Page 69 of Praised
I curled my hand over Grayson’s shoulder, trying to pull him back, but he refused to stand down.
“I’m not afraid of a man with more volume than sense, Ambrose,” he said, turning his attention back to Cody with the most bored expression I’d ever seen anyone wear. “You can go now.”
“I’ll go when I’m ready.”
“Alright, well…we’ll go then.” Grayson turned his back on Cody and studied me silently before saying, “I think I get it now.”
“Get what?” I asked weakly.
“The damage.”
He turned back to Cody who had started to huff and puff. I appreciated Grayson trying to fight this battle for me, but I didn’t need him to do it. I didn’t want that from him—or from anyone.
“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that we’re through, Cody,” I said, finally getting Grayson out of the way. “I don’t want to be with you anymore.”
“You know I did you a favor, Rose.” Cody made a tutting sound with his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “What real man is going to want a little femme like you?”
“Oh, I can think of at least one,” Grayson said under his breath.
“Who? You?” Cody scoffed.
Grayson shook his head. “I couldn’t afford him. He deserves someone much nicer than me and far better than you.”
“Fuck you,” Cody sneered.
Grayson scrunched his nose and chuckled. “I’ll pass.”
“Cody, please go. I don’t want to keep doing this with you.”
“We’re not done,” Cody said.
“You very much are. So go on and get back into your car that we both know smells like a pile of Black Ice air fresheners and stale iced coffee, and do whatever it is people like you do on Sunday nights.” Grayson gestured toward Cody’s car, and I looked away until Cody got back inside and peeled rubber down the alley. When the noise of his engine died down, I collapsed back onto the stairs, hands trembling.
“You didn’t need to involve yourself like that.”
Grayson ignored what I said, instead asking, “Was he always like that? Or only after?”
It was hard to admit that I’d disregarded the signs, that I’d settled for a man like that, but my adrenaline from the encounter was already crashing and I didn’t have it in me to lie. “I think always.”
“Flynn would never,” he said, like I needed any convincing that Flynn was a better man than Cody. There’d never been any doubt in my mind as to the caliber of Flynn’s character.
“I know.”
“Do you think you don’t deserve to be treated well?” He glanced down the alley in the direction Cody had driven. “Do you think that piece of shit is the best you can do?”
“It’s just…it’s…he only says it really when…when we…”
Grayson widened his eyes, swirling his hand in a circle like he wanted me to get the words out. “For Christ’s sake, Ambrose. We all know he has a praise kink; it’s not a secret.”
“He only says it in bed!” I shouted before I could take the words back. “Or I only hear it in bed. It’s all around the sex part and not the other part.”
“Didn’t you just tell me that the sex part is all you’ve given him?” Grayson went to his car and pulled open the driver’s door. “If so, that feels unfair. Flynn is a good man, a great one even. From what I hear, he’s tried on more than one occasion to meet in your middle instead of his, and I think we both know his is where the both of you really want to be.” He lowered himself into the seat and pressed the power button. The engine roared to life and he closed the door behind him, but unrolled the window.
I got the impression the only thing Grayson liked more than his boyfriend was the sound of his own voice.
“So while you’re waiting for your little twink knees to quit knocking together, maybe you can think about what that could mean for both of you, then you can get over yourself, and go make an honest man out of him. Alright?”
I slowly nodded, because I wanted that more than anything. Even if I hadn’t felt before like I deserved it, I wanted it. I wanted Flynn and I wanted him for more than thirty days, so that was what I was going to have.
