Page 6 of Cautious

I feel myself blush when I picture him holding the Invader and squirm in my seat, deciding to edit that part out of my meet-and-greet.

“Er, yeah. I was moving some boxes into the house last night and dropped one. He, um… helped me pick the stuff up off the ground,” I stutter, feeling uncomfortable sitting here with her while thinking about her grandson and all the dirty things I want him to do to me.

“Aw, he’s such a sweet boy. So, when is he taking you out?” she continues.

I splutter on the mouthful of tea I’ve just taken.

“How did you know…? Crap, is this his thing? Finding damsels in distress to save? Because I have to be honest, any would-be knights in shining armor I’ve encountered usually turn out to be little more than turds in tinfoil.” I shiver at the thought of why I moved here in the first place. Yeah, men can be deceptively nice until they hear the word no.

She laughs at that, but I’m not joking. Not even close.

“Although it is true my grandson likes to help out damsels in distress, especially in his line of work, he never asks them out.”

“Then how did you know he asked me?”

“Oh, honey child, do you even own a mirror? All of this”— she waves a hand over me — “is why my grandson asked you out. He is nobody’s fool, that’s for sure. Lord knows you two will make me some gorgeous grandbabies.” She mutters the last part to herself, but I hear her loud and clear.

“I er… what is happening right now?” How did I go from picking up trash to having babies?

“Nothing for you to worry about. Now, tell me everything about you.”

Oh, boy. It looks like shopping will have to wait until tomorrow.

Blake

I pause for a moment on the front step of my grandmother’s house when I hear laughter coming from inside. Intrigued, I push the door open and follow the sound toward the kitchen.

“And—” the familiar voice cuts off with a chuckle before continuing, “—she sat there, cutting it up before asking if I needed help.”

My grandmother bursts into laughter just as I round the corner, my eyes landing on the blonde, who hasn’t strayed far from my thoughts, sitting at the table.

“What’s so funny?” I question, making them both jump. My grandmother places a hand over her chest, but the little demonic blonde picks up an apple from the fruit bowl in the center of the table and lobs it at my head.

I catch it before it can connect, placing the bouquet of flowers I brought with me on the counter before taking a big bite.

“Nice throw,” I compliment as her eyes go wide.Fucking adorable.

“Shit, I’m so sorry.” She cringes, embarrassed.

I wink and wave her off before taking another bite of the apple and walking over to place a kiss on my grandmother’s cheek.

“So, what was so funny?” I repeat, tossing the apple core in the trash.

“Callie was telling me about a date she once went on where the man brought his mother with him. She then proceeded to tuck a napkin into his collar and cut up his steak for him.”

I snort as Callie goes bright red.

“Well, at least I know the bar is set pretty low for me then,” I remark playfully. She bites her lip, making me imagine what she might taste like.

“Blake Price, you behave. I expect you to be the perfect gentleman I know you to be and woo her,” my grandmother snaps, interrupting my thoughts, which tend to all go in one direction when Callie is around me. South. Along with my blood flow.

“Woo me? Did we go back in time?” Callie teases my grandmother.

I have to admit, I like that they like each other. My grandmother is pretty good at reading people, and she hated my ex-girlfriend on sight. Not that she was really my girlfriend to begin with, but there was no way I was explaining to my grandmother that Becky was nothing more than a dirty fuck when I got sick of my hand. Grandma doesn’t understand that not everyone is looking for a love connection.

“Young’uns today,” my grandmother tuts, snapping me out of my musings. I see Callie flush, making me realize I’ve zoned out staring at her. Thank fuck it’s her face, not her boobs like the creeper I clearly am.

“Let him spoil you,” my grandmother continues. “Get to know what makes you tick and see if there is a connection. If you give away the cookies for free, child, he’ll eat his fill and move on to his next snack. But feed him crumbs, and he will be sniffing around your cookie for years to come.”

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