Gray by Shaw Hart

Eight

Nora

Gray has been actingweird all week. At first, I thought that it was just because he was still upset about his dad’s funeral and going back home. As the week went on though, that stopped seeming likely.

I would catch him staring at me, or my lips more specifically, when he thought that I wasn’t looking. When we went out for breakfast one day, he glared at any guy who came near me.

If I didn’t know better, I would say that he’s acting like a jealous lover.

I wish.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that almost kiss since we got back from Rosewood. It feels like we should talk about it, but every time I start to try to bring it up, I chicken out.

We’re at puppy training class, trying to corral Moose and Marley. They’ve both slowly been getting better. We can walk with them on a leash now without too much difficulty and they’re almost completely potty trained. They still chew on everything, but we were assured that they would grow out of that by the time they were two. We’ve stocked up on toys so that they don’t chew on any more of Gray’s shoes.

“Alright, class. We’re going to work on some commands now,” our instructor says and Gray and I line up with everyone else.

Moose and Marley are busy sniffing the ground and trying to make friends with the german shepherd next to us.

“Cute dog,” the guy holding the german shepherd’s leash says and I smile at him.

“Thanks. Yours too. How old is he?”

“Four months. What about yours?”

“Three months.”

“I’m Nate, by the way.”

“Nora,” I say, leaning over to shake his hand, only for Gray to growl behind me.

I turn to see him glaring at Nate and I give him a look, but he ignores me and continues to glare at me. Part of me loves that he’s trying to scare other guys away. It has to mean that he likes me, right? Although he probably just doesn’t think this Nate guy is good enough for me.

The instructor gets our attention again and I turn away from the two confusing guys on either side of me and focus on getting Marley to sit.

“Do we need to grab anything for brunch?” I ask as we head back out to the car at the end of class.

“Are you sure that you want to go to that?” Gray asks as he wrestles Moose into the back seat.

Moose instantly scrambles over the center console and plops his butt down in the driver’s seat. I laugh as Gray glares at him.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Maxine, Cat, Sayler, and Coraline are all going to be there and I missed girl’s night last week. I want to see them.”

“Alright, come on. Rooney just texted to say that we should bring the puppies. He said that he misses his niece and nephew.”

I giggle at that, sliding into the passenger seat and laughing when Moose and Marley both jump onto my lap. Soon they’ll be too big to do this but for now, I don’t mind.

Zeke’s house is only a few blocks off of Main Street and we pull up outside at the same time that Ender does. He’s carrying a few bouquets of flowers and I frown at Gray as we climb out.

“I thought you said that we didn’t need to bring anything?”

“We didn’t. Ender is just sucking up ‘cause he wants to marry into this family one day.”

Ender flips Gray off, passing me one of the bouquets and I shove Marley’s leash at Gray as I take them.

“For me?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Ender,” I say, breathing in the sweet floral scent.

“Yeah,” Gray drawls, looking suspiciously at his friend.

Ender just grins back at Gray and I think it might be the first time that I’ve seen the man smile. Gray mentioned that he had seen some shit overseas and was still trying to work past some things. Looks like working at Eye Candy Ink with the guys is helping.

“Come inside!” Rooney yells from the front porch and the dogs both go crazy trying to get to him.

Gray takes Marley’s leash from me so that I don’t have to try to hold on to her and the flowers. I follow him up the stairs and inside. Cat, Maxine, and Sayler are waiting for me just inside the door and Ender passes each of them a bouquet of flowers. I smile when I see that Cat has the biggest one.

“Welcome,” Maxine says. “Let me introduce you to everyone.”

Gray is busy talking with Rooney and Ender while he tries to wrestle the dogs to stay still. He looks over, making sure that I’m alright and I smile, nodding slightly as I follow after the girls out onto the back patio.

“This is my mom, Trixie, and my dad, Zeke,” Maxine says, starting the introductions.

I do my best to keep the names straight as we move around the backyard, meeting all of her aunts and uncles. When I meet Indie and Mischa, I know right away that they’re Rooney’s parents and it’s not because they look alike, though they do. They have the same chaotic energy about them as their son and I like them right away.

Atlas and Darcy are more relaxed and sensible, just like their son, Harvey, and Nico and Edie remind me of Banks with his easy-going energy.

“Is Coraline coming?” I ask as I take a seat with Cat and Sayler.

“She has to work. Her boss is a real workaholic,” Cat says and I see her mom and dad both laugh.

“Max is her boss,” Sayler tells me and I nod, finally getting the joke.

My eyes stray to Ender and I wonder if Max and Sam know how he feels about their daughter. Ender bought every woman flowers and I can tell that he’s trying to make a good impression on Sam and the rest of the family. He must be serious about him and Cat.

“Here you go,” Gray says as he passes me a mimosa.

“Thanks,” I say as he nods and bends down to let the dogs off their leashes so that they can go explore the backyard.

Rooney takes off after them, two balls and some other dog toys in his hand, and Gray groans and goes to join him.

I smile, taking a sip of my drink. It’s stronger than I thought it would be but the orange juice is refreshing so I take another sip.

“How are things going between you two?” Sayler asks and I take a bigger drink.

Maxine and Cat laugh at that.

“Oh, that good, huh?” Cat jokes and I laugh.

“Everything is still status quo.”

“That sucks,” Sayler groans and I giggle.

I think the alcohol is hitting me already and I look around for something to eat.

“Food will be ready soon!” Zeke calls and looks over to see Rooney, Harvey, Ender, Banks, and Gray standing over in the yard, drinking and playing with the puppies.

“How are things with you and Rooney?” I ask Sayler, trying to change the conversation.

“Good, really good actually.”

“Where did he take you for your first date?” I ask and she launches into the story.

Rooney has been into Sayler since he met her at Coraline’s food truck. She finally agreed to go out with him and they had their second date just a few nights before.

“It was this treehouse restaurant and it was so cool! The food was great too,” Sayler says dreamily.

“I didn’t know that there was anything like that around here,” Maxine says, taking a sip of her own mimosa.

“Me either. Rooney found it somehow.”

Indie joins us, passing around another round of mimosas and I down the last of my first glass quickly before I take the second.

“What are you going to do about Gray?” Maxine asks as she looks over to the guys who are still playing in the yard.

“I have no idea,” I admit with a sigh. “I don’t want to risk our friendship.”

“He wants you too. Everyone can see it,” Cat says and I notice her own eyes dip over toward Ender.

“But if everyone can see how I feel for him, then he probably can too, and since he hasn’t done anything about it, then I think I have my answer,” I say, rambling on.

Cat, Sayler, and Maxine all stare blankly at me after that, so I down the rest of my second mimosa.

“Maybe he can’t see it?” Maxine suggests. “He could be scared to lose you too.”

“Yeah, you should do something to push him and make him admit his feelings,” Sayler says, getting excited about the idea.

I think the alcohol must really be hitting me now because their idea doesn’t sound so bad all of a sudden.

“So, I’m just supposed to seduce him?” I ask as someone passes me another mimosa.

“Yeah!” Cat and Sayler say and I can tell that they’re pretty tipsy too.

“Food is done!” Zeke calls and I stand, wobbling slightly as I follow everyone over to grab a plate.

I mull over their words, laughing and downing a few more mimosas as I enjoy hanging out with my friends. Gray comes to see if I’m ready to leave around four p.m. and by then, I’m pretty drunk.

We say our goodbyes and I let Gray help me out to the car. Moose and Marley are already inside and I giggle as they jump on my lap.

“Let me help you buckle up,” Gray says, laughing at my inebriated state.

The dogs lick his face and that looks like fun. Gray is gone before I can try it myself and he drives us back home.

“We should walk them again before we go back upstairs. Maybe get you some fresh air.”

“Okay,” I say as he helps pull me from the passenger seat.

I take Marley’s leash and we start to head down the sidewalk. I stumble a few times as we round the block and Gray reaches out to steady me as we come to a stop in front of our building.

“Those mimosas were strong,” I say with a giggle and Gray grins down at me.

“I can see that.”

I stare up into his eyes and marvel at the way his gaze makes me burn brighter than any liquor ever made me feel.

“Careful,” Gray says and I notice that Moose and Marley have managed to wrap their leashes around us like in 101 Dalmations.

I find that hilarious and I can’t seem to stop laughing.

“Let’s get you upstairs,” Gray says, trying to untangle us.

I brush my lips across his cheek as he bends down to unwrap the leashes from around our legs.

“I love you,” I sigh into his ear and I notice Gray’s whole body goes stock still but I’m too drunk to care right now.

Gray doesn’t say anything as he untangles us and I sigh happily as he takes my hand and leads me up the stairs.