Page 52 of Make You Love Me

“Okay Pretty Boy, your turn. I’ve been here longer than you two and I’m starving for Nana’s home cooking,” Nox says, managing to get Ford’s head out of his phone. He jumps up and trades places with me. We always eat Sunday dinner at my nana’s house. It’s the best meal in town.

Watching these two grapple on the ground, I realize some of the tension has left my body. I needed to hit something and now that I did, I feel a little better. Now I’m considering going to the locker room to jerk off to the hidden folder of pictures I have of Lottie’s ass and tits on my phone. The sexual tension in my body has only increased by tenfold since my close contact with her the other night in Frankie’s room.

Instead of doing that, I look through the pictures I could never delete, even when I knew it was depressing to keep them on my phone. The ones of us happy as shit, smiling, laughing… in love.

She’s so damn perfect. My favorite photo of her is from one of our many sunset rides. This particular night we took the truck out. Lottie was obsessed with the song “Sunroof” by Nicky Youre and Dazy. She said, and I quote, “It’s just a vibe, it feels like sunshine and summertime in a song.” We pulled over to one of the overlooks to watch the sunset, and I took several pictures of her as she sang and danced in her seat. At the end of the song she looked at me and said, “When I get my own car one day, it has to have a sunroof Grey. I want to hang out the top while you drive me around and I sing and dance to this song.” For the first time ever, I wished Ol’ Girl was a newer model with a sunroof, so I could watch her do just that.

The pictures only solidify the fact of how in love we were…are.

The couple I see would have never given up so easily on each other, which is why I can’t give up on her… on us.

***

“Pass me the fried chicken again, please,” Nox says to my dad.

“Damn boy, you eating for two?” We all laugh.

Nox chuckles as he says, “This is my last Sunday meal before I have to start my strict diet for the fight in December.”

“I guess I’m going to have to learn how to cook some healthy meals for our future star,” Nana speaks up as she walks around making sure everyone has an extra napkin and plenty to drink. I swear that woman never sits down to actually eat, she just fusses over all of us.

“Nah Nana you don’t have to do that,” he says, waving his hands around her big dining room table. “They’ll have my head if you do anything different to your cooking. I’ll come hang out after y’all finish eating. We can play dominos and I’ll even let you win.” He winks at her knowing she always whoops our asses.

Gunnar speaks up. “Yeah Mama Rex you better not change up this fried chicken recipe.” He says before stuffing his mouth.

Nana just smiles and shakes her head at their antics. I know she loves having her house full. Since I was a kid, we always reserved Sunday nights for her. Normally a few of my granddad and dad’s brothers from the Rebel Knights would join us. As I got older my boys started coming and they never stopped. Gunnar and Frankie are always here, even on weekdays. They’re basically family. Nana is the main female figure in Frankie’s life, so they are very close. Frankie comes here more often than most of us.

Now that Pop is gone, we all try to take turns coming over and checking in on her. Between my boys and the Rebels, she has someone to take care of every night of the week. I say take care of because there's no way in hell she’ll let anyone help her. So, we have to trick her. She cooks us dinner or makes us baked goods, and we mow the lawn or fix things around the house. Lately, though, I haven't spent enough time here. My mind is a fucking mess and I know she’ll see right through me.I need to get my shit together.

My heart skipped a beat earlier when I noticed Frankie was talking to someone behind her as she came into the house. As much as I wanted it to be Lottie, I was relieved when I saw Lucian. I want to be the one to introduce her to my Nana.As soon as she’s mine again.

There’s lots of chatter going on like always, you never knows what might be said. It's so loud when we all get together so it's not unlike me to sit back and just enjoy the banter.

“Greyson, my boy, are you okay? You’re extra quiet today.” I look up to see my Nana rounding the table towards me with more sweet tea in hand.

“I’m good Nana, just a lot on my mind.”

She comes behind me and gives me a kiss on the top of my head as she refills my cup. “Yeah I figured you were busy since I haven’t seen much of you lately.” See, the woman doesn’t miss a damn thing.

“Busy trying to impress Stacks.” Ford’s clown ass chimes in and I immediately give him a death glare.

Luckily my dad is at the other end of the table talking to Lucian, so he doesn’t hear what Ford says. Knowing he will press me for answers like he did at the end of the summer when I came home a total mess. I really don’t want to talk to my family about it until I get Lottie’s side of what went down between us. With the look I’m giving Ford, Nana doesn’t press me, and I speak up before anyone else can. “You’re right Nana, I’ll be by this week. Wanna go for a joy ride in Ol’ Girl with me? I’ll even take you down to the Dairy Queen for a Blizzard,” I suggest, knowing it was a favorite treat of her and my grandpa’s.

“Ooo big spender,” Ford says as Nana whips him upside the head with her dish rag, which just makes him laugh.

“That sounds perfect. You know that’s my favorite.”

I smile at her. “It's a date then.” I may be an asshole, but I’d do anything for this lady. She’s one of a kind.

I thought I found my “one of a kind” girl too, but she was gone in the blink of an eye. I know my dad can relate but I also know he is thirty-seven years old and still lonely as fuck because he never got over “the one that got away,” which is why I’ve been avoiding him. I don’t want to talk about his reality being a possibility for me.

As I stand to take my plate to the sink my phone lights up on the table. My heart almost stops when I see the name on the preview.

Stacks:Okay, let’s talk one day after school this week.

Me:When?

Stacks:Probably Tuesday or Wednesday. I’ll let you know.

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