.

Hannah’s emerald green eyes
shot wide, as I stepped across the threshold of the living room. I blushed
slightly while running my fingers through my hair, pulling it over my left
shoulder.

“Bennett. You. Look.
Amazing.” Her mouth was practically on the floor, I took that as a good sign.

I opened my mouth to tell
her it was a surprise when the doorbell rang. Theo emerged from their room,
beating Hannah to answer it. I watched as Gray’s beaming smile faded into a
deep scowl when he saw Theo on the other side. I took a small amount of
pleasure in seeing him feel insecure, for once.

“Can I help you?” Theo
growled while itching his bare, toned abs.

“I’m here for-”

“Oh. My. God, Gray?” Hannah
squealed while running into his now open arms. “Gray Elliot Weston, what the
Hell are you doing here? Confusion settled into her expression as Gray placed
her back onto the ground. Theo wrapped his arm around Hannah’s waist, glaring
into Gray’s eyes. He gently tucked her behind him before introducing himself.
“I’m Theo, Hannah’s boyfriend?” He stretched his hand out and Gray appreciatively
took it in his.

“Nice to meet you man.” I
could see the relief in his eyes.

“He’s here for me,” I
chimed.

Hannah’s jaw dropped further
to the floor, as I slid into Gray’s waiting embrace. Theo rolled his eyes at
his girlfriend’s dramatic scene and invited Gray inside. Theo slid back into
their room, emerging fully clothed a minute later. I wrapped my arms around
Gray’s waist, pulling him into me. He squeezed me tight to his side then
released me, but never left my side.

I felt a slap against my
shoulder, “Bennett, why didn’t you tell me?” A wide smile was plastered to
Hannah’s face as she took in the sight of Gray and I together.

“We just ran into each other
yesterday. I didn’t even know if I would see him again, until he showed up last
night.”

“I
knew
you
were hiding something when I found you outside. You bitch,” she joked.

I blushed fiercely, “I’m
sorry Han, and I wanted it to be a surprise. “Surprise.”

Hannah couldn’t tear her
eyes away from the two of us, and I was starting to feel like a sideshow. I
grabbed Gray’s hand, “You want a tour?” I didn’t wait for him to answer before
I was pulling him from the entryway. I did a mini tour, stopping at my bedroom
last. I watched as his electric blue eyes went wide with hunger, as he took in
my figure standing in front of my bed.

“Oh no you don’t mister,
let’s go before you get any bright ideas.” I winked as I tugged a pouting Gray
back out into the living room. “We’re going to go now. We’ll see you guys
later.”

Theo stood to shake Gray’s
hand, “It was nice to finally meet you man. Heard more than was necessary about
you, that’s for sure. Nice to put a face with the name.”

Gray returned his handshake.
“I wish I could say the same but hopefully we’ll get to hang out sometime.”

I nodded in reassurance of
their burgeoning friendship. “Bye Han, I’m sure
I
will see
you
later.” I winked.

Gray guided me through the
doorway with his hand across my lower back. My skin instantly warmed to his
touch and I silently wished we could stay in my room, for the rest of the
night. We made our way down the driveway to an unfamiliar car. Upon closing the
distance, I realized that in my driveway sat an Aston Martin Vanquish V12.

“Please tell me this is
not
your
car.” I was salivating at the very sight of the beautiful piece of machinery in
my driveway.

“It’s not mine Bennett, keep
your panties on. I rented it for the night.”

He stood waiting for my
reaction, a mischievous smile playing at his lips. I knew he was thinking, just
as I was, all the dirty things we could do in this beautiful car. Gray
chivalrously led me to the passenger side, opening the door for me. I gave him
a sly wink as I slid into the black leather bucket seat.

The back of his fingers slid
down my blushing cheek before he retreated to the driver’s side. I took in his
appearance as he sat in the seat next to mine. He looked amazing. A pair of
dark denim jeans were slung low on his muscular hips, hugging his thighs. His
black cable knit, zip front sweater clung to every bulging muscle, outlining
his form perfectly. I licked my bottom lip as I watched him turn over the
ignition, bringing the car to life with a gentle purr.

Damn, he was hot!

I snuck in a few glances out
of the corner of my eye, as we made our way to the restaurant. I took it upon
myself to be Gray’s personal tour guide, seems how he had never been to the
small town I now reside in. I pointed out Johnny’s as we passed by and the
small bookstore that sat across from it. I told him how quite and intimate it
was, and how the owner loved me and always gave me a discount. We exchanged
laughs and light conversation on our quick trip. I had forgotten how easy it
was to talk and laugh with this man.

I found myself hanging on
every word he spoke, without fail. I wanted to know everything about him, after
he left. His voice was soft and melodic most of the time, and strong and
boisterous when needed for emphasis. This man was my undoing, and boy did I
want
to
be undone. I smirked at my private joke as he slid the car into park in front
of a small bistro.

I could feel the heat rising
up my cheeks as I watched him pull his taught frame across the front of the
car. He stopped and I blushed crimson when he caught me watching him. A second
later, he was opening my door. With his face only millimeters away from my ear
he whispered, “See anything you like?”

I just smiled, reaching for
his hand to help myself out of the car. As we entered the small Italian bistro,
I noticed a proud smile across Gray’s face. I didn’t want to ruin his moment,
so I kept it to myself that this had turned into my favorite place to eat over
the last couple of years.

We were lead to a small
booth in the back corner. Gray helped me into the vinyl bench seat before
slipping in right next to me. His denim clad thigh, made contact with mine and
I could feel the electricity humming over my sensitive skin. I opened my menu
knowing exactly what I wanted but I didn’t want to be rude, so I made sure to
peruse for a minute. Our waiter brought over two glasses of Riesling. Before I
even had a chance to ask, I knew Gray had arranged for this. After all these
years, he still knew me better than anyone else.

His eyes caught mine, “So
Button, what have you been up to for the last couple of years?”