Page 35 of Smooth Talk

Chapter 13

Grayson

Me: You up for a chat?

It’s not super late, but I usually call earlier. It’s just been a crazy day. I flew out of the Caribbean, made a pitstop at home to grab Gun, then I was off to Nashville for some family bonding time. My phone starts vibrating, and I realize I’m getting a video call.

“Hey seck… uh, Harp.” I correct mid-sentence, realizing that I’m talking to the miniature version of the woman I thought was calling, and tone down the lecherous look I had prepared for her. Harp’s so close to the camera at first that I only see her big blue eyes and little freckled nose. Then she sets the phone on the coffee table and climbs onto the couch.

“Hi, Mr. Max!” She’s wearing her hair in two buns, one on each side of the top of her head, and a frilly purple nightgown. Adorable. “I gots froyo today dat was da same color as Gunner. I misses him. I fink he misses me too.”

“I’m sure he does. Gun loves affection from pretty ladies,” I say with a smile. I pat my leg for him to come so she can see him. “Say hey to Harp, big guy.” I angle the camera of my phone down and he does his customary head waggle/bark hello and sends Harper into a fit of giggles. So stinking cute.

“Gunner, I gots a playdate with Polly and her doggy on Saturday; do you wanna come wif me? It’s gonna be so much fun! We goin’ to da park and are gonna swing and climb and slide and play! And I can plays fetch wif you!”

Oh shit, now she’s done it. She said the words ‘fetch’ and ‘park;’ we only spell out those words, because my dog goes absolutely apeshit until the task is complete. The complete list of words is short: run, walk, fetch, park and hungry. Now I’m going to have to take him to the park again and play fetch. I’m on the verge of asking her where Poppy is when I hear footsteps in the background.

“June-Bug, who are you talking to? And why does it sound like a pack of wild dogs in here?” Pretty accurate, except it’s just one wild dog.

“Mama, Mr. Max wants to chat wif you, but I gots to see Gunner; I Facetimes him.” It happens so fast; I barely catch it, but a Poppy-like figure with a green face takes a nosedive behind the couch.

“Oww; mother of pearl!”

“You okay Mommy?”

“Yes, baby. I’ll be fine. I just,’ she takes a deep breath, ‘stubbed my toe. Did you say you’re on the phone with Mr. Max?”

“Yes, ma’am. And Gunner’s gonna come plays wif me Saturday; right?” Her sweet little face fills up my entire screen again.

“Um, well, I wish he could Harp. We’re out of town and won’t be home for a couple weeks. But I promise to swing by with Gunner as soon as we get back. Sorry kiddo.”

“Oh, okay.” Her face is so sad that I want to hop on the jet with Gun and make a playdate happen now. Dang family and work commitments. Then her smile is back, “You fink you could comes to my birfday party? It’s in two weeks.”

“Harp, I’m sure Mr. Max is busy. He probably won’t be able to make it.” Poppy’s giving me an easy out, but I don’t want to take it.

I can’t stand the thought of letting her down again, “We’ll be there Harp. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” That bright smile lights up her face again, making me feel like a king.

“Yay! Okay, I gots to get ready for bed now. Night Mr. Max! Night Gunner!” She blows a kiss and twirls out of frame and is replaced with her beautiful mother. Well, her usually beautiful mother. I can’t really see her face, as it’s covered in light green goop.

“Hey, I was just finishing up some laundry. I didn’t realize she’d called you. Sorry.” She’s watching something off screen, probably Harp, so she’s not looking at me while she’s talking.

“Don’t apologize, I enjoy talking to her, and so does my dog,’ I say with my signature dimple popping smile, ‘but now I have to take Gunner to the P-A-R-K to play F-E-T-C-H, since someone so innocently mentioned it earlier. He’s practically gnawing the door handle off. So, I gotta go.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry we really didn’t get a chance to talk tonight.” She still hasn’t looked at me yet. It’s like she’s avoiding me or something.

“No worries, I’ll call tomorrow.” She just nods; I hate that I’ve disappointed both of them tonight. “You okay? That looked like a pretty nasty spill you took earlier.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just me, you know? Super clumsy if you haven’t noticed.” I hadn’t. I’m wracking my brain for an instance, but nothing stands out. All my memories highlight her gorgeous face, smokin’ body, and charming personality. The way she moves on the dancefloor, the sway of her hips as she walks, the light in her eyes when she talks about work or family. Tonight, was the first time I’d witnessed her being less than graceful, and if I’d blinked, I’d have missed it. Even if it’s a common occurrence, it’s not enough to dissuade me from pursuing her.

“Hey, Pop.” I wait until she finally looks at me. “I think you got a little something on you face when you fell,’ I point to the tip of my nose, ‘right here.”

She touches her nose, then she gets up close to the screen to get a good look at herself. I see her eyes widen as realization dawns— she’s got on a face mask. I just know she’s blushing hard under it, because that pretty pink hue spreads down her neck lightning fast and down to a perky chest that was barely covered in a thin tank top. I allow my gaze to linger for a few seconds longer than is polite. I cannot wait to see her without clothes on. I think about it daily. It’s becoming a real problem.

“Oh my gosh! I’ve gotta go.” She doesn’t even say bye, just ends the call. I chuckle; she didn’t need to be embarrassed, even with her face covered in chunky guacamole, she’s still adorable. And sexy.

My thoughts start to run away with me again, but the growing hard-on in my jeans isn’t the only problem I have. My dog really has nearly eaten the handle off the door. I’m quite sure that I’ll owe a shit-ton for damages to the hotel before we leave on Sunday, guess it’s a good thing my family owns it.

While Gunner practically drags me down the sidewalk by his leash to the nearby dog park, I dial up O. He treats every hotel like his baby; he knows everything that goes down at each property almost before management does. And before his anal-retentive ass can accuse me of desecrating the penthouse suite, I need to lay full blame on my poor pooch. He’ll be more lenient toward Gun than me. He actually banned me from our Chicago property. I was young and dumb and had no idea bubble bath in a jacuzzi would react that way, but that’s a story for another day.

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