Beyond What is Given(70)

Instead, I was only hungrier for him.

“Fine, go work on those chem skills.” He stripped off his shirt, and my mouth went dry.

“You…” I pointed my finger at him. “You do not play fair, Grayson.”

He shrugged with a smile, and that dimple came out. “Guess I’ll go shower.”

I reached up on tiptoes, my flip-flops not exactly helping in the height department, and kissed him quickly. “How did I live so long without seeing that smile?”

He flashed it again, and my insides turned to a puddle of goo. God, I loved him so much. Now if I could only work up the courage to tell him. But what were we supposed to do with love? He was still leaving in four months. After the last two rejection letters I’d received, both from North Carolina schools, I wasn’t any closer to getting into another college. Hit a professor, and you’ll never be accepted to another university again.

Grayson’s lips grazed my hairline. “The same way I don’t know how I survived before I met you.” He kissed my forehead and walked off, calling back, “Have a good day at school, dear.”

“You, too,” I replied, trying to keep my voice level. When he said things like that to me, it almost made me believe.

“Where’s my smoothie?” Josh asked as I passed him on my way to the door.

“Very funny,” I tossed back, sticking out my tongue. “When do I finally get to see my best friend again?”

He grinned. “This weekend. I swear, I knew it was going to suck going a month without seeing each other during that anthropology thing she went on, but it’s too long.” He grabbed his flight suit top off the back of the couch and put it on.

“Sometimes I forget,” I said quietly.

“Forget the anthropology dig?” he asked.

I motioned to his uniform. “That this isn’t normal army. That one day you guys are going to have a hell of a lot more than a month to get through.” Mom had only been home a little over a month, but we already knew she’d be headed back over next year.

“You, too, from what I see with Masters.”

My hand paused mid-reach to my messenger bag. “I’m not sure what the long-term plans are…or if he even…” I shook my head. “You know, I should probably be talking to him about this, right?”

He put his hand on my shoulder. Funny, a couple of years ago that would have probably sent me into a tizzy, having high-school hockey hottie Josh Walker touch me. But now he was just my best friend’s guy, and, well, he might still be hot, but Grayson blew him out of the park.

“Sam, you’ve made that guy human, which wasn’t exactly an easy task. He’s wild about you, so I don’t think you have much to worry about.”

“You guys are graduating in four months.” My stomach sank like it did every time I thought it.

“Pretty sure peace between warring nations has been negotiated in less time than that. You and Grayson can figure it out.”

“And you and Ember?”

He flinched. “Yeah, well she wants to stay in Nashville and go to Grad school, and I—”

“Want to go to Fort Bliss so you’re closer to home, she told me.”

“You think it’s a bad idea?”

“I’m dating Grayson, who’s killing himself to be top of the OML so he can get his first duty station selection and be closer to his comatose girlfriend. I’m really not sure I’m the one to pass judgment. But you guys will figure it out.”

My cell phone alarm blared. “Shit, I’m going to be late!” I ran out the door and called back, “There are smoothies for you and Jagger on the counter!”

“Thanks, Mom!” Josh yelled back as the door shut.

I tossed my bag into the backseat and was almost into the driver’s seat when Grayson ran out in flight-suit bottoms and a tan T-shirt that stretched beautifully across his chest. Was my heart ever not going to pound when he was around?

“Babe?” I asked.

He lifted my chem notebook and jogged over. “You left it on the nightstand.”

“That would have sucked,” I said, taking it from him. “Thank you.”

“I actually like seeing your stuff all over my room, but I figured you’d need it for class.”

“Hey, I confine it to my side of the bed.”

“Uh huh.” He gave me an ultra-intense look and then kissed me, pulling me into his body like he had all the time in the world. His skin was still damp from his shower.

Once he released me, I wavered. “What was that for?”

“I’ve never been this happy, and I think I like it.” He kissed me again, and I melted into it, uncaring that my book dropped to the ground. “Get to class,” he whispered against my mouth, and then left me standing there, all sorts of turned on. Damn that man.

I smiled. He was happy because of me. “I love you,” I whispered to his back as he closed the door to the house.

I was late to class, but I smiled as I took my seat.

Turns out I’d never been that happy, either.



“Are you still studying?” I asked Grayson three weeks later as I leaned into his doorframe. His note cards were spread out on the bed, and he sat in the center, selecting random questions to answer. His light blue tee draped over him in a way I couldn’t wait to, and his dark blue board shorts left his legs bare.