Page 83 of Tantalizing Kings

“Come on, Pretty Girl.” Grayson holds out his hand.

I smile and take it. He pulls me outside, leaving my besties behind. When we start to walk, he lets go of my hand, and I miss the warmth of his touch immediately. That is until he moves to wrap his arm around my shoulder. “Crazy how it’s the last week of September already,” he muses.

It’s a nice day; the sun is shining and people mill around campus as we walk. A few glance our way, doing a double take. I blush, looking away, every time. I don’t like the attention on me. And being associated with the Host Club can come with a lot of attention.

“It is,” I murmur. “But that means Halloween is next month. So, starting October first, expect—”

“For you to be wearing a new Halloween themed outfit every day?” he asks, looking down at me with a playful grin. “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

He knows. He remembers. A feeling of bliss settles over me like a warm blanket. In moments like this, I allow myself to believe that maybe he doesn’t want to be around me only because of the deal. You don’t remember details about someone if they don’t mean something to you, right?

Maybe Grayson really does want to become better friends. Friends, yeah, tell that to my stupid heart. Because all I want to do is lean into his touch, to wrap my arms around him.

“Yeah,” I whisper, a smile so wide spreading across my face as my heart does a happy dance. “So, where are you taking me? And I hope I’m dressed right for the occasion.”

“Well, Miss Evans, I know you better than you might think,” Grayson teases, poking me in the side.

I giggle. “Oh, really? How so, Mr. Taylor.”

“Like, I know that you don’t get all starry eyed over money. It doesn’t mean anything to you like it does everyone else at our school.”

“You would be correct.” I nod.

“So, I’m not taking you to a country club, or a fancy restaurant where you have no idea what half the stuff on the menu is. I thought I’d do something a little bit more to your liking.”

“And what would that be?” I ask as we stop next to a car.

“You’ll see.” The grin he gives me has me worried that this is about to be the best date of my life, or the worst.

“ARACE TRACK?” I ASKhim. I mean, I don’t mind cars, and watching them go fast is cool and all, but I’m not really into watching.

“Don’t worry.” He laughs when he sees the lack of excitement on my face. “We’re not going to watch them race.”

“We’re not?”

“We are going over there,” he says, closing his car door and pointing across the street.

My eyes widen as a smile takes over my lips when I see the go-kart race track. “Okay, now this is the kind of racing I can get behind.”

“That’s what I thought. Come on, Pretty Girl, let’s see how well you ride.”

This is a side of Grayson I’ve never seen before, but I’m sure liking it real fast. The cocky, fuckboy attitude is gone, replaced by this sweet, playful man.

He grabs my hand as we run across the street. I squeal with nervous excitement as we hurry, trying not to get hit by oncoming cars. “You’re crazy.” I laugh, catching my breath as our feet land safely on the sidewalk.

“Maybe just a little.” He grins, shooting me a wink. “But I promise, my kind of crazy is the fun kind, Pet.”

He starts walking toward the building as I just stand there, head tilted in curiosity. Pet.He did call me Pet, right?Maybe I’m hearing things, but I could swear that’s what he called me. Huh.

Shaking my head out of my inner thoughts, I rush to catch up to him. “Have you ever been go-karting before?” Grayson asks as he takes two helmets from the man behind the counter.

“A few times. The girls and I did the ones at the fair.” I shrug. “I’ve always wanted to come here, but Alice should never be behind the wheel of a vehicle that’s going over five miles an hour.” I laugh.

“That bad, huh?” He chuckles as he places the helmet over my head. “How come you didn’t just come by yourself or with one of the other girls?”

“We try to do everything together. I don’t like the idea of leaving anyone out. And who wants to do things alone? I mean, sure, I enjoy having alone time, but I’d rather do stuff like this with someone else, someone I can enjoy the memories with.”

He slips his own helmet on. “Let's go make some memories then, shall we?”

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