“Just a little hint.” I pout.
He shakes his head. “Such a stubborn little thing.” Grayson leans over. “I’ll give you two hints.” I lean in as well, as if he’s sharing a secret. “You definitely saw something of hers on TV when you were younger.” I tilt my head to the side. That’s…broad. “And it was most likely in a documentary set in a different country.”
Grayson leans back and drinks from his wineglass as I repeat her name over and over in my head. It feels like it’s on the tip of my tongue, but the alcohol is starting to hit me because I’ve been drinking it too quickly, making my thoughts slow down a bit.
“Look her up tomorrow. You’ll see what I mean.” As I open my mouth to ask a question about his divorce that I barely know anything about, two plates are placed in front of us, and I close my eyes, knowing the subject is done for the night.
“Anything else?” Cecil asks. I grab my glass and take the lastsip. “Another cosmopolitan coming right up.” He leaves before I can swallow, and I smile at the humor in Cecil’s voice.
Grayson also seems to find it funny, giving me a small half grin. “I’m all for letting loose, just don’t throw up.” He cringes.
I wave a hand. “The next one is my last, promise.”
He nods. “These are mushroom croquettes with truffle aioli and shaved parmesan.”
“Sounds good.” Good is an understatement. My mouth is watering at the smell, and I stuff a whole croquette into my mouth with an approving sound, making Grayson chuckle.
“Is that the sound of you taking back the look you gave me earlier when I ordered?”
Rolling my eyes, I get back to what he said earlier. “All right, Hayes.” He lifts both brows at the use of his last name without “Professor” before it. “What are the lighter topics you’re willing to talk to me about?”
“Six shots?!”I shriek.
“Emma.” Grayson laughs. “You may want to be a bit quieter.”
Looking around, I see the people remaining in the speakeasy looking over at us and smile.
“Sorry, but you expect me to believe that theoh-so-serious professortook six shots of moonshine and ran around campus in his underwear in aScreammask when he was only nineteen with his ex?” He smirks and nods. “Was that your ex-wife?” Grayson shifts in his seat, and his forehead creases. “You don’t have to answer that.”
“No, it’s fine.” He forces a smile. “My ex and I didn’t meet until we were twenty. The ex I was talking about was just a college fling.”
He doesn’t elaborate further, so I move on. “I’m impressed.You were way more fun back then than you’ve been in the past couple of weeks.”
Grayson scoffs. “And now I’m offended.”
“Oh, come on.” I tease. “I’m not saying you have to streak or almost get alcohol poisoning, but let loose. You’re too…”
“I’m too what?” he asks, genuinely curious.
I exhale loudly and take the last sip of my second cosmo. A light buzz has settled into my veins, giving me enough courage to tell him the truth. “Uptight.”
“Wow.” He rubs a hand against his jaw, and his turquoise eyes drift away from me.
Feeling bad for killing the mood, I lean over, and say, “I didn’t mean that in the way it sounded.”
“No,” he says quickly. “You’re totally right.”
“What?” Is this some kind of trick?
He leans back. “Ever since my, um…” He coughs awkwardly, and I know what’s coming next, I just didn’t expect it to be so difficult for him to say. Everything after his parents’ situation was off the record, which goes without saying. Tonight’s been enjoyable, and we’ve been getting to know each other like regular people—who just happen to be attracted to each other—and made out once. “My divorce,” Grayson finally manages to say. “Correction, ever since my third year of marriage…” I store that small piece of information away for later. “I haven’t been able to, like you said, let loose. I guess that’s what happens when you get married young and become a workaholic at twenty-three.”
“The word was uptight—” I stop at the set in his jaw and widen my eyes while pointing to his face. “See! That’s exactly what I mean. Your face is going to freeze like that one of these days.”
His jaw goes slack with a chuckle. “I was fun in July.”
“Doesn’t count. It was too long ago,” I reply quickly and smile, ignoring the small flip my stomach does.
Grayson sighs. “I keep forgetting how young you are.”