Page 107 of Swim To Me

“Oh.” I try to hide the disappointment in my tone, but I don’t think I do a very good job. “That’s okay, I’ll just—”

“You’re welcome to come in, Delilah. I was going to make some dinner if you’d like some, save the leftovers for my brother.”

“Oh,” I say again, and then nod, without allowing my brain a second chance to think about it. “That would be really nice, thank you.”

Inside, Hudson whips us up a pasta dish, handing me my plate and a fork while the food is still steaming. Surprisingly,or maybe not so surprisingly, Hudson is easy to get along with. We’ve hardly got a thing in common; he’s a personal trainer with a successful social media account which helps gives tips to others in the gym, he’s never read a book since leaving high school and he couldn’t think of anything worse than being tied to a desk day after day.

But we find a common ground in our dissimilarities, even going so far as to laugh about it. He’s a little bit harder to open up than his older brother, sometimes deflecting one of my questions so he doesn’t have to answer, but I can’t blame Hudson for that. Once he warms up a bit however, he’s as quick witted as Grey, eyes twinkling with a mischievous look that doesn’t always reach his lips.

I wonder what it takes to make him smile fully.

If I spent some more time with Hudson, maybe I’d be able to find out, but there’s a click of the door interrupting our flow of conversation, footsteps sounding behind me, and a set of slightly chapped lips pressing to the side of my hairline.

“This is a nice surprise.” Grey smiles, showcasing his dimples. “What are you doing here, gorgeous?”

Twisting fully, I turn to steal a proper kiss from Grey’s lips, needing to feel him. “I came to surprise you because I knew you hadn’t had the best day at work. So… surprise!”

“Mm, you’re the best surprise.”

“I’m here, too,” Hudson mutters, one side of his lips ticking upwards slightly.Interesting.

Grey whacks his younger sibling on the back of his head playfully, heading into the kitchen. “Did you make something for dinner?”

“Leftovers are in the pan, G.”

Grey chows down on his portion of leftover pasta while he bemoans over the paperwork he had to file after today’s accident at the pool. Sitting beside him on the sofa while he talks, ourthighs pressed together, curled up under his arm, I soak in his presence. I’ve spent every waking hour outside of work with him, he’s been in my space, sleeping in my bed, but we’ve yet to have sex since we got back together and now, I feel like I’m burning with the need to have Grey as close to me as I can possibly get him.

At first, I wasn’t ready yet; my brain still getting back on board and processing our relationship again. Then, my period had arrived with a series of painful cramps and bloating. I didn’t want to be touched nor could I bear the thought of showing up to my Wednesday swim class. Grey had respected my wishes without a word, leaving it up to me to tell him when I was ready.

I think the hormones currently running through my system speak for themselves.

Leaning my head on Grey’s shoulders, I smile to myself when he absentmindedly kisses my forehead, carrying on his chat with his brother like me being there is nothing out of the ordinary.

“I really like you being here,” Grey admits when Hudson excuses himself for something or other.

Peering up into his eyes, I nod my head. “Me too.”

“You gonna stay over?”

“If you’ll have me.”

“I’ll always have you, Delilah. I thought I told you that already.”

This man…

“Do you want a bath running?” Grey smooths his thumb over my temple. “I’ve got a pretty good tub if I do say so myself… might have some muscle relaxant bubbles too.”

“That does sound pretty good,” I muse.

“Come on, then.” Grey untangles himself from our spot on the sofa, holding out a hand for me to grab. “Night, Hudson!”

“Goodnight you two. Try and keep the noise down, won’t you?”

I feel myself flush scarlet, heat scrawling over my chest, but Grey simply laughs, flicking his middle finger up at his younger brother, before pulling me away from the living room and into one of the bedrooms down the hallway.

Grey’s bedroom fits him to a T; calming dark blue painted walls, bed half arsed made, nightstand full of glasses of water in varying states of fullness, an empty crisp packet and the most recent romance book I’ve allowed him to borrow. I don’t quite know why he’s still reading them, because as I told him, he certainly doesn’t need help inthatdepartment. But I’m not going to complain about it, because the knowledge Grey has taken a keen interest in a passion of mine, makes my heart do a strange flip in my chest.

I follow Grey through to his en-suite bathroom, looking around at the large shower enclosure with multiple shower heads, the warming towel rack, the twin sinks and finally a bathtub so big it could easily fit more than one person inside it.

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