Page 134 of Life of the Party

“Merry Christmas.” He spoke in my ear.

I grasped Grey’s hand and pulled him into the house. It suddenly felt very stiff in the living room; the change was tangible compared to the relaxed atmosphere I’d left it in. Marcy and Blake sat up, wary, and my mom didn’t know what to do. Dad sat down by the fireplace, his expression blank, and he, too, seemed at a loss for words.

Grey cleared his throat. He looked gorgeous in a black collared shirt and dark blue jeans. He’d come over just for me, even knowing how awkward it would be…and it meant the world. I didn’t want it to be uncomfortable. I knew my family would love Grey if they’d only give him a chance, and it seemed that night, for whatever reason, would be the best time to try.

“You have a lovely home, Mrs. Taylor.” Grey acknowledged.

“Thank you, Grey.” Her answering smile was tight.

“Mackenzie, why don’t you go show Grey your present?” Dad suggested then, to the concealed relief of everybody else. While we were out of the room, they could have a few moments to compose themselves, to get a handle on the situation.

And hopefully, think of some topics of conversation.

“Yeah, sure. Come see.” Still holding Grey’s hand, I smiled and pulled him through the house into the garage. It was better when we were alone. We were both able to breathe again, to act naturally.

“You got a car?” He was as amazed as I’d been, stepping into the three-car garage.

“What do you think?” I smiled, sweeping my hand over the auto. “Pretty, hey?”

“Nice ride.” Grey smiled and leaned in closer to inspect it. “Does it have a radio?”

“Yeah, why?”

“No reason. Just get in.”

“Okay.” I grinned, curious as I got into the driver’s side. Grey sat in the passenger seat, looking down at his watch and playing with the radio dials while I turned the key back to accessory.

“Thank you for coming.” I smiled up at him as he fiddled, completely ecstatic.

“Bruce Willis had already saved the day, a few times, actually…and I wanted to give you your Christmas present.” He winked slyly.

“But I thought we agreed not to get things for each other.” I protested.

“It’s just something little.”

“Okay…?”

“Just listen.” He turned up the volume dial. After a few minutes of DJ prattle, suddenly I recognized Grey’s velvet voice, along with the rest of the band, coming to me in crystal clear audio from over the radio waves.

“Oh, Grey! That’s you, on the radio!” I hugged him. “How does it feel?”

“Awesome.” Grey frowned. His expression didn’t match his answer.

“It doesn’t look too awesome.” I giggled.

He sighed. “They’re playing the wrong song.”

“Oh.” I listened for a moment, but I didn’t see what the big deal was. Who cared what song was playing? “Come on, Grey. This is you, on the radio. This is huge!”

“I know, but I wanted…I thought the first single was going to be your song.”

“Oh.” It took me a moment to realize what he was saying. “Wait, you mean…you recorded my song?”

His blue eyes shone at me. “That’s why we were at the studio for the extra week.”

“Really?” Happy tears stung my eyes. I stared up at Grey, amazed, completely overwhelmed by his gift. “I still can’t believe you even wrote me a song,” I smiled gloriously at him. “…and then to record it…” I shook my head. “Thank you.”

“It’s just the first of many.” Grey shrugged. “And if you can’t hear it on the radio, I guess you’ll have to listen to…this.” He pulled something from his pocket then; it was square and flat and had a picture of…him. And Zack, and Alex, and there was Lucas and Jimmy, and cover art…

---