Page 60 of Seeing Grayscale

Sparking the cigarette he’s been holding this whole time, he inhales deeply and looks away. “You never answered me.”

“Call it a momentary lapse of judgment.” I sound bitter—I am bitter. It wasn’t wanted.

“Gray,” he sighs, pivoting his face toward me. A deep crevice forms between my eyebrows, the scowl making my upper lip curl while I aggressively flick some ashes. “You made it very clear to me that boundaries need to be kept in place.”

“Just forget it,” I snap, hobbling closer to his car because I stubbornly refused to use the crutch to walk ten feet.

“Were you trying to comfort me? Is that what that was?”

Maybe? Maybe I just wanted to touch him—get a taste of something sweet for once.

The guy has come to my rescuethreetimes now.

Three.

Even if the first time was in vain, he didn’t know what would happen. Hunter is fucking clueless about the way the real world works. He’s been isolated up in Rich Dude Land. Hell, he’s never gone to breakfast with afriendbefore. So, yeah, I guess I did want to comfort him.

The rest of my reasoning is too pathetic to acknowledge.

“Come on, talk to me,” he insists, closing the space between us again until we hover by the passenger side of his car. He leans against the sleek door, angling his body toward me.

“I’m getting used to you,” I mumble with a shrug. I take a drag to stall longer while his pretty hazel eyes bore into the side of my face. “I’m learning your tells. Like I said earlier, I want this day to be good for both of us, you know? When do either of us have those?”

The minuscule space between us shrinks when he steps even closer. With at least four inches on me, Hunter’s shadow blankets over my body, casting the illusion of suffocating heat. I wet my lips quickly, pushing through my nerves to keep talking.

“As far as I’m concerned, you crossed that boundary already.” He sucks in a sharp breath, and I flail, facing him with my hands waving. “I’m not saying it was bad. I didn’t mind. It’s been…a while since anyone cared enough to look out for me. Even if it’s just some ketchup on my face.”

“Comfortable,” he whispers just for me. “We’re getting comfortable around each other.”

“Yeah,” I breathe, absently leaning my body into his. “So when I saw you starting to worry too much, I wanted to make it go away.”

“Think you only made it worse,” he says with a sad smile.

“How?” I ask, baffled.

Knocking his knuckles against my shoulder, he shakes his head. “I already admire you—think you’re a force to be reckoned with. You have this steely determination I’ve only seen in hardened war veterans. But you’re also a dichotomy in the most fascinating way. Fierce, take no bullshit attitude, but also eager for a kind word and to be treated fairly. I’m losing sleep trying to figure you out.”

Why the hell is he saying all this? As if I’m not having a hard enough time trying to keep myself from becoming human velcro.As if I haven’t had enough people claim me as theirs, only to leave me. I force myself to look away from his intense stare.

“Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never met anyone like you. Someone so remarkable that I couldn’t not know you.”

Flutters explode low in my stomach as my breaths grow ragged.

I’ll never admit it out loud, but the way he sees me is fucking addicting. Pretty words from a pretty mouth, a siren’s call leading me into the open water. I know it’s a trap. I know I'll sink to the bottom once I step off the cliff’s edge. But I’ve never wanted to take that risk more, just to see if I can fly.

“You think I’m remarkable?”

While his eyes search my face, his body leans into mine, transferring welcomed heat. A hesitant hand lifts, just like earlier, before gently guiding a strand of my hair away from my eyes.

“Yeah, Gray. I really do.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

I’veneverhadsomeonefit so perfectly in my arms.

All this confusion that’s been damn-near crippling suddenly clears, my thoughts focused.

As I drive us away from the restaurant, I decide. I don’t care what I have to do; I’m not letting Gray go again.

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