It's About Time

You Like Balls

Chapter 19

The sound of a car horn startled Natalie. She ran to the window and pulled back the curtain to find Grayson waiting in the driveway. She grabbed her backpack and quickly rushed out the door. The air was cooler than it had been recently, finally being able to pass for late January. That thought made Natalie pause briefly. It was already almost February? It felt like all she had done was blinked and it had gone from September to January.

The year was moving quickly and Natalie was having a hard time keeping a hold on it. This was her last year in high school -her last year before college, before the "real world"- and she felt like she had done nothing.

She hauled open the passenger door of Grayson's jeep and hoisted herself up. As usual, he looked like a male model. His hair was styled in the usual messy look and he was wearing a plain black t-shirt that clung to his chest, vaguely outlining his defined muscles. Her eyes travelled back up to his face, tracing his jaw line, and settling on his lips. They were twisted up into a smirk, indicating that he knew she was staring. She cleared her throat and looked out the windshield. Grayson chuckled under his breath.

"So, how was the rest of your weekend?" Grayson asked casually.

"Good. Yours?"

"It was pretty good. I did have to beat up Logan a little bit." Grayson said devilishly. Natalie whipped to face him.

"Your brother?"

"No, that famous actor from that flower movie" Grayson mocked and Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Logan Lerman?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Grayson said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Why on Earth would you punch Logan Lerman? What did that poor boy ever do to you?" Natalie teased, causing Grayson to reach a hand out and place it over her mouth, his lips stretched in a full grin.

"Shut up" he laughed, shaking his head. Natalie laughed but it was muffled by Grayson's warm hand pressed to her lips. When he made no move to remove it, Natalie opened her mouth, closing her teeth down on the flesh of his hand. Grayson let out a startled cry, quickly pulling his hand back and gently cradling it to his chest.

"What was that for?!" He hollered, peeling his eyes away from the road to inspect his hand. Natalie could see a faint red mark on his palm and stifled a chuckle.

"You know exactly what that was for, Steele" Natalie joked. "Now really, why did you beat up Logan?"

"For the dinner from Hell", Grayson grumbled. Natalie groaned, remembering the embarrassing evening. "Exactly", he chuckled.

"Okay, but still. That's not an excuse to beat him up." Natalie couldn't really predict who would win the fight between Grayson his muscular older brother. Logan had a few inches on him and at least twenty-five pounds, but Grayson seemed like he would know how to throw a punch.

"I didn't beat the crap out of him. I just punched him once", Grayson defended. Natalie shook her head, watching Grayson pull into parking space in the school lot.

"Either way, it was stupid. He really wasn't that bad on Saturday; He was just messing around." Natalie responded. At that, Grayson's eye twitched. He apparently did not share the same feelings.

"Whatever. Meet me at the car after school so we can head to the diner." Grayson said before heading to class. Natalie made her way to her locker, finding Sabrina leaning against it, waiting. As Natalie approached, Sabrina straightened and sent her a bright smile.

"Good morning! How are you?" Sabrina asked. "I feel like it's been forever since we talked." Natalie agreed, putting in her locker combination and pulling open the small metal door.

"I'm good. I had dinner at Grayson's house on Saturday night..." Natalie trailed with a smirk. She knew that Sabrina would want to hear every detail, especially the ones concerning Logan.

"You WHAT?" She squealed, placing an iron grip on Natalie's arm. Natalie chuckled, knowing that she would respond that way. "His brother wanted to meet me, so they invited my mom and I over for dinner", Natalie explained.

"Wait! He has a brother?!" Sabrina's eyes widened and she looked hopeful, waiting for a juicy piece of gossip.

"Yes! His name is Logan. I think Grayson said that he's twenty, but he is gorgeous!" Natalie praised.

"Well obviously! He's related to Grayson; He has to be attractive!" Sabrina retorted.

"I know, but I mean like, he is male model gorgeous." Natalie gushed, blushing a little at the memory of meeting him. "He has a really similar personality to you, actually",she said thoughtfully. Natalie could feel the excitement rolling off of Sabrina.

"So... Grayson has a smokin' hot brother that has a personality like mine?" Sabrina clarified and Natalie nodded. The next thing she knew, Sabrina had delivered a sharp slap to her arm. "Introduce me!!!" She whined. Natalie laughed at the pleading look on Sabrina's face as she bounced around.

"That's not really my place, Bina. He and I aren't really on that friendship level yet." Natalie explained. Sabrina let out a resigned sigh, nodding her head.

"Okay, fine" she said dejectedly. "I guess I'll meet guys the old fashioned way. I'll just sit around and wait for one to ride up in their carriage and sweep me away to their castle."

"That sounds like a good plan. Make sure you invite me to one of those fancy balls, okay?" Natalie joked.

"Of course! I know how much you like balls" Sabrina laughed, and before Natalie could respond, she turned and ran away from Natalie and down the hallway.

"I DON'T LIKE BALLS, YOU LIKE BALLS!" Natalie shouted after her before remembering that she was in a crowded hallway. Every head in a thirty foot radius was turned in her direction and she could feel the blush coloring her cheeks. Ducking her head, she made a quick dash to her classroom, avoiding eye contact with other students.

When she made it into the classroom, she sat down next to Grayson and he sent her a chuckle.

"So... you like balls?" He teased, chuckling. Natalie groaned and covered her face with her hands. She had to go and shout that out to the whole school. Just as she was about to respond, she felt her phone vibrate from her pocket. Glancing at it, she saw a message from her boss.

Caroline: The diner's closed today due to family emergency. Everyone's okay, don't worry. Enjoy your day off! x

Natalie glance up at Grayson to see him looking back at her and she assumed he got the same message she did.

"Guess we don't have to go to work today." He remarked and Natalie nodded. "Want to go get something to eat instead?" He asked, whispering as Ms. Parks started her lecture. Natalie's heart skipped a beat. Did this count as a date? Or was he just being nice? He was obviously just being nice, seeing as he made it very clear that they were just friends. Realizing that he was waiting for an answer, Natalie nodded.

"Sure. Dinner it is."