We all stood and looked at the menu. Grayson and I stared at the menu a little longer than the rest, they already knew what they’d be getting. You could see they were used to these kinds of things whereas Grayson and I weren’t exactly used to it. From what I’ve heard he can be a bit of an introvert but again, the pandemic changed a lot of people. Some of my friends all just turned into these wild party animals after the restrictions were lifted and then you had Mia, Mia who loved hanging out with her friends and going out but just not partying plus the same Mia who was a little too focused on her job that caused her friendships to all breakdown. Stupid, stupid- I was nudged by Makani who then stole my attention and smiled at me.
I turned back to the menu and realised which thought had just lost when I got distracted by Grayson.
“Uh, I don’t think we’ll be able to order from here,” I said nervously, feeling bad we invited them here but at least there were two other food trucks.
“What’s wrong?” Vivian asked, her blue eyes now focused on me but I caught her stealing glances at the giant next to me.
“Grayson’s allergic to shellfish,” I pointed out. Grayson looked at me a little surprised with a slight smile on his lips. The food restrictions were tough in the office, one was lactose intolerant, one was allergic to strawberries and then you had Grayson who was allergic to seafood.
“Oh wow, that sucks,” Vivian pouted as she looked at Grayson.
“You’re really missing out here,” Makani added in a funny manner.
“So I’ve been told,” Grayson sighed, probably tired of hearing about it all his life.
“The food truck right next here has great barbecue,”Makani pointed to the bright green truck.
“The best!” Vivian practically squealed.
“You’ve got to try their burgers too,” Makani sighed lovingly, the memories of the burger probably making an appearance in his mind.
“Only the crispy one though,” Vivian seemed strict about that. Grayson and I looked at each other for a moment. Makani and Vivian were strangers yet they went along as if they had been working for years.
“Ok… Got it,” I noted.
“Ok so we’ll buy food and meet up at one of the tables right?” Grayson asked, looking around. There weren’t many free tables left but surely we’d find one soon.
“Correct,” Makani confirmed, moving one step closer as the queue moved along.
“Where are you going?” Grayson asked when I followed him to the green truck.
“I’m not a fan of seafood, so I think I’ll be basic and get some crispy burgers,” I admitted, not ashamed at all. Everyone in my life knew I wasn’t one to explore food. I stuck to the basics unless it came to dessert. Then I didn’t mind trying something extra.
We split up in two and went ahead and bought our food. Once again I noticed Grayson wouldn’t let me pay for my food which was sweet but also made me feel terrible. I tried paying but he beat me to it. We were waiting for quite a bit but that was okay, Vivian and Makani too needed to wait on their food. After what felt like eternity due to hunger, we were finally given our food and rushed to one of the colourful, wooden tables. As we sat down we noticed how it kept getting busier and busier, we had chosen the right time to come here. Had we come any later there might’ve been a chance we wouldn’t find a seat.
“Ok, that took longer than I would’ve wanted to wait,” Vivian rested her food on the table then took a seat next to Makani which was when I realised Grayson and I sat right next to each other.
“The food is worth it,” Makani took the can out of Vivian’s hand when she struggled to open it and opened it for her.
“So Vivian this is Mia,” Grayson cleared his throat and properly introduced us to each other.
“Nice to meet you on a less competitive ground,” I laughed and shook her hand when she extended it.
“Sorry if I was hard on you. I like to win,” Vivian’s red lips curled into a smile. Red lipstick was great on her, and stood out on her porcelain skin.
“I noticed,” I laughed awkwardly. “Oh this is Makani,” I pointed to the man next to her. Makani immediately smiled showing the dimple he had.
“I’ve seen you a few times before,” Vivian said as she looked at Makani with a thinking face.
“I think I’ve seen you too,” Makani hummed and smiled at her. Grayson and I turned to look at each other and raised a brow at one another before shrugging and turned back to the view in front of us- Makani and Vivian who were still staring at each other for a moment before I cleared my throat and Vivian looked at Grayson then at me.
“So how do you two know each other? A couple or?” Vivian then asked, pointing between the two of us.
“A couple?” I looked over at Grayson who burst into laughter with me. His hand falling down on my thigh as he laughed neither of us realised for the first few seconds. I didn’t say anything about it and neither did Grayson. I wonder if he even noticed.
“God no,” Grayson pulled his hand away to pick up his bottle of water. Even on vacation he refused to drink soda. Grayson was very much against sodas, beers, and any carbonated drinks.
“You don’t deserve me,” I reminded him and rolled my eyes then turned to the food in front of me. We were given several packets of sauces to add to the burger. I looked at the BBQ sauce and immediately opened it up to put in my burger.
“It’s the other way around…” Grayson scoffed and picked a hot sauce to put in his.
“We work together, This is actually a work trip we won because of our competitiveness,” I began to explain to Makani and Vivian who then nodded and understood.
We all ate our food, enjoyed the night breeze and each other’s company. Makani and Vivian got along much better than Grayson and I, which was funny. They only just met. At some point Vivian and Makani had to leave, unlike us they weren’t on vacation and had jobs to get to in the morning. We said our goodbyes, Makani and Vivian parting ways. I looked over at Grayson who stared at the string of lightbulbs that lightened the place.
“Are we going home?” I asked when I saw him getting up. He collected his phone and tucked it into his pocket then gathered our used basket and napkins and threw it into the bin like a good civilian.
“Do you have room for dessert?” Grayson asked, looking at the maps on his phone.
“Always,” I retorted as if it’s a fact of mine he should’ve known already. Grayson just smiled then shook his head and started walking away from me, “Then follow me.” He stopped with his back turned to me but still waited till I was next to him before walking again..
Grayson led the way to a cute little dessert shop. I might’ve lost my mind when I saw the variation of desserts there and I would definitely be coming back here for some more dessert quite soon. For now Grayson and I settled for Chocolate Haupia Pie, the sweet lady behind the display told us this was a must try so we each bought a slice then took a taxi back to the hotel.
When we arrived at the hotel I plopped down on the couch and waited for Grayson so we could have our dessert. I watched Grayson, the living space and bedroom was all in one big room anyways. He slowly unclasped his watch and rested it on the nightstand along with his rings. He then removed his shirt and threw it on the bed, slowly running his fingers through his curls.I watched as his back muscle moved, his bulky arm even more visible now that he was curling it. Fuck. Grayson turned around and walked over to me, sitting down right next to me.
“Not used to seeing a little skin, shortcake?” Grayson asked when he caught me staring at his chest so fucking embarrassing.
“Any reason you like stripping?” I rolled my eyes and stared back at my phone but all I could see and think about was his body. Since when did I get the hots for Grayson Solace? Has it been that long since Erick that it’s now started to cloud my mind?
“It’s hot Mia, I’m sure you find that too so go change,” Grayson rolled his eyes too and shoo-ed me away. “I’ll look away,” He even promised.
He wasn’t lying, it was really hot tonight. Even outside with all the fresh breeze I was still very hot. I walked to the front and settled the room temperature a little lower now that I knew Grayson had it hot. I returned back to the room and grabbed a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt to change into and walked to the mirror. I glanced over at Grayson who was facing the other side of the room with his gaze settled on his phone.
I reached around for the knot I made of the ties around my nape and tried to undo it but I struggled with it. I made the knot so tight that I couldn’t undo it now. I cursed silently- or so I thought. Grayson must’ve heard and looked in my direction. “Do you need help with that?” Grayson asked, already getting up and walking towards me.
“Yes, Mr. Solace,” I answered, the name slipping out.
“What did I tell you about calling me that?” He asked sternly. Grayson was positioned right behind me, his fingers brushing against my nape as he started to unknot the tie. I looked at him through the mirror only to see his gaze was fixed on me too, our eyes met for a moment.
“What did I tell you about calling me shortcake?” I replied, wanting to add more sass to it but with him so close and it being so hot I forgot how to properly do that.
“That’s different,” Grayson shrugged and rested his hands on my shoulders. Us standing this close to each other only reminded me of how much taller he was.
“How so, Mr. Solace?” I asked, raising a brow at him. I watched as his lips twitched. Grayson leaned closer to me, his hips pressing against my back, hands slipping from my shoulders down to my hips.
“Do you get hard when I call you shortcake?” He leaned over to whisper in my ear.
“I-” My cheeks got heated, his brutal honesty did that to me. Hearing him say those words should’ve made me angry but instead… I felt turned on.
“Didn’t think so,” He scoffed but a glint of amusement played in his eyes when he realised I wasn’t moving or cursing at him. “Or maybe, just maybe it gets you all hot and bothered. Being called something exclusively by me,” He continued, trailing one hand up my stomach and stopped right at the valley of my breast.
“Grayson,” I whispered, his name sounding more like a plea.
“Sorry I don’t know what-” Grayson began to apologise but I cut him off. “Don’t stop, unless everything you’ve told me up until now was just you bragging,” I rested my hand firmly on his, keeping him from removing it.
“I don’t brag Emilia, I could show you-” Grayson’s green eyes stared back into my brown ones, his hand moving to my breast in a painfully slow pace.
“Show me then,” I dared. I don’t know what overcame me but I wanted it, I wanted whatever this man thought he could do to me, whatever he believed he could make me feel.
“Do you know what you’re asking for?” He asked darkly.
