Page 66 of Grizz

There’s no plan or control left anywhere.

Daisy breaks the kiss only when we both need air.Our foreheads rest together, breaths tangled, hearts slamming in unison.

Her voice is barely a whisper.“Grizz…”

“Don’t say anything,” I murmur, brushing my lips against hers again.“Just… stay with me.”

She nods once, a small, shaking motion.

And we kiss again, deeper and more passionate, in the brisk alley behind Onyx, wanting each other like it’s the only thing that makes sense anymore.

Chapter 19

Daisy

I’vebeenreplayingtheconversation with Grizz in my head for twenty-four hours straight.It loops the way a song does when you’re not ready to let go of it, the refrain hitting harder each time, its words inescapable.

It wasn’t even a long conversation.Just a handful of sentences, really.

After we made out behind Onyx—after he kissed me in a way that was far more than casual—we separated long enough for oxygen to re-enter the universe.And that’s when he said it, so casually it almost felt accidental.“I’m taking you out tomorrow on adate.”

NotWould you like to go out with me?OrMaybe we should have dinner sometime.Not even the classic Grizz version of affection, which would resembleI’m hungry.You’re coming with me.

He said, “I’m taking you out on adate.”

A statement, but not a command.Like he’d already made the choice and was giving me the luxury of pretending I had one too.

I managed to ask, “Date… a real date?”

He shrugged, which is Grizz-speak forYes, but if I say yes out loud, I’ll burst into flames.Then he added, “Don’t make it weird.”

Which, of course, made it unbelievably weird.

But underneath the deflection, the shrug, the boyish scowl he tried to hide behind, I could feel the thing I’d been wondering since we first slept together: He cares.He won’t say it, but if he didn’t, it’s hard to believe he would want to go on an actual date.

A real one.And it’s the “real” part that has my stomach doing Olympic-level gymnastics as I ride the elevator up to the restaurant.The doors open and warm air drifts toward me.The hallway is dim, lit by candles set into the walls.

The hostess greets me with a welcoming smile and leads me through a narrow vestibule.When we step out onto the rooftop, the city opens around us.

It’s stunning.

The rooftop dining area is small—maybe ten tables total—each one spaced far enough apart that conversations feel private.The ceiling is retractable glass, currently open, letting in the cool night air and the sound of the Hudson moving slowly and dark beneath us.Lanterns swing gently from wires overhead, casting warm pools of golden light across slate floors and linen-draped tables.

Far off, the Statue of Liberty glows muted green, and across the river, New Jersey’s skyline twinkles.

The hostess guides me to a table near the edge with two chairs, one candle, and a pair of empty wineglasses next to the silver cutlery.My heartbeat stutters when I see it.

Grizz did not choose this accidentally.This isn’t a place you stumble upon.This is when a guy has a plan and is possibly, if not dangerously, romantic.I lower into my seat, smoothing the skirt of my dress, desperate to calm my nerves.

He’s going so far out of his comfort zone, it means that he actually cares about me… about us.The realization sits warm and bright in my chest.

I let my fingers trace the stem of the wineglass, trying not to smile like an idiot.Every part of this—the exclusivity, the date, the way he looked at me last night—feels like stepping into a story I told myself for years I wasn’t allowed to want.

But tonight…

Tonight is real.It’s terrifying.And also, thrilling.

I exhale, glancing toward the elevator doors as he should be here any minute.And suddenly, everything inside me goes still and alive at once.The elevator doors slide open behind me with a soft metallic sigh.