“Hi.” I smile, and something foreign fills my stomach. A feeling that shouldn’t be there, not yet. Deciding to be the first to stop this from going any further, I back up and sit up straight, looking forward.
“We should get to where you’re taking me,” I say as casually as possible.
“Right.” Grayson coughs and makes a U-turn.
There’s tension in the air. Whether it’s purely sexual or emotional, I’m not sure, but I tune it out and focus on the new song that’s playing. This time, I don’t sing, even though I know all the words.
After twenty minutesof driving through the back roads and only seeing one familiar spot that Kami and Levi have taken me to, I don’t bother asking Grayson where we’re headed. He won’t tell me, and I’m still trying not to think about the way he looked at me earlier.
He turns the wheel as we reach a dark road that eventually opens onto a small rocky area, causing the car to shake slightly. Squinting my eyes, I try to identify where we are and am metwith darkness for another minute when he stops in front of a small lake that’s only lit up by a couple of house lights far away, the few car lights on a distant mountain, and the moon.
A surprised laugh leaves me. “Grayson, this is…just wow.”
I don’t bother to look his way, I’m still leaning forward, taking in the lake and how empty and quiet it is around these parts.
“Lie back in the chair for a minute.”
Pouting, I do as he says, and I’m glad I did. The car backs up, makes a one-eighty, then stops with the large trunk facing the water.
Grayson unbuckles his seat belt and hops out of the car. Both of my eyebrows rise.
“Um, hello?”
What is going on?
The sound of the back door opening catches my attention.
“What are you doing?” Grayson disappears again to the back of the truck. “It’s like I’m talking to myself.” He reappears, and I attempt to speak to him again. “Can you tell me what’s happening, please?”
A sigh leaves him as he slides his arm under the back seat, lifting a basket and cooler I hadn’t noticed before. My head tilts, and he motions his head to the side.
“Come on.”
I don’t question him. Instead, I hop out of the car and lose my balance for a moment because of the rocks scattered around.Okay, this is going to be a challenge.I stand on my tiptoes and walk ever so slowly to the trunk of the car, where Grayson has the back latch open.
“Over here,” he says, and points to the latch.
“I’m coming. It’s not very easy in these heels.” Grayson rolls his lips inward, trying not to laugh. “Don’t you laugh at me and my heels, Hayes. They were here long before you were.”
A hearty chuckle escapes him, making me smile.
I let out a deep breath as I reach the spot next to him and gasp at the sight in front of me.
There in the back of the pickup truck is a blown-up mattress, two blankets, four pillows, a picnic basket, and a cooler, all illuminated only by four light yellow lights installed around the trunk and two on the top that are only slightly turned up.
I hadn’t seen everything in the back when he’d picked me up due to the cover he usually leaves over the trunk.
“Grayson, what is this?” My mind is racing a hundred miles per hour, trying to figure out what all of this means.
“Do you not like it?” he asks, worry etching his voice.
I turn to him. “No, it’s perfect, I’m just confused. Are we on a date?” I ask hesitantly.
The slight crease in his brow tells me I’m wrong, and I immediately regret killing the mood. I cast my eyes downward, but Grayson grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him, and his eyes bore into mine.
“This is me showing you that you deserve more than what we’ve been doing.” His face turns serious. “I’m not ready for everything we spoke about yet, considering how much it could cost us, but that doesn’t mean I only plan to use you as a sex toy. I wasn’t raised that way, and you certainly don’t deserve that.” My throat tightens at his words. “I never want you to feel used, Emma. So, no. Technically, this isn’t a girlfriend-boyfriend date, but more of a ‘let’s get to know each other, far away from the real world and the problems waiting for us back home.’ Can you do that?”
Color me shocked. This man wants to get to know me in a romantic setting, but isn’t ready to put a label on it? There’s something off here.