Secrets, Lies, and Summer Skies

Chapter Forty-Two

I stood quickly from the sofa, rigid with shock.

After all this time, all the silence, he just walked into the house like the old days.

Well, not quite like the old days. He'd had the sense to ring the bell instead of just strolling inside and taking a beer from the fridge. Still, he had a real set on him if he thought that a bunch of flowers and a surprise appearance was enough to make up for the silence and torment I'd endured while he'd kept his distance. It didn't matter to me whether it was because Dad had ordered him away. What mattered was that Grayson had so easily agreed to do so.

"What are you doing here?" I pointed to the bouquet. "What are those?"

"See what I mean?" Jenny asked Grayson in a heavily exaggerated tone of worry. "She hit her head so hard that she doesn't even know what flowers are! I really need to make my appointment, but there's no way I can leave her alone like this."

"Oh, you bitch," I seethed. "Did you call him?"

"Maybe I should go..." Grayson eyed me warily.

Jenny's hand flew to her chest. Aghast, she asked, "You'd leave her all alone after what I just said? You can see that she's sick, right? I honestly thought better of you, Mr. Reed."

I clenched my jaw when she addressed Grayson formally. I knew that many people called him that, but it made me think of all the times he'd dominated me in the bedroom when he'd called me a bad girl and I'd been his submissive partner who'd purred his name. As stupid as it was to be angry at her for forcing those memories to resurface, I couldn't help myself. I was also mad that she'd called Grayson to my house when she knew I wasn't ready to talk to him. That I was so scared of hearing from his own mouth that he was finished with me. And, to top it all off, she was now running off to some imaginary appointment and leaving me alone with him.

So much for being my best friend!

Jenny already had her purse over her shoulder and tossed me a not-so-subtle wink. "Don't get too excited, okay babe? Remember, you have a head injury."

I tried not to think about the implication of the word excited. I had absolutely no intention of jumping Grayson's bones after everything that'd happened. Moreover, I was tired and had a broken wrist. It wasn't like I was in any fit state for us to leap back into our rough sexual play, even if that was on the cards. Which it totally wasn't, obviously.

"If you don't get the fuck out of my house, I'll give you a head injury," I warned.

My threats had no effect on her. We'd been friends too long for that. In fact, I'd lost count of all the times we'd argued and then made nice over the years. We were just too close to ever let anything come between us. Jenny was basically my sister. Sure, I hated her for putting me in this situation and I'd make her grovel for my forgiveness, but there was no chance that she wouldn't get it. No matter what happened, we were together forever. Guys, college, and jobs would come and go, but I knew that we'd be constants in each other's lives.

Of course, as I watched her saunter out of my house, I also knew that I'd kick her ass the next time I saw her, but that didn't change the fact that I loved her.

Grayson and I stood in silence until the door slammed behind her. It felt awkward. Even before we'd gotten together, we'd been at ease with each other. Always poking fun and making witty comments because we had a longstanding relationship. Sure, it hadn't always been sexual. It might not even have been love. At least, not as we knew it before we'd seen each other as adults and potential partners. But we'd never been at a loss for things to say to each other. I hated how strange things had become. I didn't regret our relationship at all. I'd have done it all again in a heartbeat. I just wished that things had ended differently.