Page 96 of Come Back to Me

When he gets out of his truck, he guides me over to a space close to the house. I shift the gear into park, turn my car off, and grab my purse.

As I unlock the door, I see Grayson standing there. He opens the door for me, grabbing my hand, so I don’t lose my balance.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I say to him.

“I didn’t have to, but Iwantedto.” His dark brown eyes scan me from head to toe, making me feel like I’m boiling water.

I break eye contact withhim by closing my door and locking my car.

The closer we get to the house, the louder the music booms. There’s a huge banner that says homecoming game champions in all caps with the school’s logo centered above the text. It’s hard to miss because the text is in teal on a black background.

The Stingrays’ Basketball House is located across from the Greek district, so the house has those iconic white pillars. The house itself is a creamy white, but the door is painted a bright teal. The shingled roof looks dark gray, but I’m sure it’s lighter during the day.

A small staircase brings us closer to the door.

The door is already open. It’s almost as if everybody has been expecting us. When I walk inside, there are people everywhere, drinking and dancing. The music is blasting. Colorful lights are bouncing off the furniture.

Instead of leaving me alone, Grayson takes my hand and guides us through heaps of people. I can feel the heat transferring into my bones the second his hand touches mine.

Grayson’s lips move closer to my ear. “I’m trying to find Noah, Xander, Dani, Bella, and Willow. Let me know if you see any of them.”

Studying the kitchen and living room areas, I have no luck. I raise my head up to check out the second floor and see our friends talking up a storm with each other. I pull Grayson closer to me. “They’re upstairs.” I point up with my index finger at a slight angle.

Our hands let go of one another, and he follows me upstairs. It’s crowded up here, but not as much as it is downstairs on the main floor. The group is hanging out in the living room area.

Grayson hides behind Noah and Xander in an attempt to scare them. Dani and Bella are giggling, while Willow has no idea what’s going on.

“What’s so funny, Princess?” Noah asks Dani.

“Your obliviousness,” she replies with no hesitation.

“What are you—” Noah gets cut off as Grayson pokes him with his fingers in his sides.

Xander is laughing so hard his face is turning red. Bella is unfazed by their stupidity.

“You’re going to blow up if you continue to laugh like that,” Bella tells Xander.

Xander doesn’t respond to her. He usually has witty comebacks, so why isn’t he using one on her?

I plop down on the sofa next to Willow.

“Your friends are pretty cool,” she says.

Dani sits down on Noah’s lap. “You’re a part of this group now, Willow, so thank you for saying we’re cool. It’s bullshit in my opinion, but it’s rare that we get called that. So, again, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Willow chuckles.

“How long have you guys been up here?” I ask.

“I’d say around a half an hour. We’ve been having our own party away from the party.” Bella laughs.

I can’t help but notice how Xander is staring at Bella. It’s like they’re the only people in the room. It’s similar to how Grayson used to stare at me when we were dating.

Now I understand why he didn’t use a comeback on her.

I signal Noah over to me, and we stand away from everybody.

“What’s up?” he asks, leaning against the wall next to him.