His Sweet Revenge

Chapter 28.

"Grayson?"

"No thanks," he says, staring out of his window.

And then we're alone. And it's quiet. Too quiet.

Grayson looks over at me, smirking. He yanks the headphones out of my hand.

"What the hell? Give them back."

He rolls his window down and hangs them outside. "I should throw them away if all you're going to listen to is garbage."

"You're not even the tiniest bit funny."

"Your charm turns me on, baby."

I scoff. "Fuck you. Give them back."

"No."

"Grayson, seriously?"

His smirk grows. "Ask nicely, and maybe I'll consider giving them back."

I lean over to grab them, but Grayson stops me by putting his other hand out.

I scowl. "What the hell? Don't make me slap you."

Grayson chuckles. "That's no way to talk to someone."

"If those fall, they'll break."

He casually shrugs as if it means nothing to him. I push his hand away and reach over, grabbing the headphones out of his hand. As I sit back down with victory, I realize how close I am to him.

And when his eyes meet mine, any hint of playfulness is gone, and all I see is his desire. My cheeks warm as we look at each other in the stillness of the car.

I bring my hand up and let it rest on his face, my thumb brushing over the cut on his lip. He inhales, closes his eyes, leans into my hand, and kisses the pad of my thumb.

I pull back, retreating to my side of the car with my headphones clutched tightly. And it's a good thing I did because Grandpa and Grandma just walked out of the convenience store, making their way to the car.

I sip on my Sprite for the rest of the car ride.

When we finally get to the beach, it's swarming and packed with people, ready to celebrate the fourth. Our family sets up shop by the lifeguard tower. I sit on a beach towel beside Maya and pull my book out of my bag.

"You're not gonna swim with us?" Iris asks, pulling off her shorts. Brett is next to her, taking his shirt off.

I hold my book up. "No."

Iris snorts. "Whatever, nerd."

I smile and turn my attention back to my book. A few moments later, Maya speaks up, rubbing her arms with sunscreen.

"Don't look now, but that lifeguard has been staring at you for five minutes."

I look back to the lifeguard tower, and she's right. A guy stands there, watching me. Toned, tan as hell, his beautiful curls shining under the sun. He waves at me.

I wave back.

"Seriously?" Maya laughs, forcing me to pay attention to her again. "I told you not to look."

I shrug. "I had to see it for myself." Then my eyes find Grayson's, who's also watching me. He seems not to want to swim, either. His eyes flash to the lifeguard, and I watch as he narrows his eyes at him, clenching his jaw.

Maya leaves me alone to join the others in the ocean. I flip over to my next page, immersed in the story, but then someone plops beside me, and I'd recognize that scent anywhere.

"I'm busy, Grayson," I say, keeping my eyes on my book.

"Do you wanna go for a walk with me?"

I close my book, thinking about that. We shouldn't be spending time alone together. I mean, we really shouldn't.

"Come on. This beach sucks ass. The guy next to me was rubbing sunscreen over his belly, and I almost threw up."

I smirk, looking into his mesmerizing eyes. "Maybe if you ask nicely."

His gaze softens, and he leans close, his mouth barely an inch away from my ear. "Please, Layla."

I shake my head, my face on fire. Grayson chuckles.

"What's in it for me?" I ask, shoving my book back into my bag.

"My company, of course."

I scoff, reaching back for my book, but Grayson stops me, his hand around my wrist. "Fine. Whatever you want. Anything, Layla. You can have anything."

My eyebrows flash up. "Anything?"

"Yes, you sick little weirdo."

I laugh. "I know exactly what I want."

"I'm afraid."

I smile, getting up from the beach towel. "You should be."

-

(this was more of a fun chapter. I hope you enjoy! Let me know your thoughts if you have any, and remember to vote! Also, thank you so much for 4K reads. I appreciate it soooo much I truly could have never imagined that, so thank you, thank you. Happy reading 💖)