Kristen Ashley - Play It Safe

“Love her, she helped raise me but, honey, I’m a man and I make the decisions that pertain to my life and it’s my house even though it’s both our homes. I’m not gonna lie, she’s not gonna like it but I also don’t care. She’s an adult, you are and so am I. She’ll have to deal.”

“I’m not sure that’s cool,” I said quietly.

“Maybe not but it’s the only time I’ve ever done it so I hope she gets my point and, knowin’ that now, I hope you do too.”

Wow.

I got it.

I got his point, definitely.

And I loved his point.

I didn’t respond, just looked into his blue eyes with their dark, russet tipped lashes.

“Ivey, darlin’, you with me?”

“If she feels uncomfortable enough that I feel it, will you take me back to the hotel?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” he answered.

I gave him more of my weight then I whispered, “I’ll try not to walk in on you in the bathroom.”

He grinned. “Didn’t complain last time.”

No, he didn’t.

I grinned back.

His grin died about a half a second before his eyes dropped to my mouth then his head dipped down and he kissed me.

It was nearly better than the first except this time, he didn’t push it, I didn’t whimper and it didn’t careen out-of-control. It was wet, it was deep and it was sweet.

And I loved every second of being in his arms on a snowy plain by a creek in the cold with his mouth on mine.

Every blooming second.

He lifted his head, eyes locked to mine and muttered, “Let’s get you back so you can deal with your brother, I can deal with my shit and then I can bring you back home.”

Home.

That was what he said.

Home.

I loved that too.

“Okay,” I whispered.

Gray grinned.

Three hours later…

I walked the streets of Mustang.

Casey had come back and Casey was super okay with letting the hotel room go because, “My girl, she’s all over me. It’s cool. I’ll crash with her. You and me will hook up for lunch at noon tomorrow at the diner.”

He didn’t ask about my first-ever date.

He didn’t ask if I got home by ten (I didn’t but it wasn’t that far after).

He didn’t care that I was crashing at Gray’s.

He just was rabid to get back to his girl (after, of course, he begged me for another hundred dollars which, of course, being me, I gave to him).

So he took his bag, the car, I dropped mine off with Manny at the front desk who assured me Gray had talked to him and even though we checked out late, he wasn’t going to charge us the extra day. I paid him for the time we stayed and then… I was free.

For a day, I… was… free.

I walked down the sidewalk of the square only just able to stop myself from whistling. Halfway down, I turned right and pushed open the door.

My eyes went to the bar.

Janie’s eyes came to me.

My body went to the bar.

Janie’s eyes followed me.

I put my hands on the bar.

Janie’s eyes didn’t leave me.

My mouth opened and this was what it asked, “That job still open?”

Janie smiled huge and this was how she replied, “Take it the date with Gray went good.”

At that, it was my turn to smile huge.

Seven hours later…

“She doesn’t even know how to cook,” Grandma Miriam hissed at Gray in the kitchen while I sat in their comfortable, lived in, countrified living room that had crocheted doilies on the backs of the couch and armchairs (yes, doilies), my eyes glued to a TV that came nowhere near to drowning out her voice.

“Gran, Ivey’s in the next room,” Gray growled.

She ignored him. “Who’s ever heard of a twenty-two year old girl who doesn’t know how to cook?”

“Cecily knew how to cook and still, everything she made tasted like shit,” Gray returned.

“At least she knew,” Grandma Miriam retorted.

“And Nancy was so damned flighty, she knew what she was doin’ but still, she’d forget and every time I went to her house for dinner, the place smelled like it had just been badly renovated after a massive explosion because she either flat out burned the shit outta something or something boiled over, the gas went out-of-control, burned the wallpaper off the wall and I’d begin my date wielding a fire extinguisher,” Gray shot back.

I didn’t want to laugh because I was mostly terrified out of my mind seeing as Grandma Miriam seriously didn’t like me and didn’t mind me knowing but, it must be said, Gray was funny.

“She still knew how to do it,” Grandma Miriam rejoined.

“Yeah, and so do I and so do you and, it comes to that, which, Gran, this is our second date so why you got yourself in a snit, I don’t know, then you teach her or I teach her,” Gray responded.

“I’m in a snit because before date one, you got yourself a cut over your eye because of that girl’s troubles and this might be date two but it’s night two that girl’s sleeping under this roof.”

“In the guest bedroom.”

“Grayson Cody, look at me. I’m seventy years old and I had four sons. Four. And I was married to your granddaddy. Do you think after all that experience with Cody men that I don’t know?”

Oh dear.

“First,” Gray clipped and I bit my lip at his tone, “I would not disrespect you like that. Second, I wouldn’t do it to Ivey. I’m a Cody, Gran, and I’m more intimately acquainted with your other three boys’ bullshit than you are these days but I’m my father’s son. Remember that.”

Another bit of intrigue from Gray.

Grandma Miriam was silent.

Obviously Gray made his point.

Then Grandma Miriam decided to argue a different one.

“Don’t care you’re five or twenty-five, Grayson Cody, you need to watch that dirty mouth.”

Gray clearly didn’t feel like taking this admonition to heart considering I barely heard but still heard him mutter, “Fuck me.”

“Gray!” Grandma Miriam snapped.

I bit my lip again to stop myself from laughing because it might be scary but it was still funny.

There was nothing from Gray and then nothing from Grandma Miriam until I heard her declare, “I’m watching the box in my room.”

“Suit yourself,” Gray replied.

“I’d like to do it on my bed,” she told him.

“Right, you wanna get ready for bed? Or you wanna watch awhile and call me later?”

“Watch awhile,” she said much more quietly.

“Then let’s go, darlin’,” he muttered.

This time I was biting my lip because they could have an out-and-out and it ended with Gray putting his Gran in bed so she could watch television comfortably and not in the presence of the girl her grandson was suddenly dating that she didn’t like all that much only to go back and deal with her when she needed to get ready to go to sleep.

And I thought that was very sweet.

Grandma Miriam wheeled through calling out her lie that, though it had been a really long time since I went to church, I was pretty certain God frowned on as much as He disliked curse words, “Just feel like watchin’ a different show than you and Gray, child. I’ll say my goodnights now.”

“Goodnight, Mrs. Cody,” I called back and noticed as she wheeled around the stairs she didn’t look at me.

Gray, following her, did.

“Be back in a minute, dollface.”

“Okay,” I said softly.

They disappeared.

I looked back at the TV.

Suffice it to say, dinner didn’t go that well. Gray came to get me and we got back to his house before the meal had been prepared. Upon arrival, Grandma Miriam tried to press me into service and before I gamely waded in and commenced slicing off a digit or blowing up their kitchen, I confided in them that I’d never cooked.

Gray didn’t say a word, didn’t even give me a look though it terrified me to admit that. Still, it wasn’t something you could hide so, if we went beyond a second date, he’d eventually find out so I had to.

As evidenced by the fight that happened after I did manage to assist Gray in clean up, we all sat down and watched a sitcom then Grandma Miriam told her grandson she needed “a word”, she didn’t take to this too well.

I felt him before I saw him round the doublewide doorway to the living room. Then I watched him, ready to make my speech only to be cut off when he did something that took my breath away.

And what he did was pluck me right out of the couch and into his arms whereupon he entered the couch to lie on his back with me on top but tucked partly to the back of the couch.

I struggled to get my breath back then I struggled to get my wits about me then I pushed up slightly with a hand to his chest and looked down at him.

He had his beautiful head with its thick gorgeous hair resting on a flowery-patterned pillow that had ruffles at the sides and his eyes were on the TV until he felt mine on him and they moved to me.

“I think maybe I should go back to the hotel,” I whispered and his arm, which was curled around my back, got tight.

“Ivey –”

“She’s uncomfortable.”

“She’ll get over it.”

“Okay, maybe, but now, she’s uncomfortable and this is her home and, my guess and you can correct me, but it has been awhile. No one should feel uncomfortable in their home.”

“That include me?”

I shut my mouth.

His other hand came up and he tucked hair behind my ear but left his hand there, fingers in my hair, palm under my ear.