"Money, Money, Money" [2] G. Hawthorne

26 - blondie teaches me skiing

I was staring out the largest ground-floor window when a new SUV pulled up outside. Luke stepped out first, then Grayson. Both of them were wearing sunglasses. I wondered if they were hungover.

I wondered if either one of them had slept the night before, after that conversation with Grayson's father.

Luke and I ended up on a balcony.

When I finished, Luke turned his back on the mountain view and leaned against the snow-covered railing. He was still dressed for Arizona. His elbows were bare, but he acted like he couldn't even feel the cold. "I have something to tell you, too."

"I know."

"Sheffield Grayson believes that Toby set the fire on Hawthorne Island." Luke's eyes were still hidden behind sunglasses. It made it difficult to tell what, if anything, he was feeling.

"I know," I repeated. "Grayson forgot to hang up the phone last night. I didn't hear everything, but I got the gist.

The last thing I heard was that Toby had purchased accelerant. Then the phone went dead. I tried to call you both. Repeatedly. But nobody answered."

Luke didn't say anything for a full four or five seconds. I wasn't sure he was going to reply to what I'd just said at all.

"The bastard made it clear that he wants nothing to do with Gray. He said that Colin was the closest thing he'll ever have to a son." Luke swallowed, and even though his eyes were still masked by the sunglasses, I could feel the way those words had affected him.

I didn't want to think about the impact they might have had on Grayson.

"For once, Skye wasn't lying." Luke's voice was low. "Grayson's father has always known about him."

If I took off those sunglasses, what would I see?

I stepped toward him. The door to the balcony opened. Alisa looked at me, and then gave me a pointed smile. "Ready to hit the slopes?"

No. I couldn't say that. I couldn't tip my hand that the reason we were here had nothing to do with wanting a winter getaway. Whatever our plan for searching the rest of the house, we had to be subtle.

"I..." I searched for an appropriate response. "I don't know how to ski."

Grayson appeared in the doorway behind Alisa. "I'll teach you."

Luke stared at him. So did I.

*************

"There's an easy trail here," Grayson told me after he'd showed me the basics. "If we take it long enough, we'll hit the busier ski areas on the mountain."

I wobbled on my skis. Grayson reached out to steady me. For a moment, we stood there, his body bracing mine. Then, slowly, he stepped back and took my hands, pulling me forward on the very slight incline near the house, skiing backward as he did.

"Show me your stop," he said. Always issuing orders. But I didn't complain. I turned my toes inward and managed to stop without falling... barely.

"Good." Grayson Hawthorne actually smiled—and then he caught himself smiling, like it was forbidden for his lips to do that in my vicinity.

"You don't have to do this," I told him, lowering my voice to avoid being overheard. "You don't have to teach me anything. We can tell Alisa I chickened out. I'm not here to ski."

Grayson gave me a look—a know-it-all, never-wrong, do- not-question-me kind of look. "No one is going to believe you chickened out of anything," he said.

"Fair point."

It took me all of five minutes to lose a ski. The trail was still relatively private. Other than my bodyguards, it was like Grayson and I were alone on the mountain. He zipped to retrieve my ski with the ease of someone who'd been skiing from the time he could walk. Returning to my side, he dropped the ski in the snow, then took my elbows in his hands.

This afternoon was the most he'd touched me—ever.

Refusing to let that mean anything, I popped the ski back on and repeated what I'd told him earlier. "You don't have to do this."

He let go of my arms. "You were right." That had to be a first: Grayson Hawthorne admitting someone else was right about anything. "You said that I've been avoiding you, and I have. I promised I'd teach you what you need to know to live this life."

"Like skiing?" I could see myself in the reflection of his ski goggles, but I couldn't see his eyes.

"Like skiing," Grayson said. "To start."

"Do you remember what you told me on the phone?"

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"What did I tell you Kayla?"

"Nothing I don't already know."

"What did I tell you?" He repeated

I sighed.

"You told me you love me, and that you missed me and you wanted to kiss me."

"So the truth?" He asked.

"I suppose so."

He inched closer to me and I reciprocated.

That's when I saw paparazzi.

************

That night, a little after midnight, Lena nudged me awake.

"What is it?" I blinked at her, and after a few seconds' delay, my fight-or-flight instincts kicked in. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Lena told me. She smiled wickedly. "Very fine." She nudged me again. "Grayson Hawthorne is in the hot tub."

I narrowed my eyes at her, then rolled over in bed and pulled the covers over my head.

She pulled them back down. "Did you hear me? Grayson Hawthorne is in the hot tub. This is a DEFCON-fucking -one situation."

"What is it with you and Grayson?" I asked.

"What is it with you and Grayson?" Lena retorted.

For reasons I couldn't begin to explain, I didn't toss her out of my bed. I answered her question. "He doesn't want me," I told Lena. "But I wish he did. He used me but..."

"But...," Lena prompted, "would you like to be used by him?"

I thought about Grayson: his Grey eyes and rare but gorgeous smile and how when I looked at them I felt the thrill of being on the back of a motorcycle. 

"You like him." Lena sounded way too satisfied with herself.

"I might like the way I feel when I'm with him." I chose my wording very carefully. "But it's not that simple."

Lena gave me her most aggrieved best friend look.

"Why do you care?" I asked her. "Since when are you this invested in my love life?"

"Lack of," Lena corrected, and then she shrugged. "My life has exploded. My parents won't take my calls. They won't let my brother talk to me, either. You're all I have right now, Kay. I want you to be happy."

"You tried calling your parents?" I didn't want to push her too hard, but I did want to be there for her.

Lena looked down. "That's not the point. The point is, Grayson Hawthorne is in the hot tub." She crossed her arms over her chest. "So what are you going to do about it?"

*******************

WC: 1120

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