Young Love (Bloomfield #4) (18 page)

“Right,” she said.

We sat on the phone in a tense silence. I had no idea what else to say.

“Well I guess I should be grateful you gave us a shot.”

I rubbed at my eyes. “I did try, Kel. I did.”

“I know,” she said quietly.

“I’d like to still be friends,” I said, cringing at how that sounded in this situation.

“Sure, Grey,” she said. “We can still be friends.”

“I hope so.”

“Me too.”

We hung up after an awkward goodbye and I sat back, staring unseeingly at the wall. As much as that had royally sucked, I felt a million times lighter.

Standing, I walked out of my place and headed straight for Honor’s. I knocked this time, waiting anxiously to see her even though we’d only been apart for less than half an hour.

The door behind me opened and Briggs walked out, his eyebrows shooting up when he saw me standing at Honor’s door.

“Hey,” he said with a head nod.

“What’s up?”

“Not much,” he said, eyeing over my shoulder. “What’s up with you?”

I shrugged. “Not much.”

He nodded. “Well, I’ll see you at the shop tomorrow.”

“Yup, see you.”

He started to walk down the hall, but stopped to look back at me, one side of his mouth tipped up in a smirk. “It’s always something to do with a girl, huh?”

I snorted. “I always said I was wise.”

He chuckled. “Right. See ya,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Later, boss man.”

I knocked on the door again, wanting to just say screw it and walk in, but I kept my patience. Finally the knob turned and Honor opened the door, a pleased smile instantly spreading across her face.

“Hey, what ar -”

I cut her off, pulling her into a searing kiss. She smelled like shampoo and soap. My mouth watered to taste more of her.

She pulled back, blinking up at me. “What was that for?”

I grinned, walking her backwards inside so I could shut the door. “That was just to take the edge off. I think it’s time for a shower.”

“I just took a shower,” she said with a laugh.

“You can never be too clean,” I said darkly, swooping her up into my arms and heading straight for her bathroom.

Chapter 21

Honor

I took the 1A to the South East station, my mood just as sunny as the afternoon outside. I sat, watching the city pass by the bus window, and couldn’t help but smile as I thought back on my week.

Dating Grey Anderson was extremely...interesting. I didn’t know how to really describe it. He was both as intense and demanding as he was laid back and easy going.

When he’d followed me into the shower last Sunday, he’d told me that things with him and Kelly were done. There wasn’t just one word to describe how that made me feel. Relieved was definitely one of them. When we’d...done what we’d done, in the studio, I’d had mixed feelings as soon as I’d returned to my place alone.

It was easy to get caught up in what existed between us when Grey and I were together, but alone I couldn’t help but hate myself for liking a guy that was taken.

So when he’d broken up with Kelly, all that guilt had vanished. Well, maybe not quite all of it. I still felt bad for even getting together while they’d been dating. And I hated to think I caused their break-up. But it was easy to push that feeling to the back of my mind when I was filled with giddy happiness whenever I was with him.

I didn’t know what his breaking up with Kelly technically meant for us, so in the beginning of the week I had tread carefully. Just because they weren’t together didn’t necessarily mean
we
were.

Except that was exactly how Grey acted all week, much to my pleasure. Every night he either came to my place or I went to his, and we would cook dinner and watch TV. Or he would just skip TV and food and blow my mind in the bedroom - or the couch, or the counter, or against the wall - wherever he seemed to decide.

I’d never felt so satisfied both physically and emotionally in my life. We’d never said we were officially dating, but he kept calling me “his girl” so I figured it was one of those things that just goes without saying.

Now I was on my way to have brunch with Mom and Aunt Grace. I was sure, after last weekend, they were going to have a million questions for me. I still had to give them shit for even calling Grey in the first place.

I guess that’s what I got for putting my birthdate as the passcode to my phone. Next time I planned to get wasted at their house, I was going to have to change it ahead of time.

The bacon was sizzling when I walked into the house, the smell hitting my nose the second I stepped inside. I loved that smell. I called out a hello as I made my way to the kitchen.

“Morning, baby,” Mom said, coming over to give me a kiss. Her pale hair was up in rollers. Mix that with the pink housecoat, and my mother was quite the vision. I shook my head, quickly giving my aunt a kiss before taking my mom’s place at the counter to mix the eggs. She always salted them too much.

“So, you’re looking better than the last time we saw you,” Auntie Grace said with a sly smile.

I gave them both a stern look. “That was
not
funny you two,” I said, pointing a finger at them.

My mother’s eyes widened in innocence. Pffft.

“What wasn’t? What did we do?”

“What did you do?” I muttered, shaking my head. “I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you two let me get wasted, probably on purpose knowing you. Or the fact that you actually called
Grey
of all people to come and get me. What is wrong with you? Don’t you have enough drama in those stupid soap operas you two watch?”

“Absolutely not,” Grace said simply.

Why was I not surprised?

“And didn’t it work?” she continued. “I can tell just from the way you walked in here that everything is exactly as it should be. Sometimes, you young kids just need a little push in the right direction.”

“I’d say your push was more like a shove,” I argued.

She shrugged. “If it works, it works. Don’t complain.”

I shook my head again, whisking the eggs.

“So?” Mom said.

I looked up at her with raised brows. “So, what?”

“Goodness, Honor. Don’t make us beg. Are you and Grey an item now, or what?”

I sighed. “Yes, we’re dating now.” I think. I was pretty sure.

They both squealed like only my mother and aunt could, and wrapped me in a group hug that had me laughing in spite myself.

“What did I miss?” Perrie asked as she appeared in the kitchen doorway.

“Only our mothers being as insane as usual,” I replied as they let me go.

“At least that hasn’t changed,” she muttered.

“Your cousin is dating a
very
fine looking man,” Auntie Grace said.

“Ew,” I murmured. I
did not
want to know what either of them thought of Grey, because I could only imagine what they would say. The two of them were worse than men.

“She is?” Perrie said, looking at me shrewdly. “You are? Would this happen to be someone I saw you eating breakfast with? And why am I only hearing about it now? From them of all people?”

I sighed. “It’s still pretty new, I just haven’t gotten around to telling you.”

“There is this thing called a phone, you know?” she said.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“
So
?”

“His name is Grey,” my mom said, stretching out his name and giggling like a child.

“You’re dating
Grey
? Like, for
real
?”

I nodded.

Perrie let out a loud whoop. “Get the fuck out!”

“Language!” our mom’s scolded together.

Perrie ignored them, coming around the counter to throw her arm around me. “I don’t think there’s ever been a moment in our lives where I’ve been as proud of you as I am now.”

“That’s…not very nice,” I said.

“I can’t believe you landed Grey Anderson,” she said, as if I hadn’t just spoken. “I totally knew it was going to happen too.”

I rolled my eyes at her when she walked back around so she stood across from me.

“No you didn’t,” I argued. “You always say you know things
after
they’ve already happened. It doesn’t work that way.”

“I did so! I swear. There was so much sexual tension between you two at the shop that night, you’d have to be blind not to have seen it.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Actually,” she said, raising a finger, “I think even the blind would have picked up on it.”

I gave her the most serious look I could muster. “I think living with these two is starting to affect your mental stability. Run. Run away fast. Before you turn into one of them.”

“She already is leaving us,” Aunt Grace said with a frown.

Now it was my turn to look at her in surprise. “Oh? How come I’m just hearing about this now, from her?”

Perrie waved me off. “It’s not official yet. I’m just looking around for a place closer to law school. I’m going to be so busy with school and the internship that I don’t want to have to travel all the way back here every night from downtown.”

“You can always stay with me if you want,” I offered.

“You live in a one bedroom apartment,” she said.

I shrugged. “We can get a pull-out couch or something,” I suggested.

She shook her head. “I appreciate it, but no. I think I’d like my own space,” she said, eyeing our mother’s discreetly. I nodded in understanding.

“That’s because she has a new man, and doesn’t want to bring him around,” her mom said, giving me a pointed look.

I turned back to Perrie with my mouth hanging open. “What the heck? There is this thing called a phone, PeePee,” I said, biting back a smirk.

She pointed a warning finger at me. “Don’t start, Billy Elliot, or we’ll have it out like we used to.”

“No fighting girls,” Mom said in a tired voice.

“So, who is this new man?”

She gave her mother an annoyed look while shaking her head. “There is no man. I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

I continued to stare at her, waiting. If Perrie was hiding something, all you had to do was keep looking at her. She hated it. The longer you did it, the more she’d squirm, until she finally broke down and just told you what you wanted to know. It was too easy.

She held up both hands. “I swear to God, Honor. There’s no one.”

Staring.

“Stop,” she said, taking a step back. “I mean it, stop. There’s no one. I don’t know why they think there is.”

I looked away to Grace for an explanation.

She shrugged. “I think there’s someone. She came home one night looking all flushed and acting funny. If that’s not a man, then I don’t know what is.”

I narrowed my eyes, glancing back at Perrie. My aunt really didn’t know a thing about men, so maybe she was wrong.

“She’s nuts, dude,” Perrie said.

“Fine,” I conceded, dropping it – for now.

But if I suspected she was hiding anything from me, I was going to be all over it until she sang like a canary.

“So,” Perrie said, changing the subject. “Have you applied for the National Ballet Academy yet?”

I gave her a tired look. “We’ve already been over this,” I said, moving to the stove to pour the egg mixture into the heated pan.

“Why can’t you at least try?” she pressed. “This could be an opportunity for you to go further with your dancing.”

“I don’t care about becoming a professional dancer,” I said, repeating the same argument I always did whenever we discussed this.

“You’re too good not to give it a shot,” she said.

“I want to teach dance, Perrie.”

“You can do that when you’re older and you can’t dance yourself anymore. Why waste your talent?”

I pushed the eggs around in the pan, not looking at any of them. I knew my aunt and mom agreed with her. They’d been pushing me to try out for the Academy since I was in grade nine. It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered what it would be like to go to a school where dancing would be my main focus. I just wasn’t sure if that was the future I really wanted for myself.

My dream was to open my own studio. I wanted to teach little kids and inspire them to reach for goals like that. As for myself? Well, I just wasn’t sure it was for me.

“I’m happy at my school,” I said. “To transfer now, and start fresh…” I shrugged, not sure if she was even looking at me anymore.

“I think you’ll regret it if you don’t try,” Perrie said. “That’s my opinion at least.”

I sighed. “Your opinion is noted,” I said, bringing the topic to an end.

***

I got back to the apartment, my mind tired from trying to keep up with the crazy women in my life. Instead of heading to my place, I stopped at Grey’s, knocking at his door. It opened a second later, an arm reaching out to snatch me from the hallway before I could register what was happening.

Grey’s lips met mine in a demanding kiss that had me melting against him in an instant. I dragged my hands up the short hairs on the back of his head, loving the way they tickled my palm. He pulled back, smiling down at me.

The brooding Grey I had met months ago had been replaced by this pleased looking one, who always seemed to be happy whenever he was around me. It made something warm and soothing blossom in the pit of my stomach.

“Hey,” he said, gently stroking a strand of hair from my face, the touch much softer than his kiss.

“Hey to you,” I said, unable to contain the smile that spread across my face.

“How was your mother’s?”

He let go of me to grab my hand, leading me over to his couch.

“It was…interesting,” I replied.

He chuckled. “I bet. Those two are quite the characters.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

He sat us down, pulling me onto his lap, his hand resting possessively on the inside of my thigh. “You seem stressed. Do you need me to help you relax?”

My blood instantly heated as desire lit his eyes. “What did you have in mind?”

Chapter 22

Grey

Honor was curled into a ball on the couch, buried under a blanket as she watched television. I stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner while I snuck glances in her direction.