Protecting John (earlier: Bad Boy Needs Protection)

CHaPTeR THiRTY TWo

MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!!

After a short walk to Anne's place, Grayson and I were greeted by a very excited Freddy who was jumping up and down and waiting for us to pet him. Grayson laughed and bent down to let Freddy give him kisses and I looked at them, my heart filled with happiness.

"Oh, good you guys are back. I thought Freddy was chasing another squirrel again." She chuckled and motioned for us to come in and went back in while wiping her hands on her apron.

Grayson started to walk in but I stopped him.

"Umm, Gray? I don't think I should go in like this..." I trailed off while motioning to myself as I was covered in hay and mud. My hair was all over the place with straw sticking out of random places.

He gave me a warm smile and said, "Come on, let me lead you to the backyard. You can wash up there."

I followed him as he took me to a cute little backyard which had a little vegetable farm showcasing bright red tomatoes and lots of green herbs behind some clothes which had been hanged to let them dry. He handed me a hose and went to turn the tap on. Without warning, water started spraying all over me and soon, I was drenched head to toe.

"Oh my God, Q! I'm so sorry! I forgot to warn you!" I spit the water out of my mouth and laughed at his bewildered face.

"It's okay," I chuckled. "The whole thing was muddy anyway." I bent down to take my knife out of my boots and took them off to let the water out of it.

"I'll bring you a change of clothes and some towels. You can wash yourself and then go and wait in the shed over there. I'll be right back!" he said and ran back into the house, kicking his muddy shoes away as he ran.

I shook my head and turned the tap back on to clean myself up. In a matter of seconds, Gray was back with a huge pile of towels and folded clothes in his arms.

"Um, I didn't know what you would like so I bought you some of my smaller clothes. There are some t-shirts and pants there." Then he bent his head low and mumbled something under his breath.

"What? I didn't hear you," I said.

"I said, I put a boxer shorts in there too... um, I don't know, you can go in there and change." He pointed toward the shed again. "Would you like anything else?"

I grinned at him, "No, these are great. Thank you."

He nodded at me shyly and I went into the little shed which stored a lot of tools and small gardening things which I had no idea about because apparently, I didn't have a very green thumb according to Jules who saw the dead cactus in my room.

Closing the door to the shed, I started changing my clothes and without any surprise, I found that they were a tad bit too big for me. Wow! What a shocker!

Mini Q gave out a satisfied sigh as she got comfortable in the big clothes and started snoring in her sleep. Well, guess I won't be disturbed by my weird conscience any time soon.

I came out the shed and wrung my now almost clean clothes out and hanged them along the clothes which Anne had already hanged out. As I made my way back into the house, I heard Jules laughing and some banging of utensils. Turns out, that Daniel , Jules and Gray were in the process of composing a new song called "The Kitchen Anthem". I cleared my throat loudly to let them know of my presence and they all turned to look at me at once.

There was a sudden silence in the kitchen and I turned to see John scanning me from head to toe. Feeling a little self-conscious, I pulled my..err.. Grayson's pants up and rolled them once more to make it tighter. Jules gave out a slow whistle. "Damn girl, you didn't even need a day to get into the guy's pants. Literally!"

I rolled my eyes at her and looked at Grayson with a small smile, "Thank you Gray." I nodded at him and mad my way into the kitchen to where Anne was currently stirring something in a pot to help her out. When she saw me she shook her head at me and ordered me to go and sit down.

"Your only job here is to eat and keep my boy safe. I will handle the rest." She pinched my cheeks and made cooing noises at me like I was a baby.

Is this what it's like to have a grand mother? Mini Q asked from under the blanket-like boxer shorts.

I guess it is.

The guys had been told to set the table and I saw Jules playing with Freddy on the couch and speaking with him in a language that I could only guess was called "Freddanian" or something.

Soon, it was time to eat and people were already seated. There were two seats empty for me to sit in. One beside Gray and the other one next to Mr. Jerk-face. I guess I don't have to think about where I'm going to sit. I don't need any fights during such a happy meal.

Everything had been brought to the table and Anne had sat down as I brought the last dish from the kitchen. She was serving some delicious looking chicken to John when I pulled my seat next to Gray. Suddenly, there was a loud clatter as John put his fork down on the table and got up from his chair.

"I'm not hungry. I'm going back to the house." He said after giving me a glance. Then he looked at Anne and smiled at her, "Thank you Anne. The food was delicious."

He left the dining room to what I can only assume was to the front door which also made a loud bang as he stormed out.

Everyone was silent for a minute. It was Jules who broke the silence.

"Um... what just happened?"