Page 92 of Six Years
The guy laughs. “You’re impossible, Grey. What, you’re not getting enough sex in yournewrelationship?”
Hello? They do see me here, right? I mean, I don’t see their faces and they can’t see mine, but they should still be able to see me.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, love?”
There’s only one person Grey callslove, and that’s Miles.
Finally managing to wriggle myself out of Grey’s arms, I turn around and my boyfriend immediately pulls me back into his arms, my back pressed flush to his chest. Well, at least I can look at Miles now, it doesn’t make anything better, but alright.
“It’s so weird actually seeing you in a relationship again,” Miles says, then smiles at me kindly. “I thought he only ever gets affectionate when he’s drunk.”
So I read online. That gossip girl at his university did an amazing job, not sparinganydetails. Some of those, I’d like to unread and unsee.
“Miles,” Grey warns, probably shooting his best friend one of the many mad scowls he has to offer. I’m not sure why he’d warn him off though, Miles didn’t say anything wrong. Okay talking about ex-partners is always a little… weird, but I don’t really mind it. I mean, I don’t want to hear about Grey’s sexual partners, although I did technically ask about them before, but ex-partners are different to sex-only.
“If Grey needed alcohol to be affectionate, then he wasn’t with the right person,” I say.
“You’re not wrong,” Miles mutters but I don’t ask about it. If he wanted me to react, he would’ve said it much clearer.
Grey must’ve had enough of this conversation because he gets up, then helps me up as well. “I’ve got to take a shower.”
And just like that, Grey and I are leaving Miles all alone in the gym.
Back in Grey’s apartment, he ushers right into the bathroom, but I follow because something is off with him. I know he’s cold sometimes and doesn’t know how to show his emotions, butthisis a whole new side of cold to him. It’s more than just avoiding my questions, it’s avoidingme.
“Grey?”
He closes the door before I get the chance to slip inside the bathroom with him. And when I hear the lock, I know there’s no way for me to get inside without busting down that door, so instead I turn around and sit down, leaning my back against it.
I think this is about Grey’s ex, it’d be the only logical explanation for his sudden change in mood. As much as I’d like to ask about it, I think it’s better if I start with a whole other topic at first, just to get him to answer me.
“I think your friends don’t like me very much,” I say loud enough so he’d hear, even after he turns on the shower.
He stays quiet. I was expecting him to say it’s not true, but alright.
“I know they tried their best to include me the other day, but I believe that was pure kindness and not because they want me around,” I try again. “I get it though. I’m kind of like an intruder, messing up your whole family dynamic with my presence. You’re this one big happy family, and have known each other for ages and then suddenly I show up and ruin it all, threatening to take you away from them.”
I sigh, letting my head fall against the black wooden door. “I’m not trying to take you away though, just saying, but I get the feeling they think I want to. Especially Miles. He’s nice and all, but every time he looks at me and thinks I don’t see it, his face says that he doesn’t want me around. Again, I get that. I don’t know if you told him about me, or rather about me loving to manipulate people, but if you have, I think that’s why he can’t stand me. If you haven’t, I still think he knows and hates me for it.”
Grey keeps quiet, again.
Seriously? Nothing?
“I thought about it, you know?” My hand starts to shake just thinking about admitting this to Grey. “I thought about making him like me because I think you value his opinion a lot, and I fear that if he tells you I’m no good, you’ll believe him and then leave me. So, yeah, I thought about telling him a story that’d make him pity me and then empathize with me, and then… like me. I thought about doing that to all of your friends, actually. But I didn’t. I didn’t because your trust in me is worth more than making some people like me. And Grey? I trust you enough to believe you wouldn’t break my heart just because your friend tells you I’m not good enough for you. I’m not, so he’d be right with that, but sti—”
The door swings open without any warning—I didn’t hear him unlock it—causing me to fall back and lie on the ground, now staring up at Grey fromwaybelow. He’s already taller than me, but damn, he looks like a giant from down here.
Grey’s still wearing all of his clothes, so I take it he preferred listening to me over taking his shower.
He looks at me with a hint of tears in his eyes, a look I’ve never seen on him. Then he kneels down at the same time as I sit up and turn around to face him.
Grey takes my hands in his, eyes locked with mine when he says, “Don’t say that.”
Don’t say what exactly? I’ve said a whole lot in the past couple of minutes.
“You’re more than good enough for me, Luan.” He puts his hands on my neck, keeping his thumbs on my jaw. “They like you, trust me. But you’re right, they’re a little cautious with you because you’renew. It was just the seven of us for years, actually, it used to be four of us for years before that, but that’s not the point. You’re barely around due to distance reasons, so you have to give them time to adjust to you. They don’t know you, Luan. And for some god-awful reason, Colin, Aaron, and Miles like to have an extra eye on me than they do with each other. You’ll be fine, and they’ll welcome you with open arms the second you’ll be around a whole lot more often.”
I think it’s great his friends have an extra eye on Grey. From what I’ve gathered, he may be the most stubborn and grumpy one of them, but he’s also the likeliest to be broken.
